Page:All Over Oregon and Washington.djvu/73

Rh Columbia large enough to be said to have a valley, there is on the opposite side a break in, or a curvature of, the. highlands, making more or less level country facing the valley which is perpendicular to it, so that the valleys of the streams may be said to cross the Columbia, and, even, to be widest on the opposite side. Somewhere in here the Claskenine, a stream with a fertile and partially cultivated valley, enters the Columbia from the Oregon side; but the entrance is hidden by islands and shrubbery.

While we are interested in observing the stretch of the river at this point, and noting the islands and bayous which make it difficult to determine its actual breadth, we have advanced several miles, and find ourselves abreast of Kalama, the initial point of the North Pacific Railroad, on the Columbia River. Already an energetic beginning has been made, and from this port to the Sound a railroad will be constructed within a year or two. The silent grandeur of the Columbia is to be made busy and vocal with the stir of human labor, and the shriek of "resonant steam eagles" that speed from ocean to ocean, bearing the good-will of the nations of the world in bales of merchandise. It is the dream of Jefferson and Benton realized—only could the latter have had his wish fulfilled to live until this day!

"In conclusion I have to assure you, that the same spirit which has made me the friend of Oregon for thirty years—which led me to denounce the Joint Occupation Treaty the day it was made, and to oppose its renewal in 1828, and to labor for its abrogation until it was terminated; the same spirit which led me to reveal the grand destiny of Oregon in articles written in 1818, and to support every measure for her