Page:All Over Oregon and Washington.djvu/79

Rh opposite side of the Columbia—all of which country may be considered tributary to St. Helen, and, being well settled up, furnishes the present local trade of that place.

Scappoose Bay is a sort of bayou of the lower Wallamet, which sets back a distance of seven miles, and receives the waters of the Milton Creek—a fine waterpower which might be turned upon the town-site of St. Helen, or made to furnish water-works for that place. There are, also, some fine grazing farms along Scappoose Bay on land subject to annual overflow.

Extensive beds of the richest iron ore lie adjacent to the township; coal exists in the mountains, six miles back; water-power and timber are plenty; while ships, of any size that can come into the Columbia, can lie alongside the natural wharves of trap-rock, that will keep off, forever, any encroachments which the river might make on a shore of sand. The views from the town-site are beautiful—from the bench, just back, magnificent. Game abounds in the vicinity: black bear, deer, grouse, partridges, and quail in the woods, and trout in the streams.

The country lying opposite St. Helen is the finest on the lower Columbia. The Cathlapootle, or, Lewis River, rises in Mount St. Helen, and, flowing southwestwardly, falls into the Columbia opposite the town of St. Helen. This river is a small and rapid stream, whose waters are as pure, cold, and clear as their mountain-springs. The valley of the main, or north, fork of the Cathlapootle is a rich, warm tract of country, producing excellent grain, fruit, vegetables, butter, and honey. It also raises stock for market, to a considerable extent. The road, or cattle-trail, from the Wallamet Valley to Puget Sound, passes up this