Page:History of Oregon Literature.djvu/76

 are visable at once covered in eternal Ice and snow thier ruged time worn sides softened by distance, your eye desending the region of bear Rocks and Nightly Frosts in a Broad Belt around the Peaks attracts your attention with lower peaks of the same attitude Still desending long ranges of deep green Firr clad elivations of great veriety of shape and apearance Extend themselves to the right and left far beyond the stretch of vision. The Eye still desending your catch the softly rounded grass clad hills with thier shrubby oak groves and Prarie vallies with various shades of green drapery untill at last your (eye) rests on the broad vally Striching itself parallel withe mountain here too you have the veriety of Timber and Prarie with all the meanderings of the large and small streams that wind and intersect the vally in all directions. Bring your eye closer and you Distinguish farms and fields still closer and houses and herds appear and last not least of all a few horsemen are seen going like the wind over some smoothe Prarie and disappearing in an oak grove pardon me sir those rapid coursiers ware gentlemen and Ladies out on a ride of plesure.

Oct. 25, 1844, Shores of the Willamette

... I soon found a stripe of open Prarie land overflown in high water but now dry and pleasant walking with here and there a pool of mud and water which has stood the drough of summer.

These pools or ponds are now overgrown with several kind of vegitation and litterly and completely covered over with water fowl of various kinds from the nobl and majestick swan down to the Teal & plover. For miles the air seemed to be darkened with the emmenc flights that arose as I proceeded up the vally The morning being still thier nois was tumultuous and grand the hoarse shrieks of the Heron intermingled with the Symphonic Swan the fine treble of the Brant answered by the strong Bass of the goose with ennumerable shreeking and Quacking of the large and Smaller duck tribe filled every evenue of Surrounding space with nois and reminded one of Some aerial battle as discribed by