Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 16.djvu/406

378 such an engineer would become possessed with the purpose to have all the people of the Pacific Northwest and the tourist even from the uttermost parts of the earth experience the exquisite thrills that had enraptured him. This is the motive that brought forth this finely conceived and elegantly executed book.

But if the sublime in nature can have association with heroic achievements of man so much deeper, more substantial and lasting is the joy the scene inspires. About half of the volume is taken up with the portrayal of the human experiences associated with this route. This story is told through the use of excerpts from the journals kept by the missionaries and pioneers as they were buffeted on the waves of the Columbia, trudged through the thickets along its banks, or climbed and crossed the Cascade range to the south of Mount Hood. The test came too as the culmination of a summer of hardship on the plains, generally when winter was full upon them. The accounts by Mrs. Marcus Whitman and by Mrs. Elizabeth Dickson Smith Geer are especially effective and graphic, the latter only is pathetic.

The volume is embellished by many cuts of Indian characters and of historical relics. The author in selecting these materials, especially the excerpts from the pioneers' journals, had the valuable assistance of the Curator of the Oregon Historical Society and the use of its collections.

The color photographs of the Columbia scenes are simply superb.

The spirit and generosity of those who organized this undertaking of the Columbia River Highway and who gave so freely most efficient service in superintending its construction and donated park areas along the route of the highway these shine and add lustre to the achievement as a whole and bring finest honor upon themselves and upon the community and the commonwealth they served.