Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 37.djvu/184

 over the broken rocks below. Now Mount St. Hellen & Mount Hood are said to be volcanoes, (I have seen no signs of it thou), and the Indians say that there used to be a natural bridge over the river at the Cascades, but these two mountains got into a fight and threw it down, and it appears to me that the appearance of the mountain does in some way justify the story. These Mountains continue west for some 20 miles, near the mouth of Sandy river. Sandy is 17 miles from Portland by land but I forget how much my water. On the north bank of the Cascade there is a few houses, one large two story, with a store. At the foot of the falls, about 5 miles below, is another town, or rather two towns, about half a mile apart, one has some half dozen houses or shops, the other one house, though a large one, and a log building, used for a store when we were there. This latter place, was the pleasentest of any in those parts, it being open, and level for about half a mile back, where it met the timber, and in a short distance back, the mountains. Place yourself on the bank of the river at this place, and at this season of the year, and I doubt very much whether you can see the sun all day, for the mountains on the other side are rite up and down, and comes close to the river. At every place down the river where a clame can be made, you will find it ocupied, and some of them very pleasant ones, but a large part of them are made in the timber, and so are most that I have seen in this vally. We passed Vancouver in the night, and come up this river a few miles before it was light. But from what I saw of it, I should think east side of the river was all tolerable good land to cultivate, and some places were really pleasant, being on the bank of the river, (the Willamette) and open, or prairia with just trees enough on it to make it a very desirable place for a residence. A short distance back is a low ridge which runs up the river as far as I have been. I believe there is few or no rocks on this side of the river. The soil is of a dark loam with a little sand, and in some places, some gravel. On the west side of the river, there is a high ridge runing paralel with the stream covered with heavy timber, and in many places comes to the river. Portland is on that side, and was laid out in the thick heavy timber, there being none too much room for a town betwene the mountain and river. There is a few claims on that side but they are of but