Part 3 (1/2)
The most interesting, as it is the most accessible, of the Indian reservations contiguous to the line of the Northern Pacific Railroad, is that of the Flathead tribe, through which the line runs for many miles in the course of its north-westward sweep from Missoula. At Arlee station, the visitor is within five miles of the agency, and at Ravalli a like distance from St. Ignatius mission. For a full account of the excellent work carried on among the Indians by the Jesuit Fathers, together with an exceedingly interesting description of the Flathead country generally, the reader is referred to an article in the _Century Magazine_ for October, 1882, from the accomplished pen of Mr. E. V.
Smalley, as well as to sundry articles in that gentleman's own magazine, _The Northwest_. From a point about 500 feet from the summit of Macdonald's Peak, a few miles north of Ravalli, there is a remarkable view of a deep mountain gorge known as Pumpelly Canon, which has many of the striking features of the Yosemite valley, in California. Two waterfalls, having an apparent height of about 800 feet, leap into this profound rocky canon, and form a small circular lake of a dark blue color. This lake falls, by another cataract, into a second lake of exactly the same size and shape as the first, while still another cataract leaps from the lower lake into a deep ravine filled with magnificent forest trees. An excursion to Macdonald's Peak may be made from the mission in a single day. Tourists are, however, recommended to take blankets and provisions, and encamp upon the crest of the mountain to witness the sunrise. Saddle horses are obtainable at the mission, and there is a good trail all the way.
Thompson Falls, 101 miles west of Missoula, is the starting point for the C[oe]ur d'Alene mines. The distress that followed the arrival in this district, in 1883, of several thousand half-starving adventurers, who, expecting to pick up in a few hours' time nuggets enough to make them rich for life, brought neither blankets to protect them from the cold of winter, nor the means of returning to their far-distant homes, or even of reaching less remote centres where work could be obtained, gave the C[oe]ur d'Alene mines a blow from which they were slow to recover. The development that has since taken place, especially since the introduction of hydraulics, has, however, abundantly demonstrated that former claims as to the richness and permanence of the mines were well founded, and we shall probably soon see here the richest placer mining camp in the world.
The matchless river scenery that has done so much toward placing the Northern Pacific Railroad system in the proud position it occupies to-day at the head of the scenic railways of America, is not alone that of the peerless Columbia. For 140 miles of its course, in Western Montana and the Panhandle of Idaho, it follows the windings of a stream that for grand and imposing scenery is second only to that renowned river itself. Should the traveler wake up in the morning, anywhere between the point at which the waters of the Missoula empty themselves into the bright green flood of the Pend d'Oreille river and the head of Pend d'Oreille Lake, he will almost certainly suppose that it is in the current of the far-famed Columbia that he sees reflected, perhaps hundreds of feet beneath him, the varying forms of those stately mountains that soar thousands of feet above. But he is as yet almost a day's journey from the cla.s.sic regions of the Columbia, albeit the lordly stream, whose scenery will be, hour after hour, a succession of surprises and delights to him, is one of the princ.i.p.al forks of that mighty river, whose still grander scenery it may be said to foreshadow in miniature.
Between the Yellowstone National Park, on the one hand, and the Columbia river, on the other, Clark's Fork and the beautiful lake into which it widens out before turning northward to the British possessions, have been almost completely overshadowed. But their ten thousand beauties will a.s.sert themselves. They have not to be sought for in out-of-the-way places, nor are they so localized that a mere pa.s.sing glimpse is the only reward of strained attention as the train flies onward. On the contrary, from an early hour in the morning until long past noon, there is a continuous unfolding of scenes in which are combined, with Nature's inimitable skill and infinite variety, all that is grandest in mountain, all that is most graceful in woodland and stream. So evenly distributed are the beauties of this long stretch of river scenery, that it is not easy to single out particular points as calling for special notice.
There are, however, two that must arrest the attention and command the admiration of every traveler. The first, one mile east of Cabinet, where the river, which has been flowing for some distance considerably below the level of the railroad, enters a magnificent rocky gorge; and the other, about the same distance east of Clark's Fork, where it flows, without a ripple, through a forest of stately pines, whose forms are, with singular fidelity, reflected in its clear and tranquil waters. Soon it is lost to view, but only to reappear, after a short interval, in the form of the lovely
LAKE PEND D'OREILLE.
One of the largest sheets of fresh water in the West, Lake Pend d'Oreille will certainly yield to none in the beauty and variety of its scenery. Fifty-five miles in extreme length, and from three to twelve miles in width, it has an irregular sh.o.r.e line of probably 250 miles, richly diversified with rock and foliage, and surmounted by lofty ranges of hills. The railroad follows the north sh.o.r.e of the lake for about twenty-five miles, pa.s.sing several little settlements, among which are Hope, Kootenai and Sand Point. Such accommodations as have hitherto been available to the visitor have been provided by respectable residents of Sand Point; but for the season of 1886 arrangements will be made that will const.i.tute Hope the more convenient halting place. That, also, will be the point of arrival and departure for steamers making the tour of the lake.
While the view from the car windows is not to be compared with the scenery at the southern end of the lake, it must, nevertheless, be p.r.o.nounced superb. In the immediate foreground, the green waters break soothingly upon a pebbly beach, or fall in crested waves. On the right and left recede into distance the deeply indented sh.o.r.es, here clothed with luxuriant forests, there bare and precipitous. Yonder, nineteen miles away, is Granite Point, rising perpendicularly from the water 724 feet, with Granite Mountain behind it, towering 5,300 feet above the level of the lake, itself surmounted by the snowy peaks of Pack Saddle Mountain, and they, in turn, by the great purple range of the C[oe]ur d'Alenes.
Not a few Eastern travelers pa.s.sing over the Northern Pacific Railroad have remarked upon the resemblance borne by the scenery of Lake Pend d'Oreille to that of their own famous Lake George. It is, however, if possible, even finer, the mountains being loftier, and the forests more luxuriant, than those inclosing the hitherto unrivaled lake in Northern New York.
To fully set forth the attractions of this region for the sportsman, or to do anything like justice to its waters as fis.h.i.+ng grounds, would require more s.p.a.ce than is devoted in this pamphlet to the entire country between the Great Lakes and Puget Sound. Nowhere, probably, in the United States, is there such an abundance of large game as in the forests of Northwestern Montana and Northern Idaho. Within a few miles of any of the stations on Lake Pend d'Oreille may be found mule deer, white-tailed deer, elk, caribou and moose, black and cinnamon bear, and mountain sheep. Of winged game, geese, ducks and partridge are plentiful, and they may be shot at any season of the year. Various applications have been made to the Northern Pacific Railroad Company, by local hunters, for special rates for the s.h.i.+pment of game East; but the Company has steadfastly refused to encourage the wholesale destruction of game for commercial purposes, preferring that it should be reserved for legitimate sport.
[Ill.u.s.tration: LAKE PEND D'OREILLE, IDAHO.]
The true sportsman will immensely enjoy an excursion into the Kootenai country. The best route is from Kootenai station to Bonner's Ferry, on the Kootenai river, a distance of thirty-three miles by wagon road, and thence by boat, either down to the lake, a further distance of ninety miles, or up into the mountains. Complete camping outfits may be obtained from Spokane Falls, the nearest town on the line of the railroad.
That the waters of Clark's Fork and Lake Pend d'Oreille are full of fine fish of many varieties, is established by overwhelming testimony. The want of a common nomenclature, however, is somewhat embarra.s.sing to one whose opportunities for personal observation have been limited. Perhaps, therefore, it will be best to allow the local anglers to tell their own stories. Beginning with the town of Thompson's Falls, to which reference has already been made, we find a recent correspondent of the _American Angler_ claiming for Clark's Fork an abundance of salmon trout, of a species of large lake trout, and a species of whitefish, known locally as ”squaw fish.” Salmon trout are, he says, caught at all times of the year, except in midwinter and during high water in the month of June.
They average from one-half to two pounds each, and the fis.h.i.+ng is best during early spring and late fall. Lake trout have been caught weighing as much as eighteen pounds each; but the average is about six pounds.
The ”squaw fish” is said to be gamey, but of comparatively little value for the table. The same correspondent says that the mountain streams emptying into Clark's Fork in the vicinity of Thompson's Falls, afford excellent mountain trout fis.h.i.+ng, and he quotes large scores made by local anglers. At Heron, which, by the way, is a divisional terminus of the railroad, with a first-cla.s.s hotel operated in connection with the dining car department, trout is said to be so abundant as to be thought nothing of; ”grayling,” sometimes reaching ten pounds in weight, are almost as plentiful; and it is said to be no uncommon thing to see them jumping out of the water, pursued by large whitefish. Bull River, eight miles distant, yields salmon trout weighing up to twelve pounds. The waters of Lake Pend d'Oreille contain, in addition to the common lake trout, a species weighing from five to ten pounds each, and occasionally caught weighing as much as twenty pounds, speckled on both back and sides, and generally resembling Mackinac trout. They are a fine table fish, being much superior to lake trout. The ”squaw fish” of this lake are said to resemble the pike. They weigh from one pound to five pounds each. From about the middle of August until the snow flies, the trout fis.h.i.+ng is ”the best in the world.” There is also a fish resembling the herring, found in one part of the lake in immense shoals.
Soon after leaving Lake Pend d'Oreille, the line enters a dense forest containing few settlements, and little that is interesting or picturesque, beyond the beautiful Lake Cocolala, a long but narrow sheet of water on the north side of the track. On the borders of the forest the train pauses a moment at Rathdrum, the nearest point on the railroad to Fort C[oe]ur d'Alene, on the lake of the same name. This lake even rivals, in the beauty of its waters and the grandeur of its mountain scenery, its more accessible neighbor, Lake Pend d'Oreille, while its conveniences for boating and fis.h.i.+ng are equally good.
At the station of Idaho Line, the train enters the Territory of Was.h.i.+ngton, pursuing its way in a southwesterly direction across the great Spokane Plain.
A short run, and we are at Spokane Falls, a bright and busy little city, charmingly situated on the Spokane river, near the celebrated falls from which it takes its name. Built upon a gravelly plateau, sloping gently toward the river, overlooked by beautiful pine-clad hills, and with lofty mountain ranges in the far distance, Spokane Falls can not but produce a favorable impression upon the pa.s.sing traveler. Its falls, which are its chief natural attraction, and will be the secret of the great commercial and manufacturing importance that undoubtedly awaits it, are situated on the north side of the town. The river is divided by basaltic islands into three great streams, curving toward each other, and pouring their floods into a common basin, from which the united waters come surging and foaming to make their final plunge of sixty-five feet into the deep chasm below. The tremendous force with which the river tears through its rocky channels, and hurls itself over the falls, is perhaps best ill.u.s.trated by a comparison with the Falls of St.
Anthony, at Minneapolis. While the latter represent a force of 135,000 horse power, the former represents one of 216,000 horse power, utilizable with equal facility. Several extensive flouring mills, as well as saw mills, are already in operation; and there is no doubt that, with the development of the rich wheat country of Eastern Was.h.i.+ngton, there will come an immense extension of the manufacturing industries of Spokane Falls.
It is probable that the town will soon have two important feeders in branch lines of railway, extending, the one northward to the Colville mining region,--the other southward to the Palouse wheat country. These lines will open railway communication with two of the richest sections of country west of the Rocky Mountains.
Until within the last year or two, the settlements of the Colville valley have been confined to the scattered homes of ranchmen. But recently the tide of immigration that has been flowing into the Territory has reached this remote region, and agricultural operations of a general character are being engaged in. The valley is as fertile as it is beautiful, and not only fine wheat, but fruit of excellent quality, is being raised there.
In the Chewelah district there have recently been found so many rich veins of silver that Mr. E. V. Smalley, who visited it in November, 1885, declares that it is almost certain to become, within a few years, the greatest silver camp on the continent.
Sixteen and forty-one miles respectively westward from Spokane Falls, are Cheney and Sprague, in a good agricultural country, whose rapid development is building them up as solid and substantial towns. Cheney has a large hotel, and is, moreover, the nearest railway station to Medical Lake, a large sheet of water possessing remarkable curative properties, and situated nine miles west. Good hotels and bathing establishments having been erected, Medical Lake is now an exceedingly pleasant resort, the surrounding country being very attractive.
From Palouse Junction, sixty-nine miles west of Sprague, a line extends eastward into the Palouse country. So far as regards scenery, a ride over this line to Colfax and Moscow is as uninteresting a railroad journey as could well be found, the line following a series of valleys that have the appearance of having once formed the rocky bed of some considerable stream.
Colfax is a busy little city in the Palouse river valley, hemmed in so closely on both sides that one of its rivals recently suggested that it might find it an advantage to be roofed over. But it does a considerable business for so small a place, s.h.i.+pping a large proportion of the agricultural produce of the valley, estimated, in 1885, at two million bushels of grain. The agricultural methods of Eastern Was.h.i.+ngton will strike most visitors as somewhat peculiar. It is not in every State of the Union, nor in every Territory, that the farmer can plow and sow ”just when he gets ready.” But here plowing and seeding may be seen in progress ten months out of every twelve, and instances have even been known of winter wheat being sown every month in the year, and all coming to harvest in its proper turn. And such crops! Thirty, forty and fifty bushels to the acre are raised so easily, that, had the farmer a nearer market, he would soon get rich. The construction of the proposed branch southward from Spokane Falls will, however, give him facilities for s.h.i.+pping east over the Northern Pacific Railroad that will certainly pay him better than exporting to England by way of Portland, as he does at present. The self-binding harvester, so familiar an object in many other parts of the country, is here unknown, the grain being cut by immense ”headers,” propelled by from four to eight horses each. This strange-looking machine, an exemplification of the old saying, ”the cart before the horse,” is better adapted than any other to the peculiar conditions of the country, straw being of no value, and thres.h.i.+ng usually going on simultaneously with the cutting of the grain, although the wheat may, after cutting, lie in the fields for many weeks without detriment.
The climate of Eastern Was.h.i.+ngton, to which alone this remarkable state of things is due, differs entirely from that of the western half of the Territory, from which it is divided by the Cascade range of mountains.
It is a mistake to suppose that the humidity which characterizes that portion of the Territory bordering on the Pacific Ocean, distinguishes it as a whole. On the contrary, the eastern half is remarkably dry, and that, too, without those extremes of temperature that usually accompany a dry climate. Should there be a spell of severe cold during the brief winter season, it is invariably cut short by the ”Kuro-Siwo,” or j.a.panese current, which, striking the coasts of British Columbia and Was.h.i.+ngton Territory, sends a warm wave over the entire Northwestern country, sometimes extending even to the valleys of Montana.