east and
west—all of which have traversed their whole length
through a rich and fertile country, and, in many places, we
might say, bounded with beautiful and luxuriant meadows,
encircled with the lofty fir, and interspersed with beautiful
groves of oak.
But to describe the Willamette i...
s
descent, time and
space will not permi...
t
o
enter minutely either into
a
de
scriptio...
the rive...
the country adjoining. On arriving
near the Falls, “the river spreads out into
a
wide, deep basin,
and runs slowly and smoothly until within
a
half
a
mil...
the Falls, whe...
s
velocity increases...
s
width diminishes,
eddies are formed...
which the water turns bac...
i
f
lot...
make the plunge; bu...
forced forwar...
the wate...
the rear,and when still nearer...
breaks upon the volcanic
rocks scattered across the channel, and then...
i
f
resigne...
...
fate, smooth...
s
agitated surges, and precipitates dow...
almost perpendicula...
twenty-five feet, presenting
a
somewhat whitened column.” The rising mist...
a
pleasant
day, forms...
the ray...
the sun,
a
beautiful bow—the
whole forming
a
sight, the grandeu...
which ha...
b
e
see...
b
e
appreciated.
Below the falls, for the distanc...
half
a
mile, the chan
ne...
the rive...
confine...
ledge...
basaltic rock...
about
two hundred yard...
width. About one mile below the falls
enters the Clackamas river from the east, which take...
s
rise
near Mount Hood, on...
the perpetual snow peak...
the
Cascade mountains. Here are the Clackamas rapids, another
obstacl...
the navigatio...
the Willamette; but the diffi
culties here presented ar...
minor importance—at almost
any stag...
water, the boat...
the Hudson Bay Company
ascend and descend with but little difficulty. From this plac...
the mout...
the Willamette,
a
distanc...
twenty-five
miles, navigatio...
good...
the tide run...
t
o
the foo...
the Clackamas rapids. The Willamette, runnin...
s
whole
course from sout...
north, enters the Columbi...
about
latitude 46 degs...
min. north, longitude 122 degs...
min.
