Farther down the river, and near the city of Portland, there are some very delightful falls, not exceptionally large or high, but very delightful in character, and full of contradictions and peculiarities.  Steamboating on the Columbia River, in its navigable sections, is exceedingly pleasant and instructive.  The river is the largest in America which empties into the Pacific Ocean.  For more than 140 miles it is navigable by steamers of the largest kind, while other vessels can get up very much higher, and nearer the picturesque source.  On some sections of it, glaciers of great magnitude can be seen, and there are also many points concerning which legend and tradition have been very busy.  According to one of these traditions, the Indians who formerly lived on the banks of the river were as brave as the ancient Spartans and Greeks, though if this is approximately correct, the law and argument of descent must be entirely erroneous, for the Indians of this section to-day rank among the meanest and most objectionable of the entire country.

An artistic illustration is given of the “whaleback” steamer, used principally on our Northern lakes.  The whaleback varies from a somewhat clumsy looking craft, resembling in appearance very much the back of a whale, to the much more attractive and navigable craft shown in the illustration.  These whalebacks have a very important part to play in internal navigation.  It seems able to withstand, readily, bad weather and rough water.  Unlike most vessels which are safe under these conditions, it requires very little water to be safely navigated, and it can carry heavy loads in six or eight feet of water.

The revival of the steamboat trade on our great rivers, and the recovering from the railroads of at least a portion of the trade stolen away, is a pet hobby among river men generally, and especially among those whose parents taught them from the cradle up the true importance of the magnificent internal waterways bountifully provided for our native land by an all-wise Providence.  It is seriously proposed to attempt this revival by aid of whaleback steamers, and if the project is carried out, the success which will attend the effort is likely to agreeably surprise even the most enthusiastic among those who are now advocating it.

CHAPTER XX.

THROUGH THE GREAT NORTHWEST.

The Importance of Some of our Newest State—­Romantic History of Montana—­The Bad Lands and their Exact Opposite—­Civilization Away Up in the Mountains—­Indians who have Never Quarreled with White Men—­Traditions Concerning Mount Tacoma—­Wonderful Towns of the Extreme Northwest—­A State Shaped like a Large Chair—­The Falls of Shoshone.

Within the last few years new States have been admitted into the Union which, in themselves, form a magnificent empire.  We allude to the great Northwestern Territories which have become States within the last decade, and which have added so much luster to the escutcheon of our native land.  The utmost ignorance prevails as to these States, and as to the northwestern corner of the United States proper, a term generally applied to this great Republic, with the exception of Alaska.