CHARACTERISTICS OF OREGON 



the air. Clear, or arrayed in clouds, it changes 

 both in size and general expression. Now it 

 looms up to an immense height and seems to 

 draw near in tremendous grandeur and beauty, 

 holding the eyes of every beholder in devout 

 and awful interest. Next year or next day, 

 or even in the same day, you return to the 

 same point of view, perhaps to find that the 

 glory has departed, as if the mountain had 

 died and the poor dull, shrunken mass of rocks 

 and ice had lost all power to charm. 



Never shall I forget my first glorious view 

 of Mount Hood one calm evening in July, 

 though I had seen it many times before this. 

 I was then sauntering with a friend across the 

 new Willamette bridge between Portland and 

 East Portland for the sake of the river views, 

 which are here very fine in the tranquil sum 

 mer weather. The scene on the water was a 

 lively one. Boats of every description were 

 gliding, glinting, drifting about at work or 

 play, and we leaned over the rail from time 

 to time, contemplating the gay throng. Sev 

 eral lines of ferry-boats were making regular 

 trips at intervals of a few minutes, and river 

 steamers were coming and going from the 

 wharves, laden with all sorts of merchandise, 

 raising long diverging swells that made all the 

 light pleasure-craft bow and nod in hearty 



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