ON THE TRAIL OF A HORSE THIEF 



By Herbert W. Gleason 



YES, he was a genuine Horse Thief, 

 and we followed his trail for over 

 ioo miles. But we never caught 

 up with him ! Hence it may be well to 

 advise the expectant reader, at the very 

 outset, that this tale is utterly barren in 

 respect to those exciting episodes in 

 which six-shooters are wont to play a 

 prominent part, ending with a limp figure 

 strung up to a tree. 



There were two reasons why we never 

 caught up with the Horse Thief. First, 

 he had twenty years the start of us ; and, 

 secondly, w T e hadn't the remotest interest 

 in the Horse Thief himself, even if at 

 any time we had been close upon his 

 heels ; but we were tremendously inter- 

 ested in his trail. 



THE COURSE) OF THE MIGHTY COLUMBIA 



The Columbia River is a mighty 

 stream, and throughout its entire length 

 of 1,400 miles it possesses a variety and 

 depth of interest hardly to be surpassed 

 by that attaching to any other river on 

 earth. Although only half as long as the 

 Mississippi, so many and so important 

 are its tributaries that it fairly equals the 

 latter stream in the volume of water 

 which it pours into the ocean. 



Few great rivers follow so devious a 

 course. Rising in the Kootenay District 

 of British Columbia, it first flows in a 

 northwesterly direction for 200 miles; 

 then it makes a sharp bend and flows due 

 south for nearly 300 miles, halting on the 

 way to form the famous Arrow Lakes ; 

 next it crosses the International Bound- 

 ary into the State of Washington, where, 

 for a distance of 600 miles, it turns and 

 twists toward every point of the com- 

 pass^ as if it were seeking to bestow the 

 blessing of its waters upon every portion 

 of the great "Inland Empire," as the 

 fruitful plains of eastern Washington are 

 called. 



Just before reaching the Oregon bound- 

 ary it receives the waters of the Snake 

 River, whose source lies 950 miles away 

 in Yellowstone Park. 



Then, with its breadth increased in 

 many places to a mile or more, it follows 

 a general westerly course for 300 miles, 

 forming the dividing line between Ore- 

 gon and Washington, and finally, as it 

 approaches the ocean, it broadens out 

 into a superb bay, 25 miles long and from 

 5 to 9 miles wide, ever maintaining its 

 current against the ocean tides, although 

 the influence of the tides is felt as far 

 back as the Cascades — 160 miles from 

 its mouth. 



Around this lower stretch of the Co- 

 lumbia there clusters a wealth of ro- 

 mance, Indian legend, historical interest, 

 and heroic commercial enterprise. Here, 

 too, the scenic beauty of the river, which 

 is marked throughout its entire course, 

 reaches its climax. Right through the 

 lofty Cascade Range the river cuts its 

 way — a feat which no other river for a 

 distance of 1,200 miles along the range 

 is able to accomplish. 



To one traveling by steamer over this 

 portion of the river, or speeding along 

 the newly completed Columbia Highway 

 by automobile, there is unfolded a con- 

 tinuous panorama of marvelous beautv. 

 The Dalles, Celilo Falls, Castle Rock, 

 Cape Horn, Multnomah Falls, Rooster 

 Rock, the Cascades, Oneonta Gorge, 

 Table Mountain, St. Peter's Dome — 

 these are but a few of the many points of 

 interest which delight the eye and uplift 

 the soul. 



AN EXPLORER THREE MONTHS TOO IvAT£ 



Crowning all, there are the three great 

 "Guardians of the Columbia," as they 

 have been called — Mt. Hood, Mt. Adams,, 

 and Mt. St. Helens — huge extinct volca- 

 noes (or possibly they are only slumber- 

 ing) , whose snowy crests pierce the azure 

 at elevations from 10,000 to 12,000 feet 

 above the sea. 



Now, the Lower Columbia, with its his- 

 torical associations, its scenic grandeur, 

 its thriving cities, its extensive fisheries 

 and fruit ranches, has long been famous ; 

 but it is only within a few years that the 



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