THROUGH WONDERLAND. 
4-5 
warriors. In his canoe, previously rendered useless, and with his bow and 
arrows, the dead hero was here laid to rest. 
After passing Kalama, the tourist comes upon some of the great canning 
establishments, which before long are passed at such short intervals that they 
seem to line the north bank, on which most of them are situated. 
The fisheries of the Columbia river are almost as famous as its scenery. 
The canning industry, which was first established in 1866, has within the last 
few years attained great importance. Producing the first year some 4,000 cases, 
representing, at the high price they commanded, $16 per case, a total value of 
$64,000, it has steadily increased its product, until now it has reached upward 
of half a million cases. The catch of 1885, which was 524,530 cases, fell short 
of that of 1884 by 132,000 cases, in consequence of the markets of the world 
being temporarily overstocked. It is remarkable that the supply should at all 
exceed the demand, when the gigantic extent of the industry is taken into con¬ 
sideration. The great perfection to which the methods employed in capturing 
the salmon have been brought, is probably accountable for the recent glut in 
the market. Among the most effective contrivances for the purpose, is the 
floating fish-wheel, by means of which the fish are literally scooped up out of 
the water in shoals. The industry gives employment to 1,500 boats, 3,000 fish¬ 
ermen, and 1,000 factory hands, the latter principally Chinese. The canning 
season is from April 1st to July 31st, when the lower Columbia is alive with 
fishing boats, and the canneries are in full operation. 
As we approach Astoria, the river widens out into a broad estuary, some 
seven miles across. Here is Tongue Point, a bold headland running out into 
the river from the Oregon shore. 
In a beautiful bay between this point and Point Adams, is Astoria, built 
partly on piles, and partly on the shelving hills. For the story of its early 
history, of the arrival of John Jacob Astor’s trading ship, “ Tonquin,” and of its 
subsequent British occupancy, the reader is referred to Washington Irving’s 
delightful volume. It is sufficient to say that it is to-day an exceedingly inter¬ 
esting city to visit, not more on account of its being the oldest British settle¬ 
ment in the Northwest, and the central figure in the salmon fishing of the 
Columbia river, than for the novelty of its construction. 
Its busy wharves and abundant shipping proclaim it a seaport of consider¬ 
able importance, requiring only a railroad or the removal of the barriers to the 
navigation of the middle Columbia, to make it a great city. 
Opposite Point Adams is Cape Hancock, formerly known as Cape Disap¬ 
pointment. On the sea-coast, both on the Washington side, north of Cape Han¬ 
cock, and on the Oregon side, south of Point Adams, are various summer 
resorts attracting crowds of visitors during the season. On the Washington 
shore is Ilwaco, beautifully situated on the north shore of Baker’s Bay, with 
a long, crescent-shaped beach of fine, white sand sloping to the water, and 
heavily wooded hills in the rear. This growing place, with its hotels, stores, 
church and school house, is rapidly growing in popularity. Steamers meet the 
