38 
THROUGH WONDERLAND. 
rail, being a considerable distance above the point at which the railroad enters 
its valley. They are said to be more impressive even than the famous Cascades 
on the lower river, there being a perpendicular fall of twenty feet, and then 
swift rapids between rocky banks of quartz and porphyry. It is on the upper 
river, also, that there occur the Little Dalles, where the waters tear through a 
contracted channel with terrific force, constituting, at least at high water, an 
impassable barrier to navigation. 
From Wallula to within a few miles of Portland,' a twelve hours’ ride, the 
tourist enjoys an uninterrupted succession of views of that superb scenery 
MOUNT HOOD—FROM THE HEAD OF THE DALLES, COLUMBIA RIVER, OREGON. 
which has given the Columbia river its world-wide reputation. Never for more 
than a few moments does he lose sight of its mighty flood,—now flowing onward 
with all the majesty of the lower Mississippi, and now surging through the 
rocky barriers that impede its course ; here confined within lofty basaltic walls, 
there inclosing numerous beautifully wooded islands ; and here again marked 
by long stretches of bare white sand driven continually by the unceasing winds. 
For some miles west of Wallula the banks of the river are low, and possess no 
special object of interest. It is not, indeed, until he reaches the Great Dalles 
that the tourist sees any indication of the magnificent scenery he is approaching. 
