LETTER TO THE SECRETARY OF WAR. 
71 
very swift and tortuous, abounding in rapids. Farther down it is straighter, with large flats 
on one or both sides, channel deeper, and current more sluggish. At a point about sixty miles 
above the Pend d’Oreille mission (of St. Ignatius) is the Pend d'Oreille or Kalispem lake, 
formed by a dilatation of the river. It is a beautiful sheet of water, about forty-five miles in 
length. Below this the river is sluggish and wide for some twenty-six miles, when rapids are 
again encountered during low water. From a point nine miles above the lake to these rapids, 
a distance of about eighty miles, steamboats drawing from twenty to twenty-four inches can 
readily ascend. In higher water, of course, the distance will be lengthened. There would 
then be but one bad obstacle between the Cabinet, twenty-five miles above lake Pend d’Oreille, 
and a point some ten miles below the mission, a distance of one hundred and forty miles. The 
obstacle alluded to is where the river is divided by a rock island, with a fall of six and a half 
feet on each side. At this point a lock might readily be constructed. 
“The Hudson’s Bay Company’s large freight boats are in the habit of ascending from the lower 
end of the Pend d’Oreille lake to the Horse Plain, a distance of 135 miles; this involves two 
portages. 
“On the Columbia river, between the mouths of the Spokane andDe Chute’s rivers, a distance 
of about 350 miles, there are but three bad obstacles to navigation for steamboats drawing from 
twenty to thirty inches. The principal of these are the Priest and Buckland’s rapids. These 
might probably be locked, or so modified by art as to render them passable for steamboats or 
other craft. The mouth of the De Chute’s river is about eight miles above the present steam¬ 
boat landing at the Dalles. I have dwelt on these particulars, knowing how important this 
matter will prove, in relation to questions of railroad construction and the transportation of 
supplies. 
“From the Horse Plain, before spoken of, the river, so far as I examined it, would be excellent 
for rafting purposes. Timber in this manner could be transported a great distance. Above 
this to the St. Mary’s village, I cannot give a decided opinion in its favor, but am inclined to 
the opinion that rafts might run. At any rate, logs could be readily driven down by the cur¬ 
rent from an immense distance. While on the subject of timber, I will briefly allude to its 
quantity and quality. Along the Bitter Root and Hell Gate rivers, and the mountains in their 
vicinity, the red pine and larch, favorite trees in ship-building, are found in great quantity. 
The white pine, cotton-wood, and wild cherry are also found, although not in such quantity. 
Farther down these streams we find, in addition, cypress or cedar, hemlock, spruce and fir, be¬ 
sides several hard-wood trees. The timbered coitntry extends from the main range of the Rocky 
mountains to a point about eighty miles below Fort Colville. From that to the Dalles there is 
no timber. At the Dalles it again appears, and trees of many descriptions, and frequently of 
enormous size, are found thickly covering the valleys and surrounding hills. 
“Excellent building stone is found along nearly the whole route. There are pieces of excel¬ 
lent land along the rivers. Their waters are clear and beautiful, and filled with thousands 
of the different kinds of the salmon family. The country above the Dalles is remarkably 
healthy.” * * * 
Dr. Suckley reports that Lieutenant Arnold had reached Wallah-Wallah, and would imme¬ 
diately come on. Lieutenant A. had been entirely successful—had accurately determined the 
latitude of the mouth of the Clark’s fork of the Columbia, and had made an examination of the 
Grand Coulee, which in its character is found to differ essentially from published results. Mr. 
Tinkham, now on his way from St. Mary’s, is probably through the mountains and within six 
to ten days of Wallah-Wallah. Our examinations down the line of the Columbia prove it en¬ 
tirely practicable for a railroad, and the line along Cowlitz river and thence to Puget sound is 
remarkably cheap, as well as easy of construction. Puget sound can certainly be reached by 
two practicable routes, the line of the Snoqualme Pass with a single tunnel—say three thou¬ 
sand yards long, and with grades not exceeding forty feet—and the line of the Columbia and 
