“Good old times those were when kings thrust their hands into the New World, as children do theirs into a grab bag at a fair, and drew out a river four thousand miles long, or an ocean, or a tract2 of wild land ten or fifteen times the size of England.”
The king of Spain sold Louisiana to France for money to buy his daughter a wedding present and for one brief while France had hopes of planting her lilies in the Walla Walla Valley. France, however, had met her Waterloo in America, on the Plains of Abraham.
Then came England denying the validity of the old Franco-Spanish title under which we claimed the Oregon country, but the same policy that lost to Great Britain her thirteen colonies, lost to her this princely domain3.
American and English settlements contrasted strangely. The one emigrant4 came with his traps and snares5, the other with his plow6 and quart of seed wheat. The one came for the fortune which he might carry out of the country, the other to make a home for himself and his children. So, the English trapper with his snares and the Indian with his pogamoggan retreated before the advance of American civilization.
In 1836 Mrs. Whitman, wife of Dr. Whitman, wrote from Fort Vancouver that the Hudson Bay Co. had that year four thousand bushels of wheat, four thousand bushels of peas and fifteen hundred bushels of oats and barley7, besides many root vegetables, also poultry8, cattle, hogs9 and sheep.
The metropolis10 of the valley is Walla Walla. It is a well-built town having a population of several thousand. Many of the stores and business blocks are of brick. Its streets are wide. In the suburbs is a military post, also a college[230] established by the Congregational church in honor of Dr. Marcus Whitman, the well known missionary11 who was massacred at his mission near Walla Walla in 1847. So died the brave, patriotic12 Whitman.
In 1813 England, basing her claims on Drake’s discoveries, captured Astoria and for years kept her hands on the Oregon country, to be thwarted13 at last by one brave American.
The story of Marcus Whitman’s life should be enshrined in the heart of every school-boy in America.
From the busy thriving city of Spokane, the center of the agriculture empire of the Pacific Coast, to Missoula along the headwaters of the Columbia is a most interesting journey. High above, the grim Cascades14 rear their shaggy heads. Magnificent pines lift their crested15 heads skyward. The Columbia, “rock-ribbed and mighty16,” sweeps on, now placidly17, now whirling and eddying18, tossing its waters up in foamy19 spray, now breaking into white cascades, beautiful as Schauffhausen on the noble Rhine. The rugged20 rocks along the shore are hidden by festoons of grape and wild honeysuckle vines, while the bright salmon21 berry adds a touch of color.
Here is a bit of western fiction, a study in evolution that would interest a Haeckel. These berries falling into the water float away into brown pools and shady nooks and there change into the red fish known as salmon.
The gentleman who told me this wonderful tale of magic assured me that it was true, and that the Fish Commission had made a report of it. Like the tale of the banshee, however, he had never seen it but he knew people who had.
Scientific errors should be corrected, so I will give you the facts about the salmon trout22. It was that mischievous23 god Loke, who to escape the vengeance24 of Thor hid himself in a cave, but when he heard the thundering voice of that noble god,
“He changed himself into a salmon trout
And leaped in a fright in the Glommen.”
The most beautiful spot in this region is Lake Pend d’Oreille. The scenery of this lovely lake rivals that of Lake George. Its blue waters bathe the brown feet of rugged mountains.
It is early morning on Lake Pend d’Oreille;[232] the mountain breeze, the gentle swish of the water as it laps the shore, the white, graceful26-moving sail-boat all entice27 you for a day’s fishing. Tired of this sport you sail over and rest under the wonderful Blue Slide. The mountain bordering on the lake at this point has crumbled28 away, sending down its bowlders into the lake. From the boat you look up a smooth incline plane two thousand feet, above which rises the precipice30 itself another thousand feet. The slide is covered with a pale blue clay, while the precipice itself is a mixture of granite31 and clay tinged32 with iron. Large pines grow on the very edge of the precipice.
The junction33 of Clear Water and the Snake rivers in Idaho is a place of historic interest. We are now in the country traversed by Lewis and Clarke.
The history of the great Northwest is wonderfully fascinating. The history of no part of this great territory is more tragic34 than that of Montana. Her savage35 tribes, her cosmopolitan36 population called into existence by her fur trade and mining industry, all combined to produce in Montana a peculiar37 phase of civilization, but she has beaten dirks and bowie knives[233] into plowshares and now follows the gentle arts of peace. A magnificent mountain range, lovely valley, beautiful river and a delicate, graceful flower—Bitter Root. Bitter Root is the state flower of Montana and lends its name to the river, mountains and valley of its native heath, growing most luxuriantly in Bitter Root valley.
This valley is one of the most beautiful as well as the most productive in the state. Lying at the eastern foot of the Bitter Root Mountains it is shielded from the cold, west winds. The climate is fine while the soil in most places is rich and deep. Timothy and clover grow luxuriantly. Baled hay brings from seven to ten dollars per ton at the railroad station. Dairy farming and poultry raising are profitable industries. Butter sells at forty cents per pound in the winter and twenty cents in the summer. Eggs bring the same price. Butte, Helena and other mining centers supply the market for Bitter Root Valley.
Bitter Root orchards38 are immune from disease. The leas ophis has appeared but as yet has done no injury. Bitter Root Mountains were the stronghold of the Nez Perce Indians.
Hell Gate cañon is one of the most picturesque[234] in the Rocky Mountains. It is wild and beautiful. Its fir-clad slopes rise thousands of feet high. A lion steals stealthily along, noiselessly as Fear herself, owl29 answers owl from the tall trees, and soft shadows lend enchantment39 to the light of the pale moon that hurries you along like Porphyro’s poor guide on the eve of St. Agnes, with agues in your brain.
Deer Lodge40 lies in a beautiful valley, sun-browned now, with just a hint of autumn’s grays and purples.
John Bozeman was a noted41 frontiersman in the early days of Montana. His name is perpetuated42 by Bozeman’s pass, Bozeman’s creek43 and Bozeman city, all in Gallatan valley. This valley, once the bloody44 battle-ground of the Blackfeet, the Bannacks, the Crows and the Nez Perce Indians is now one of the widest known and best cultivated in the state.
Helena, the capital of Montana, is a thriving, prosperous city. Through the Gate of the Mountains we enter a little valley called Paradise. Like a beautiful dream this lovely valley lies in the cold bosom45 of the rugged mountains; which, looming46 high above, shield it from the wintry blast.
Mighty cañons, rock-ribbed, gloomy and dark, have been gouged47 out of the very hearts of the cold, gray mountains that pierce the blue of heaven. But this sun-lit vale, too fair for the abode48 of man, lies just as nature left it, blue canopied49, the cool green grass and murmuring Yellow Stone.
The Devil in a merry mood one day, coasted down the mountain at Cinnebar, scorching50 blood red a wide, smooth slide that would delight the daring heart of a tobogganist.
点击收听单词发音
1 isles | |
岛( isle的名词复数 ) | |
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2 tract | |
n.传单,小册子,大片(土地或森林) | |
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3 domain | |
n.(活动等)领域,范围;领地,势力范围 | |
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4 emigrant | |
adj.移居的,移民的;n.移居外国的人,移民 | |
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5 snares | |
n.陷阱( snare的名词复数 );圈套;诱人遭受失败(丢脸、损失等)的东西;诱惑物v.用罗网捕捉,诱陷,陷害( snare的第三人称单数 ) | |
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6 plow | |
n.犁,耕地,犁过的地;v.犁,费力地前进[英]plough | |
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7 barley | |
n.大麦,大麦粒 | |
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8 poultry | |
n.家禽,禽肉 | |
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9 hogs | |
n.(尤指喂肥供食用的)猪( hog的名词复数 );(供食用的)阉公猪;彻底地做某事;自私的或贪婪的人 | |
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10 metropolis | |
n.首府;大城市 | |
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11 missionary | |
adj.教会的,传教(士)的;n.传教士 | |
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12 patriotic | |
adj.爱国的,有爱国心的 | |
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13 thwarted | |
阻挠( thwart的过去式和过去分词 ); 使受挫折; 挫败; 横过 | |
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14 cascades | |
倾泻( cascade的名词复数 ); 小瀑布(尤指一连串瀑布中的一支); 瀑布状物; 倾泻(或涌出)的东西 | |
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15 crested | |
adj.有顶饰的,有纹章的,有冠毛的v.到达山顶(或浪峰)( crest的过去式和过去分词 );到达洪峰,达到顶点 | |
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16 mighty | |
adj.强有力的;巨大的 | |
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17 placidly | |
adv.平稳地,平静地 | |
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18 eddying | |
涡流,涡流的形成 | |
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19 foamy | |
adj.全是泡沫的,泡沫的,起泡沫的 | |
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20 rugged | |
adj.高低不平的,粗糙的,粗壮的,强健的 | |
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21 salmon | |
n.鲑,大马哈鱼,橙红色的 | |
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22 trout | |
n.鳟鱼;鲑鱼(属) | |
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23 mischievous | |
adj.调皮的,恶作剧的,有害的,伤人的 | |
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24 vengeance | |
n.报复,报仇,复仇 | |
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25 adage | |
n.格言,古训 | |
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26 graceful | |
adj.优美的,优雅的;得体的 | |
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27 entice | |
v.诱骗,引诱,怂恿 | |
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28 crumbled | |
(把…)弄碎, (使)碎成细屑( crumble的过去式和过去分词 ); 衰落; 坍塌; 损坏 | |
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29 owl | |
n.猫头鹰,枭 | |
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30 precipice | |
n.悬崖,危急的处境 | |
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31 granite | |
adj.花岗岩,花岗石 | |
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32 tinged | |
v.(使)发丁丁声( ting的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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33 junction | |
n.连接,接合;交叉点,接合处,枢纽站 | |
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34 tragic | |
adj.悲剧的,悲剧性的,悲惨的 | |
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35 savage | |
adj.野蛮的;凶恶的,残暴的;n.未开化的人 | |
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36 cosmopolitan | |
adj.世界性的,全世界的,四海为家的,全球的 | |
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37 peculiar | |
adj.古怪的,异常的;特殊的,特有的 | |
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38 orchards | |
(通常指围起来的)果园( orchard的名词复数 ) | |
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39 enchantment | |
n.迷惑,妖术,魅力 | |
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40 lodge | |
v.临时住宿,寄宿,寄存,容纳;n.传达室,小旅馆 | |
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41 noted | |
adj.著名的,知名的 | |
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42 perpetuated | |
vt.使永存(perpetuate的过去式与过去分词形式) | |
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43 creek | |
n.小溪,小河,小湾 | |
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44 bloody | |
adj.非常的的;流血的;残忍的;adv.很;vt.血染 | |
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45 bosom | |
n.胸,胸部;胸怀;内心;adj.亲密的 | |
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46 looming | |
n.上现蜃景(光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼)v.隐约出现,阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 );隐约出现,阴森地逼近 | |
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47 gouged | |
v.凿( gouge的过去式和过去分词 );乱要价;(在…中)抠出…;挖出… | |
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48 abode | |
n.住处,住所 | |
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49 canopied | |
adj. 遮有天篷的 | |
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50 scorching | |
adj. 灼热的 | |
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