IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 1.25 iil \^ IIIIIM fb la I. 1.6 1.4 Hiotographic Sciences Corporation 33 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 873-4503 ,-\ :\ LV \ C)\ . W. 1,(1111 Mi. THE COLUMBIA RIVER. . '■ WITH IIMSTKATIONS DY R. 8WAI.V OIKKORD. THE continuous range of mountains known as the Sierra Nevada in California bears the name ol Cascade liango through Oregon, Washington Territory, ami It-'itlah Columbia. The name originated from the numerous bcautil'ul cas'-:„"us which pour from every orcvlce, at every height, and sometimes even from the top of the stoop blufl'- sides of . gorge in those mountains, through which the miglily Co- lumbia '■'H'cos its way to pour its volume of water into tlio I'acific Ocean. The Coluniblii, which forms so large a portion of tlic south boundary of Washington Territory, and then traverses its whole br^l^Mi'rom south to north, is nuvigaule from the \ louth of the fl^HpFkhe lot .'r cascades — a distance of one hundr.d and sixty 3(Blk 8.V a portage at the cascades, where there is a railroad, six length, navigation is open to the Dalles, two luindrod and y^^ wH^ / 184 THE COLUMBIA RIVER. [August 12, 1871.] ■». MULTAN-OMAH ^TAtLS, COLXJMDIA KIVKR. «,!! [August 12, 1871.] THE COLUMBIA RIVER. \ 186 ALLITERATION. [August 13, fire miles I'rom the ocean. At this point several miles of porlagc are required, when good lUiTigation is secured to Priest's Rapids, tlirce hundred and eighty miles. Another short portage is followed by a stretch of water for nearly a hundred miles ; here another portage is succeeded by open water to a poir:t seven hundred and twenty miles. The Columbia has been compared to the Hudson, and, according to Mr. Kitz Hugh Ludlow, there are some grounds for the compari- son. " Each of these rivers," says Mr. Ludlow, in his entertaining vol- ume,* " breaks through a noble mountain-system in its passage to the sea, and the walls of its avenue are correspondingly grand. In point of variety, the banks of the Hudson far surpass those of the Colum- -trap, sandstone, granite, limestone, and slate, succeeding each [with a rapidity which presents ever new outlines to the eye of jrist. The scenery of the Columbia, between Fort Vancouver affiT*l4^e Dalles, is a sublime monotone. Its banks are basaltic crags or mist-wrapped domes, averaging below the cataract from twelve to fifteen hundred feet in height, and thence decreasing to the Dalles, where the escarpments, washed by the river, ore low trap bluffs on a levttl with the steamer's walking-beam, and the mountains have re- tind, hvt Mid brown, like those of the great continental basin farther M|A, towftrd Mount Ilood in that direction, and Mount Adams on ti^MC grave." SHAKESrEABB. t Jt , '^ ' The repeated letter is generally found at the beginning of words, though it may occur in the second and final syllables, in which case the repeated letter should fall on the accented part of the word, as in this example : " That hflfhed In prim repose expects hU evening prey." Dr. Thomas Brown remarks that, thougli alliteration itself con- sists in similarity of sounds, it is not ind-tlerent on what words of the sentence the alliteration falls ; and he cites the following line as an example, in which he finds resemblance and contrast, two qualities which give it peculiar point : " Paffs, powders, patches, hiblu, blUett-iimix." Pon * The Heart of the Continent: a Record of Travel acrnss flkoTlliM knd in Oregon. By Fitz Hush Ladlow. New York : Ilurd & UougMsM. The French — for this art is by no means confined to our language — somenhut extend these definitions, a frequent recurrence of the same syllables also being counted alliterative — " Qui refuM, mvie." " Qui tern a, gverre a." In German, alliteration is called BuchttabenMm, a roost expressive name, which is but poorly translated by the literal rendering " letter- rhyme." Gcraldus Cambrensis called alliteration agnominatio, whence the English word "annomination," sometimes applied to it. Hcr- mogenes, who quotes Homer, culls it ■nofiixriait. Aristotle calls it Ttapotioioxm. It is evident, however, from the derivation of these Greek names, that they refer rather to what is known as ovoiutroiroAa (onomatopoeia), or assimilation of sound to sense, a figure in which the Greek and German languages are beautifully rich. Alliteration is, in fact, naturally connected with imitative harmony, familiar ex- ainples of which exist in many languages : From Homer : * ■'• ** B^ 8 aKimv irapa Oitfa iroAv<^Aot(r^oio 9aKaatni^. From Virgil, the well-known lines : " Quadrnpedante putrcm sonltn qnatit nngnla campnm "— the peculiarity of wh oh is only tolerably preserved in the transla- tion : "Shaking the monlderins; plain with the tramp of tho galloping horgo-hoof"— and which Red Cloud probably renders : " Oivc me a good trotting horse, and I'll mn and get yoa some wampnm t " Another line from Virgil, which follows more closely the original definition : "Tityro tn patals recubans sub tegmine fagi." From Racine : " Pour qui sent ces serpents qui slfflent snr nos tStes f " And, not to neglect our own forcible tongue, thi s beautiful and striking example from Pope's Homer : " Up the high hill he heaves a huge round stone. Although, as we have seen, this figure has been used celebrated poets, both ancient and modern, there is con ference of opinion as to its beauty and propriety. One critic, writing on this subject, says : " Alliterations contribute more to the beauties of poetry than is generally supposed, and cannot, therefore, be deemed unworthy of a poet's regard in composition. If two words offer of e(iual propriety — the one alliterative, and the other not — the first ought to be chosen, if it suit tho purpose in every other respect ; but the beauty of alliteration, when happy, is not greater than its defor- mity, when affected or forced." Again : " Alliteration contributes both to sweetness and energy of versification." On the other hand, " it relates more to the technicality than to the spirit of poetry," and the effect is described as a " mechanical one, rendering the verse more easy for the organ of speech," while but little pleasure is attributed to the effect on the ear. Among French writers, alliteration meets with but little favor ; some ridicule it under the name of eacophonu, though Michelot says alliteration and rhyme are precepts of versifica- tion more important than the number. In short, this repetition, within proper bounds, is an ornament, but, like many things, becomes a de- fect when excessively and injudiciously employed. It seems to be generally admitted that it greatly embellishes when it contributes to imitativii harmony, as in the numerous examples already given. That this is not its only beauty, however, is evident in the following couplet from Pope, in which the two lines are singularly contrasted : ' ■ " Etcrrai beaiitlcB grace the shining scene— .f'lolda cvor/resh, and proves forever j^eon." Sacrificing sense for the sake of alliteration is, of course, to bo avoided. Thus Gray, in his exceeding love for this figure, writes : "Eyes that jlow and limgs that grin:' Descending from the poetical world to cvery-day language, we fini alliteration playing a more important part than is generally acknowl- edged. So well odaptcd is it to catch the popular car that proverbs and saws are rich in this figure: "IFhero there's a icill, there's a iray;" " J/any men of many minds," etc. There seems to be an alliterative tendency in the formation of many of our compotrad words ; surely, there is no adequate ground for invariably saying " niilk-muid," " Autcher-6oy," " washer-women," and utterly ignoring tho otherwise I i