alla Walla reigns
supreme, her authority being limited only by the Columbia and Snake
rivers, or the Blue Mountains; although Waitsburg, Dayton, Pomeroy and
Clarkston are important centers in their own districts.

Steeped in historical associations is this valley, from Wallula, the
site of the first Hudson's Bay fort, to the city of Walla Walla. When
once seen, no words are needed to tell why these lovely plains, all
ready for the planting and moistened with sufficient rainfall annually,
were so attractive to the early settlers, and inspired the first serious
efforts at colonization.

THE COLUMBIA RIVER.

All waters of eastern Washington reach the ocean through the Columbia
river, uniting the entire region in one spirit of fraternity. The
grandest and most reaching scenic feature of the region, it supplies
unlimited water for successful irrigation and power purposes, and in
places still provides the principal mode of transportation. Between
Kettle Falls and the Snake river are a number of important rapids, chief
of which is Priest Rapids, just below Saddle Gap, ten miles long with a
descent of seventy feet and a possible horse power of half a million.

Just above the mouth of the Snake river are the cities of Kennewick and
Pasco, ready to profit by direct navigation to the sea as soon as the
Celilo locks are completed. At the lowest elevation in the Inland Empire
and surrounded by a large area of irrigable land, they are served by
three transcontinental railroads, permitting rapid transit to any part
of the northwest.

[Illustration: PRIEST RAPIDS--SADDLE MOUNTAINS BEYOND

"_The river rolled in cataract through the canon_"]

[Illustration: OUR SCENIC HIGHWAYS

"They build and toil, each road a nervous wedge
To hew a way where seats of empire wait."]

The state of Washington is rapidly developing a system of roads which,
finally consummated, will rival in skillful engineering and commercial
importance the French highways, and in scenic grandeur the mountain
passes of Switzerland. Easy approaches are being constructed to every
town and hamlet and into every farming community. So vigorously has the
work been pushed that Washington now outranks every other state, except
Colorado, in the facility and directness with which its mountain
recesses may be reached. Upwards of 50,000 miles have been already
completed, presenting altogether a labyrinth of broad thorofares,
boulevards, and