East River

“ East River is lined with craft from the Oyster-man's skiff to the lofty and majestic ship which rides the waves of the giant Pacific. Here the wealth of the world and merchandize of the earth, have been wafted to fill up the blessings of a people, the most favored of any now on earth. ”

“ The North River is better than two miles over to Powles Hook, which is a strong work opposite to New York, but is exposed to the driving of the ice in winter, whereby ships are prevented from lying therein during that season of the year. The land on the North River side is high and bold, but on the East River it gradually descends in a beautiful declivity to the water's edge.... ”

“ Beyond all these comes a wilder and barer district, where the hills draw closer to the river, and cultivation and population become more rare, and where at length, over the massive and rounded outlines of the fells, as we rise towards the great “dorsal ridge” of England, we catch glimpses of the Cumberland Mountains and of the Cheviots.
To trace the Wear upwards or downwards is like ascending or descending the stream of English history; from the busy present we move back into the feudal age, and at length into the quietude of primitive Nature. ”

“ And then those drear and hopeless ones about fallen sisters who end it all in the East River. The East River must be choked up with 'em. Now, I know that life is real, life is earnest, and I'm not demanding a happy ending, exactly. ”

“ The East River is always more or less crowded with vessels of all kinds, either in motion or at anchor, and even in fair weather it requires the greatest skill on the part of the pilot to avoid collisions. ”

“ These are the North River which falls into the West River near Canton, the East River flowing into the Canton Delta through the Tungkun plains and the northern affluents of the turbid Han, which falls into the sea near Swatow. The sources of the East River, about which little is known, are among what are probably the highest mountains in the province. Elsewhere the ranges seldom exceed 3,000 feet, though isolated peaks rise here and there one or two thousand feet higher. ”

“ We sat and laughed at them as we dashed by, swinging south, and southeast to east, and even to northeast, and then east again, southeast and south and on around to the west, a great double curve where the river nearly tied a knot in itself. ”

“ The country recruits who are now transported every Sunday across the same river to Beecher’s church, when there again transported, and after the service transported back again, show what changes have occurred in the facilities for moving large bodies of men over the East River since the battle of Long Island. ”

“ Restricting ourselves to the vast plain west and south-west of the Wash, the silted-up estuary, rather than the river delta of the Welland, Nen, and Ouse, it may suffice to say that, while works were executed so far back as Roman times, the first great effort for the reclamation of the land dates from the seventeenth century. ”

“ This Crooked River Valley is about seventy-five miles long, and extends almost due east and west. It is a beautiful valley, with little or no timber in it, with the exception of willows along the river. The average width of the river is about one hundred feet. Now comes the stock country on the south of this river, and along its entire length is one line of hills and plateaus, thickly covered with bunch-grass of the best quality. Every few miles comes in a creek from the highlands back on either side. ”

“ Smaller companies would cross the river wherever there was a ferry. Steamboating on the treacherous Missouri during those spring seasons while the tide of emigration was strongly westward set is given a lurid hue in the journals of the emigrants. The river route was the natural one for all coming from Ohio and the states to the east, also for many coming from Indiana. ”

“ East by a line to be drawn along the middle of the river St Croix, from its mouth in the Bay of Fundy to its source; and from its source directly north to the aforesaid highlands, which divide the rivers that fall into the Atlantic ocean from those which fall into the river St Lawrence; comprehending all islands within twenty leagues of any part of the shores of the United States ”

“ But from what I saw of it, I should think east side of the river was all tolerable good land to cultivate, and some places were really pleasant, being on the bank of the river, (the Willamette) and open, or prairia with just trees enough on it to make it a very desirable place for a residence. A short distance back is a low ridge which runs up the river as far as I have been. I believe there is few or no rocks on this side of the river. The soil is of a dark loam with a little sand, and in some places, some gravel. ”

“ At seven o’clock in the morning of the 16th we set forth up the river always in a northerly direction with a few turns east-northeast and northwest. At five miles we passed a mouth, or arm, of the river which came from the northeast and joined that along which we were traveling, which runs north and south. Three miles farther on we descried some rafts of Indians, who immediately concealed themselves in the bushes along the riverbank. ”

“ There cannot be a better situation for a factory village than on the east side of the river, a dry, widespread level extends some distance, and the shores form natural wharves for shipping. The whole country around, particularly the east side, is pleasant and fertile, and can the period be far distant when there will be here a busy population? I could hardly persuade myself that this river had for many thousand years, poured its waters constantly down these falls without having facilitated the labor of man. ”

“ The east side possesses a great many advantages which will in time increase its commerce, and render its entire river-side most valuable. Already numbers of manufactories, lumber-yards, and other business places occupy nearly the entire water-front as high as Fiftieth street ”

“ For several years federal authorities called the stream East Fork, but it was locally known as Little River. In 1926, at the suggestion of the writer, the USBGN officially named the stream Little Deschutes River, and this name has come into general use. ”

“ Westward are countries of still milder climate, now scarcely inhabited, but of incalculable value in the future. Eastward are the small settlements, yet distant from the other abodes of civilisation, enjoying the rich lands and pleasant climate of the Red River.” It may well surprise the inhabitants of these isles, who have not got 100 miles of natural navigable rivers in the three kingdoms, to learn that this same Red River is capable of steamboat navigation for 400 miles. ”

“ The river itself had many of the elements of nobility and beauty as, taking its rise in the snowy heights of the New England ranges, it clove its way eastward, finally debouching into the blue waters of the Pacific. The river-flats formed magnificent stretches of arable lands; too rich, indeed, for such cereals as wheat and oats, for their rank growth rendered them liable to the fatal rust. ”

“ It is apparent that most of the level country lies on the eastern side of the river, and that a chain of hills crosses the west side of the valley transversely. Some of the high, rolling land of the west side offers beautiful farm-sites, preferable for their splendid views and sunny exposures to the level plains. ”

“ We traveled at least twenty-five miles to-day and camped a little before sunset, with but little grass for our jaded animals. Our Indian companion, Yeuemah, left us to-day, crossing the river. We passed some rocky rapids to-day in several places, but at our camp the river is beautiful, broad, clear, and placid, but the barrenness of the surrounding country affords but a dreary prospect to a man from the Western States. Were the banks of this noble river studded with fine timber and bordered with anything like good soil, its beauty would be unsurpassed. ”

“ On the north side of the river is a range of high hill, or mountains which runs paralell with the river, gradually declining, as we run up the stream. All the mountains or hills are much higher near the bay than they are up the rivers. There is one place at the mouth of this stream, or jus below the mouth, that it appears to me might be sufficiently large for a town, or for a good number of claims, and has the best landing that I know of on the bay. ”

“ The divide is very high and when on the divide we look eastward and see the Green river valley in all of its grandeur, with its snowy range, the source of the river trending northward as far as eye can reach, while on the south stands the cluster of high, snowy peaks that feed Black river fork of Green river and are known as the Bear River mountains, being the source of that stream; then turn west and see the Bear River valley, with its winding stream coursing its way northward through the valley at about 12 miles distant. ”

“ A road running between high-water mark and the park gate skirts the river in eccentric windings for five or six miles; the brows of the hills descending to the Hudson in the west and north are nobly wooded and threaded with circuitous paths; and all around lies the most romantic scenery of the most romantic river in the world.
The only fault of the views from West Point is that West Point itself is lost as a feature in the landscape. ”

“ To the eye the country, particularly the left bank of the river, is very beautiful. Wide extended, undulating prairies, scattered over with magnificent oak trees, and watered by numerous tributary streams (on which several saw mills are now in operation) reach far to the south, over the confines of North California (to near which boundary our journey was extended) , and offering a field for an industrious civilized community, but seldom surpassed, for pastural and agricultural purposes. ”

“ Nowhere else have I seen such lessons given by a river in the streets of a city, such a glad, exulting, abounding outgush, crisp and clear from the mountains, dividing, falling, displaying its wealth, calling aloud in the midst of the busy throng, and making glorious offerings for every use of utility or adornment. ”

“ The first white men to set foot in the valley of whom we have any authentic record, were some French Canadian trappers who were trapping for furs for that great British monopoly the Hudson's Bay Company. These men made their way into the valley and set their traps along the river, but the Indians stole the traps, and the trappers always spoke of them as the rogues; the river was the river of the rogues and the valley the valley of the rogues. Old pioneers have assured me that this is the way by which the river, the valley and the Indians came by the name. ”

“ The picturesque calcareous cliffs on the west banks, display a novel and attractive line of river scenery. The Ohio had, from its commencement, well sustained the propriety of its ancient appellation of the Beautiful River; but it here assumed something more than beautiful—it was majestic. Let it be borne in mind that this stream, in the course of some seven or eight hundred miles flow from Pittsburgh to Shawneetown, had been swelled on the right and left hand by the Scioto, the Muskingum, the Kentucky, the Miami, Green River, Wabash, and other rivers of scarcely inferior size. ”

“ Our road follows the ridge to the right a short distance, then turns down a steep ridge one and a half miles to a ravine, which we follow down five miles to the open valley. Here we found a large spring of pure water, sufficient for all of us and our cattle. Here we also found oceans of grass. Here we refreshed ourselves and again set out for to reach Bear river, which we succeeded in doing after night, at 10 o'clock. Here we found grass and water plenty, and for fires, some green wollow, and plenty of growling. ”

“ The view up the Peace River from the high prairie level is singularly beautiful, the river disclosing a series of reaches, like inland lakes, far to the west, whilst from the south comes the immense valley of the Heart, and, farther up, the Smoky River, a great tributary which drains a large extent of prairie country mixed with timber. ”

“ The beautiful Rock River district, with its rapid stream, its noble groves, its banks disposed in natural terraces, with fresh springs gushing at their foot, and airy prairies stretching away from their summits, was esteemed one of the most healthy countries in the world as long as it had but few inhabitants. ”

“ Dilapidated fences are passed, rude Indian houses made of ‘shakes,’ fields of wheat and vegetables overrun with weeds, and at last, making the one hundred and forty-sixth crossing of the river, you halt your hungry and jaded horses in front of the rudest piece of architecture that ever supported a cross or echoed to the Ave Maria of the Catholic faith. ”

“ From the Falls of Saint Anthony to the junction with the Missouri, near Saint Louis, the river flows through a valley of great beauty and uniform fertility. Cliffs and rocky bluffs, from 200 to 300 feet high, give a picturesque character to that part of the valley below Rock Island, where it strikes the Carboniferous strata, the geological formation of the valley, to about 100 miles below the Missouri. ”

“ Grassy and partly wooded plains skirt its southern shores and extend southward towards Peace river, and Hay river may be regarded as practically the northern limit of the prairie country, although small isolated plains occur much farther north in the vicinity of Slave river. ”

“ As the traveler ascends or descends the Ohio, he cannot help remarking that alternately, nearly the whole length of the river, the margin, on one side, is bounded by lofty hills and a rolling surface, while on the other, extensive plains of the richest alluvial land are seen as far as the eye can command the view. Islands of varied size and form rise here and there from the bosom of the water, and the winding course of the stream frequently brings you to places where the idea of being on a river of great length changes to that of floating on a lake of moderate extent. ”