THE AMERICAN FORESTS.

Otago Witness, Volume 15, Issue 1562, 15 October 1881, Page 8

THE AMERICAN FORESTS.

(Gardeners' Chronicle, July 2nd.)

AugUßt 3rd, 1880.— Having arrived at the Upper Cascade of the Columbia, it was determined that I Bhould make the ascent of the mountains south of the river, where, In September, 1826, Douglas discovered Abies nobills and A. amabllis, in order to obtain, if possible, sufficient material with whioh to determine the speoifio characters of the latter, and confirm our belief that the tree we had deteoted a few weeks earlier on the flanki of tho mountain* Booth of the

Fraser Eiver was identical with Douglas amabilis.

At the Cascade, Oratseguß Douglasll, common along all streams further north, is first Been as a tree some 30 feet high, the small black fruit already quite ripe. The yellow-fruited O. rlvularw, which is common in all the region east of the Cascades, waa not distinguished by ns anywhere west of the mountains, or in Northern California, nor does Douglas' journal give any clue to his original locality. I orossed the river at about noon, and left the banks at about 1 p.m., accompanied by Mr S. B, Jones, the agent of the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company at the Cascades, an axeman, and two Indians as guidea, all mounted, and one of the Indians leading a pack-animal, on which to bring down the wood specimens we hoped to obtain. We kept up the river for two and a-half miles by the old military road leading to Walla- Walla, through a heavy growth of Abies grandis and Douglas fir ; here was seen a single tree of Gastanopsis chrysophylla at what is probably the northern limit of the species.

Two miles and a-half above the Upper Cascade we left the military road and took a trail leading over the mountains to a large blueberry (vaooinium) patoh, about 16 miles from the river, to which the Indians have, it is said, resorted every autumn from time immemorial to gather their winter supply of berries, and to indulge in horse racing and other games. It is probable that Douglas took this trail — no other oreases the mountains, which are here steep, ragged, and difficult to climb ; and it would, I believe, be impossible for a man to reaoh the elevation whereat Douglas detected the trees (nearly 4000 feet) and return to the river in the time he was absent— l 4 hours— unless he had followed a beaten trail. The trail in his time was probably in much better condition than now, owing to the greater number of Indians then using it. He did not, however, detect either pinus montioola or Tsuga Pattoniana, both of which, he should have seea from this trail at the elevation he reached. The trail on leaving the river bottom, whioh 1b here not over 100 feet wide, at onoe ascends rapidly through a fine forest of Douglas fir, among whioh are scattered a few small trees of Thuya Mertensiana and Thuya gigantea— here near their eastern limit, and puny in comparison with the majestlo specimens we had seen on the lower Columbia and on the shores of Puget Sound.

A ollmate drier than that of the coast range la Indicated by a scantier undergrowth in the forests of thesa mountains. The salmon-berry, the red-andbluo fruited vaccinlum, gaultheria, and the other familiar forest plants of the coast have disappeared. Pterls aquilina is still the common fern, bud it no longer reaohes above oar saddles; eriogoneffi, artemlslas, and other.plants of the interior region are common ; lilium parvulum is in fall bloom, and more abundant than we have noticed It before. Here Xerophyllum tenax was first seen. Altogether the flora if interesting ; it shows the effect of the transition from the coast ollmate into the dry ollmate of the interior. The trees are still those of the coast flora; the shrubs and herbs belong rather to the interior. The ascent is very rapid, and our progress slow and difficult, being greatly delayed by the necessity of cutting a path for the animals through fallen timber. The path, whioh evidently hud not been used before this year, is often completely blocked. It was nearly sunset when. the first water was reached— a fine spring (at 2700 feet above the river. After a short delay we determined to push on to another spring, whioh the Indians said was near the summit, and whioh we hoped to reaoh before dark. The growth of Douglas fir hero became much less heavy, and the hemlook and cedar (Thuya) had entirely disappeared, Near the spring a single small plant of Abiea grandls was seen. This species extends to the summit, although always small and stunted, rarely bearing cones, and never more than 20 feet high. This is the first time we saw this species, whioh belongs to the river bottoms, reach any considerable altitude. Its stunted, miserable appearanoe indicated its abnormal position. Near this) spring a single specimen of Tsaga Pattoniana was seen— a remarkably low elevation for this strictly subalpine species. At 3000 feet the only specimen of pinus ponderosa seea on this mountain was notioed, although a little further east, in the drier region, it is the only, or the prevalent, coniferous tree* Near the summit a few small trees of pinus oontorta appeared.

Abies nobllis and A: amabilla werefirsfc seen 3500 feet above the river, at which elevation pinus monticola,|Tsuga Pattoniana, Arctostaphylos pungens and garrya elliptic* were common. Castanopsis extends here also, but reduced to a low, prostrate shrub, JProm this point to the summit, whioh by the aneroid was 3980 feot above the river, tho forest consisted of Abies nobilis, A. amabllUr, Pinus montioola, and Tsuga Pattoniana. At least half of the trees are of A. nobills, about one-quarter A. amabilis, and of the other quarter there are considerably more of Pinus montioola thaa of the Tsuga. We did not reach the summit until after dark, a bare circular pile of rooks (the only untimbered portion ©f the mountaias), nearly 100 yards across, and surrounded by a thick growth of small trees of Abies nobilis and amabilla, loaded with cones probably nearly three* quarters grown. We pushed on foot in tho dark nearly two and a-half miles further over a very rough and stony trail, with many tumbles over the fallen timber, first descending several hundred feet, and then rising again to a second bare aummit of about the same elevation as the first, and then descended again to a small icy- cold stream, to which the Indians guided us. Here we camped between 10 and 1 1 o'clock. Theso mountains are a spur from the northern flank of Mount Hood, whioh lies about 20 miles south ; but unfortunately a dense smoky haze shut it; from our view — a great disappointment. The oasoade divide was just west of us and parallel to our range, whioh here overlooks it.

(To be Continued.)

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