when at last he did return, he looked as though he had lived on pine bark for a twelvemonth.-S. F. Weekly Mercury. THE GREAT SHOSHONE FALLS OF IDAHO. NAKE RIVER is the south fork of the Columbia, having the alternate name of Lewis River, named after Lewis, one of the early 'pioneers who came west by way of the Rocky Mountains, following the course of the river to the point at which it empties into the Columbia. Snake River rises in the Rocky Mountains, near Fremont's Peak, on the Dakota line, flowing 800 miles through southern Idaho in a general westerly course, thence north 150 miles, forming the boundary line between Idaho and Oregon, receiving as tributaries the Boise, Owyhee, Salmon, and Clearwater rivers, besides numerous smaller streams, finally uniting with the north fork of Clark's River to form the great Columbia. The valley of the Snake lies along an almost direct line from the South Pass of the Rocky Mountains, and in early days it furnished the most practicable route overland to the Pacific. In its descent over the elevated plains of Idaho, about 400 miles from whence it takes its rise in the Rocky Mountains, Snake River forms the great Shoshone Falls. The river here runs through a narrow, rocky gorge, which widens and terminates abruptly in precipitous cliffs, the summits of which are about 1,000 feet above the level of the rapids, and so steep that the traveler can descend at only one point-an old Indian trail, its numerous windings making it about a mile in length. Following this trail slowly and carefully, the tourist will in due time find himself standing upon the banks of the river, on a level with the rapids and overlooking the falls. The width of the river at this point has been variously estimated-we thought it at least 200 yards. The rapids here form a series of cas cades, ranging from 30 to 60 feet each in height, and just below them, the river, in one unbroken mass, leaps 210 feet into the bottomless pit below. The course of the river at this point is almost due east and west; the contour of the falls is that of an irregular horse-shoe, and their width, following the course of the water, is at least 400 yards. Although the river is not quite as wide at this point as the Niagara River, the falls are higher and quite as beautiful. The most complete view of the falls, including the river above and below the rapids, cliffs, and surrounding scenery, is obtained from Lookout Point. Lookout Point is a narrow cape of rocks projecting from the main bluff, about 300 yards lower down on the river than the falls, so narrow that two persons can not walk abreast. Care and caution should be exercised in going to the extremity of this point -the very timid or over-bold should never attempt it-a slip of the foot would in a moment precipitate one 300 feet into the raging torrent below. Standing upon this point, we will endeavor to name the prominent places of interest. The first object which attracts our attention is Eagle Rock, a perpendicular pillar of rock about 100 feet in height, rising from the midst of the rapids, 50 yards from the south bank of the river, and almost overhanging the main cataract. Upon the topmost peak of this rock an American eagle has built his eyrie, a fitting home for our noble national bird-long may he live to occupy his unique and romantic abode! Just above, and about the center of the cataract, is Ballard Island, a small rocky island, covered with cedar and juniper trees. Several smaller islands, to the right and left of the large one, or Ballard Island, add to the beauty and picturesqueness of the scene. The Two Sentinels-two huge rocky pillars-are, one on the north, the other on the south side, overlooking the falls, and reminding one of grim sentinels guarding their post. Lower down the river, and from a higher standpoint, one can obtain a fine panoramic view of the whole-the falls, the foaming rapids, Eagle Rock, the Two Sentinels, the picturesque islands, the huge pillars of perpetual spray rising from the bottom and near the center of the cataract, but extending as it rises to either side, and made beautiful by the many-colored rainbows which shed a halo of glory upon the whole scene. Still lower down the river is Prospect Gulch. Several gentlemen of the party, actuated by the spirit of adventure, determined to attempt, through this gulch, to reach the river below the falls. They lowered themselves fifty feet on a rope down the perpendicular sides of a rocky cliff. Reaching firm ground, they managed with but little difficulty to scramble down, about 500 feet, to the banks of the river. Arriving there, they found that their troubles had just begun; they were 600 yards from the falls, to reach which their path lay around and sometimes over huge bowlders of slippery rocks, winding along the foot of the steep banks, and then through the foaming and boiling waters, the heavy swells of which reminded them strikingly of the breakers on the sea-shore. Finally they reached a point about 30 feet from the falls. Their journey here came to an abrupt termination by the shelving of the rocks into deep water. The wind struck this point with such violence that they feared to trust themselves in an erect posture. On their knees, they held with their hands to the overhanging brush, to prevent being blown into the river. We think that one can not fully comprehend the immensity of the sheet of water and the sublimity of the scene until he can gaze upward as we did. This point is the Cave of the Winds. The Shoshone Falls, as a whole, will compare favorably with Niagara. Those of our party who have seen both places, pronounce the former superior in many respects. In beauty and wildness of scenery, the Shoshone can not be surpassed. Niagara excels in magnitude only.-Oregon Statesman, August, 1868. A HISTORICAL BEAUTY. IANA of Poictiers was born March 31, 1500. She married, in 1521, Louis de Breze, Grand Marshal of Normandy, and by him had two daughters. She must have been thirty-five years of age when the Duke of Orleans, afterward Henry the Second of France, at the age of seventeen, became deeply attached to her, and she attained her ascendancy over him, in 1559, at the age of fifty-six, retaining her beauty to the last. Miss Pardee thus describes her: "Her features were regular and classical, her complexion faultless, her hair of a rich purple black, which took a golden tint in the sunshine, while her teeth, her ankles, her hands and arms, and her bust, were each in turn the theme of the court poets. That the extraordinary and almost fabulous duration of her beauty was in a great measure due to the precautions which she adopted, there can be little doubt, for she spared no effort to rescue it. She was jealously careful of her health, and in the most severe weather bathed in cold water. She suffered no cosmetic to approach her, denouncing every compound of the kind as worthy only of those to whom nature had been so niggardly as to compel them to complete her imperfect work. She rose every morning at six o'clock, and no sooner left her chamber than she sprang into her saddle; and after having galloped a league or two, returned to bed, where she remained until midday, engaged in reading. The system appears a singular one, but in her case it proved successful, as, after having enslaved the Duke d'Orleans in her thirty-fifth year, she still reigned in absolute sovereignty over the heart of the King of France when she had nearly reached the age of sixty. It was certain, however, that the magnificent Diana owed no small portion of this extraordinary and unprecedented constancy to the charms of her mind and the brilliancy of her intellect." "Six months before her death, I saw her so handsome," says Brantome, "that no heart of adamant could have been |