Some of Portland's massive buildings-looking along Sixth street. At the left is the Portland Hotel. In the middle is the Marquam building. At the right is the Oregonian building. F By Rinaldo Minton Hall IGHTING their way through three thousand miles of unknown country, one hundred years ago, two daring explorers started from St. Louis to the mouth of the Columbia River. Their goal was made, the daring leaders returning to St. Louis after two years and a half of exploration and adventure, and as a result of this historical journey the eyes of the entire world are now turned toward the Pacific Northwest. In commemoration of this expedition there is being held in Portland an important international exposition-the Lewis and Clark Centennial and Oriental Fairthe national government, Oregon and many other states having set aside large sums of money for its proper observance. Encompassed in the distance by a magnificent and imperishable art gallery of verdure-clad and lofty mountains, Portland, the metropolis of the Pacific North west, is most beautifully situated on both banks of the Willamette River, twelve miles above its junction with the Columbia. At this early date since the opening of the Exposition thousands have already been within our gates and fallen in love with our city. And why not? Nowhere has Nature pictured more beautiful scenes than in and around Portland, and no city enjoys greater charms of climate. In fact, Portland is a natural park, with green trees and grasses and blooming flowers in the open yard at Christmas time. Journey to Switzerland, stand on some mountain and gaze o'er a landscape of lake, forest, Alpine crag and snow-caps; then return and look once more from some Portland height, letting the eye grasp at a single sweep the panorama of river and valley, mountain, field and forest, the beauties of the Western sky, as the sun drops behind the mountains into the bosom of the ocean, and the memory of Swiss grandeur will merge into reality. Rightly has Portland been called "The Rose City," for nowhere else do such beauties grow. From every yard and alongside many walks in the street, sweet fragrance is wafted to the breeze from rose hedges and gardens, the dweller in the humble cottage, as well as those in the palaces, growing to perfection the beautiful La France and other varieties that require the greatest skill and care to do even moderately well in other favored localities and under most favorable conditions. In size, color and fragrance, Portland's roses have no rivals, all the well-known desirable varieties being grown. A trip through the residence section of the city in the summer time is a surprise and revelation to the visitor, and even in January, when other states are suffering from cold, roses are in bloom in. the open yard. The healthfulness of the city is remarkable. The mild and equable climate, wholesome water supply-coming from the everlasting glaciers of Mount Hood, Mt. Hood, from the City Park. Five snow-capped mountains are visible from this beautiful park. laria are comparatively unknown in the city, the mortality never exceeding from 1 to 2 per cent of those afflicted, while in other sections it runs as high as 20 per cent in typhoid cases. .. So much ignorance prevails over the United States in reference to the rainfall at Portland that a few official figures will be of interest. Judged by the United States Weather Bureau at Portland, when one one-hundredth of an inch or more of rain falls, it is a rainy day. Using this figure, the following, showing the average number of clear, fair and rainy days at Portland for the past twenty-seven years will be of interest: For spring, 48 clear and fair days and 44 rainy days; for summer, 74 clear and fair days and 18 rainy days; for fall, 53 clear and fair days and 38 rainy days; for winter, 34 clear and fair days and 56 rainy days. A snow storm in Portland is rare and lasts but a few hours. In the Willamette Valley, which contains about 5,000,000 acres, the rainfall varies from 35 to 50 inches, falling during a period of 125 to 156 days. The average precipitation for the valley |