A Close Call in the Indian Wars

A survivor recounts the harrowing 1856 campaign and a near-death encounter along the banks of the Snake River.

“The ball, or slug of iron, shaved off a lock of hair just above my right ear, and that member has been, though perhaps ornamental, a useless appendage ever since.”

The Fire That Almost Stopped the Canal: $40,000 Loss at Big Eddy

A mysterious blaze destroys the machine and steam plants of the Washington Canal project, yet work on the massive irrigation artery continues without pause.

Taming the Columbia River Sands

Government agricultural experts launch a multi-year project to stabilize the shifting dunes along the Columbia River.

“The brush fences prevent the shifting of sands and even after the rye has died in the summer the roots clinging in the sand have the tendency to hold it.”