To the westward is a less conspicuous attraction, the Coast Range, which skirts the ocean and varies in height from 3000 to 4000 feet. Between these mountain ranges sweeps a fertile basin, carpeted with an unparalleled forest, fir, cedar, spruce and hemlock rise skyward to a skeptical giddiness. Some stretch their forms 300 feet into the air. Logs are piled upon one another, sleeping like angry mammoths at the feet of gigantic trees. The more tender offsprings shoot up between these lazy monsters, and some take delight to grow on their decaying frames. Into the fleecy clouds the noble firs stand, Their austere forms spread shadows on the strand, And music floats on high, From silvery waves to the sky. Where tender shoots in gladness smile On moss-bearded logs in pile; Abreast with flowers they grow and sway In sisterhood from day to day. [Illustration: A PUGET SOUND CEDAR.] The fjords of Norway are sublime, and Puget Sound is equally so. What can be more soul-stirring and soul-inspiring than a merry sheet of water rippling for hundreds of miles into a land of verdure, making sweet music day and night? What can be more angelic and soothing to the soul than the songs of the waves? Where can you find more poesy than in the pearl-set crests rolling like melted gold upon gilded pebbles? A clittering, clattering steal through the air, even in the calm of night dulcet strains come to cheer the ear. A soft whisper seems to spring from every flower. The forest is alive with melodies, hills and mountains echo back the harps of the deep. [Illustration: AN ISLAND NEAR WHATCOM.] Sing loud ye waves of dancing pearls, Leap frisk ye winds from heaven's throat, For the jeweled strand, Melodious land. Laugh ye fir, spruce and hemlock, Play ye breezes with their wings, In freedom's air, In sun so fair. Smile ye flowers in gladness free, I kiss your lips and love you true, Sweet daisies mellow, In coats of yellow. Burst ye rose-buds to a fresh-born day, And drink from heaven's eye serene, Sweet beams of rainbow tint, Emblems of God, I weep and wait. Lift high your heads ye stately hills, Scatter smiles where music floats, By the opal sea, The land of the free. [Illustration: SNOQUALMIE FALL. By courtesy of the Great Northern.] Rivers and falls are no less sublime than the Sound, and compare in grandeur with the famous streams and cataracts of Switzerland and Scandinavia. The Columbia ranks with the most picturesque rivers in the world, being of great value to commerce, fleets of steamers ride on its bosom day and night with merchandise from foreign climes, and grain, fruit and other produce raised west of the Rocky. Snoqualmie, Snohomish, Skagit and others are also navigable and invite the attention of wonder-seekers. [Illustration: THE WILD WENATCHEE AND THE GREAT NORTHERN IN TUMWATER CANYON.]