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Reviews
Native River: The Columbia Remembered
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By William D. Layman
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Washington State University Press, Pullman, 2002. Illustrations, photographs, maps, index. 208 pages. $24.95 paper.
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Reviewed by Carlos A. Schwantes
University of Missouri–St. Lewis
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| The primary achievement of William D. Layman's Native River is to offer valuable perspective on the evolution of the middle section of the Columbia River — a stretch of waterway approximately 350 miles long and extending across eastern Washington from the Canadian border to Priest Rapids, a location below Vantage where modern Interstate 90 crosses the Columbia to connect Seattle and Spokane. The middle portion of the river remains far less known today than the two portions that arc through British Columbia or extend west from Pasco, Washington, to the sea. Even in the heyday of steamboats a century ago, gravel bars, rapids, and falls made it impossible to establish through transportation links with other sections of the river. |
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The waterway from Pasco to the sea receives by far the most attention today because several cruise boats regularly offer week-long explorations along that part of the Columbia, typically by promising tourists that they will follow in the wake of Lewis and Clark. By comparison, the middle Columbia went unvisited by Lewis and Clark, and it remains relatively isolated from the tourist gaze, except for the Grand Coulee Dam area, where tourism has been important at least since the late 1940s. Grand Coulee and other dams on the middle Columbia get no real attention on these pages, however. After all, this is a book about revisiting the river before twentieth-century re-engineering dramatically altered it. The earlier, more pristine middle Columbia is what Layman seeks to remember. |
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Layman wants to promote remembering by offering readers a series of one- and two-page samplings of the river's history. Where possible, he gives special attention to the perspective of Native Americans. A well-reproduced series of petroglyphs illustrates several of these essays. This arrangement makes it easy for readers to dip into the book almost any place and enjoy a self-contained story, and most of these brief studies are illustrated with black-and-white images. Some of the studies also feature maps and first-hand accounts. |
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It is difficult to know how best to organize a book about a river. Should an author identify key themes and then devote a chapter to each, or is it better to follow a generally chronological approach that emphasizes change and continuity over the years? Authors have successfully used both schemes. Layman prefers a straightforward approach that takes readers up the Columbia on a leisurely journey from Priest Rapids to the international border. Thus, he divides the middle Columbia into four geographical segments and within each division chooses various sites that serve as focal points for his samplings of river reminiscences. Fortunately, Layman also includes at the beginning of Native River an overview essay and various maps required to orient a reader who may not have firsthand knowledge of the river. An index helps readers to pursue a specific theme as well. |
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What readers may find most valuable about the book is how it helps them to gain a sense of what the Columbia was like before the dams altered its landscape. The historic photographs alone are a valuable compilation and a powerful aid to memory. Occasionally, Layman provides before and after views showing the profound differences. Among his many samplings are some that treat topics such as steamboats on the middle Columbia or early Euro-American explorers or missionaries. Anyone interested in learning more about this important waterway and the controversies it has generated in recent years will find Native River to be a fascinating book that will help enhance an understanding of the evolving river landscape. |
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