The Bridge of the Gods

by Jeanette French

Title

The Bridge of the Gods

Artist

Jeanette French

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

This photograph of The Bridge of the Gods was taken on a late November afternoon between rainstorms. That late autumn light was too lovely to ignore. Although the current Bridge of the Gods is a manmade structure cross the Columbia River between Oregon and Washington, the name comes from Native American legend interpretation of a natural landslide.
The land event and radiocarbon dating indicate a massive landslide occurred around 1450 and may be related to a great earthquake. This Bonneville landslide sent approximated 5.5 square miles of debris from Table Mountain into the Columbia River Gorge near modern-day town of Cascade Locks. This slide formed a dam across the Columbia River about 200 feet high and 3.5 miles long blocking the river and forming a lake 35 miles long. Native Americans likely crossed the river on this dam or bridge. No one knows how long it took, but eventually the Columbia River broke through the dam and continued its course to the Pacific Ocean.
The Native American legend told by the Klickitat peoples is the most well-known. In this explanation, the chief of all of the gods, Tyhee Saghalie and his two sons, Pahto (also known as Klickitat) and Wy’east, traveled down the Columbia River form far in the northern land seeking a place to settle. They came to the area we now call the Dalles and thought the land incredibly beautiful. When the sons fought over the land, the chief shot two arrows from his bow, one to the south and one to the north. Wy’east followed the southern arrow to a place where he settled and Pahto followed the northern arrow. The chief then build the Bridge of the Gods called Tammahawis, for the families to connect. The two sons fell in love with a beautiful young woman named Loowit. She, unfortunately, could not choose between the brothers. The two brother chiefs fought violently over her. Villages and forests were buried in their struggles and the earth itself shook in response to their violence until the huge bridge fell into the river. Angry at his sons, the chief Saghalie turned them into mountains. Wy’east became the volcano e know as Mt. Hood. Pahto became Mt. Adams and Loowit became Louwala-Clough, the smoking fire mountain we know as Mt. St. Helens.
Jeanette French, paintings, photographs, canvas prints framed prints, metallic prints, acrylic prints, greeting cards, gift cards, fine art. jeanette-french.artistwebsites.com and jeanette-french.pixels.com.
Creating portals of light, love, joy, beauty, compassion, hope, and gratitude is my lifelong passion and gift for the earth, hence the name of my art business, For the Earth. My mother painted in oils when I was young and encouraged my own drawing, painting, and handcrafting in all forms. My father, the photographer, gave me my first camera at age 8. As a result of these loving influences, I am a lifelong student of both mediums. I am grateful to my wonderful Pacific NW painter teachers, Stan Capon and Edi Olson, for training my eye and technique. I hope you will enjoy this image as much as I enjoyed its creation. More gifts for the earth can be found at these websites: jeanette-french.artistwebsites.com and jeanette-french.pixels.com.

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November 16th, 2020

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