Portland, Oregon, A.D. 1999, and other sketches

The collection opens with a framed narrative in which an elderly narrator offers vivid prophecies about a future Portland, imagining commonplace aerial travel, transformed transportation, suburban expansion, and technological conveniences. Subsequent sketches shift to regional vignettes and short stories that recall frontier life, mining camps, quirky local characters, political episodes, and everyday humor, interweaving reminiscence and social commentary. The pieces alternate speculative futurism and grounded anecdotes, presenting both imaginative forecasts and earthy portraits of community, change, and practical invention.