loa
THE WEST SHORE.
April, 1879.
IN EASTERN OREGON,
Bakei ( ounty li situated in the south
m U rn portion of the State, nod is
bounded on th eturt by Idaho Terri
tory, Snake rivei being the diviklon
line 1 on the north hy Union county)
on the weal by Grant county, and on
tin- Miuth by the State of Nevada. It
n ovei three hundred mile long and
one bundled wide, and com arises 11..
mo iquarc miles of territory, or over
',i,ii acret of land. (1,070,000 sur-
veyed) 100,000 acres of winch in im
proved. The population ofthil county
is alMiut 6,(xi, an increase since 1870 of
near 3,000, within the county there
aie fifteen diitinct mining ilihti k and
towns, ami twelve ipiai I, mills with
mining improvements, exclusive of
ditcbet, to the value of $300000, and
mining dih hei and flumes to tin- nlue
of $100,000 actual cost of building, one
ditch alone being over iuc miles long.
In the yen 1878 there was taken out
"' I ht v .111. His places and quartz mines
in tins one 1 ounty about Sji s,ki worth
of gold dust, liakei county is, without
doubt, the ricbet! mining county In the
St.iic, The prm ions metal are to he
found in nearly every gulch, bar, lull
and mountain throughout the entire
boundariei of (he county, and lor cen
tum s 10 conic tlie noise of the nick,
'hovel, hoM and mill of I he minor ulll
greet the cat of the travelct as he passes
1I1 1, id .1:...: .. r .1 '
k muni is 01 uns pai t
Falex. Rye valley is the richest quartz
mining district iii this county, and in
creases in importance and value as mine
after mine is developed. What this
and all the quartz mining districts of all
this Eastern Oregon and Idaho needs
is cheap and rapid ingress and egress,
which would bring with it those who
have the capital to open up and develnn
the lanrest and richest fold and silver
lll.nl countrv on the Piirifir slnno In.
day. The yield of the placer mines of
mis county 101 tnc last titteen years has
been $10,000,000, and the new dis
coveries in placer and quartz keeps the
annual yield up to the average.
Large tracts of line arable land invite
the immigrant to settle mid rear for
himseli a home. Why will the people
crowd the large cities, living in want
and penury, the serfs, virtually, of the
rich, when the broad nlalna mm. I
dent hills of our Eastern Oregon, the
fairest of the fair, is to he had only for
the taking ?
this act until the person has actually
and in conformity with the homestead
laws occupied, resided upon and cuVti"
vated the land embraced thereon at
least one year.
The foretroin!' manaiim ma
o o ,o urn,,-
duced hy Booth in the Senate, and
hy Page in the House of Rcprescnta-
11 vn.
1 '"' S, ,u- '" S7S "'' was raised! -V it enacted, etc., That from and
in tins uiuiilv im.i, 1, :.. r..r..., .1 ' 111 ,m"
' ' a HI ll
and ovei l000 toils of hav. The prin
cipal rallevi of the count) ire Powdei
rivei m the n, nihi in, ordan in the
eantral, and Willow creek in the cast,
mi portion of the connty, Both vab
leys mid hills furniih an almost in.
xlmusiihle amount of nutrition!, hunch
imd otlui grac for Mock in all sea
sons .,) the raw, There ire now ovei
Jsvuo Mod of cuttle, IJyOOO head of
sheen .iixl ,(x. head of horse, all, of
"' .uly nil, of g.Mnl .iialitv, owned' hy
the ettUMMM mid ranging over the pa.
lines f ti,r count v with hut little 'KX.
pasta io the owners, Over 7,000
pound oi the verj bcati quality of wool
wore snipped t.. the m.keis ,,i tM
wmld Inim the sheep of this cmi
I he Ulue mountains, m the Western
jx.ttion m (he county, are covered vvu ,
large h,c of vrrV Mivciior quallt)
ot p.ne. I,, arrdunuuiacktimbor, Loo
Ik-i at the mills is worth pet thou,
sand hot The assessable valuation of
pmprrn in this countv has increased
.....,. se IS;.,, vv In, , m.ll(N ,u.
ptrM-nt value of propettv near -.
'Mi, Iliispiess of n kinds ,.' ;'.
i icsm1, hut none mi fa.t or permanently
Url muting. Probably no pnrl ,',f
iii. PodnV iom has raore ondiioliiij
mmm than HAcr county. Manv of
iho mine air coming into neajj.
among wbuh we may mention the
I '.-unci creek mines, owned and nt
c..it.,l h, Me.s,. s. (J. Keel and f
rHE NEW HOMESTEAD LAW,
We advise our friends, interested in
the matter, to cut out the following and
preserve it lor future reference. Il is
the full text of the new homestead law
is approved on the id inst. We mil..
Ilsh it for the special benefit of our rural
I new.
lifter the passage of this m i mmm. ....
Uoni Within the limits of any grant of
public lands to any railroad company,
"I to any State in aid of any railroad or
military road, shall he open to settlers
miller the homestead laws to the ex
tent of 6o acres to each settler, and
mv prison who has, under existing
laws, taken a homestead on any even
lection within the limits of any railroad
or military road land grants, and who,
lw existing laws, shall have been re
tricted to eighty acres, may enter un
del the homestead laws an additional
eighty acres adjoining the land em
braced In his original entry; or, if such
pels,,,, so elect, he may surrender his
aatl) to the United States far cancel
lalioit, and thereupon he entitled to en
tei lands under the homestead laws the
sans as if the surrendered entry had
made. And the K-rson s
Maklllg an additional entry of eight?
01 new entry, after the surrender
Md cancellation of his original entry
shall he pc. mined so to do without
1'iMiient ,, lees and commissions; and
'csidcnce ami cultivation of the land
' inl.i.Ked in his Original entry shall he
co.is.de,,, I residamco, and cultivation
for the same length of time upon ami
land embraced in his additional or
JW I ' v. shall bo deducted from the
W ferns usidence and cultivation
-.l.'.ed bj law. providctl, that in 0
OJW U ' patent issue upon the ad
'"l r new homestead entry under
THE NOOTSACK COUNTRY.
A gentleman recently from the
Nootsack river valley in Western
Washington, speaks in high terms of
commendation of it as a place of set
tlement. This river is the most nor
thern on this coast, and, until recently,
has been overlooked by settlers. Tlie
Nootsack empties its waters into
Bellingham Hay at the Lummi reserva
tion, taking its rise away from the base
of Mount Baker.
This country offers superior advan
tages to settlers for several reasons.
There is a large scope of country to
choose from making it available for
colonization, and, although the winters
are a little colder than the average of
Western Washington, wheat and corn
are grown to perfection, and such
clover as is seldom seen elsewhere; the
Nootsack potatoes arc sought where
ever known, and the old settlers can
show fruit, apples especially, that can
not lie beaten on the coast. There are
all kinds of lands, from the fine sandy
loam of the river bottoms to the pca't
swamps in the interior, and hill lands
of superior quality. Iklow the jam,
the lowest of which is between Fern
dale and Lynden, there is no overflow
from the river. As we ascend the river,
two miles beyond Ferndale, we come
to Lynden with two stores and a post
olliee. Above this, about the same dis
tance, we arrive at Nootsack, or the
upper crossing. This place has a store,
telegraph office, postoffice, etc. There
is much land from Ferndale to this
place open for settlement, and all above
the suburbs of the latter. In addition
to government lands for sale, there is
a large amount in the hands of specu
lators, for sale at reasonable rates.
Seatit Post.
STUCK RIVER. It is a fact not gen
erally known that Stuck river or creek,
which connects White and Puyallup
rivers, W.T., is a natural curiosity, and
there is hut one similar instance in the
known world, and that a small stream
in South America. When White river
is the higher, then the Stuck empties
into the Puyallup, and when the l'uy
allup is unusually high, then the Stuck
Mows into White river. Thus it forms
a literature between those two rivei s,
connecting them as Simcsc twin.
It is thought that Snohomish county
Will produce fifty thousand bushels of
wheat this year. "