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About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 1, 1880)
3'4 THE WEST SHORE. December, 1880 facts conci:knin(j ori:;on. I KAI.T II f tl I.N KhS OK TDK CI.IMATK. The experience of (he early mission nricu, the employed of (he Hudson's Bay Company, mill the American set tlers (hut followed (hem, during the course of 11 M iiod of thirty years, is that (he climate of Oregon is n healthy one. In comparing the rates of mor tality in the Pacific StatcK with that of some of the State east of (he Rocky Mountains, (he following facts arc oh tained; the deaths in Arkansas arc at the rale of one person out of every 48; ' Massachusetts mid Louisiana loses one in 57; Illinois and Indiana, otic in 87; Kansas, one in 6S; Vermont, the healthiest State on the Atlantic slope, lone one in 92; California, loses one in 101 Oregon, one in 172 and Wash ington Territory, one in 2J.S. "The equable temperature, summer and win ter, the ahscni'C of high cold winds and sudden atmospheric change, render jM-oplu less suliject to bronchial, rheu matic uml iiillammatory comlaints than (hey are in countries where the ther mometer swings entirely nrotind the circle. In J uly ami August, as at the ICnst, childien are trouhled with Hum mer complaint, hut the disease is ordi nal ily ipiite amcuahlc to treatment, mid seldom runs into dysentery. hn.iru ai. ti'iinivmoNs, Otcgon is ilivided into twenty-three ('(unities, viz.: llaker, Ilenton, Clacka mas, Clatsop, Columhin, Coos, Curry, Douglas, (jrntit, Jackson, Josephine, Luke, I. inn, I.ane, Marion, Multnomah, I'olk, Tillamook, Union, Umatilla, Wasco, Washington and Yamhill. I'.asiern Oregon comprises (he conn ties of linker, (Irani, Lake, Union Umatilla and Wasco. UM.SH I AMI 1 1 U S ANII Cinr OK lASisT ' Alio. The Columbia river forms the iioithetn houndary of Oregon, and is ui igahlc to the Willamette, one hull died miles from the sea, at nil seasons of the year for sea-going steamers; and I'm' sle.milxMtn to Wallulit, a distance of two hundred and forty miles, with two iutci 1 upturns, one of six miles at the Cmh mles, and one of fourteen miles at The !a!lcs, where (xtrtages are made ly means of rnilnutds forming connec tions with the bonis, AImivc Wallula the Columbia mid one of its Irihutaries, the Hnake Rivrr, is nnvigo;ed to I-w-Moil, dining riods of hi ((It Wntrr 11 point in Idaho Territory at the base of the Hitter Root Mountains, and over four hundred miles from the ocean. The Willamette river is navigable to Portland, twelve miles from its mouth, for ocean steamers and sea-going vessels; and above Portland for river steamers as high as Harnsburg at all seasons, and during high water as high as Eugene City, a distance of two hundred miles from Portland, by the course of the river. The Yamhill and Tualatin rivers, tributaries to the Wil- lamete, (lowing from the west, are navigable during periods of high water to the interior of large agricultural dis tricts situated in Yamhill and Wash ington counties. The business of that part of Oregon trained by these waters employs about thirty river steamboats. All points of the Columbia from The Dalles down, and on the Willamette from Salem down, arc in daily communication with Portland. San Francisco is the princi pal market for the products of the Wil lamette Valley, although a large trad exists with British Columhia and the lumbering districts of Puget Sound, large cargoes of wheat, flour and other Oregon products arc also shipped to the Sandwich Islands, China, Australia, South America, New York and Liver pool, direct from Portland and Astoria Farmers, as a rule, dispose of their crops to the mills located in their own neighlMrhoxls,or to dealers in Portland who ship to foreign markets on their own account. The price of most farm products in the Willamette Valley is regulated by the condition of the foreign markets, Those markets, however, are numerous, embracing all the seaixut towns in all the countries bordering on the Pacific Ocean, so that notwithstanding wheat may W low in Liverpool, it might b lt..rli i.. f 'Li r I .1 .1 viiiiiii,n, 11 iow in ooin these it still may lie high in South America The outlet of the sea enjoyed by the region or country drained by the Co llllltliitl ...lit ilu I ..!.... . " ""'maucs, gives it an advantage in this respect over the sec limit 111 the interior of a continent. I'tlcl OK KAKMINU LAN III. lit Vl..r.i M. . I ... I ,. " "iiKun, Hums sen nr. cording to its location, and surrounding urvumsmncc. Lniul well drained, ly mg contiguous to a city or village, is alw.yt in demand, and bears all the war jo lo 50 dollars per .ere. There is plenty of land that can be bought far below these figures, its value ns before stated) depending upon its location. Much of the hill land can be bought for a light figure above its price of entry. GOVERNMENT LANDS. Ill Eastern Oregon the amount of government land still vacant is very large. The section of country known is the Klamath Lake region, in the southwestern corner of Eastern Oregon, is as large as the state of Rhode Island. About half of it is the finest kind of irablc prairie land, the remainder good grazing and timber lands, all well wa tered, This entire section of country contains but few inhabitants. In the northern part of Eastern Oregon, is a strip of high, rolling prairie land, ten or fifteen miles wide, skirting the northern base of the Blue Mountains, and ex tending from the Cascade mountains to the eastern line of the State, a distance of one hundred and fifty miles. It is reasonably well watered ; timber con venient on the adjacent mountains, and well adapted to grain growing, grazing and dairying purposes. Its present number of settlers is very small. Va cant lands are still to be obtained in Grande Ronde, John Day's, Harney Lake and Dcs Schutcs Valleys, in ad dition to which there are hundreds of small valleys distributed throughout the vast territory known as Eastern Ore gon, containing bottom land of the finest quality for farming, and hill and table land unsurpassed for stock-raising purposes. STOCK RAISING. Much attention is given to the breed ing of thoroughbred and good-blood stock in Oregon horses, sheep, cattle and hogs; and in the eastern division of the State, to the breeding of fine mules also. Noted sires and dams have been brought from Kentucky and other States to improve the already good na tive stock of horses, and from these have sprung splendid racers, f.ist trot ters and roadsters, and carriage and draught and work horses of such quality as to command the highest prices in the horse markets of California and Nevada. Durham and other famous breeds of cattle have been brought from Illinois, New York and New Jersey J also the best breeds of Spanish and French Meiino, Cotswold, Southdown and other celebrated or favorite sheep from Vermont, New York, England