September, 1881
337
CHANGES IN TKN YEARS.
By contrasting trip made between
Walla Walla and Port) ami nnw. and
the tame journey accomplished ten
years ago, a good idea of the progress
made in thii country can be obtained.
Ten years ago the Walla Watlnian, in.
tending to visit Portland, made his nr.
rangementt days before, and if he did
not make his will, he at least solemnly
took leave of his relatives and friends.
A Concord stage coach, drawn by six
horses, constituted the means of travel
between Walla Walla and Wallula.
The usual time occupied by the driver
in making his twelve horses, divided
into two teams, draw the coach and
contents over the thirty miles of sandy,
alkaline, hilly road, was seven hours.
Opposition some times caused the
knight of the whip to persuade his
teams to make the distance in leu than
six hours. The inside traveler always
prayed for a spirited opposition, as it
shortened his misery and lessened the
load of dust his unwilling lungs re
ceived. Once at Wallula the unfortu
nate stage passenger washed himself in
an unattractive, not to say dirty, tin
wash-dish, mopping his streaming face
with a suspicious towel, and, after an in
different meal, consigned his weary
bones and bruised flesh to a hard lied
and industrious bug. The next day
the journey to Celilo and The Dalle
was made, in compirative comfort, by
steamboat and railroad. The traveler
was fortunate in those days who ob
tained, at The Dalles, a room with a
single bedstead in it a room to himself
was impossible, as the social and odor
ous fellow who inhabits cracks in bed
steads and walls thrust his unwelcome
company upon the just and unjust with
Impartial and Industrious vigor. At
the unseemly hour of four o'clock in
the morning the knuckles of the watch
man beating the Devil's tattoo upon the
bedroom door would rouse the traveler
to hear a hoarse voice proclaim, "Time
for the down boat, sir." Hustling on
his clothing and gathering his grip-
sack, the unfortunate man, half asleep,
would hurry down stairs into the office,
settle his bill, and start in the dark lor
the boat, where dozen or two more
persons would be found trying to finish
naps on stools or benches. Ji our irav
eller knew the rope, or rather the stew
ard, he would speedily procure a cup of
strong coffee and bract up for the day
After a reasonably pleasant trip by boat
and rail Portland would Ik? reached late
thut afternoon. The icturn trip was
worse, because it required getting up t
four o'clock in the morning nt Portland,
and a ride the next morning, before
breakfast, of sixteen miles in the cars,
from The Dalles to Celilo. In those
days three days and two nights were
consumed in the journey between
alia Walla and Portland, and as boats
ran but two or three times a week, ow.
ing to the season, the round trip be
tween the two point, with a short stay
in Portland, occupied, according to the
luck the traveler had in making connec
tions, a week or ten days. The journey
cither way wus unpleasant, and to most
people so exceedingly disagreeable, thut
it was never made unless it was abso
lutely necessary. No one made the trip
for pleasure, and as a consequence
"travel was light."
Now', if a man has business in Port
land requiring his personal attention,
he puts on a clean collar, thrusts a tooth
brush In his pocket, kisses the wife of
his bosom M hy-by," and entering the
sleeping-car at the depot, goes to bed
when he wishes to, and wakes the next
morning at The Dalles in time to take
the seven-o'clock loat, one of the large
stern-wheel fleet, ndmiies the scenery,
talks with acquaintances, reads a paper
or novel) and passes the time iu one way
or another until altout three o'clock in
the afternoon, when he lands In Port-
land, fresh and ready to transact the
business that caused the journey. (Jen
erally the business can !c transacted
during the evening, and the man Is
ready, after a night's sleep, to take the
boat at seven A. M. for the Cascades
and home, the latter place being rcnchci
the next morning. Thus, In sixty hours
from the time the Walla Walla man
said good-by," he has visited Portland,
transacted his business and returned
home in fact, he has been so fir and
done so much in so short a time that he
must be in great request hi the com
munity if his absence has been noted by
any one outside of his foully and
possibly a newspaper rcixirtcr.
In six months from to-day the trip
between Walla Walla and Portland will
be shortened several hours, because then
the cars will be running between the
two places, and passciigcr-fal will b
things of the pt.
The trip now is neither very tirsm
or disagreeable, and delicate- ladies can
and do make the journey for health and
pleasure. "All the modern improve
ments" are rapidly reaching Wall
Walla and adding the comforts devised
by man to the attractions the Maker of
the Universe placed around Its beautiful
location, Walla Halt I'm!,
IIAKEK COUNTY (OREGON) MINES.
Prom J. W. Virtue, banker of linker
City, who is one of the oldest settlers
in the county and whose extensive con
ncction with the leading mining enter
prises, says the lun(h(irat GautU, en
titles him to be recognised as authority,
we have gleaned much valuable Infor
mation in regard to the mineral resour
ccs of llaker county, 1 le estimates the
amount of gold and silver produced
from Maker, Union and Grant counties
since the discovery of gold In iSqj,
from placers, at forty-five millions,
Tho yearly products now amount to
one and one-half millions, principally
from shallow diggings, from three to
thirty feet deep. Very few of our old
river channel gravel mines, from 60 to
loo feet deep, have lieeii worked, al
though a large amount of this class of
mining ground Is to be louml In llaker,
Union and (Jraut counties. Some of
these ,derp gravrl channels have been
roH-cled on the brad of Powder river
which average iio acre. It
requires capital to njien these Immense
dcosits and turn on the necessary
amount of water, but water can be pro
cured without the expenditure of very
great sums of money, and the gold pro
ducts of these counties will he greater
twenty year hence from placer and
gravel mining than ever Ik fore, (Juarta
mining is In Its infancy, and yet the
yearly product is about $oyir ami
the yield Irom that source has been
almut eight millions. llaker has the
following mills! Connor Creek, to
stamps; (Jold Hill, 10; Moore ami
F.astabrooks, 1; New EnglamllOrrgon
Mining Compiuy (organised In Con
cord, N. II., a very irswnsihle com
pany.) 5, silver 1 Virtue (dd ami Silver
Mining Co., jo, with steam hoisting
and pumping works; Mammoth, j;
Tom Payne, 1. Ilcsidc, about 30 are
tras, (irsiit has about 40 stamps, the
principal mill being the Monumental,
15, and supplied with all the modern
liitrtrfimttil. t vmr irmm ttiiA.t.t
'gold ami silver ledges are being devel
I oped, awaiting capital to put up machi
j ncry, prominent among w nh h are Cable
I A Son group of six mines. Cable Cove,
Buffalo, Hazard, Silver King, Calttof
nia, (iranite ami Silver Peak.