Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 1881)
Novemober, 1881. THE WEST SHORE WHERE IS THE BETTER PART OF THE UPPER COLUMUIA IiASIN. Much lias been saij uik written of the great basin of the Columbia, be tween the Cascade and Bitter Root mountains, its climate, soil and produc tions, and probably in no instance has this basin been overrated. When Geo. Stevens and party first visited this sec tion, he conceived a limited idea of its future and yet he deemed it of sufficient importance to warrant the construction of a railroad to penetrate it from the east, and when the first engineers of the Northern Pacific came through on their surveys, Roberts their chief, claimed that it would become the great grazing country of the Union. But none ot them foresaw that it would be come the great grain country of the United States; but the tests made of the soil by some of the early settlers soon disclosed its wonderful productive ness in wheat, barley and oats. But the knowledge of this fact was very limited till as late as 1S74-5 and in fact but little attention was called to it in the east till the Indian wars of 77-8, when it was penetrated by numerous officers and soldiers from the cant, all of whom were impressed with the wonderful fertility of the soil, the salubrity of the climate, and the vast area that invited the agriculturists to come here and settle and many were the letters to private friends in the east, to the eastern press, and official notes sent to the war department, all convey ing in the most authentic manner des criptions of the advantages of this country. Rev. Geo. II. Atkinson of Portland took up the subject and gave a series of letters (several of them ap pearing in the West Shore) which have done a vast amount of good in portraying the facts and assigning the natural ciuses why the lands are so fertile and so well adapted to the growth of wheat and other grain. With all this showing, men of large capital have been induced to visit sev eral sections of this basin in person to see if what had been told them were true, and on coming here had found that not the half had been told them, and they have gone back all inspired with a rivalry to invest means to open up this basin by means of railroads to carry off the surplus the country can b made to produce, and immigration has rapidly come to us and is still com- 379 mg in large numbers, and now the whole people of the cast is excited about the wonders of t!.!s l.inJ, am! are seeking to release themselves from the ties of home and birth place ami means of reaching this land of promise. The great cry has been the Palousc and emigrants painted on the wagons " Palouse or bust " under the impres sion that the Palousc was all there is of the country. The north and south Palouse and the streams tributary pen etrate some of the best lands in the whole Columbia basin. But not more so than do the Clearwater and its trib utaries including the Potlatch, Hatwai, Lapwai, Jack's creek, Oro Fino creek, Ford's creek, Cottonwood, Three mile creek, John's creek. To these add Alpowa, Pataha, and Tucanon, Assotin creek, lower Grand Rondo river and Joseph creek. All these streams drain some of the !cst lauds in the whole Columbia basin, only a small portion of which are yet occupied by settlers, am into no part of which save the Pataha and Tucanon are any railroads project ing with prospect of construction within the ensuing five years. , But they have the navigable waters of the Snake and limited navigation of the Clearwater as means of ingress and egress. This section last dcscrilcd possesses a milder climate than the Palouse, as the thenno metrical record of the two years lat past fully shows. The very heart of this section is penetrated by navigable waters while the I'mIoum; country Is not, and a large part of this section is tatter adapted to fruit growing than is any part of the Palousc, When the Cascade division of the Northern Pacific is com pletcd this section will have the choice of an outlet to the sea cither via the mouth of the Columbia or via rail over the mountains to Tacoma with prospect of cheap transportation. If necessary competing steamers can run between this place and Ainsworth the eastern terminus of the Cascade division of the Northern Pacific, and LcwUton will be the central point fur business In all Ibis section, with the best climate of live whole north-west At present we are being overlooked am! neglected by the attractions of other localities where rail roads are being built and money of the companies U being di.bursrd. Hut when the construction complete!, .1 .11 tnmnt and ntare locate! in order to become of importance to! wide fame and resort upon the heatc4 themselves or to the railroads must 'earth near Unkville. havo a good producing country around them, otherwise their denixens will only have the pleitr ( th cars hurriedly pa by without leaving .; then) one cent. But when we one get our connection with tho Sound as we have suggested, s people of Lewis, iston and in the vicinity of the Clear water need have no fears that they will le neglected. We aro In the best part of tho whole Columbia basin, and no railroad engineering north or south of us can rob us of the natural advantages , we enjoy and the man who thinks of bettering hi situation by going north along the lino of the railroad fur any other than a temporary residence while the road Is being built is making a mistake. We may be the last In im portance as considered by the capitalist who invests, but when they do come, we will bo firt on the list of rapid progress to wealth mid prosperity, and wo must not overlook or forget this prediction. Tilltr, ' ' 1. , THE SOt'Tllt;HNOHK(iUN HOT JCAHTtI CI KK, On Maj. q. Arilrook's land near Linkville. Lake Co., is shout an acre of ground which Is kept hot by vapor ttial ascends from some mysterious source of heat below. Just beneath the stir lace this earth l too hot to hold the hand upon, and at twelve inches from tho surface in some place it send the mercury up to 105 ilrg, rarenheit. Whether thi heat is of chemical origin near the surface or I front direct con ' nection with the val molten interior of the earth, is a yet a matter fur pure simulation, but the theory of chemical derivation seem the more . rational. However that may be, the hot earth, which I a kind of red loam in coin position, has been found to have astoit shing curative pmiwrtics in case of rheumatism, tame back, diseased ami stiffened Joints, and many other sflrc tions. A numlcr of remarkable cures are rcjwrted already, two of them be ing of acute affection of Our back, re suiting from recent accident, one case being that of Mr, Alcsamler, who was crippled in the stage accident between Liukville ami Yreka last May. The treatment differing in the difference In the cae. In tout Instance the af fected part or even the whole body of the patient 1 buried In the earth, which is tempered to a suitable warmth. In other case live patient I given a vapor bath at hot as can I borne. As yet the use of the hot earth a a remedial agent ha Just begun, but it gives Promt of becoming of vas utility ami f. t . I , innrm 10 miucn numsniir, iimj w f I. ... thouta not I supricl to tee some ay a sanitarium of national, even of world.