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About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 1881)
364 THE WEST SHORE. November, 1881 doubtless soon begin laying track Portland can boast of two theatre, many churches, banks, tome fine public building, large hotel buildings beau tiful residences, numerous publications -daily, weekly and monthly and almost everything that distinguishes citie or vastly more inhabitant and pretension before the world. With at present a population of 20,000 the in crvasc in ten yean may safely lc placed at 50xxx The "boom" ha atruck Portland, and although in the past some of ui may have lout fuith in itt future, and despaired or ita ever being any. thing more than an overgrown village with one or two remunerative toll gate, the feelingnow is everywhere spreading, like the limit of our city that nothing can ever prevent it ad vancement, and no combination of cir cuimtanre occur to rob it of it fairly won title of queen of the Pacific North wct. The Wir Siiohk in thi issue, ore aenli to its reader tix via wi of Portland, taken from different point, and though the business portion of the city doe not receive justice, nevertheless, the trangcr can form a very fur idea from them of the character of our home and the general appearance of Oregon' metropolis It I unfortunate that photographer in taking view of citie have to ue their instrument in the out skirts, wnich result in the mall house that usually occupy those part being brought prominently into the fore fround, while the large edifice of the business centre, crowding together and hiding each other, are almot en. tirely lost to view. These are difficulties that cannot be overcome, except by photographing street by itrcet, a fair specimen of which we furnished in our August number. To illuMraie all of Portland we should I compelled to devote ex clusively fifty Usue of the Wkst SitoNK, rather too much for even ao deserving and beautiful a subject. Good Waob The Northern Pa cific Company i advertising for one hundred men to work all winter on pile-driver on Lake Pend d'Orcille, and offering them wage at the rate of j.j0 per day. Thi price for labor, requir ing very little sVill, will seem incrcdi bio when read In the low-price citie of the Atlantic. j ROGUE RIVER VALLEY AND CRATER LAKE. The proposed construction of the I California Railroad to a connection with the Oregon branch of the Central Pacific road, calls attention to the claim of Southern Oregon to consideration as a region possessing great native resources, and especially, a to agricultural and mineral wealth, calculated to attract immigration and develop important interests as soon as railroad connection and improved trans portation facilities shall bring it within easy reach of the busy, every-day work- in? world, south of Koseburc. and to the state line, lie a good proportion of arable land that will become more val uable and invite dense settlements and more thorough cultivation as soon as connected rails shall carry the swift locomotive to the rescue of the waiting regions. Without attempting to summarize the varied resources that Nature has made available in the southern counties. for the satisfactory reason that we do not pretend to thoroughly understand them, we can still speak with confidence ol a successful future of a prosperity to be safely based on wealth of precious metal that will be successfully mined hereafter, and on a perfected agriculture that shall convert all its arable districts into productive fields. The soil is fertile and the climate is the most perfect to oe loumi north or California. Not so moist at the northern valleys, warmer because further outh; healthy in all respect and generally a favored the advent of the locomotive will put in competition all it advantages and it will become a favorite abiding place for many who are fastid - V'O'IVV UI climate and production. Agriculture mere partakes or all the good qualities of the region farther north. wKiA i,.. been in former times the most favored by opportunity, inJ in addition to the usual growth of cereals, fruits and vege table within reach of agriculture in the Willamette valley, the Rogue ..cy win produce corn and wine, for maixe and sorghum thrive well toward our aouthwestcrn border. The vineyard of Romi riuor ...II nval the wine and raiin producing d.tnct. of California, ,nd luscious peche ripen to perfection, for the Pch u acclimated here and add, a! other to the ovt r , ?n j-j- 'ioitiiix in thai portion of Oregon. 1 In the good time coming, that the people of southern Oregon have so long prayed and waited for, they will LlenJ in their maleiial existence the best traits of Oregon and California, and possess the just medium between these somewhat antagonistic individ ualities. Southern Oregon, must at no very distant day, and as soon as com munication shall be perfected, be an ex ceedingly prosperous region, rich in varied respects. The beautiful valley of Rogue river has only one fault that it is too limited in its area. The jealous mountains crowd, it with their envious ridges and rugged hills occupy much space that must be redeemed from Nature and changed from wilder ness to cultivation. When the era of development shall actually dawn upon that region much of the untamed hill country will be reclaimed and planted in vineyards and orchards, and it must be borne in mind that fruit offers to-day, to the farmers of California, as much and far surer profit than ever existed in the placers of '49.' Gold and silver entice myriads to their ruin, as well as some to fortune, but the cultivation of golden fruits and purple grapes will win bread and even luxury, as rewards for labor, when placers shall be extinct and the veins of precious ore be worked out to their lowest depths. There is another view of this portion of Oregon the picturesque view to which we propose to call attention, for with the possibility of travel made easy and even pleasant, the tourist will visit . southern Oregon and regale himself in the enjoyment of new scenes thus added to the repertoire of picturesque America. He will come over the Siskiyou range looking back for last glimpses of the awful grandeur of snow towering Shasta. But as the vision of the south is shut off he will be repaid with the tableau of Rogue river valley; the bleak and barren region of rock-bound Klamath river, with its desert shores and unsocial surroundings, will be re placed by the coup iotil of, mountains that frame in this beautiful valley, which i thronged wih forms and gemmed with towns and villages. The presence of homes and productiveness, of culture and progress these are with him here for the first time since he left the Sacra mento valley and picturesque surround ings frame the scenes with touch of grace and romance. During the past