The west shore., January 01, 1882, Page 2, Image 2

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THE WEST SHORE.
January, 1882
The general surface of the county, in
thai of an undulating plain, will) an
ilhAU, fcliiW to the (mI hi!!s .in ! rang
ing up into the mountain peak of ihc
Cascades; from whence descend long
ridge, with intermediate valleys and
all of which furnish down grade route'
for wagon roadsj from all parts of the
county, and which converge and final
ly meet at the common focu Salem,
the county eat, and capital of the Stale.
From any part of the county, the oh
server can take in a vision of several
now clad peak, ami other lolly fea
ture of Ihc Cascade range; while the
deep green of the forest covered hill
aide and the variegated plain and lopcs
doited with farm and village, all com
Line to make a landscape of unsurpassed
lieauty ami loveliness.
The county i most centrally located
In the Willamette valley, and traversed
hy ihc main north and south thorough
fare of the Slate, and for these reasons
ha ready ami easy communication with
nil other sections.
MKIIINO, HUNTING ANI KVMMKU IIR-
HOHTN.
The lime wit when the deer came to
la the settler quite regularly to I killeil
for venison; but now they have to he
hunted. Fine fat deer arc yet occasion,
ally picked up in ihc thickly settled re
(Ions, and even within sight of the
Slate Capitol; hut for the most part, the
sportsman ha to go hack to the foot
hill, and range up toward the mount
ain la get plenty of Mrt and fine game
And when in ihc deer range, he can
pick up occasionally Mack hear; am
going still further into the mountains
get an elk for hi pain. In all
pail of the county grouse, pheasant
and quail arc abundant, ami in their sea
on wilJ duck and geese may lc fount
in great quantities in the swamp am:
lake. The stream in all part of the
county furnish exciting sport in ang
ling for the gamed trout, which may
be pursue! from the sluggish water of
the pi att ic region back into and up lo
hi mountain home, a the snow dtsap
pear ami the season open into spring
and summer.
Hut few wild post yet remain lo an
noy the flock or hcnU; and these are
confined to the coyote wolf and the
cougar,
In summer rcsoit, the people of
Marion county find every opportunity
for recreation and out door pleasure,
with invigorating exercise and mount
ain air, for the building up of health,
ml driving nway dull care, nt botr. Oil
er creek falls, and Mchama on the
Santiam river. And to these places,
initially a the hot weather approaches,
may he seen wending their way in all
Manner of vehicles, and every clescrip-
rion of camp equipage. The invalid
mid tired worker irom mc iunnn
the overworked farmer's family from
the country; all meeting at these de-
ighlful mountain resorts on a common
evel without the cares, superfluities and
hotldy pretensions of a Saratoga or
ng Branch. Am! while Marion
county is one of the healthiest regions
n the world, it seems to be a law of our
eing in all countries, that rest and rec
reation shall be given to the tired body
at such intervals as shall preserve its
ifc in vigorous action for the longest
Ki ioil of continued effort.
At these summer resorts, the campers
are blessed with great torrents of pure,
clear, crystal, ice cold water, sparkling
with mountain trout, while the hills and
forests invite the sportsman with plen
leous game of every description.
NATUItAI. HKSOUIU KS.
The natural resources of the county
may he described under the head of
irairies, timber, minerals, soils, water
and water power.
The area of prairie region is probably
less now than it was prior to the settle
ment of the country by the white man;
for it was the practice of the Indians to
annually burn off in every autumn, the
lead grass, so as to kill out all young
shoot of Irecs and shrubs. For they
could take game much easier in the
prairie than in the timber; and it was
lo facilitate their hunting operations.
that they desired to check the encroach
ment of the lorest. While there are
many detached and scattering prairies
in the county, the principle one arc
Salem prairie, French prairie, and
Howell prairie. Salem and IIowcl
prairie are exceedingly fine bodies of
farming land, well drained and having
deep rich soil. The same may be said
of much of French prairie, (named be
cause of it first settlement by Canadian
Frenchmen); but a large proportion is
flat and injured by stagnant moisture
which can only he cured and converted
in!o first clas land by a general system
of thorough drainage. In saying this,
it i not intended to convey the idea
that any portion of French prairie is
swampy, for it is not, but simply flat
and docs not shed the Rurface water
readily, and for this reason, farming op-
erations and growing crops are hurt by
excess of moisture.
Much of the Waldo hill region was
once undoubtedly prairie, but in the
course of time was overspread with oak
nd fir brush. The same may be said
f the oak hills south ot Salem. These
rolling hills, are among the best, if not
the very best farming lands in the coun
ty, and in Oregon. While the first set
tiers had the advantage of getting prairie
locations, thereby saving them much
hard labor, the later settlers who are
clearing farms out of the small fir and
oak brush, seem to have secured equal-
y good soil, and are equally prosperous.
The yield of wheat from both these
prairie and hill farms, ranges from
twenty-five to forty bushels to the acre,
according to the cleanliness and care in
cultivation. We" cannot now call to
mind a finer landscape, or more glori
ous prospect, than is to be obtained
from the hill a mile or so south west of
Col. Ralph Geer's delightful home in
the Waldo hills.
Marion county is most abundantly
supplied with. timber, and sawed lum-
cr is quite cheap in all parts of the
county. Along the swales, streams and
ow lands we find ash, alder and maple;
while in the Waldo hills, and the Mill
creek and hilly region south of Salem,
abundant supplies of oak, and all over
the country in scattered groves, great
quantities of the finest quality of red
and yellow fir. But the timber wealth
of the county is in the Cascade mount
ains, where all the timber varieties of
the fir, and some species of pine, with
fine cedar abounds. The great import
ance and wealth of this timber can hard
ly be overestimated. The timber itself
will in a few years prove a mine of
wealth, employing thousands of men
to work it up, and bringing in mil
lions of dollars; for the timber resour
ces of the United States will soon be
exhausted, and Oregon forests will be
drawn upon, not only for the wants of
the millions of people on the Pacific,
but also to supply the great interior
treeless plains between the Cascades and
and the Rocky mountains. The forests'
too, need protection from the wasteful
fires so as to preserve the ipring and
water courses from being dried up, and