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About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 1, 1882)
THE WEST SHORE. February, 1 88a 38 TIIF. H'Tl'kK OK BAKER CITV. For the atl few yean Baker City has praclic illy been dormant. Il it true ill butiness men have done gl hutinett, taking one year with another, but the unrounding country, with ilral riHlilrii wealth, hat never been properly develop. l. There hat tarn, it it line, natural caues With have tended In rrlaid the growth of the iii), and among them may lie (tatted, tint, lack of capital woml, lark of pro.er lrantortation fxililirt j tliii.l, dearth of public anil private en terprise on the part of ciliwni who compote the majority (, ,m m,ulali(.n. A noble lew, be idea cultivating u(Tm irnl cereali for the uippon of lheii.N-lvri anl families have explored the lni;h mountain! thai Mirround ui ami found what hul.l, and would, did ihry have the mean, have made them immenvly rich. A few blowi with the puk and the removal of a few thovclful of dirt laid Uie rih vrim of gold and tilver liearing luan, rrtt-le .y ,,f wlmfi yielded from $15 I" $1,510 per n. Their ilitroveriea were prac "irally ke tcrrel, at they had not the meant w-ierewiii, mai hinery, erect mills and fairy on iiirrettfiil mining hiitinctt. Then all maiti.nrry for the woiking of the minea would have had In ,l(JUhl 1 lonr di.i.ru-. I. it.. primitive mr.lii.l f conveyance, whirh.lo tay the ' rrry 'nve. l-.tploraliom werenot ".deto.MitVU, ,rlh , ,,, 1CM. pendilureof , nutnry nfrr,Mry 0 lWst We,le.,,nd roiite.p.eiilly their ,rj()n M W,d a aericl ,.,, I(1 lhe fcw, hw rl. of ,,,,c hf who cirei, no f()r t)f ntry. and !, jMe fllt !fB1rw ( ,h"UK,"1 fewweek. in ,he placer "."ea wlmh .1,1 here, and ,l,e Wanrt f .he,, tune in Mien,,. nr .1 jipati.n iSo , Hhey h., Uly ,wrn ,, iirhmt ,... it down,, hey content. l.M.(.e,c.,lfmen.re.o,Krr4lftfnlmi. ??Z h''"-.ndm.nyf them have Hy"7 ,hfiM'l are being filled lew ntnniht almml 1 1 . """Tvenea have ..te. ..,h.H,whoh.v, .he capital have Ifcjr nunc. ..,,.,,,, q ::r:rn i .7 '""""'""'".ly lo demon- ,B", i.m of capitals, l0 al will Hit)ni of . 'Mof.MHntep.ovMHthep,, P-'i-.P mill, and ahorhnjl zn : ht JTi TIT ""U " "'" Among arrant the ,,, ' feet thick, and with every indication of the vein growing wider and richer a the depth of the shaft increases Eve? desirable natural facility for working the mine i at hand, and had we a rail road, itamp mills would long ago have been pul verising this valuable quartz and enriching the fortunate ownern. Other mines in close proxim ity, and nearly or quite as rich in mineral wealth ... i.nnwn in d an hiu awitir rai roaa com- MIC RIIUWM IU municaiion to procure machinery for working them. We have mentioned this mine as but a sample of many already discovered, the owners of which Imio not thr ranitnl to rlevelone them, or even purchae machinery, and anxiously await the ar rival of capitalist and quick communication with the outer world, that they may dispose of n por tion nf iheir treasure at nrires that not nnlv wiH 1 - j benefit them, nut prove highly remunerative to the purchaser. No town in Orecon is lietter known in the Vtist and South than is Baker City. The 0. R. & N. Co., and Union Pacific are almost movinrr heaven and earth lo reach this city ere the snow (lies next winter, and nrivale information earis 11s In ih lielief that Iheir object will he accomnlished if men ami money can Ho it. Capitalists and min ing exiierts will reach us before the railroad, that they may liecome possessed of a part of our nat ural wealth, and transport machinery to this point with the advent of the railroad. With the Hakcr City ha abroad ; with all this vast mineral hell lhat .urrounds us; with the vast armv of men that must be employed in conducting min ing operations, and with the advent of th the outlook for Baker fhv S. indeed. 1. her ci.i do their part inking her com wntk Trthu... ' WASHINGTON TERRITORY TOWNS. The capital (Olvmnia) is b,n,ti . , ... - ...... ..n.,uC 4Uwn 01 iwii.pi 1,500 populat on. and )... , , , vic very en- terpntmg citiienn. A narrow j ... iiiuitu con- nectswith the Northern Pacific at! Tenino. Itis on .he southern arm of puget Sound, be- -ng .wo hund.ed mile, from the ocean and eighty mi ea innth nf .1.. ... ,k'"J Townd tC ; ; m heRins-i,t Por Town.nd. The tide, rise and fall twenty.four lt. are exnoted in front of the town. n njom there to all point, on the Sound as "Hn.oVtc.oria, i British Columbia. It i, , lnPTtant commercial center , the5?"'? r n.hee,er side of i!-. adv.,;Bes Tawma 11 n an .rm ..r .1. . . re between Seattle n J""K,U ha,f "V "ake il iheir --.. .'"" Klhey choose to city will, '.I ' '"m,n1 Pin'.n immense Vancouver is on the Columbia,; loo miles from its mouth, and was settled by the Hudson's Bay Company as early as 1824. It is a military post of some importance, being headquarters fotjthe Department of the Columbia. Walla Walla is near the southeastern corner of the Territory, and is, next to Seattle, the most important town. It is in a fine agricultural re gion, and ships immense quantities of wheat and wool. It is already an interior metropolis and is fast increasing in importance. Colfax and Dayton are new but growing and important towns near the Idaho line, and Yakima City is having a large and substantial growth. Oysterville on Shoalwater bay once had an exten sive oyster trade, but is not now so flourishing. WENASS VALLEY, W. T. This valley is more than 20 miles long by "x2 miles wide, and is situated 120 north from The Dalles, Oregon. The banks of the little stream Wenass are skirted with small willows, alder. cottonwood and quaking-asp. Outside of this is prairie hills extending miles in every direction. covered with bunch-grass. The stream rises in the east foothills of the Cascade mountains and flows some miles through a forest of pine and fir limber, which supplies the settlers with fuel, fenc ing, etc. The road from The Dalles is across Klickitat county through more than 70 miles of prairie, then over Simcoe mountain, covered with pine timber, and to Yakima Citv. 100 miles north of The Dalles. On the north and east the country is bunch-grass, hilly prairie, with a few vaneys, which are small and mostly oecnnieH. On the west is mountains covered with timber. The county of Yakima has for its seat of justice Yakima City, a little town of perhaps 500 people. Two terms of U. S. Court are held, and a U. S. uinci umce is located here. A o ,,n f horses, 15 hands high, will easily haul a ton of freight from The Dalles to this place. The hill lands have never been cultivated and no one can tell what they will produce. The vallev land generally good. I came here six years arm fm Walla Walla and settled uDon flat InnH ,wu every one told me was too poor to make me'a liv ng! but I have found they were mistaken, and have ,hown the old residents that good crop, of grain and vegetables will grow on land which they thought was almost worthless. Wheat orodure. thirty lo forty bushels an acre.! hrU re good enouehi cabbages, solid heads, nice flavor, weighing eighteen to twenty.four pounds , ' 7' crPs are eood i haloes, cucumbers, wa ermelons, beans, peas, raspberries, strawber. nes goosebernes, currants, etc., have grown wel'. the large fruits have hn .... jj - , . . dui are not ough to bear. Corn adanterl ""e yields at bushel, . ' "T .,L, ... ,v "'"um-corn and nr cane have been grown i smalI ,otg. t no nv,, in which to grind cane, and I do not Z0,ri0reMnoto make it into hand f " WOl,W brin8a f"ir return in h and J T" Wh "Stands its culture nd manufacture. The r.,.n.. , . ""ling slowly, and " Dut ' nd intelligence we hone V PPU " "i yield a IL J.T. ShW ,hat ,he There are tfc ; "en prPr,y worl. ch m . t f aCrM 0f m vacant 2 t?od meun,,er,hevario-,a"d'- cil ; rrr Northern P.'. onowtell the last of November.