164
July, .883,
THE WEST SHORE.
nuolly come to admire its grandeur and power.
The falls are lut a short distance above the
famous Salmon falls, where the Indians spear
salmon, which come up the stream in countless
numbers ami beat themselves to death against the
rocks in their frantic efforts to leap over the foam
ing cataract.
Fourteen miles distant is the town of Shoshone,
on the Oregon Short Line, the point of junction
ol the Wood river branch of that road. In less
than a year this road will 1 completed to a
junction with the 0. K. & N. Co., at the mouth
ol Burnt river and a new overland route opened
up. Then, if not before, tourists will do homage
at the shrine of Shoshone falls.
But these arc not the only attractions offered by
upper Snake river, the great I,ewis' fork of the
mighty Columbia. Only a few miles above, a
nameless river bursts suddenly from the ground,
and after running a short distance, plunges with
terrific force over the canyon's side into the great
river 150 feet In-low. Where it comes from and
how for it hat traveled in its subterranean wan
derings, no one can tell, but it is supposed to be
Lost river, a stream that sinks from view in a
desert seventy miles to the north. The American
falls aie worthy ol unbounded admiration. They
are situated at the point where the Utah & North
ern K. K. spans Snake river with a splendid iron
bridge, and in its plunge of fifty feet over dark
manses of lava rock, the water beats itself into
foam and rises in whirling spray, in which the
tin's rays make numhertas transitory rainbows
of entrancing lieauty. The grand scenery of Snake
river and its many lovely valleys on either side is
just Incoming known to the outside world, and
the thousands of travelers who will in the next
few years pass over the Oregon Short Line, will
have the pleasure of witnessing and describing
scenes as yet unfamiliar to the world at large.
NORTHERN PACIFIC LAND SALES.
The Northern Pacific land sales during the
month of June were as follows : Eastern division
number of acres, 62,062 ; amount realized,
$262,688. Montana division numlier ot acres,
11,644; amount realized, $54,444. Western
division-number of acics, 23,945 ; amount
realired, $U5'7oo. Total acres, 97,651 j total
amount realiied, $444,832. Du.ing the month
of June, 1S83, the tlM numbe, of acC6
sold was 71,760, and the total amount
real.ed was $131,)!. The total sales for the
fiscal year ending June 30, 18X3, were 761,261
acresj amount realised, $3,032,048. In addition,
there were realised from town lots during the
year, $330,771, making the grand total for the
Xr, 3, 3X3,019, against a gtand total of 1,709,338
for the fiscal yea. ending Je 30, lS8ji Th(
numlwr uf ,crr, tl), in SSj WJ 46j joS
verace price per acre last year wa, $3.60 ; this
yr, $4. All this was land of no practical value
un, the mad opened up the country, made it ac
cesuhle to settler, and furnished a mean, of lak
in -l. pnKluc. to maiket. The simple building
of the road ha. added million, to the value of
re.l estate and therefore to the actual wea'th of
l country. The number of purctnse. testify
more.hanwo.d. ,0 , he opinion ,he people JA
ol thedeMraliilit.of smri,mik. . .
... . h " Hums ana 01
Mral term, and onerous treatment of the
Following is the business of the Roseburg land
1 fhee for June, 1883 : 5,493 acres sold for cash ;
27 homestead entries, embracing 3,744 acres ; 27
pre-emption filings; 12 final homestead entries,
embracing 1,568 acres ; 210 acres of mineral land
sold.
Along Chenoweth creek, in Wasco county, is
a section of country very good for agricultural pur
poses. There is a great deal of good land yet
unoccupied and upen to settlement. Upon the
cultivated portion the crop is good this 'season
despite the dry weather.
On'the sixteenth of July the Klamath Irrigating
and Development Co. filed articles of incorpora
tion in the ofhee of the secretary of state. The
capital stock is $60,003, and the headquarters
are at Linkville. The company will construct a
large canal with distributing ditches for irrigating
purposes, and by this means a vast tract of saee
brush land will be brought under cultivation.
A very important order has been received at
the Roseburg land office from Washington. It
commands the withdrawal from private entry of
all odd numbered sections within the thirty mile
limit, on each side of the O. & C. R. R., from
the southern terminus of the lands heretofore
withdrawn to the state line. No entries, home
steads, pre-emptions, or other filing will be al
lowed on any of the lands thereby withdrawn,
unless it be to a settler who has occupied the
lands since and before the date of the act granting
the lands to said company, some seventeen years
ago. All parties who have claims of record prior
to that date can make their proofs and secure
their lands at the rate of $1.25 per acre. Here
after all lands belonging to the government
within the limits of the grant will be placei upon
the basis of $2.50 per acre, and are only obtain
able as homesteads or pre-emptions.
Twenty miles from Tillamook bay, in the
center of Tillamook county, is the post office of
Hebo, on the Nestucca. The river has about
ten miles of tide water, with splendid soil on
both sides of the stream for twenty miles up from
the bay. The bottom land is narrow, not more
than three-quarters of a mile wide on an average,
but the foothills are low, with numerous small
streams running down from the main mountains,
on which there is considerable good land, as
good as there is in the state vacant. The country
has no mills, although there is quite a demand
for lumber, which has to be shipped from Ya
quia by steamer. The timber is mostly dead
from fires, but there is some yellow fir which is
reen near the river-enough to run a large mill
foryears-and good water power near at hand,
'mmediately at the head of tide water. There is
"mall bay with nine feet of water at low tide
Hie country is receiving many settlers, but there is
vet murh vm.i l..j .l . .
.... .-. ., wncre industrious men can
(make for good homes. As a d.irv
region it is especially good.
Summit
. ' --..Miuui upiand tract
about thirty miles east of Prineville. Streams of
cold mountain water swarm with delicious trout
and deer, antelope and game birds abound'
making it highly attractive to the sportsman and
pleasure seeker. The soil is very fertie Md
timber is plentiful. Several settlements have
recently been made, and it will no doubt all be
occupied ere long. Of Crook county generally
the Assays: "As the principal industry
here is the growth of stock, and u
stockmen generally pay no attention to
the cultivation of the soil, those engaged
in farming find a ready market at home for til
they can produce, and at prices that rule as high
or higher than that of any other locality oa
the northwest coast. Only a small per cent, ii
engaged in agriculture, hence the demand for
bread and vegetables is equal to the supply of
these cereals. And while the great grass region,
the nucleus of attraction at present, holds good,
tilling the soil will be a secondary consideration,
thereby insuring the few farmers a ready sale and
good prices for their produce. Wheat and other
grains sell for less than one dollar per bushel,
and some times more, as is the case this year.
Vegetables, too, are eagerly bought here, and
nlways bring good prices in cash. This portion
of Oregon may not be the cream of the state,
but we believe it is a desirable locality in which
to live, and that the profits of labor are greater
than in most other parts."
Lying between the Des Chutes and John Day
rivers, in Wasco county, is an extensive bunch
grass region, known as John Day prairie. Until
three years ago it was used as a stock range by
cattle men, who did not think it necessary or
profitable to secure title to it, and for years thou
sands of cattle fattened on the nutritious bunch
grass that grew luxuriantly to the height of
twenty inches when not eaten off. In 18801
few settlers attempted to cultivate small fields
and were surprised to find the soil highly pro
ductive. The result was that many settlement!
have been made during the three years past, some
500 families being now located on the prairie.
Wheat, barley, oats, corn, potatoes and vege
tables produce abundantly, and it is expected
that 200 car loads of wheat will be shipped this
season. Fruit trees, also, on an old location used
for a stage station, are producing abundantly,
and testify to the capabilities of the prairie for
the culture of fruit on a larger scale. Unim
proved land in special localities has sold as high
as eight dollars per acre, and school houses,
churches and stores are springing up where small
towns will, beyond doubt, soon appear. The
area of the prairie is equal to that of the state of
New Jetsey, and there is abundunt room for
thousands. Grant's station, or Villard, is the
shipping point, being midway between the John
Day and Des Chutes and on the bank of the
Columbia. Immigrants have thronged past this
fertile prairie, and traveled many miles to settl
upon land far less desirable and in a region who
climate is less agreeable and whose surroundings
are far from being as attractive.
Camas prairie is a nearly circular basin .boat
twelve miles in diameter, and is entirely
rounded by the Blue mountains, with their ever
vernal crowns of pine and firs, which cover the
rugged sides from base to peak. The view fr
some eminence is indescribably beautiful. Ta