1
270
THE WEST SHORE.
November, 1883
(my,
A canal ii being constructed to irrigate 20,000
ncrei of sage brush land along Ixjst river.
The (jrosi value of property in Clackamas
county ii $3,844,146, including 326,549 acres of
land of an average value of $4.25 per acre,
The assessment lint of Josephine county shows
a total valuation of $563,885. The chief item is
that of land, of which there are 55,889 acres.
A new saw mill has liecn put up on Ilinton
creek near Ileppncr, Oiegon, to supply the great
demands for lumber created by the improvements
in that region,
Almut 140,000 bushels of wheat and 130,000 of
uaUand barley were raised in Kogue river valley
this teuton, Plowing and seeding are now in
progress and a largely increased acreage is in
(limited. The assessor's returns show that the properly
of Umatilla county is valued at $4,892,271, em
bracing 42,209 acres of land at $21 per acre;
12,632 head of horses at $40; 11,292 cattle at
$22,501 and 240,951 sheep at $1.33.
The mills owned by W. S. llyers & Co. at
Pendleton, Oregon, have been extensively en
larged and fitted up with the gradual reduction
process machinery. Their daily capacity U 500
barrels of flour, and the total cost of placing them
in their present condition was $200,000.
The sinking of small artesian well is in
progress on the highlands of Wasco county, be
tween Five Mile and Three Mile creeks. If a
good flouring mill is secured, it will be a great in
ducement to settlers to lake up farms on those
uplands where the soil Is fertile but water scarce.
IC. Willis, who lives near Miller's station in
this county, raised a crop of club wheat this year
that yielded between 40 and 50 bushels to the
acre. After the first crop was cut, a second crop
sprung up, milured and the heads are well filled.
Mi. Willis also raised 300 bushels of potatoes,
known as the (larwi Chili vaiiety, m one acie of
ground. He brought a bushel of these spuds I
to 11. One of them weighed live pounds and an
ounce, and four of them weighed IJj pound
Albany I-tU.
11 ims nevn ascciiaincn 111.11 me ivlialein is
navig.ible for twelve miles anil has a depth ol
sixteen fret on the bar at mean low tide. The
valley of the Nehalem is one of the richest in
natural resources in the stale. Cireal beds of cos
have been discovered and are being developed
dense forests of fir, spruce, hemlock and giant
cedar cover the valley and mountain sides, mag'
nificent meadows for dairying and soil of unsur
passed fertility for the production of grain, vege
tablet and fruit, exist along the stream, and good
water power for manufacturing can be found.
town named Coalburn hat been located at the
head of navigation, and has every proect of be.
coming a place of iniortanre.
The new city laid out on Gray's harbor al
the terminus of the projected railroad, covers
between fifty and sixty acres of ground, and
fronts for half a mile on the hnroor.
A new town has been laid out In Yakima
county, near Ellensburg, comprising about
forty acres. It is pleasantly situated on a
bench on the south bank of Yakima river.
The name is yet to be selected. .
On the great bend of Skagit river a new
town, named Avon, has been laid out, and
ins already a More, postotiice and hotel. This
s designed as being the future shipping point
for the Olympiii marsh.
The hop crop in Puyallup valley this sea
son amounts to 6,000 bales, or 1 , 1 10,000 lbs.
This is about one-half the yield estimated
early In the spring, based upon the largely
increased acreage, and is nearly 500,000
pounds short of last year's crop. Nearly the
entire product has been disposed of at prices
ranging from 14 to 19 cents, while last year
the great bulk of the crop brought from 50
cents to Si.oo per pound. Large crops and
high prices can not be expected every season,
and hop growers do not feel discouraged by
the results.
The town of Colville laid' out last spring
In Stevens county has made great progress,
It lies In Colville valley, three miles from the
old fort nnd twelve back from the Columbia
river, occupying n plateau just where the
prairie nnd forest lands meet, and having a
clear mountain stream flowing through to
supply water and power to turn machinery.
There nre two general merchandise stores,
one feed stable, one restaurant nnd boarding
house, one blacksmith shop, one wood-work
ing shop, a jewelry store, school house, two
saloons, a large brewery, and u number of
residences. The immigration Colville valley
will leceive the coming season will luigely
increase the sie and importance of this grow
lug young town.
1 lanal'ord valley is 11 region but little known
by the outside world. It lies in the edge of
Lewis county, some twelve miles northeast
of Tcnino, and contains about 8,x acres of
good agricultural land, only one-third of
which is taken up by settlers. The remain
der Is In the hands of speculators, belongs to
the Northern Pacific, or is still open govern
ment land upon which locations can be mnde.
1 he surrounding hills are covered with fir
and cedar, and w hen clenred of.iimber make
good farms, often sloping gradually to the
south and oflerlng splendid locations. Coal
it found in great quantities in the hills adja
cent to the valley, and a company has been
pneorporuted to develop some of the vein
Many other coal claims have been taken
railroad seven or eight miles in length ii bt
ing talked of, running from the mines don
llanafnrd creek to Centerville on the XorU.
em Pacific.
A party of the Northern Pnciilc transc,m.
tinental geological survey hat been In ft!
Cascades for several months, in charge of R, I
U. Goode, assisted by Prof. T. S. llrandcgt, f
as botanist and forestry expert. These m. I
tlemen have given the Yakima Signal
fncts developed by their explorations. At.
cording to their measurements the hciglit of
the various passes through the Cascade!
as follows: The summit of Natchei pans
4,900 feet above the level of the sca;Taftni
pass, 3,430; Sheet6 pass, 3,606; Stampede pis,
3,695; Yakima pass, 3,625; Snoquahnle inu,
3,iio; Cowlitz pass, 5,200. The elevation d
Yakima is 990 feet, and that of Ellenibtn
1,500. The elevation of Ainswnrth, it Ibt
mouth of Snake river, is 350 feet.
One important discovery made by Mr.
Goode's party is that Mount Adams is tevrnl
hundred feel higher than heretofore suppewd,
while Mount Tacoma is 190 feet lower. The
hlght of Mount Adams is ascertained to It
12,300 feet, and that of Tacoma 14,150 fed
above the level of the sea. The forestry ti-
perl finds that the trees of the Cascade mot
tains are greater in vai iety than In any otto f
part of the United States, if not in the wotK
In the entire Rocky mountain region tlimj
arc not more than ten or twelve variety
while in the Cascades there are ninctm.
w hich may be classed as follows: Pfouf i
ilerota, or yellow pine (three leaves); fw
conlorta, or black pine (I v. o leaves) ;
anil's, or ridge pine ffivc leaves); fmitfe
oh, or mountain pine (live leaves); rV
tsiigu, or red fir; abirs gruinlis, or while w
abirs nobilis (very rare): abtes amabiM (: 1
rare); abies sub-altina (vciy rare);
dentalis or western larch; larix I.yelii(
ered by Prof. Lyel); ficra mgdM '
spruce; tsuga fatlioritinn and tsuga
stand (hemlocks) ;'. Virginia-, j
perus communis (cedars) ; taxus brmicliil''
thuja gigjulca (white cedar). Mr. G
has also obtained a list and sample" -grasses
and other vegetation peculiar lot
region.
Ll M-OI.N Col' NT v. -1 n dividing theco.
of Spokane and erecting Hie western port
inlon new county called Lincoln, the t
lure has created a olitical bodv H'1'
many years will be one of the ""'
tial in the territory. In population andp
.1. ...... 1 i-..i i.i,u flr to rival an P"
auricultiiial counlv. It contains
o -
JUIIIT. , L
8,000 tquare miles and a popu
' . ..... a t loo.UlC"1,!
estimated ueiween 4,u' s
ity of whom live In the eastern tra,
was chiefly because of the vast nd MT
settled region to the west, which wi!
flowed with immigrants another j
the new county wat created. Tn
known as the Big Bend c"n,r-v;
Spokane Chronicle we gather u 0
facts about this region, and eP ' 0
portion farthest to the west If