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About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 1883)
November, 1883'. THE WEST SHORE. a7i ;!adger mountain country: One of Hie two wagon route traveled by Immigrants run ""through the Grand coulee, nenr the Colum bia river, punning through Deep creek full, Cottonwood, near Mosquito springs, Rocky 'canyon, Wild Goose hill, California settle ment, In A general northwesterly course, through the deep coulee, then southwesterly to ami along Foster creek, crossing tills stream pr creek bed at a point near where It emptlet Into the Columbia, thence southwesterly again along a branch of main Foster creek, toward it source, and on until the Chelan and Walln Walla government wngon road Is truck, which runs the entire length, north ml south, of the prairie country bordering on Iladger mountain. The road arc not o bad a might be Imagined, considering they fun wild and arc never worked or repaired, nd a loaded team can move along quite com fortably much of the distance. The second nd most favored route is Identical with the Grand coulee route as far as Cottonwood and tome distance beyond, and then runs In a southwesterly direction through the Crab creek country, along Mineral lake, Iron iprings, uud through the Moses coulee. The scent and descents are not so lengthy or so In upt a on the northern route, and loaded team can move with less dltViculty, Fast o the Grand coulee is a prairie country thirty miles wide, cast and west, and running south from (lie Columbia river as far a the eye can read), of .whose great area, rich mil and capa bilities for producing grain and maintaining $ dense population It seem the world is poorly informed. Standing on one of the highest summits of this region, a few mile outh of the Columbia, and looking away to the south over what accme an unbounded ex- panne of rolling, billowy prulrle, one can not ail to be filled with enthusiastic admiration ml with wonder that people arc not rushing thitherward by the thousand to occupy and build up pleasant hornet and accumulate Comfortable fortune. Widely cttercd cab Ins betoken an extremely limited population, ft ml the character und extent of Improvements give evidence of little enterprise. Much of Jlil land ha lately been taken up by men ho Intend to occupy nd Improve next e ion, and at the end of another twelve-month the whole region will assume an entirely different aspect from that It now wear. The day I not far distant when ill thl country ill be settled and Improved and In-come the Inheritance of a large population of thrifty armrr. In the big hoiseshoc, between Grand and Mo coulee on the east and the Co lumbia river on the three remaining side. 4II- a grand farming prairie, extending about alxty mile north and south anil tlilrty cati nd west. Thl It land almost entirely free !from tcalc-rock ind o gently undulalln that not one acre In forty I untlllable. One ----- 'might plow furrow for mile In any dlicc itlon without a break, and cultivate every fool Uif section after section of at good land at the ?un ihlnct upon. Extending for mllet along J the touth western border of the prairie I I Iladger mountain, on who northernmost f sum mil and tlopet are several thousand acre of valuable pine tlmlier laud. A saw -mill has recently been put up In one of the cnn. yon of the mountain and lumber will soon be turned out for the use of the settlers. Over the river and bordering It arc the moun tain of the Cascade range, and all along the opes of these mountains, but principally In the regions higher up the river, ate ImhIIc of Ine timber from which lumber will lie man ufactured and rafted to points easiest of access to the cltle and farms of the plain. At a point nearly opposite the west center of the ralrlc the Wenalchlc river bus made for Itself a valley lied about four miles w ide and xtendlng back and noithwcst a number of miles. Near the Wenati hle river a bid of bituminous coal has Iktii discovered, and from this and others sure to be brought to light In the Canonic range at no very distant lay, fuel will be brought by ralliond at soon s the necessities of the people require It, The Columbia river Is navigable for many miles above here and to Priest's rapids below, and when congress makct the appropriation o clear these rapids of obstruction or lin k them, there will lc unbroken itcamhoat nav igation through to Portland and the (Mean, The soil of the Iladger mountain country I a rich sandy loam of a light shade, two to four feet In depth and undcrluld with a clay subsoil. All through this subsoil small frng incuts of limestone are thickly icattered, the material thrown out at the mouth of each badger hole goes to show, The presence of these bit of limestone so lavishly strewn through the subsoil I undoubted evidence of the wheat producing qualities nf the surface soil. Of Its vegetable producing uulltlcs there can be no longer any doubt, as some of the settlers of the early part of this season gave It a trial and found It all that could Ik? desired, I'otatoct planted on new turned tod in Juncgrcw, matured and reached a degree of perfection and excellence not often ex cccded, and that without a drop of rain and without cultivation from the breaking of the prairie to the digging of the tuber. Of what the toll It capable In the way of producing grain cropt we ran Judge only by appearance, at It It wholly untried, except In the Instance given almve; hut that the toil Is Inferior to none In Washington territory must he eon ceded by all who give It Investigation, There it none of the hothcrtome wool grass on tits prairie, and the rich toll turnt over In at (Ine a ttate of tilth and at fit for Immediate crop- ping at much of the prairie land of other sections at a second plowing, A good tram will break two arret of the pralilc In a day and Ihlt fact taken In connection with the other fact that seeding may Immediately fol low breaking, will 0ierle greatly to the ad vantage of next spring's settlers. A settler named Fearing Is breaking prairie at this time with a common team whose only ferd It th dry bunch urast at II ttandt on thr prairie, Tim romlfiir city of the nlaln It to be called Okanogan (O-kan-og an), and It situated near the center of the prairie and about tlxteen mile east of the westernmost bend of the river. It It lor tied on tilth land and ha a grand outlook In every direction, down aero lie easy slope to the river m the west and ipnn the ivnW of the Cnsemlr and C"limi'-h mountains on the north, west and south. he town tlte It uo miles west uf Simkane Falls and lit miles east of Seattle on the sound. hi t'llshurir on the smith,- at Is s.-v. enty miles away, and from there the present suppiy (u iinur is wing oiitsinril or tiknn ogim at a cost of $t per barrel at the mill, Ytkilllll Is lllulllt tlilrlv tull... ...,,ll. .. I.-U-. burg and one hundred miles from Okanogan. At Wenatchle, twenty-live miles away and on the river of the same name. Is the nearest postottice at present. The coal lied are near thl hamlet, The teinxirary county seal Is DaveniHirt. a small town In the .mi'it wiu M'.tH'in. uy the li'ul.Iittme In ipliv if I III fin' Hint Vitrit.ti.M ll.d tt.lu l my roiinUlrrulito ilxc. ill sired It kiu! to si-ft-um It worked hard for the creation of the ttaw IMIIltV. It Will lie IH-rlliaill'llllv lia-slnl l,tf vote of the people at the next general flection. The assessment llsl for Ixwlt and Clarke county font up $o,5jH,$$l, including jn,lo acir of land listed at $11.51 per acre, i,4 stuck cattle at $M per head, ami Il,.t4 sheep al $1.75 each, It eacetil that of I Nil by about $J,ooo,ooo, The great bulk uf this prupsrly I owned by men residing In I It lent, The it til' in on the llcllg! (xnwily known a Ihumntond and which wts ie-chillrnd Flint, hat had III fust title rrihired lull, lruminnd orctipte the ills of the old town of Kdwaidwllle, which ha been pun hased from John Fdwardt by the company, and it tha railroad iiil fur l'ttlll tmrg, New Chicago, Nevada creek, llclinvlll and Deep, The town of Great Falls, on the Miss.mil, In clude llltck Kgl ftlli In Ilia town ilte, al which ilia projected improvement! of water sr are to 1st mailt. I'rrptralii-ni art on font to delist I, ax), wsj (ret of lumltyi there in the iprlng ami I11 bum an Immense iunil!y nf Ultk, A plan ing mill will be the first Industry i.isbll.He.1. Il ii spcrtcd thai the " Minneapolis of Mimlana" will make great showing In 1KJL4. The growth of Ilia new Iowa of Anaconda, In Deer l-uti; County, U something ftniarkahle even in tills lni of mushroom eitkn. The first hout wsi hulll In July last, ami Ihe town Usuls of Joo houses, including wtsmI fine LrU k Moth ami dwellings. Laige turns, hottlt, mtikrit, shops, livery stable, saloons, rul all thai g" to make up a Ihttvlng husims Iowa have Urea tslaMithcd, ami only Ilte rww api anca of tttryli.ing Would Indicate llial tint waa mil a town J tevartl tears' grow-In. Wml Ml Ihe Immrnx sowlur it prisjrtt-ing rapidly, lluth Ihe t'lah A N.rftUre ami ih Noriht-ra I'tcifte will ptoiwhly ImimI branch Hum lo Ana comla in the ipiing. The irgion mtb uf FUihcml lake, though mm of the best, U mm of Ihe least known In Ihe lr.
