THE WEST SHORE.
7
shadows still lingered, I felt repaid for all the Bufferings
endured.
When grand old Shasta was again hidden from view,
the pangs of hunger returned with redoubled force, and I
now had no other thought or desire than to reach that
indefinite, and I began to fear mythical, place where
breakfast and fire were said to be awaiting us. After a
man is thoroughly and completely hungry and cold, it is
wonderful how much hungrier and colder he can got
Finally we rattled up to Slate Creek Station, at seven
o'clock, by which time I had become a frozen vacuum.
As I crawled down from my perch with all the alacrity
my stiffened limbs and benumbed hands and feet would
permit, I heard some one say it was the coldest night of
the Beason, and I did not feel called upon to dispute him.
Harry L. Wells.
EDITORIAL NOTES.
The East Oregonian speaks in Btrong terms of that
class of immigrants who look for a fortune to drop into
their laps immediately upon their arrival in this region.
They expect to find a " land flowing with milk and honey"
which they are to enjoy "without money and without
price," but discover upon reaching the "promised land"
that they must carve out their own fortune, as they must
everywhere, but with greater prospect of success crown
ing their efforts than in any other portion of the United
States. The West Shore has always sought to impress
upon its readers the fact that our magnificent resources
are ready to bountifully reward the hand of labor and
enterprise, but have no gifts to bestow upon the idler or
the listless. Tho article referred to says: "Home emi
grants loft Portland tho other day for the Sound They
had traveled through nearly all the States and Territories
west of the llocky Mountains, and some beyond, having
started from Texas, but could find no place that suitod
them. They had passed over Eastern Oregon and Wash
ington, through Southern Oregon and the Willamette
valley, but were not satisfied with anything they saw.
After interviewing Western Washington they will start
back and report that there was no room for them, and no
good country to live in, in the Northwest Good riddance
to such people. We have too many of them now. This
region is better off without those trifling idlers who want
to gather where they have not sown and reap whore they
have not strewed. For anylxxly with a will, with a little
resolution and energy, with a reasonable amount of solf
esteem and self-confidence, with ordinary habits of enter
prise and industry, there are open avenues to honorable
success on every highway in the Northwest About one
fourth of the immigrants that come here seem to expect
that a ready-made fortune is awaiting them; and if a good
section of deeded farming land were given outright tp
them, they would whine and growl because horses and
cows and plows and harrows were not thrown in."
The sand motor used by a miner near Bodie, CaL,
might, perhaps, be used to advantage in many places
where water power cannot be obtained. It was the first
intention to obtain water power by means of a windmill;
but as this would be very irregular in its action, some,
times too slow and sometimes too fast, it was decided to
use sand instead of water. The windmill runs a bolt
containing a great number of buckets," and those carry
tho sand up to a largo tank, just as grain elovators carry
wheat in a flouring mill. A stream of sand being lot out
upon the overshot wheel, it revolves just as it would
under the weight of a stream of wator, and tho whool
moves Bteadily on at its work. When thore is much wind
sand is stored up for use whon calm prevails, so tho
wheel is never idle. After a Bulliciont quantity of sand
has once been accumulated there is no more trouble on
that score, the same sand being used ropoatedly.
The scheme of tho Southern Pacific to force wheat
shipments from California to bo mado over that road to
the Gulf of Mexico, and thonco to Liverpool by, vohhoI,
seems to involve tho enlarged development of tho coal
mines on Pugot Sound. As vobhoIh coming to San Fran
cisco for wheat charters bring coal as a ballast upon which
they expect to realize expenses of getting there, (lie man
agers have conceived the idea of bo completely supplying
the market of that city with coal from Pugot Sound as to
cut off this Bourco of rovonuo from ship-owners, and thus
force charter rates up to a figuro beyond that demanded
by the managers of tho new route. This scheme includes
the addition of several fast iron colliers to the Paget
Sound fleet
Work on the Oregon Short Lino bridge at tho mouth
of Burnt River is progressing rapidly. Tho other two
bridges across that stream aro nearly completed.' The
lino of tho 0. It. & N. Co. is nearly all graded to tho
point of junction, and will bo ironod in tho spring. Travel
by this route is idready quite considerable, tho gap from
Meacham's to Caldwell being spanned by a good linn of
stages. The 0. S. L. terminus will soon bo romovod
from Caldwell to Weisor City, only twonty-threo miles
from tho point of junction at Huntington.
The projxwod tunnel on tho Cascades Division of the
Northern Pacific will bo 10,000 feet long, 2,400 above sna
level, and will cost $3,000,000. Thore are twenty-five
miles of road completed from the Columbia Itivor, six
miles ubove Ainsworth, leading towards Yakima City,
which will bo of little practical value unless completed to
tho latter point, eighty-five milos from tho river. What
will bo done in tho future it is impossible to foretell.
Huntington, tho now town on Burnt River, which has
been selected as the point of junction of tho O. S. L. and
O. R. & N. Co., is growing rapidly, notwithstanding tho
site is not surveyed, ond parties cannot yet secure title to
ground built upon. There are two general merchandise
stores, throe hotels, ten saloons, blucksmith Hhop, shoo
shop, harness shop, and at the bridge site, two ond one
half miles distant, are a uumlor of restaurant and
saloons. As a junction it must Income a place of con
sidorable importance.