106
largest in the county, baa s capacity of 40,000 foot per
(lay, and run oonittniitly. Quarries are in the vicinity
whore paving stones are tnkou out At Columbia City,
two mile Mow 8t Helens, is another baw mill. In the
oountry tributary to this place are extensive bodies of
excellent iron ore and large eoal deposits, which will, no
doubt, m utilized at no diHtant day. Enterprise, ten
miles further down the Columbia, in the shipping point
for a saw mill situated several miles back from the rivor.
Many fine farnm are located in the vicinity. At Rainier
in a mill cutting 25,000 foot per day. There is also a
small ship yard, a barrel factory and a cannnry, where
Milmon, smelt salmon trout and caviar are prepared for
market In Beaver Valley there are two miUti, and much
lurnW, shingles, oordwocxl and clmrcoal are sent out and
nhipcd at Cedar Landing. There is a large settlement
in the valley and plenty of room for other. Near Brad
bury, twelve miles below Rainier, there is Dome good
land along the river. Logging is the principal business.
In (ho Clntskanio Valley are three Haw milk In the
valley, and in the vicinity of Marshland and Wood's
landing, is some of the Ix-ttt farming laud in the county.
There is room for more settlers in that region. AcrottH
the mountains from Wood's Landing to Riverside, in
Nehalem Valley, it is fifteen miles. Near this point there
is a saw mill. Up the valley twelve miles is the town of
I'itUburg, having Ixith a saw and gnat mill. Further up
is the town of Vernon ia, having a saw mill and bjihIi fac
tory. In the valley is much good land open to settle
ment, enough to give homes to 5,000 jNtople, Much valu
able land there has just been thrown x'n to settlement
by the forfeiture of the Oregon Central land grant The
water jHiwer is exoollont largo coal deposit have boon
discovered, and splendid timber covers both tho valley
and Die surrounding mountains. The proposed railroad
from Purest drove to Astoria will pass through the vid
ley, and thus bring it into frsn communication with the
remainder of the State. The resources of Columbia
County are almost entirely unilevelojied, and groat induce
meuU are offered to settlors who can utilise tliem. Spe
cial atteutiou is callod to its advantages for dairying.
The Coast Region.
That ortion of Oregon known as the " Coaat Region "
is a comparatively narrow strip, from tweuty to thirty
miles wide, lying between the summit of the Coast Range
and the Paciflo Ocean. It embraces tho counties of Chit
op, Tillamook, Coos ami Curry, and jxirtions of Renten,
Iua and lXuiglaa, and has so many features xculiar to
iteolf as to warraut a separate classification. It is densely
covwd witli a giant growth of fir, cedar, spruce, hemlock
ami other valuable timber trees, which prevail on the up
lands, and many kinds of desirable hardwoods, such as
maple, alder, laurel, etc., along the courses of tho numer
ous streams. The whole country is one vast forest, stretch
ing out continuously from the Columbia River to the
California Hue, except where great tracts have been swept
by forest fires, as ia notably the case in lleuton County,
or where strips of prnirie land interpose, as in TilUimxtk'
The rainfall of this region in summer time is greater
than in the Willamette Valley, while in winter the ther
mometer seldom falls below the freezing point The vine
maple bottoms, as the low lands along the streams are
generally callod, Bre the most desirable, and will prove
themselves the poor men's homes of the future. To ren
der them such work is necessary, either by the settler
himself, as is generally the case, or by others whom he
pays for their labor. Much of these lands have enough
cottonwood to pay for their clearing, since barrel staves
of that wood are in demand. The fir will make fence
rails and shakes for houses and barns, the larger vine
maples make durable posts, and the elders and quaking
aspens can be slashed for burning. Next comes the fire,
leaving the ashes to fertilize the soil, and up comes the
shamrock, which is a natural growth and a great element
of wealth. This tiny white clover is everywhere along
the bottoms, and is the best butter food known. The
streams are numerous, while springs of pure water burst
from tho ground in every gulch and at frequent intervals
along the hillsides. Snow is unknown except on the
hills, and grass and clover are perpetually fresh and
green. As a dairy region this certainly has no superior
in the world, while the incidental raising of beef cattle
and hogs for market can be made extremely profitable.
The indigenous ferns and brakes are a pest to the farmer.
On tho prairies, and where timber has been sufficiently
cut or burned to give them a chance, they spring up
thickly and grow to giant proportions, sometimes higher
than a man's head They can be subdued and kept down,
and aro to be preferred to burrs, thistles and many simi
lar posts of older agricultural regions. Under them,
especially in the large tracts whjch have been burned
over in past years by forest fires, the wild pea vine grows,
a very nutritious food for cattle.
It is not only the bottom lands, however, which aro
desirable or may be rendored suitable for agriculture.
There is much hill land possessing a fertile soiL It has
been indiscriminatoly asserted that the timbered land is
uot fertile and is not worth the cost of clearing, though
how this can be maintained in the face of the hundreds
of gxxl farms that have been carved out of the forest it
is difllcult to telL There is, to be sure, much hill and
mountain land which is gravelly. This is true of the
higher and steeper ridges of the Coast Range, but there
are also mnny thousand acres of the most productive land
now covered densely with timber. In fact, the very lux
uriance of it growth of trees, vines and shrubs is proof
of tho nehness of the soiL There are rolling hills which
have a deep soil, producing the finest fruits, vegetables
Mid grain, deluding corn, and there are extensive pla
teaus, with a deep, rich soil In the main the forests are
dense To one unaccustomed to Oregon Umber the trees
oem formidable, There are giant firs and spruces, from
eight to fourteen feet through, with huge roots and abut
menu reaching up twenty feet from the ground, and
hemlocks standing in thick array, straddling old rotten
log. or emergmg from huge stumps, while an infinitude
" T ml W and huckle berry bushes
i cover