THE WEST SHORE.
117
of its dense growth of trees and shrubs, the flnts, hills
and bottoms become extramoly vnlunblo for agriculture
and glazing. The soil is good; no other could support
the dense natural growth upon it. It is generally a dark
mould, derived from the decomposition of vegotable mat
tor, such as leaves, roots, fallen trees, which has been
going on for ages, mingled in the valleys with the deposits
brought down from the mountains in seasons of high
WBter. A rioh, red loam is frequently met with, and there
are found some gravelly and sterile tracts, also various
colored and sticky days. The best soil often extends to
the very top of high hills. Wheat, oats, barley, corn,
flax, vegetables, etc., produce in abundance. Corn is
especially fine, presenting a strong contrast with the
Willamette Valley, where corn is not a successful oereal.
Umpqua Valley shares with the Rogue River region the
honor of producing the finest quality and greatest abun
dance of fruit in Oregon. Apples, pears, plums, cherries,
peaches, aprioots and grapes grow in profusion. In the
line of small fruits, especially strawberries, Douglas rules
the Portland market The first settlers found plums,
raspberries, etc., growing wild in the greatest luxurianoe,
and time has shown how well the soil and olimate that
sustained them were adapted to the cultivated varieties.
Formerly the Umpqua was a great stock country, but
gradually its pastures have disappeared bofore the plow,
and cattle have given way to grain; still, the stock inter
ests are considerable. Durham and Devon cattle Bre the
prevailing breeds, though a number of pure and half
blood Jerseys are to be found Cattle thrive best when
fed in the winter season, though they can pick their own
living in the foothill ranges. On the bottom lands the
excellent winter pasturage, at a season when stock on the
Atlantio Coast are being fed on hay, rendors the Umpqua
region especially adapted to dairying. The blood of
draught horses has been undergoing a process of im
provement for a number of years by breeding to imported
Percherons. The sheep and wool of the Umpqna are the
most celebrated in Oregon, and Umpqua floecos command
the market in San Francisco. Spocial prominence has
been given to merinos, and upon those the reputation of
Umpqua wool has been made. Of late years a number
of flocks of long-wool sheep, especially ootawold, have
been introduced with good suooess.
The transportation facilities consist of the 0. & 0.
Railroad, from Portland to the south line of the State,
which traverses the centre of the county from north to
south, passing through the most populous portion. The
route to the sea by the way of Gardiner, at the mouth of
the Umpqua, involves hauling by wagon to Soottaburg and
transferring to a river steamer at that point A project
of much importance is the construction of a railroad
from Roseburg to Coos Bay, passing, by way of the Co
quillo, through the heart of the vast timbor and coal
regions. As this would be a means of developing both of
those valuable resources, and giving the Umpqua region
easy access to a good harbor for deep water vessels, it
would be of incalculable benefit to the producers of the
alley. A company has been organiied for this purpose,
and the prospect of its successful completion within a
fuw yetus in bright
The loading valleys, generally known by the name of
the Btroam flowing through them, are North Umpqua,
South Umpqua, Myrtlo Crook, Cow Crook, Looking Glass,
Ton Milo, Camas, Floumoy, Happy, Missouri Bottom,
Cole's, Fronoh Settlement, Calapooia Creek, Elk Crook,
Garden, Door Creok and Yoncalla. East of Roseburg is
a vast strotch of country unsettled, nnsurvoyed and prac
tically unexplored. It is oxtromoly mountainous, run
ning up into the high peaks of the Cascades, but there is
much excellent timW, and no doubt many good locations -for
sottlomont exist there. The Smith River country,
lying north and wost of Drain, is, porhais, the best part
of the unsettled portion of the oonnty. The east fork for
severid milos flows through a beautiful, level plain, from
one-half to two miles wide on either side of the stream.
Bolow the forks there is also muoh valley land, and the
stream has numerous tributaries on which is muoh good
bottom land Iu the oldor settlements land may be pur
chased at almost any price ranging from 95 to fT0 por
acre, according to location, quality and character of im
provements. The county soat is Rosebnrg, situated on tho South
Umpqua, at the junction of Doer Creok. Tho UniUtd
States Land Ofllee for Southern Oregon is located at that
point Roseburg contains a population of alxmt 1,100,
and has two flouring mills, a foundry, browery, numerous
stores, sovoral large warehouses and an engine round
house, boing the end of a division on the railroad It is
a prosperous business town. South of Roseburg, on the
railroad, are the villages of Myrtlo Crook, with a grist
and planing mill; Riddle, with a saw mill, and Glondalo.
On the old stage road is Canyonville, containing two saw
mills and two grist milk On the lino of tho road north
of RoHoburg are sovoral flourishing towns. Oakland has
a flouring mill and an academy, and is tho shipping point
of a large agricultural region. Drain, from which stages
run to Soottaburg and Gnrdiner, is a good business and
shipping point nnd lias two saw mills and a flouring mill
Yoncalla is a shipping station and has a saw mill. Wil. .
bur ooutains the Umpqua Academy. Numerous other
small business points and post offices are located In the
various valleys. See "Coast Region" for the western
md of the oounty.
JACKHOM COUNTY.
Jackson County lios in the extreme southern end of
Oregon, bordering on tho California line, and Is honwned
in betwoon the Cascade Mountains on the east and those
of tho Coast Ruiign on the west, tho Rogue River Mouu.
tains on the north and tho Siskiyous on the south, all of
which occupy a portion of tho 2,800 square miles em
braced within its territory. Surrounded by these moun
tain ranges is the thickly settled portion of the county
the beautiful Rogue River Valley. The valley prowr is
about forty milos long by twonty wide, though sometimes
the name is made to embrace tho whole watershed of that
turbulent stream. The mountains are heavily timbered