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About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (May 1, 1885)
158 THE WEST SHORE. NOTES OF THE NORTHWEST. A trim little steamer, the Cilu of Albany, has been vntrnrtv1 tn ply on the wnfrn of tlio Upjxr VVillnmpHe, between Albany and Corvallis. She lias a passenger capacity of forty persona. During a run of flight and ono-half hours, on Good Friday, the mill at Mxvli, W. T., cut 118,(XJ0 foet of lumW, equivalent to 100,000 for a full day's work. There were thirty-two men emphiyed, who exerted themselves to teat the actual capacity of the mill. The Southern Oregon Imrovnmeut Company has just added another to the list of great aaw mills by construct ing a mill of 1 ."(0,000 feet daily capacity at Empire City. The magnificent timlwr of Coos liny and Coquillo River, especially tho celebrated cedar, will make that region the Bcetin of great lumlxirinu eiitorpriaea for many years to come. The new mill will do much work for iU proprie tor! in sawing timlter for their projxised road from Cow Bay to Itowibiirg. The two stock aasociationa of Montana recently met in joint convention at Miles City and united in organis ing the Montana Stock Growers' Association. Home ISO prominent representatives of the industry participated in the convention, which w:ia harmonious and enthusiastic. Much good must result to the stock interests of Montana from this united action, especially in the adjustment of conflicting interest and the inauguration of measures for the1 common good. The Cascade Coal k LumW Railroad Company has been organized by citizens of Goldendalo, W. T., with the object of constructing a narrow gauge road from the Columbia at the mouth of White Salmon River, follow ing np that stream, crossing the mountains westward through the Klickitat Pass and following down Lewie River to the Columbia again. The route traverses well known tiniW and coal regions. The principal oflice i looated at (loldendnle. A thirty-stamp mill is ltoing erected on the Big Camas ledge in the. Wood Uiver country. Ten stamps will soon ho received from Denver and be set tin in a few weeks. Uv means of the Oregon Short Lino tho mining regions of Southern Idaho and Eastern Oregon are now able to import heavy machinery quickly and cheaply. Mines can now lie worked which formerly were compiled to lie undovoed. Ore may also be ahipiod to a distance for reduction to much better advantage than formerly. A very large and but partially explored cave exist in Josephine County, Oregon, on the headwaters of Will iams Creek, twenty miles south of Orant'a Pass. As far aa this cavern has been entered, only some (300 feet, auf flcient iubterranean wondera have loen discovered to in dieate the existence of a very large and interesting cave, whose IxMtutiea and novcltiea will attract many visitors. The ground alxmt the entrance ha been located by an entrprising gentleman, who proposes to render it accessi hie and attractive to tourisU and curiimity seekers generally. A canal ia projected in the Goose Lake region, lying on tho Oregon and California boundary line, which is to earn the double purpose of irrigation and drainage. It ia propoeed to cut a ditch, ten feet deep and ten wide, leading from the lower end of the lake, a distance of three mile, to Pit River. This will lower the surface of the lake sufficiently to drain some ('(0,000 acres of valu able awatup land along the upper and lower ends. Far. ther down Uie channel of Pit River the water will again be divorUvl into ditches and uM for irrinntinir a lariro A railroad running from the Central Pacific at or near Kelton, Utah, north to the Wood River country, is being discussed by the people of Salt Lake City and Wood River. The prowed line would cross snake River near Shoshone Falls, thus rendering that great natural wonder easily accessible from either the Central Pacific or Oregon Short Line. The falls are owned by a syndicate of three men, who propose to erect a $50,000 hotel near the lower, or large, fall, on the high bluff above the stream, commanding a splendid view both up and down the river. The building and falls will be lighted by electricity, generated by the power running to waste in the fulls themselves. Work has been stopped on the branch line from Cald well to Boise' City. The citizens of Boise presented the Union Paoifio with title to the right of way as an induce ment to give them connection with the Oregon Short Line. After having graded about two-thirds of the twenty miles, the company has decided that the state of its finano3s will not justify a completion of the work, and President Adams has so notifie 1 the citizens of Boise He offers to return them the title deeds to the right of way, present them with the roadbed already graded, and afford them complete junction facilities at Caldwell, if they will complete the line themselves. It is more than probable that they will avail themselves of the offer, as they are too intelligent and enterprising to permit their city to be deprived of railroad facilities. A number of rmrtiflH nwninn lnnrl nn PnmoQ Proin'o letween Boise City and Wood River, have combined to li! fll I nm m-m .. cuiuvaie a noiii oi ouu acres witnout irrigation. It they succeed in raising a crop it will settle forever the ques tion of irrigation on the prairie. Heretofore the experi ments have been on so limited a scale as to be of com paratively no value for practical purposes, and to this day the settlers there are about evenly divided on the question of irrigation or no irrigation. Some of the per ms referred to have some fall barley, oats-and wheat in, Iwsidos several acres of walnute, none of which have been irrigated, but all are in a very thriving condition and promise an abundant yield. If the spring-sown ground turns out equally well all things considered it will be accepted as proof that irrigation is not necessary. T',e ravement ' settlers from portions of Oregon ajul California to Harney Valley has become quite notice ible this spring. Already many new locations have been made, and the prospecta are that the valley will have a nviterial increase in population before the season is over. t his groat vacant .tract, as well as many other valleys of Grant County, was described in the February number of The W est Shore, and the attention of thousands were directed to it who had never before given it a thought There are vast areas of Government Tand in that region. I he disadvantego it now labors under is its remoteness faint routes of travel and transportation; but one of the natural railroad routes of Oregon lies through Harney alley, and there are several go xl reasons for predicting ye'" " rnilr0,ia thrUgh ' be",w mnn A railroad from Southern to Northern Montana on SriSfT1 V!UK' heefc minin8 and "(cultural Sul bve,beco,n imiK,rtant to be much longer negated by transrtation companies Several projects h! t" dl instances companies mnlT v S'""1 but no "ctuul work baa been com- in uSv th"i hl" f the Nortl'n Pacific, are advocated, all leading ia 0M gonMal ju rwrt J
