THE WEST SHORE.
Fourteenth Year.
MAY, 1888.
Number 5.
THE METROPOLIS OP THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST.
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S;il8 a city
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pop u i a-
i tion of fifty thousand
' mi
and is situated on tno
f&S-fZ- west bank oi tne n u-
-5i"'5z. lametto river, twelve miles from its
f:'y-I confluence- with the Columbia, and
iir..: -. tuD(irci aD(j fifteen miles, by
river, from the Pacific ocean. The first settlers camo
here in 1&13, and in 1851 the settlement was incorpo
rated as a city. It is now the metropolis cf the Pa
cific Northwest, and the third richest city in the
world in proportion of the wealth to per capita of
population. On the east side of the Willamette, di
rectly opposite Portland, is the city of East Portland,
and on the same side, to the northward, around the
bend of the river, the city of Albina, which jointly
contain a population of about ten thousand souls, and
aro connected with Portland by two bridges. Nu
merous ferry boats also ply on the river between
Portland snd her trans-Willamette- suburb. Thus
there aro clustered hero under three corporate names,
a community of sixty thousand people, whoso busi
neps intermingles, and who are actively engaged in
its diversified industries,
J The favorablo position which Portland occupies
for an important commercial city can bo best under
stood by gaining ft knowledge of its location relative
to a largo area of very rich country. The Willametto
valley, at the foot of which Portland is situated, con
tains four million acres of land, and its products aro
abundant to furnish sustenanco to moro than a mil
lion people. Most of this territory is now under cul
tivation. Wheat has been the chief crop raW, but
other cereals, root crops and fruits aro now occupy
ing the attention of the farmers, and on the slopes of
the mountains bordering tho valley, stock raising and
dairying aro found to bo profitable industries. Tic
finest flavored fruits in tho world aro raise! hero
At.nW reirs. Drunes, peaches, plums, small fruits,
melons, etc In fact, all tho products of tho temper,
ato zone can bo succeusfully grown in the Willametto
valley. Tho surplus product of this fcrtilo valley, of
course, flows through Portland, to which jort it is
tranaported by boats which ply on tho Willamette,
and railroads which penetrate tho country on each
6ido of the river. Tho Columbia river, leforo pierc
ing tho Cascade mountains, flows through and drains
a tract of country more than four times as large as
tho stato of New York, and with ft soil of wonderful
productiveness. The improvement of that vast re
gion is scarcely begun, yet the product ha already
grown beyond thfl facility for Bofing it, though
they aro great, and beyond all expectations. Put the
transportation facilities aro increasing rapidly and
that trouble will tot laid. Anything that can bo
jrfown on fertile soil in a mild climato is produced in
thisbasin, and from Idaho, Washington Territory and
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