IHE WEST SHORE.
etc., fur the demands of the trade that centers there.
Now that the railroad makes Heppner a terminus, it
". i i tr tVitt otnrACA and nhinrnfint nHVia
18 IDWIO R uepm iwi o - r
ha. a river fr.ur of ,.ut t-five;
u.., .r .Mmtv mil. The southern part
of tLf muMy is in a pnr -f the J-Iuo inonum , , har(Jly Bec0Q(j to
.A I. til 111 11 I III UVJl ' t'
and bo irtin i ii i
t'VI-l
ti tlt.,rn nor.
JtlOI). JUeUOliii-.-l'"-.
i t l. rraaa
land, m,1 i. not Hf.. i turo during the dry season.
Iu j.rioi; and Ml nl'k find grazing
I J, l.ut during the dry months of summer animals
ntKinu. where
tiuiii iiitci u wii' ! ,u '
gran is freh and cn-i-n and water plenty. Arlington
i. situated on thn Columbia, in the mouiu oi aury .
vina descending to th river. It is nheltered by high
hills .n three sides. It ha Home seven hundred
inhabitants, a largo ortion of whom are interested,
in ow way or another, in Block raining, which ia the
chief business (,f that region. Thoro are largo me
houses for wool and grain storage. Great numbers
of sheep, cattle and hones are annually shipped from
that station to markets east and went. The town has
two hanks doing prosperous business, Bchools,
churches, court house, etc, a local newspaper, the
Tmn, mid thn main street is lined with very credita
ble. ttmiueM structures. Stago lines lead to points in
tho itiU-rior southward. Tho volume of business
transacted at Arlington is unusually largo for a town
of its six, even in its favorablo location, and it is hav
ing a healthy growth, (iradually jiooplo are settling
in th interior and find that tho dreary desert so much
talked ( f is rapahlo of making good farms when in
telligently handled. Tho rango is being reduced,
loevrr, in proportion as tho land is being put under
cultivation.
To tho east of Gilliam is Morrow county, a littlo
larger than Gilliam, and probably more generally do
teloxL It ieses tho sarao physical character
istics. Its capital and chief town, lleppner, is lo
cate! south of tho ceutor, and there is a good deal of
farming 'b'o throughout tho county. Its stock inter,
rsts, however, aro heavy. Tho principal station on
tho river aud main line of tho railroad is Castlo Rock.
Last rail a branch of tho 0. II N. was built up
Willow croek souiA forty miles, through Lexington,
to Hepj-Dcr, and those towns havo brightened up and
startM on a new growth. Heppner is a town of be
tween s-ven and right hundred inhabitants, located
on the north fork of Willow cr.vk, and controlling
tho trad of a wido cipanw of territory to tho south
arl Tho largest sUvk owners of that region have
headquarters m Heppner and conduct thoir l,.i.
iho town has tho court honne
"pier, the . miu .
mII. two L,4nj an npre ffic,. t,, h offi
A l,P'1 f 'tanBj is done by blacksmith.
wag.m makers, car,,,., lvw mikorOinsmiths'
from that
Unk, a
stdte.
Lexington is a town of abont five hundred inhab
itants, nine miles northwest of Heppner. For a year
or two past Lexington has been unfortunate in sev
eral particulars, but it is now rising from discourage
ment and taking a firm stand for permanent advance
ment. It is considered a very desirable location for
a city of considerable size, and the activity which the
real estate market has of late assumed, in view of the
projected improvements, gives color to the hope of
its citizens. One of the brightest papers in the bunch
grass country, the Budget, is published here. A bank
is about to be started, and improvements are being
made in the grist mill to enable it to handle the bus
iness the farmers send it There are several large
dealers in produce and merchandise, whose enterprise
is placing the town in a healthy condition for growth.
The site of Lexington is one of the pleasantest of the
inland towns of the state. A stream of water flows
through the town and supplies power for manufactur
ing. The railroad gives it good communication with
outside markets. The strip of timber along the creek
relieves the monotony of the view and furnishes wood
for fuel and other purposes. The country around
the town is being quite rapidly developed, and is
found to surprise the settlers themselves in its pro
ductive powers.
Only the northwest corner of Umatilla county
touches the Columbia river. The railroad extendi
across the county in a southeastern general direction,
with a branch from Pendleton, the county seat, to
Walla Walla, W. T. A division of the same line alio
continues along the river front, leaving the state to
connect with the Northern Pacifio at Wallula, and the
0. t W. runs from Wallula to Pendleton, so Uma
tilla county is pretty well supplied with railways.
Pendleton is the chief city of that part of the state.
It has about thirty-five hundred inhabitants, and is
live, growing town. Its location is on the Umatilla
river, in a somewhat hilly section, and at the edge of
the Umatilla Indian reservation, which is about to be
opeued up for settlement It includes a large area of
as rich land as there is in Oregon. The act for the
allotment of the lands of this reservation has passed
congress, but there has been a little delay in arrang
ing some of the details. With its settlement and do
velopment the growth of Pendleton is insured.
The Umatilla river furnishes a magnificent water
power at Pendleton. A portion of this is now used
in the manufacture of flour, lumber and furniture.
The city is now an important market for all the pro-