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About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (April 1, 1889)
THE WEST SHORE. The transition from the nomadio u i (inn of the soiL liabing wwkly ltf". n'1 lhn lmZ . : life of a herder to the more stable one of a farmer is IIt. TLii city i one of the Urg-at ..hipping poin rf E&&km Q in KuWn Oregon. Tbo cattie king has already disappeared, and while it Utile and bows have the brand ol weir o fange eyer aud are a!U! to run at large over the vast exieni cQwboy q regioQ iiuiturn lan.L Karh proprietor Lai a round-up ai m innumerable caravan of things that were t,k one or twice a year, or ofU-ner u ne y change confltituteg one of the 1. Hat the shwp go in Jocks, or ba ds 0 kfj mft flection8 of from fifteen hun rsl s will develop the property, while the herder, each, an.! each bunch Lm t herder to take care , 1 bund dred of it. Tim herder, with his ono or two dogs, mn.t rn. I merely cleaned the profit which its very wildness . lL. .(t.,i,i Tn isnftl the deeD rooted aversion which min with them selecting pasture and guiding me , nu. r - - ck "it n h!'da tun, nd at night putting the is grounded m the erroneous reports that have for JJOCS VI II III "I' ""J I Uon tnrranf. ftjwnt Mirth rAJTinTia ff Mia all in the corral to protect them from cougars gem ----- - ' ..in... l .. : ,An ho ninwl nn an pnnftl rnnnnw with corral, that he may respond promptly wlien mere 1 an iny commotion among the sheep and beat away depmlatora. A great deal of tact in often required in handling "beep. In transferring them from ono range to another thy will sometimes refuse to ford streams, or if caught in a mow storm they are likely to stall and cause, trouble At such times, however, the border usually has help. The intelligence dis played 1-y the shepherd and collie dogs in handling sheep, is remarkable. The most noUbl feature of the development of the counties extending back from tho Columbia river is the tendency to cultivate, tho soiL One riding have in order to be placed on an equal footing with sections no more meritorious. The climate, while not so equable as on the coast, is by no means so rigorous as in most of the eastern states the Upper Mississip. pi valley, for instance. The snowfall varies with the altitude, being heavy in the mountains, and in many of the valleys very light Stock winters on the range, often without other food than the pasture there affords. The northeastern part of Oregon is being rapidly settled. It presents many features that are peculiar ly attractive to farmers from the east, among which are plenty of wood and water, mild climate and fer tile soil. Some of the small valleys rarely have snow, through that country for the first time would be prone ! and such sensitive fruits as the peach can be success- to awept without question the statements of geogra phies and cyclopedias, and even of explorers, nntil within thft past decade, that it is valueless for agri cultural purxMM, ami altogether a dreary, desolate t kt, inhabited ou!y by coyotes, jack rabbits and fully raised. The great varioty of climate which the different altitudes afford, makes the range of vegeta ble production a wide one. There is game in the mountains, the streams teem with fish, and the scen ery is of all degrees of grandeur. It is a delightful Ulgera, and strewn with the bleaching bones of graz- place to live, and intelligent industry is profitable. ing animals that have had the hardihood to try to get living there. The miud permeated with this idea might make a sujrficial tour of tho country and con sider that view of the case confirmed. To the un prejudiced investigator, however, a revelation is in atortv The land that at first glance appears so unin viting is found to pes surprising merit That ashy soil pruluee large croj of grain of a superior quality, and fruiU thrive except in a few of tho most unfavorable sjm.U Of course, it might be expected Tho cities of Eastern Oregon are progressive mu nicipalities. All have water works systems, streets lighted by electricity or gas, and graded, macadam ized or planked. Publio schools are distributed throughout the country. For the most part, the coun try roads are good. Government land may be ob tained in any of the counties and in eligible locations. The Northern Pacifio land grant occupies a consider able portion of the land along the Columbia river, but the conditions upon which the grant was made have t .l I 1. ,, .- 1 1 . , . . . ' ; uyuu wuiUU W1U v rr.T 1 , "T1 m ,nm Vlc since lapsed, and it remains onlv for congress to m.ZZrZ T f th(,lWkp8t rmally declare the grant forfeited to reatore it to the L ran ?U "K f PQblic Changes such aa opening Indian re iLat region, and thee are lncreaatnc in nnmLr rA.r . aut- DUVU 00 vf 17 !,(, no ...,ia i. siwn ZZ I WrU ". rCf 40 ,dmU Eutern 0reE 10 u I"' CUUHa- fj Reo Rmnnn 1 U1 r "-."lij no ituuauio areas.