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About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 9, 1890)
998 WEST SHORE. Adisasterous fire occurred at Wallace, Idaho, on July 27, which swept the entire business portion of the town and caus ing a loss of four or five hundred thousand dollars. The fire originated in the kitchen of the Central bouse, and was soon beyond the control of the fire department, the water supply be ing entirely inadequate, the flames swept everything in their course from the river to the hills, including many residences as well as all the business houses. One man, an Italian, named Antonio Demerio, was burned to death. Wallace was built in a triangular flat between the hills, and was the trading center and pride of the Coeur d'Alenes. Like Spokane Falls, and many other towns, it can lay its calamity to a defective and in adequate water supply. For when the fire occurred, the fire men responded promptly, and had only begun to control the flames when it was discovered the water supply was exhausted and the town was at the mercy of the flames. Of course it will now provide better arrangements, but after it has been once de stroyed and nearly half a million dollar loss sustained. Many . of the business houses opened next day in tents and improvised quarters and will rebuild at once, though the insurance was small and the losses will fall heavily upon most of them. As sistance was offered by neighboring towns, which was declined with thanks, and the citizens of Wallace now begin life anew upon the smouldering ruins of their former beautiful and pros perous little city. In counting upon, and rather boasting of, the abundant food supplies in Alaska, the Alaskan says: In winter the natural food supplies of the natives is herring oil, venison tallow, ven ison, halibut, dried salmon and dried sea-weed. A plug of sea-weed resembles a large plug of tobacco. It is a wholesome food and is eaten either raw or stewed. Only one or two kinds of food are used at a meal. Natives are not accustomed to baking bread, and little bread is used. Pilot bread, purchased at the stores, takes its place. Springtime is the season of fish eggs, an abundance of which are dried for winter use. June 1b the time for edible greens from the woods. Bushels of cranberries and falmon berries are gathered in the summer and the fall. A variety of wild berries grow in great profusion. Indications are that there will be a bountiful supply of Balmon this season. Some mysterious railroad grading is claimed to be going on in Tacoma, Washington. The ''art Company is nominally be hind the work, but it is thougnt the move really means the Southern Pacific Id quietly gaining a northern terminus at that point. The work is progressing daily, as does the guessing as to what it really means. IBM The Tort Blakely mill, of Washington, will enter competi tion for the honors for big timber at the Columbian Exposition at Chicago. It has a itick of timbc' fur exhibit which is one hundred and fifty feet long and fifly-two inches square, and contains 33,800 feet of lumber. It will take a train of five flat cars to transport it. The following officers and directors of the Portland Smelt ing and Refining Co., whose works are located at Linnton, Or., have been elected: President, John McCrakeu; vice presi dent, II. B. Oatman; secretary, C. F. Bunker; managers, Wm. Selover, J. C. Moreland, Chas. Hegele and A. II. Johnson. It is stated that Ashland, Oregon, will ship 10,000 boxes of peaches this season. Still it is said the crop was cut oM fifty per cent, by the late frosts. A fishing-company which has been organized at Vancouver B. C, with a capital of $50,000, is composed of leading busi ness men and capitalists from Toronto and Montreal, and prac-. tical fisherman from the east have been engaged. Deep sea fishing will be pursued, and the catches put on the market fresh and salt. Of 400,000 shares of the Oregon & Transcontinental Com pany, 211,557 Bhares, or more than a majority, were deposited with the Farmers' Loan & Trust Company in exchange for shares in the North American Company. This insures the suc cess of the scheme of liquidation and the formation of a new company. It is refreshing to hear of a western city which is pleased with the census returns. The Albany Herald says : " Albany has no reason to dispute the result of the census enumerators' work. Seven thousand is a very good representation for popu lation. There is no growl to make." William T. Wallace died at Wolf creek, Oregon, recently, aged seventy-seven. He crossed the plains in 1845 with a wife and family from Missouri. They raised twelve children, and have lived in Rogue river valley since 1859. Mrs. Wallace still survives her husband. The sash and door factory of C. M. Johnson, of Tacoma, Washington, was burned July 28. The loss was $60,000, with partial insurance. One hundred people are temporarily thrown out of employment by the fire. It is now said a new industry will spring up for the manu facture of rope, twine, paper, etc., from hop vines. Experts have made a test, and it is said they are well adapted to those purposes. Prunes are a very profitable crop on the Pacific coast, es pecially in Oregon and California. One man in the latter state expects to realize $10,0(0 from bis crop this season. A large deposit of glass sand has been discovered near the mouth of Lewis river, Washington, which it is said would prove very valuable to a glass factory. The contract for building the new chamber of commerce of Tacoma, Washington, has been awarded to A. B. Adam, 6f Tacoma, for $167,400. Vollmer is a new town on the proposed extension of the Spokane & Palouse railroad to Lewiston, Idaho. It is named for John P. Vollmer. Fifteen new brick buildings are, in course of erection in the burnt district of Pullman, Washington. Others will be erected before the winter. The state of Wyoming will hold its first election on Septem ber lith. Idaho follows on the first of October. A $10,000 addition is to be made to the Union, Oregon, pub lic school building. A board of trade has been organized at Palouse City, Washington.