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About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 20, 1890)
WEST SHORE. TOO KPAWEST WHILE WE SLUMBER. It it not a pleasant doty to apeak frequently of the plodding methode of so large a proportion of Oregon'i population, but it requires awakening. We are too conservative too much like the man who does not advertise doing business alongside the man who does. We say, in effect, to the out side world, " If you wish to buy soma goods drop into our etore and we will look about and see if we have anything you want." But the customer does not come to ns when he knows what he wants is in the adjoining store. This " moss " we carry about is to our state as the cobwebs are to the store which is too conservative to mike a show of what it has in stock. The truth Is that we need stirring up. The condi'ions now are different than when " our stock and grain were growing while we slept." While we now sleep our neighbors are enjoying the morning enn of prosperity and advance ment at our expense. While we slumber our neighbors on the south are garnering our wheat and shipping it as California wheat; taking the pro ducts of our grist mills and branding it " California Flour; " plucking our prunes and labeling them " California Fruit," gathering our apples and naming them " California Mountain Apples." Upon the cars in this state our apples, pears, and peaches are frequently sold by the train boys as Cal ifornia fruit. Oregon potatoes go east as a California product, etc. Not sat isfied with appropriating our products, California robs us of the good name of those things for which we have established a high reputation. California dog salmon are canned and labeled " Columbia River Salmon " ill while we slumber. Our latest production, coicara ugrada, or cbittim bark, is known In the market as solely a California product. Upwards of twenty tons of this article of commerce have been shipped this season from Benton county alone. A druggist of Eugene wrote to firms in New York as to the price they would pay for the bark shipped direct from that town, and was not a little astonished when the reply came back that the Oregon chittim bark was worthless, and they only purchased that sent and rallied in Cali fornia. Such is a leaf from a true historic page of events in one article raised in this state for which another gains the credit. The fact about chit tim in that Western Oregon produces almost all the bark of this kind that Is gathered on this coast. Our neighbors on the north are not leas active, but more scrupulous than our California friends. By their system of finan cial legislation Oregon is being drained of its available capital by Washing ton, which also attracts the large amount of eastern capital now seeking In vestment In the northwest. Again, Washington is an energetic advertising competitor. It does not believe that the money invested in a large sign Is so much capi'al wasted. The Washington merchant is wide awike while too many of our Oregon business men are taking a conservative nap upon the counter, " allowing the business to run itself." Nature has done her part by Oregon and it now rests with the people whether it shall be the grandest state in the Union or become diitanced in the race for commercial supremacy. Corrallii Oattttt. The author, F. H. Batch, has woven a story of deep interest out of the materials supplied by legends, well known historical facts and authenticated customs and habits of the races that occupied the great Columbia basin when the Caucasian race first visited it. Not only is the story entertaining in itself but so cloeely has the author adhered to facta, that it may well be called a true picture of aboriginal life in Oregon two centuries ago. It shows careful study of the subject, and he Is to be congratulated upon the fact that his imagination has been used only to weave into one piece the scattered threads of fact, rather than, as most writers upon western topics do, to cre ate the facts themselves. In one particular he Is a little at fault. In justi fying his " Confederacy of the Wauna " he states that in 185(1 a great com bination of the Indians from the British possessions to California was made against the whites. In this he is in error. It is true that the Yakimas, Klickitats, Cayuses, Walla Wallas and Spokanee, all living in the Columbia valley, did combine against the white, and that at the same time there was war in Southern Oregon with the Hogue Hlver tribe ; but these two wars were simultaneous rather than conjunctive and grew out of totally dis tinct causes. The Puget sound Indians also engaged in hostilities, but it was never shown that they did so because of any combination they had made with the Yakimas. It ia a question, also, If he would not have come nearer the truth had he placed the Klickitats at the head of the confederacy, instead of the Willamettes, since the slight evidences left for ns to Judge from seem to point to them as the most warlike of all the Columbian tribes in former times. Published by A. C. McClurg A Co., Chicago. Near the mouth of the Wenatchee river, Waahlngton, caves containing large quantities of a superior quality of onyx bave been discovered. A mar ble dealer of Spokane Falls noticed a few iperlmens of the stone in a collec tion of sample of the various minerals of Kittitas c unty, and Inquiring the location of the place where the stone was found set out on a prospecting trip and had no difficulty in finding It He found a number of cave, in which were many stalactites, which, upon being broken p.oved to be beau tiful onyx formations. There are about 320 acre, ol unsurveyed govern ment land Included in the area where the mineral is found, and company has organlied at Spokane Falla and taken up a number of claim, for U.e purpose of developing the find. The ancient priaed the onyx very highly for cameos, and some of their productions have never been equaled by mod 1 engravers. The Washington onyx la beautifully co or t , ban d ng being .harply defined. The .ton. la .xlremely hard and take, a very high ph The principal source of supply of the United State, for thi., .te riJha.be.n Mexl and large amount have annually been xp. d d In ecurlng it for decoration, for interior. "ZlttwM and the prospect, of a paying bu.ines. JfT new find are considered good. The town of W atervl lie, in 4he weatan art d f Douglas county, will be mad. the ba of operation, by the company, which has been capitalized t $250,000. A book that will prove o! much Interest to residents of U,a inorthweel M 'Tht Mge J th, Gods," a tale of Indian life In Oregon year. .go. There are at present In the United States, exclusive of Alaska, 586,210, 861 acres of unoccupied government land, of which amount 282,772,4118 acre have been surveyed. Alaska contains 809,5211,600 acres, less than 1,000 acres having been entered. Montana has the largest area of unoccupied land of any state or territory in the union, having 60,11X1,312 acres unsur veyed and 9,611,315 .ere. surveyed. New Mexico comes second with 55, 360,326 acres. Nineteen million acre, of agricultural land, were transferred to actual settlers during the year. The lands patented to states on account of education, internal Improvement and public buildings during the year 1890 amounted to 539,779 acres. During the yetr patent, were Issued to the number of 117,247 as .gainst 70,141 for the corresponding period last year. Mineral and mill-site patent were also Increased from 913 in 1889 to 1,407 in 1890. The area of coal lands granted In 1890 nearly doubled that of the previous year. In 1890 there were 224 patents, covering 33,473.72 acre, and in 1889, 155 patent, covering 17,090.80. The total receipt from public land have been (7,470,370.31. The committee on Indian affair of the lower house of congress has re ported favorably on a bill granting the right of way across the I'uyallup In dian reservation in Washington to the Tacoma A Seattle Air Line Co. This organization filed articles of incorporation last February and Immediately put a party of surveyor in the field for the purpose of establishing a line between the two cities, but found it impracticable to do anything until a grant acros the reservation was secured. The favorable report of the com mittee is almost equivalent to a grant of the privilege, and as the company has ample funds at Its command work on the road will probably be com menced as soon as the formalities are completed. The Intention la to con atruct a line of railroad and equip It In a manner that will admit of train being run at a high rate of .peed, so that not to exceed forty minute tiro will be consumed In making the trip between the two place. The distance by the new line will be a little over thirty mile, which will require very fast running to make the trip in the time contemplated by the manager. Incorporation have been effected In Washington recently by the fol lowing named companle: I'uyallup Savings, Loan A Trust Co., ol l'ujel lup ; capital, 125,000. Bpokane A Western Railroad Co , ol Spokane Falla ; capital, $10,000. West Kootenai Mining Co., ol Spokane Fall.; capital, (1 ,000,000. Pacific Loan A Truit Co., of New Whatcom j capital, $200,000. Denver Land Co , of South Bend ; capital, $;5,000. Port Angelea Gaa, Elec tric Light A Power Co., Limited, of Port Angele; capital, $1100,000. Bun set Warehouse Co., of Sunaet; capital, $3,500. Meyer Land A Improve ment Co., ol Roslyn ; capital, $25,000. The horse car street railway ytm of Salem baa been purchased by a syndicate of Chicago capitalist. Tnree mile more of road bed are to be built at once and the whol .ystem changed for operation by electricity. Salem already has one electric line. Thecltlien. ol Milton, Oregon, have organlied an association lor the purpose ol advertising that section ol the tat. A large amount of Immi gration literature will be sent out, calling attention to the advantage Uma tilla county ha to offer.