Crook :C4imy ' Journal
-a j
VOL V.
SQUAW CREEK.
A Trip To Sisters And
Its Results.
A Prosperous Country.
Whtre Blooming Fields of Clover
G root Tlie Eve on
Every Bide.
Leaving Princvillo on Wednef
(1)' morning we took the overland
flyer for tli a famous Land of 1'ineH
in the sbsdow of the everlasting
snow of the Three Sisters. Jour
neying down Crooked river we saw
some of the finest wheat nnd other
it-reals tlmt it hns ever been our
lot to behold, nUo fields n( fine al
falfa, Thoxo productive lands
show conclusively what water will
Mo for the foil of thin count; when
properly oplied. All along the
river from town to where the rond
leaves the valley to cross the 'des
ert" to the DcM'Imtog one encount
ers pleasant homes where not many
year ago a broad cxpanso of sage
hrushjmet the'eye. We firmly lw
lieve that what Ii:ih been accom
plished along thur ivcr may ltd one
on the upland if the water can he
had for the purpose. After leav
ing the valley we paw over nhoiit
eight miles of tahlu land that ap
pear to 1e equally an rich noil as
that along the river, which Is con
tcmplated Ijcing covered by Rome
tf the numerous irrigating ditched
now leing constructed on the Des
chutes. The anil in a composition
of land and volcanic ash that Jinn
ln-cn found to bo very productive
and having great lasting qualities.
In placet there in nothing hut
tone and thin it called , "scab
laud," altho the writer 1ms seen
many German families living on
much worse looking farms than
these lands would make if proper
ly handled under irrigation.
After dinner at the bridge on
the, Deschutes we ascended a gentle
loe to another table land which
stretches out for several miles and
then down into shallow canyons
which are now being rcttled upon.
On every quarter section of this
land almost, is room for a home
for some enterprising rancher
"when the water comes." That
part of this land now considered re
fuse will in timo produce fine
bunch grass, if kept fenced und not
overstocked.
About ten miles from the Des
chutes wecomo to the section of
country that is under the Squaw
creek irrigation system, where we
find a number of fine looking
ranches along the. road, but we are
informed that the best ones are too
far from the roJdtobedisecrnable.
This is the beginning of the fa
mous Sisters clover district and
the fields in ill directions were red
with blossoms. , An , occasional
nice looking garden meets the eye
In this section. Thero is still an
abundance of Innd subject to set
tlement and plenty cjf wateT to irrigate-
it.
A short distance lieyond the
crofsing of Squaw creek we find
tlio nucleus of a future town in ths
store building of Smith Brothers,
also several dwellings and stables,
ilacksmith shop and hotels. The
vroj'rietore ft Uw store informed
PRINEVILLE, CROOK COUNT!, OREGON,
us tbat the present year has lcen
a good (me it trade, as t lie impu
tation is increasing rapidly and
they alo supply a lurge number of
the summer sheep camps.
For milt in all directions from
Sisters the surface of the country
is gently undulating and is cover
ed with a growth of line pine tim
W wltieh being removed leaves
the land ready for the plow. This
timber is easily removed as all one
has to do is to girdle the tree one
year and the next they are dead
and io no considerable harm and
can be removed at leisure.
Rising alwve the forest and
seemingly springing from the level
plain, rises the towering form of
lilack Butte, one of the most sym
etrical mountain peaks in tins west.
This peak is nearly seven thou
sand feet above sea level and is
a prominent land mark for many
mile around.
Some twelve miles to the south
ward arc the snow clad summits of
Mt. Washington and tho Three
Sisters, which furniah the store
house for water to make this coun
try a solid clover field. When
most streams In this part of the
state re drying up for lack of
nourishment, Squaw creek and all
other streams having their sources
in these snowy mountains are at
their best. .
So far as gardening and small
fruits are concerned this section of
country is only in the exiH-rimen-tal
state, but where thty have
licen tried small fruits seem to do
as well, or katcr than on Crooked
river. In the course of time, it in
the writers opinion, all kinds of
hardy fruits will 1 produced in
abundant. , ,
On Lower Squaw creek about
fourteen miles from Sisters some
ef the finest gardens ever seen are
said to be growing. Water melons
as large as water buckets and
pumpkins that will weigh seventy
five pounds are common.
Two crops of clover hay are pro
duced annually and then the
meadows furnish fine pasturage
for stock uiitil snow flics. Verily
it seems that after the first few
years of hard work the lines of the
rancher in the vicinity of Sisters
has fnllen in pleasant places.
Baker City Republican: Just
cause for complaint exists in the
custom of eomo sheep buyers who
drive their Hoiks leisurely through
the country, devouring tho past
ures of residents. It is quite com
mon for a buyer to start out with
the purpose of ranging all summer
and fall on tho territ.wy used by
esidont owners, and then take his
stock beyond tho reach of tax
gatherers. Thus, is a district
mado to support stock from which
it gets no benefit, and -the owners
of thh transient herds is skipped
in tho payment of taxes. Also the
resident is eaten out of house, and
home, and the county loses a good
citizen and taxpayer. The Lake
County Examiner recently called
attention to this injustice)," "which
was made conspicuous thero by
tho reveges of sheep estimated to
number 50,0(10 being driven from
Crook, Sherman and other north
ern counties, to California. Union
county has complained of the
same practico in tho northern por
tions of her territory, and several
dietrkta might lie named where
like predatory habits inflict losses
upon resident people, without any
benefit being derived for tlio -coun-
OUR DESfcRT LAND
Its Transformation and
Outlook. .
From Barren to Fertile.
Am Seen by a CWnereeted Observ
er Who Tt.ia of It Bright
future.
rul DrUnaj li Ftatlmd Ttitgnm,
A long as bay , is raised with
no other labor Iban harvesting
and has ready sale at $ 5 prr ton,
tho tedious work of diversified
farming will lie neglected and kept
back, though the prices of the pro
ducts arc good.
This will icmain the case until
the grazing lands are taken up on
a more devennfied scale- and the
bands of stock Jreducod in num
liers, which wili ncesrialy in
crease the numbtjof men engaged
in the business. While it will in
crease the demand for hay it will
also increase thedemand for farm
products, as the Kpu!ation in
creases. Aa the lands under water
supply at present are about all
taken the prices of lands of a till
able nature are increasing at a
rapid rate, and it will not bo long
until the lands will reach such a
value that the small farmer will
only bo able to buy a small tract
of land. He K necessarily en
gsge in diversified farming on his
small plat,
The soil in this section of coun
try is noted for its fertility. Wa
ter is only needed to make it pro
duce anything that can be grown
in this latitude. The supply of
water is being increased by artifi
cial means in different ways, and
every means will be exhausted, ho
long ns it offers successful farming,
and this will be as long as there is
an available acre left in the fertile
sections. Artificial rditches an
now the principal means of sup
plying tho water for irrigation pur
poses, but storage by moans of
mountain reservoirs is being ad
vocated and built in some instan
ces, as well as successful prospect
ing for artesian water it, many in
stances. Where there is such vegetable-producing
soil and water
going to waste sufficiently to uti
lize it, it is safe to say tliat the en
terprising American will find a
means of uniting the two elements
with profitable results.
It is a remarkaWo coincident of
nature that within reasonable dis
tance of all of these fertile sections
there aro belts of fine timbered
lands in the mountains, where ma
terial can le had for improving the
lands. It is a fine grade of timber
and in sulucient quantities for all
purposes. These timber lands and
the farming lands, in many in
stances, can be had from tho Gov
ernment for the mere price of fil
ing nnd locating fees, and a small
acreage price in some "cases, and
are being taken up at a rapid rate.
And this will naturally continue
until all are taken up. Several
Government surveying parties have
been at work in this section dur
ing tho past summer, and as fast
as the surveys are completed the
industrious homeseeker is on hand
to make his selections. While the
best is being taken as fast as it
is aim-eyed, and in many iustaa-
AUGUST 22, 1901.
ces prior rights have been acquired
by previous settlement on the best
before the survey was made, many
good plats now suitablo for homes
arc being culled over, and many
remain vacant for years to come.
Yet every foot of this land will be
taken sooner or later, and the vast
empire of Eastern Oregon eventu
ally settled up by the industrious
husbandman, added to the already
great and thickly populated West
ern Oregon, the state will indeed
increase in magnitude and in pow
er as a factor in this Government.
To the stranger life on the "Ore
gon desert" would seem monoto
nous and lacking in interest. Thr
sagebrush-covered plains, the bar
ren, rockribbed mountains of
wastes, the dust whirlwinds anc
the mournful howls of the coyott
at night, the isolation from rail
roads and the imaginary lack o:
society, all seem repulsive to tht
person from "civilization." Bu;
there arc points to break this mo
notony. Aside from the romanct
connected with life in the country
already described, there are many
things to occupy the mind and
give contentment. The first of al
of these is the confidence of suc
cess from the start inspired by th
universal success that surroundi
one here. Give one confidence ii
iuccess for every blow of labor per
formed and for every cent of mone
expended and contentment is sun
to follow. But there are other at
tractions here. The scenery o.
Eastern Oregon is independent o:
any in any other part of the state
In nearly every county numerou
hot spring, ! with a tcmperatun
sufficient to boil an egg in a fes
minutes, gush from the earth. Tal
rock pillars are to be found a
many points extending high to
ward the heavens, as straight anc
uniform as if chiseled by hnmar
hands. Wild game, bear, deer
antelope and the 'smaller specie;
roam the plains and foothills am
mountains, and fish are abundan
in the streams. The wild life anc
daring riding of the buccaroos alst
have interesting features. Tele
phones connect this section witl.
the outside world, and the punct
ual mail service brings the dailv
papers to the most remote point,
ere they are three days old. Then
are also many historic points t
visit, where noted battles wer.
fought with the Indians and when
forts and camps were occupied b;
the soldiers.
These are, of course, aside fron
the industries of the country, bu
go to make up its features. Moe
of the population is made up fron
men who formerly settled in West
ern Oregon, and while they stil
love their old "Wcbfoot" home
they will tell you that they woah
not give the exhilarating life oi
the dry "desert" for the easy lift
in "wet" old Webfoot.
And they will tell yon anothei
thing that, while Eastern Oregoi
is now known as a stock countr;
almost exclusively, in a few ywir
she will rival her Webfoot htfi
as a producer of nearly everythinj
that grows on the farm, and stil
raise stock and wool on a lurg
scale.
An Eugene agricultural edjtoi
,aw a hay baler at work a nd pro
ceeded to say m his pnper (ha:
threshing Wai in uii bb&t through
out the coinu-y.
SO. 37
GENERAL HEWS.
Items of Interest Gath
ered Here and There.
Somo Stolen, Others Not
Oullinsrs Prom Our Exchanges)
News Notes of th Week.
Timely Topics.
This week the Baker Republican
will commence using its new Mer
genthaler typesetting maehine,
which has been installed ready for
use. Tnis linotype is of the very
latest pattern, and cost, laid down,
about 14000, V ' " ""
John . and ; Tom Considine,
barged with the murder of Chief
t Police Mcrideth, were arraigned
before Judge Emory, in the Su
perior Court, and both having
dead not guilty the trial was set
or September Kith.
Timber fires have been raginjj
or nearly a week on Butte creek
md Thirty-Mile, near Fossil. The
Butte creek fire was started by ono
, Jrant, who was burning a log and
et the fira get beyond his control.
Jrrnt lost 1000 posts and quantity
f cordwood.
Fish Hawk, chief of the Cayune
ribc, died of consumption at hi
lome on the Umatilla reservation
iast Sunday. He was a son of th-j
anions war chief of the Cayuses,
Young Chief, who was conspicuous
n the wars of the tribe during tho
Ws and 60's.
Baker City has more labor un
ons than almost any other town
n Oregon. It has a plasterers
ind a masons' union, a plumbers
inion, a carpenters' union, a paint
ers' union, a typographical union,
ind steps are being taken to orga
lize a cigar makers' union. '
John Winters, who was arrested
or the Selby smelting works rolv-
wry, has confessed the crime, ami
o far $130,000 worth of the bul
ion has been discovered from the
ay, where he sank it. Winters'
confession saves him from punish
nent, aeco-ding to promise and he
fill receive 123,000 offered as a re
gard. The state has brought suit '
tgainst Sylvester Pennoyer, George
.V. SIcBride and Phil Metschan,
is governor, secretary of state nn4
tate treasurer, respectively, dur
ng the period between SeptemWr
SitO, and January 1835, to re
over the amount of the defalca
ion of George W. Davis, clerk of
he school land board sppoistel
y them.
When the old cows on the
maintain range look down anl
eo the big stacks of winter fw l
:hat are punching holes in the at
nosphere of Harney Valley tki
tforcsaid cows lie down in tlm
hade of a pine tree and lauh till
heir tallow gets all out of shape,
-ays the J'ew. And the littl-
Tether lamb that don't know any.-'
hing about h;iy, is sleeping nwa v
'he summer tbat is giving him
'lip start towards 12.30.
We hope Hint the Democrat?-?
bolters i Ohio will take warning
md lasro their only nro-scapel
:andidato before he coa aLu tC
iway.