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ir iimi
Grook County Journal
COUNTY OFFICIAL PAPER, $1.50 YEAR PRINEVILLE, CROOK COUNTY, OREGON, THURSDAY ARCH 21, 1912. to'Z2B 'mZ 5l!T7JH Jr,tirTl" VOL. XVI NO
17
Crook County-
Its Resources
Tie Northern Pacific I
I'Hucd a I 'm iiamiilili
fcriptive of Central Oreitott. Tim I
hnll-tunea are t a (.-i it 1 1 y good and
there are plenty of them. They
tlrpict (arm scenes anil show off
our resources to good advantage.
These illustration cannot help hut
imprest Umn the minds of home
seeker the truth of the statement
made in the descriptive mailer. It
says of Crook county:
The earliest development of
new, extensive territory in Con
tral Oregon will bo exttetienced
In Crook County, which occupies
mi area of about H.000 square I
imlos--liirger thun several of our
stolen Individually almost ex
netly In the outer of tho state.
The railroud emerges from the
canyon of Willow Creek, a trl
bumry of the Deschutes. In the j
Mivrilmfn .. . a.. .. I- 1
...-. .Ancui.ij , v riH.a i
"""y-
viuv vuuiuy . greatiy oiver- has been found to be suited to
Billed luits resource, ond if U , horticulture for domestic pur
already In process of transfor-1 p(ises, c.-rtaiu specially favor
tiiutinii from a stockman's coun- nble, but limited, localities have
try toarartningcommmilty. Vet ' vnM proved very profitable In
this trausformaton has but just 'fruit production, but no .just
begun. Grain, vegetables "d ; cU,jm can, at this staSe, bo made
fruits have as yet been raised j tml t10 r0Klou a tt whole
solely for local consumption. !,,rovo a valuable fruit country
Grain, in largo part, has been j f rom a commercial standpoint,
hauled to the small mills, ground j Vl,st of the Deschutes tho
Into Dour, and shipped further ' country rapidly merges into the
Into the interior for use by other ;grnat pine timber area of the
stock-raising; communities, or Intern slope of the Cascado
has been cut for use us hay. Iu Mountains. This is true of the
tho northern part of tho county a ! entire length of the country west
largo area of laud la already !0f the Doscbntes.
under cultivation, but thero was) South of Crooked River, along
not. until tho coming of tho rail- Ub.0 Deschutes, is a large Curey
way making outside Jnurkets Act irrigation project, where the
uvnilable. any real incentivo to Central Oregon Irrigation Cotn
cxtensive farming or careful ,,liny has a partly completed sys
cultivation of the soil. Kntor-' tern planned to water 21,.(XK)
prising farmers have found how-1 acres of land,
ever that their land is capable of ; Alfalfa, clover, and root crops
yielding as high as 50 bushels of particularly, thrive on the ir
wheat to the acre under a proper ; riguted lunds, and it will bo pri
system of cultivation. An aver- j ,arily a dairy district, although
age yield at tho present time is smull fruits produce abundantly,
from 17 to 25 bushels' with care-! Winter apples also seem to do
less methods of farming. J wen BUj lllllny orchards are be-
Tho main cultivated grain area ng planted. Sugar beets are
of Crook County lies to the eust j sald to be a good crop here, being
of tho Deschutes River, and j 0f eMrn tine quality with a- high
north of tho Crooked River, I percentage cf sugar. They yield
Which HoWS into the Deschutes i Bn tons and nnwirH to tho nnre
from the east. In thia district
are located tno Agency flams, ,
comprising about 175,000 acres; j
tho Hay Creek district, with 80,-
000 acres; the Ulizzanl Ridge
district, with 75,000 ncros, and
tho Culver, Lamonta together
genorally spoken of as the "liny
stack" couutry Opal Prairie and
numerous other small districts.
Mecca, Vanora, and Madras will
be tho railway shipping points
for tho Dig Agency IMuins
Ind liny Creek country, and
Metoliuit, Culver and Opal City
will bo tho outlets for Little
Agency Pluins, Opal Prairie, and
the Lamonta county.
Tho rainfall, about 15 Inches
annually, is sufficient for sucess
ful dry farming, but a large area
can bo irrlgatod and ultimately
will bo devoted to intensified
farming. Under dry farming
methods in this locality, where
good farming Is practiced, ryo
produces 10 to 0 bushels, barley
i5 to 50 bushels, wheat 20 to 45
bushels, an aero. Potatoes do
particularly well as to quality and
they proJuced from 50 to 150
bushels an acre. Corn does well
where properly handled, bring
ing 100 bushels an ncre. Dry
land alfalfa produces 3 crops a
season and will average G tons
.an acre or more. Successful
results are obtainod by summer
fallowing ouc-half of one's farm
regularly.
mm
I'rkliiK
hoto by Amcrlumi I'ivhm AiMoclullon,
News Snapshots
Of the Week
kid the aliile dcmrtiunt to nenil tr.M.p. MIhk Antile Ycuiinm-. the fiiinoiiB
khitf of KIiiiii win dlm-overi-d iitul fruKtniled. The Connie of Warwick eauie
Kruit grwinir has been under-1
... I
taken in a smiill way in northern
.Crook County.
nd the district;
'
Thesa projects are unlike any
others in America iu several
respects. Water is taken from
i the Deschutes River above the
town of Bend, the temporary
terminus of tho Oregon Trunk
Railway. The Deschutes is an
ideal stream for irrigation.
From 'Bend the country slopes
gently to tho Crooked River and
through much of the country thQ
irrigation canals appear to be
rapidly flowing brooks.1 Tho
water is melted now from the
Cascude Mountains and it is de
livered at the remotest limits of
the canals as limpid and pure as
it is in the original mountain
streams. Thero is here nothing;
of the Hat, barren waste appear
ance seen in tho usual partially
developed Irrigation district.
Tho country is dotted with jun
iper trees, and most of thorn can
be pulled over by a stout team of
horses. The sale of juniper for
fuel generally brings in enough
to cover the cost of clearing the
land. Tho juniper is also val
uable for lead pencil wood.
The original cost of water rights
in tho Irrigation project is fixed
by the state, which makes no law as the center. A farmers' co
charge for the land itself. In J operative irrigation system is also
the earlior segregation the water watering about 15,000 acres from
sight is $10 an acre for irrigable
laud and $2.50 an aero for land
not susceptible of cultivation.
Improved lands in private owner-
rfr) if) 7 MWfm
IIikiIiI AmuiiiUfH. the Norwodnn -lcrer, rattled Unit he lini! succeeded In reaching the eoutta pole on Pee. 14. Word also came
Unit fiipliiln H-tt of Crent Itrltaln hail reached the (xile with the exedltIon which Milled on the Terra Nova. Mm. I'niikliiirMi
ami Mr. 1'iMliUlc Lawrence were Jailed an the result of the aulTriiKette riot In London. Minn Clirixtnliel rnnkliurst ew-nped
mill eluded the iMillie. The iin.tiiii-.-r In l'eklnu. t'lilua, continued their butchery. killlm thousands, and AtulMUituidor Calhoun
ship have been selling at from
to $100
to flOO an acre, and it is
claimed are low priced at f 100 to
f 150 an acre.
Payment for water rights on
thexe irrigated lamia may be made
one-fourth down and the re
mainder in five equal payment",
due in one, two, three, four and
five year, at fix r cent interest.
Three years are allowed alter mak
ing application and fir-t payment,
within which to cultivate and live
upon the land. The settler may
live upon it ninety day and place
one eighth of the irrigable area
under cultivation, or he may live
upon it neven dava and place one
fourth of the irrigable area under
cultivation and build fence, and,
a house having not leas than 200
square feet floor area. Correpon
dence is invited by the Central
Oregon Irrigation Company, sue-ce-sors
to the Deschutes Irrigation
and Power Company, with ofiices
in Redmond, Oregon, or 415 l!iil
way l.xchange liuilding, Portland
The company will furnirh appli
cation blunkg to be filled out for
application to the slate for this
land. When a settler has selected
the land he desires and has made
this appfrcation, arrangement must
be made with the company for a
perpetual water-right contract.
Over four hundred miles of canals
and laterals, costing to exceed
11,000,000, have already been con
structed. In this immediate lo
cality are the towns of Redmond,
Bend, and Laidlaw, all thriving
and giving evidence of a good
future. The entire section is be
ing rapidly supplied with schools
and churches and-stores. Electric
power and light plants are pro
jected to utilize the water-power,
and development is rapidly pro
gressing in every way.
It is a wonderful dairying and
stoclc country, raising the finest of
sheep and cattle. 'The climate is
ideal, the rainfall being 13 to 15
inches annually, with over 300
days of sunshine. The winters are
not severe, January and February
usually bringing a small amount
of snow, but, as a rule, work can
be carried on throughout the entire
year. Large quantities of wool
are shipped from this region nnd
large wool warehouses have been
constructed at Madras and Metolius
on the railway to store the wool
each year prior to its shipment.
West of the Deschutes River,
around Sisters and Cline Falls,
another company has secured a
Carey Act segregation of about
(3Q.000 acres, with the town of Laid
Squaw Creek, which flows into the
Deschutes from the west a short
distance south of the mouth of
Crooked River. Ia this vioinity
;iyr;A )
imnl.nl cincly sctrimu, died, sued neventynlx. A plot to dethrone the new
to America to deliver a aerie of lecture.
Redmond-Sieters barley, oats,
wheat and root crops are raised,
while clover and alfalfa are ex
tensively grown and produce fine
crops of good quality. With the
opening of outside markets by the
railway this entire region is bound
to become a noted dairy district
and the dairy herds are already
being greatly improved.
The eastern slope of the Car cades
is heavily timbered, and this!
timber can only be conveyed to the
markets of the world by way of
the natural routes down the vari-'
ous mountain streams to the Ore-
gon Trunk Railway. An immense
amount of labor will eventually
be employed in working up this
timber, and this labor must draw
its supplies from and through the
district mentioned. In the region
about Rend and Sisters there are,
now at least seven saw mills at
work, with others expected to be
constructed in
future.
The timbered
the immediate,
regions of the
government reserves abound with
all kinds of game, large and small
The, streams are filled with the
finest trout, making it an ideal
district forhunlinz and fishing.
Another enterprise of vast im
portance in the devilopment of
Central Oregon is that of the Ore
gon and Wrestern Colonization
Company, of Saint Paul, which
company has obtained what was
known as the military-road-grant
lands, comprising some 800,000
acres, and is putting the land on
the market in small tracts upon
easy payments. The land com
prises a belt- some twelve miles
wide, and extends from the Wil
lamette Valley on the west, east
ward, almost entirely across the
state. The more important towns
within this tract are Sisters, Prine
ville, Paulina, Riley, Burns, Nar
rows, Vale, Ontario. The Coloni
sation Company, whose main head
quarters are at Saint Paul, Minn.,
with a branch office in the Rail
way Exchange Building, Portland,
Oregon, will gladly furnish illus
trated literature telling about this
land.
At Bend, which lies 156 miles
south of the Columbia River, the
pine timber belt covering the east
ern foothills of the Cascade Moun
tains, already mentioned, reaches
down to plains and railway, and
there the juniper of the plains
largely disappears, the merchant
able pine timber taking its place as
one journeys southward.
The Deschutes River in this
district not only supplies water for
irrigation but develops enormous
potential water-power. In its
course to the Columbia River it is
estimated that it will generate
more than 1,000,000 horse-power.
Water-power electric plants have
already been established at Bend
i
f C(3t.N1 f-Vi
and at Cline Falls, near Redmond,
and numerous filings on power
sites have been made with the ob
ject of supplying cheap power for
dairy and tarm machinery as the
couptry develops.
Crooked River at the point where
it is crossed by the Oregon Trunk
Railway is a narrow chasm about
310 feet wide, and with perpen
dicular walls of lava .rock. The
canyon is spanned by a heavy and
very fine steel cantilever bridge,
the rails of which are 320 feet
above the bed of the stream. The
river and canyon form a natural
dividing line between northern and
southern Crook county. Before
the river is compressed into its
narrow canyon, however, it drains
a fertile valley, some thirteen miles
long by three to ten miles wide,
including both low lying alfalfa
lands and the higher orchard
lands.
t
Important tributaries of Crooked
J River are McKay, Ochoco, Bear
and Camp creeks. The two princi-
pal ones are the e McKay and
Ochoco, which drain small valleys
and provide valuable reservoir
i
sues lur irrigation,
What the U.
S. Reclamation Service is said to
consider one of the best reservoir
sites in the entire country is found
on the Crooked River east of Prine
ville. Numerous small irrigation
enterprises are now in existence,
and there are many well cultivated
farms in the valleys. It is claimed
that there . are 30,000 acres that
can be irrigated from the Crooked
River and affluents. In the vi
cinity of Prineville there are con
siderable areas new irrigated
from 8,000 to 10,000 acres and
fine root crops, large quantities of
alfalfa 5 tons to the acre and
some fruit are raised. In the
center of the Crooked River valley,
somewhat east of the main line of
the railroad, and at the junction of
the main line of the railroad, acd
at the junction of Ochoco and
McKay creeks with Crooked River,
is Prinevilla, the coreity seat of
Crook county, formerly a great
trading center for stockmen, and
now one of the most important and
attractive towns in Central and
Eastern Oregon.
Southeast from Bend and south
of Prineville is the principal home
steaders' district of Crook county.
Here, there are hundreds of thous
ands of acres of the very best sage
brush and bunch-grass lands avail
able for entry under the 320 acre
homestead, or dry farming, act.
Under this act the homesteader is
permitted to take up 320 acres of
land suitable for dry farming and
secure a pajent in five years by re
siding thereon and doing a specified
amount of improvement each year.
The land is particularly adapted
to the growing of winter wheat and
other grains by dry farming
methods, and is readily accessible
by team or automobile from Prine
ville, Redmond or Bend.
Grizzly School
a Good One
The patrons of the Grizzly school
who are the most interested co
workers in the county in their
school affairs, gathered at the
school hoose last Friday to greet
and cheer their teacher and scholars
in their last day's work. The
teacher, Mr. R. S. Ooff, the directors
and patrons of the dUtrii t have
worked hand in hand, for the last
two years in building up the stand
ard oi their school, atd now feel
that they have the best rural school
in Crook county. The patrons
were free to express their appreci
ation of the year's work by pre
paring a bai-ket dinner equal to
anyone'ejThanksgiving feast.
Mr. Goff is strong in advocating
the policy of developing the child
ren's mind on national and local
timely subjects, capable of reason
ing and conversing on subjects of
the day, so subjects were chosen by
the graduating class and essays
were written which expressed their
own ideas on the following subjects:
, "Protection of American inter
ests in foreign countries," by Ver
non Chitwood.
"The Sixteenth Amendment,"
by Clifford McKenzie.
"The value of an education," by
Mattie Bland.
"Amendments to the Monroe
Doctrine,"' by Glen Chitwood.
The children did extra well with
their work and it will no doubt
prove instrumental in interesting
them in questions of their country
and community.
A mathematical contest with a
neighboring school was arranged
but as the challenged school
failed to appear the scholars
battled with one another for honors
and were pronounced lightning
calculators by the visitors.
The prize offered by the teacher
for the most headmarks was won
by Manilla Dee, who missed but
three words in in the entire year's
spelling lessons.
After a few complimentary re
marks from Mr. Chitwood ana Mr.
Bland, school was dismissed lor
the year.
Great credit should be given the
directors for their willingness in
providing modern school equip
ment. Last fall they purchased a
fine Waterman-Waterbury heating
and ventilating system which is a
friend to school children's health
and there has been no absences on
account of coughs or colds during
the last term. The directors will
be free to indorse the Waterman
Waterbury system to any school,
and are contemplating the purchase
of a "Waterman Sanitary Drinking
Fountain.
Desirable Homeseekers
A Portland paper states that
numerous colonists have arrived
in Central Oregon since the re
duced rates went into effect. They
are rapidly absorbed on the im
mense area of undeveloped land in
that section.
The interior of the state is re
ceiving more settlers this spring
than ever before as this is the first
period during which the railroads
have been completed all the way
to Bend. Many people leave the
trains at Madras, Metolius, Red
mond and intermediate points and
are taking np lands in the vicinity
of these places.
Every through train from the
East brings scores of homeseekers.
Many go to Portland and from
there radiate to other portions of
the state. The most pleasing sit
uation in connection with this sea
son's colonist movement is that an
increased proportion is seeking
homes on lands in preference to
posilions in the cities.