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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 1, 1910)
THE 3IORXIXG OREGOXIAX, SATURDAY, JANUARY 1, 1910 By R. . Callvrrt. OJ JVL.Y 23 last, 40 wagons. BO teams of mules and horses and largo quantities of , railway con struction roatariul - and commissary supplies were unloaded from the teame- Bailey Gatzcrt at The Dalles. Once unloaded. 100 men in feverish haste assembled knocked-down wagons, plied on wheelbarrows, picks, shovels and camp equipment, hooked up four horse teams and began an overland journey eastward toward the canyon ot th Deschutes River. A few weeks previously the Harrl m,n Railway system had begun as sembling railway construction equip ment at points alone the Deschutes and Jiad commenced the construction of waa-on roads Into the canyon, from th east. For about a month the iden tity and pu-poae of the new movement from The' Dalles was clothed in mys tery, then cam an official announce ment that James J. Hill was backing tb enterprise and all Oregon suddenly realised that two great railway iys , terns had begun a race for an unawak ened empire. ; In the bottom of a canyon 100 miles lion and from 1000 to 2000 feet be low the level of the adjoining table 'lands, steam shovels, hundreds of teams and 5000 men are tolling in the I stupendous contest. High cliffs are 'elna; torn down by powder blasts that reverberate from canyon wall to can yon wall, tunnels are being driven through solid rock, dumpcars are mov ing Incessantly, and gradually two railroad grades are being constructed, one on each side of a tumultous stream that averages about 300 feet across. In constructing these two i-ailroads J through 100 miles of unproductive can lon two railway systems are expend ing approximately $10,000,000 and for 'what? To him who can conceive of a terri- vmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm I I; - " .- , f -MsssssjWr JBfe gSZtSl! " ill J"3iMvas- v-05v-ez. ojetzaoss tory approximately the area of the been started and homeseekers in th ytTi" 'aTWTn O" - s- JSSasw- ? I State of Ohio, having all the resources Intent that Ohio possesses developed, and pojscyglng In addition untouchod mines of precious metals, a virgin tract of pine timber unexcelled In stand and area in the wo'M and a stream produc ing unapplied water power four times the aggregate of Niagara may come some conception of the tonnage prize that is at stake. Not only the prestige of first to serve, but low grades and curvatures and location advantages will mean much to tho railway line that gains first place in the contest now in prog ress. This vast' territory has never been penetrated by railways. Interior Ore gon Is what Eastern Washington was ii years ago. Then the traveler over th4 almost unmarked trails of the two states could have found no choice be tween the two districts had be been keeking a home site. Today Eastern Washington has Its Spokane, a city of l.W.OOO population; it has Its Walla Wul la, its North Taklnia. Its Wenatchee, its Rltzvllle and a score of other sub stantial towns and cities. Its great plains are prontably cultivated to wheat and other grains, and its arid tracts have experienced the life-giving touch of irrigation. Mont of Interior Oregon Is still un developed. Irrigation enterprises havt Railroads Into Central Oregon Will Reclaim . Ul Area Greater Than Ohio and Richer in Resources ' ltf! . . JNW -:--' - -1 Is : 1 . ..--.-. -t-o'- r , "'Ij . " ' -, - 11 ml 4, , ' , ' - .. ' " l I V " " ' W 11 ' - -t? i' " v x ' , ' - V1 y Mi - . , i - t flv - - ' 1 . -j v - " " " 11 - - v . .0 -ri-,; - " Life fer iri less remote spots have braved the ob stacles and both have attained a par tial reward in spite of the country's isolation. "Vet Interior Oregon Is chief ly a vast range given over to the graz ing 'of sheep and cattle. Jackrabbits swarm on the sagebrush-dotted plains and in the uncultivated draws and on nearly every barn In the settled dis tricts is spread the drying skin of the coyote. The railroads nave penetrated and criss-crossed Eastern Washington, but so far they have left untouched Interior Oregon. This is the reason why one has advanced and becohje rich and populous and the other has not. The cause of the tardiness of the railroads in penetrating Interior Ore gon Is open to debate. The late E. H. llarrlman was accused of "building a fence" around Oregon with the Inten tion of giving it railway service at his leisure. If the intent was there, it at least has been proved that the fence was not impregnable. Successors of Harriman are now 'building a railroad into Central Oregon in anything but a leisurely manner. Whether or not Harriman thought he had Interior Oregon bottled, it cannot be questioned but that the difficulties of railway construction into the country had a great deal to do with the slow ness of railway development. Interior Oregon, In general, is a high. -vif "X. i t - -' I : VlT- - iui . .- plateau, ranging in altitude above sea level from 3Q0O to 4S00 feet. If one will glance at the most recent map of Oregon he will see a great cor ner in the southeastern portion of the state almost completely designated in blark. This corner comprises about one-third of the area of the whole state of Oregon. On the west the Cas cade and Siskiyou mountain ranges throw up barriers, on the south the head of the Sierra Nevadas juts into the state from Nevada and sends spurs up to meet the Burnt River mountains along the eastern border. Out of the western portion and north west corner of this great area the drainage is toward the Columbia River, the Deschutes valley forming a great panhandle of 9000 square miles extend ing to the north. From the southwest corner the drainage is into California, through a gap between the Slsklyous and the Sierra Nevadas. One river, the Klamath, flows out along tha southern base of the Sisklyous into the Pacific ocean. Other streams flow into. Goose Lake, which la the main source of the Pitt River, which finds a confluence with the Sacramento River near Red ding. Cal. To the east the great table land area is drained by the ilalheur RJver, which begins in the form- of a box canyon through the rimrock and drops 2000 feet to its confluence with the Snake River at Ontario, Or. This river can-" yon forms a gap between the Cedar Mountains, the northermost spur of tho Sierra Nevadas. and the Burnt River Mountains. Thus are three and, say men familiar with the country, only three water-grade routes provided Into Central Oregon. It is declared feasible to penetrate the Cascade Range, but the grades would be those of the typical mountain pass, while the other routes offer water grades. The Deschutes has long been looked hpon as the most adaptable railway gateway to Central Oregon. Along the Columbia River high bluffs roll back from the water's edge. At Intervals minor streams have cut steep draws through these bluffs, and up three of these draws short branch lines have been extended toward the interior. The longest, the Shaniko branch of the O. R. & N., is 70 miles in length, but it reaches the high lands after winding over grades that attain a maximum of H per cent. On the other branches the gradients are but slightly lesa. The Condon and heppner Branches wouid have to plerca the Blue Mountain spurs to reach far into Oregon, and gradients on all lines make long ex tensions impracticable. Fed by perpetual snows on the east ern slope of the Cascade Mountains, the Deschutes Kiver is the largest stream that flows out of Interior Ore gon. The valley it drains contains an area of 9000 square miles, or a district greater in extent than the entire State of Massachusetts. The flow of the Deschutes River Is almost due north. It parallels the Cas cade Range, and numerous small streams flow out of the mountains from the west and add to its volume. One hundred and forty miles from its mouth, after flowing in comparative tranquillity for 35 miles, the Deschutes takes a sudden plunge Over Benham Falls. It drops 110 feet in the first half mile, and from there to the mouth it is a raging torrent. In the 140 miles " the river falls approximately 4000 feet 'before discharging its accumulated waters into the Columbia River, hav ing twice the fall of the Malheur in the same distance. - As the canyon sinks into the plateau the river winds around dome-like hills, bare save for a light covering of grass and so steep that the rocky volcanic soil slips in places and forms black spots of 'eccentric shape. looking as if someone had upset a gi- gantlc ink bottle on a light green car- pet. At times these high rounded where promising ledges of gold-bear- and fr three-fourths of the country domes give place to perpendicular ing quartz are held back from develop- 14 ls downhill pull-to Portland. Can walls of rock and castellated craigs. ment by lack of transportation. The yonw and mountain barriers divide the Columnar basalt crops out at Intervals, central portion of the county embraces territory into sections, making likely Sometimes the columns stand erect, the Crooked River, Ochoco and McKay tn upbuilding of a dozen or more sub again horizontally, and give the ap- .Creek valleys, that last year produced atantial cities, instead of one main dls pearance of immense ricks of cord- 66,000 tons of hay. On the stock ranges tributing center, so If properly fos- wood Jutting from the hills. In thia canyon is offered a maximum working grade to Central Oregon of eight-tenths of 1 per cent. , Such is the route that is to be the main traveled highway to Central Ore- gon. The first districts of Interior Oregon to feel the impetus of railway development have been Western Crook County and Northern Lake County. Crook County is an undeveloped em pire in itself. It has an area greater than the states of Connecticut, Rhode Island and Delaware combined, and there is enough good vacant Govern ment land still in the county to provide homesteads for 8000 families. The railroads will first touch the northwestern portion of this county, tapping an area of 250,000 acres, capa ble of producing good grain, crops. In 1908 only one-sixth of this area was in wheat, and it produced 1,000,000 bush els. This grain area extends south- ward to the canyon of Crooked River, which cuts into the Deschutes from the east. South of Crooked River is the big irrigation district described in an other article. ' Where the ' irrigation works leave off the timber begins, cov- eing the southwestern portion of the county. In the southern and southeastern portions of Crook County alone ' are 1.250,000 acres of rolling ' sagebrush plains, practically unsettled, but capa ble of producing crops of the Big Bend country, in Washington. In the north .western portion are low mountain ranges, divided by small, well-watered , and wonderfully fertile valleys. There is located the Ochoco mlnlne- district. of the one county. last year were 30,882 head of cattle, 102.880 head of sheep and more thun 10,000 horses. In Central Oregon are large coal de- posits from which fuel has been hauled to Madras and Prineville and fonnd to be of excellent heat-producing quali- ties. In the Madras and Lament a coun- . tries the wells dug for domestic water supply are sometrmes so impregnated j with petroleum thaX the water cannot j be used. A well for oil is now being drilled near Lamonta. "What is said of Crook County may be said of several other counties of Eastern Oregon, and Crook County comprises but one-fifth of the area of the isolated empire. South of Crook are Klamath and Lake Counties. The northern and west ern portions of Klamath County are occupied by the pine timber belt. In the southern portion a Government ir- rlgatlon project will reclaim 190,00 acres of land. The timber belt also extends over into Lake County. This timber belt of Central Oregon is more than "00 miles long, and ai'erages 50 miles wide. About 50 per cent is private holdings, and the balance is in Government for est reserves. It ' has been estimated that this timber belt can produce 50') cars of lumber dally for 50 years. In Northern Lake County, in the Fort Rock, Christmas Lake, Silver Lake and Fremont districts, are 288.000 acres of good agricultural land now being tak en up by homesteaders. Around Sum mer Lake are immense deposits of bor ax. Of- Lake County's 8D00 square miles ofarea. nearly one-half Is Gov ernment land. Harney County, to the southeast, has an area of 10,000 square miles. There one company alone markets from 20.000 to 30,000 head of cattle yearly, driv ing the stock overland to railwa; points at Ontario and Shaniko, Or., anv Wlnnemucca, Nevada. In Harney Val4 ley Basin, it is estimated are morel than 1,000,000 acres of agricultura lands now used for stockraising. Neari Malheur Lake are promising oil and natural gas indications. Malheur, nearly as large is also stock country, with large Irrigation, projects on foot. Excellent oil Indies i tions exist near Vale, the county seat and several drilling outfits are at work Malheur's area Is nearly 10,000 square! miles, of which five-sixths is unap propriated. Projected railway lines cross Lake, Harney and Malheur Counties east and west, and another line is projected southward through Lake County to Lakevtew. Klamath County Is to be brought In touch with Portland by the complotlon of the Natron cutoff, now under construction by the Southern Pa cific This country is to be' reached by wa ter grades by the two railway systems tered and encouraged interior Oregon will become Portland territory, making for the further growth and prosperity of this city. As for the country itself, it has been well said that it Is one in which the man with common sense can- not make a mistaJte. o