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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 25, 1908)
SEAL OF HALF A CENTURY BROKEN Wonderful Sale of Farms and Lots in Southern Oregon Oldest Wagon-Road Grant Cnt Up and Placed on Market. GENTLEMEN'S CorrectClothesFashions, sum up f PT I- H TVII-I.I AMS. Th- hiinrtrtl Ihmimiiil brod R-rl mrv'iJ (nto ll.3 farmt". pu.-veywl. ap-prsi-oil nd sold to upwards of 10.no. Individual- and all Tvitliln less tnan a vrnr'- It sound." wll. to th average farniT it radf like a fahle-oui uiaL u j hat i beirnt done here, within the lde boundarlos of OreBon a empire. Only in iie ureal Vei are bit flings ilk thia pos)hle. and this is a. story of the la-st and best V eft. How It happened, who made it possible, horn- and why It Is done, all form an ln-t-restinB iiapter. dealma; with the old Oregon niill'arv road land yrant from the point where it crosses tlie -as. ade Mount ains near Oresjviit and Od. ll Iaki. and. from tne eastern border of the Klamath Indian Reservation, extend in an Irreg ular line down to Lakevicw. and thence eastward to the state line directly oppo site Silver tniv. Idaho. The seal of 40 year has Iwn removed, and this ast mplre. as large as the State of Rhode Island is b:-ins sold at the amaaing rate of 3f farms a month: The feature that warms the Oregon booster heart is that fullv so per cent of the land . is being bought bv ieoile of the MiasiMlppI al lev utater-wiif-ra for the first time In hitorv thev are hearing of Oregon a greatness where the crowd is pressing for elbow room, where the lands have gone up bevond prlcts within reach of the poor man where again the cry is "West ward, further westward."" Beverldee Chooses Oregon. Senator Beveridge in liia recent Port- Jand speech said: "Oregon is th; grand i est country I have ever seen, and I have ' been nearlv all over the world. When I I retire I arn going to buy a little ranch in Oregon and isttie on it." He little comprehended the meaning of his words in the sense of vastness. scope and vari- ' tty. He had traveled across the north ; and west counties, but never had seen ' the big counties over east of the Cascades. wher areas like Indiana are swallowed In easv gulps, where there la room to i quadruple the present population of Ore , gon. and where there are four counties . that alone could give each man. woman and child of the quadrupled population IS acres of land apiece. The Lakeview route was the first of ' the wagon roads bum in early days ; through the State of Oregon to admit im . migrants to the Willamette Valley. There Is an order and fitnes3 wholly unr.remi'di ; tated in the way things have fallen out to . bring this old grant upon the market. It Is the oldest grant, and the first to be opened unres?rvedly to settlement. It : is tbe largest land sale In the history of the state, and th" plan of it is so uniquo and Interesting that it merits more than passing notice. The land itself is historic. When there were no main traveled roads to Western Oregon from the Idaho line, and when birt few had the hardihood even in the day of adventurous pioneers to travel Central or Southern Oregon by unblazed trails, lonelv and forbidding by reason of great distances, the State of Oregon and the Oovemment made a contract with the Oregon Military Road Levnd Orant Com pany to construct a road from Silver City. Ida''io. to Bugene. Had the builders fol lwd a logical route for the shortest line thev would have made a track almost Identical with that of the modern day survey of Uarriman's Oregon Eastern main line across the state. lakes Attracted Them. But. with a streak of intelligence that was almost human, as the late Bill "ye may have said, the ancient road builders cast about over the wide vacancy and sniffed the lake air from the southwest. Instead of a hike over the plains on a bee-ltno for Eugene, they drifted off to the southward. K miles out of the direct course, and. filled no doubt with the humane idea of providing "water grades" for the weary emigrant train, they bore through the seven successive valleys now known as White Horse. Wild Horse. Cat low. Warner. Goose Iake. Drews and Sprague Klver. that now form parts of the land grant which the new owners are selling at per farm, with a Iakeview lot thrown In for good measure. (Geological investigation long since establlsiie.1 the tact that the whole of Interior Oregon was once the bed of the Facine Ocean. Then followed aeons of tropical conditions, when the mountain ranges stood above tlis surfece of the water and these islands were surrounded by lajjes where all sorts of plants flour ished luxuriantly. Today the soil of portions of this region present a flnelv ground mixture of basalt and volcanic ash. Other parts iave a sandy loam and clay subsoil. lc formation rivate the other in pro ducing crops of vegetables, fruits and grain common to temperate aones. The region traversed by the grant has arte sian capabilities. Artesian wells, are struck at 61) to 60 feet. Good weils of water are found at dejHhs ranging from U D M feet. T-ake. Klamath and Harney Counties, once opened up. will be among the most Interesting and productive regions in Or egon. The products include wheat, oats, barley, rve. S'rar b-ets. alfalfa, pota toes." apples. pr;u. plums. poaches, gr.ips. brr's ami vecetsbl.-. no Oldest Mirvcyor. The venerable George Conn. MIf of Falsley. and pioneer Oregonian surveyor, when ked fcr a story of th old grant, wrote this: "In 15 1 came to I-ake County, and am. therefore, one of the oldest pioneers. "The I'nited States Tnd Office records were moved here by me. and I assumed the duties of receiver of the I'nited States I .and Office, and later established lakeview as the county seat. The original militar road was pnrtial lv surveyed bv mc. in 1.". and I am In Pinion to know the character of the lands. Tbe road was established through the beat portion of Southern Oregon, and even In I recall that the grant was. in many places, literally covered with wild plums, and. with rare exceptions, these natural fruits have borne fruit even- year since, not to speak of the planted and cultivated, fruits, which pos sess a remarkable flavor and have thriven quite as successfully. Of late years perhaps, the range, espe cially along tlie military road, has been crazed too closely: still, if fenced. It re produce vei-y rapidly, and constitutes a country which, even If used, a In the past, chiefly for stock, enables those who follow that business to become independ ent in a short time "Of course, at that early date, and la f --5 . ' - ....:::. -:::,...; : B E3 III ft .It. . r Hi i k miVl :- -l vi. ?Tk y r "ii n y until about 1SS3. the natural grasses were over knee-deep ana coverea me B,.to bulk of th grant, and. If protected, th.s same condition would return. 'yours truly, "ItEORGB CONN." Thi. emnirn to be peopled with settlers is the last of the vast tracts of Western lands to be colonized. Tear by vear. the wide spreading prairies that lay bevond the Rockies have been set tled, little by little, until there is now. nowhere In the West, any considerable tract of good tillable lana nuniu claimants except in this state. The frontier has been crowded west nine d mile until the last stand of the sagebrush and the bunch gTass is in Interior Ore gon. This district, too, is yielding to the onward march of the farmer and settler. There Is a whole lot of human interest In this new influx of settlers from every part of the United States to this big Inland prairie that is to feel for the first time tlie touch of agricultural meiuuus. Lying at the bottom of the sea for ags. then forming the shores of huge lakes, gome of which still remain, much less ened by the passing centuries, this virgin territory is now to become me imnip" h.ootr t'hoiioaniis- Who can foretell what development will be realized here in this historic district that was once jjiveu ii the buildins of a wagon road? Didn't Make Fortune. For the building of this road the orig inal company received every auemaie section of land in a strip six nine!. lowing the route selected. Kieu lands Wee made the strip 1J miles wide In the valleys. It has been said In modern days. snd from some npa wun mueiuas. the Government was robbed In parting with so vast an area of public domain for awagontra.il. ..,. ,,. But had the critics 01 ... capitalists of naif a century ago would they have exchanged their money for the said public domain? History does not answer. And v. ho can sayT The great grant later passed to other hands. Whether the original grantees, or their heirs, ever realixed the dreams of for tune from It will never be known. Hunter' Kinds Martin. A few years ago the grant came by purchase to the Booth-Kelly Company, of Kugeue. They scissored off th" tlmlwred strip west of the summit of the Cascades, and sold the remaining :0.nt acres to a company headed by II. A. Hunter and Congressman Andrus. Minnesotnns. who were heavy land operators. Mr. Hunter was fresh from successful colonization of large tracts of the Northern Pacific land grant, and had ideas about colonizing. But at Kansas City he found some Ideas that rutted him better, and he sold the grant to the men with the new ideas. These men. Robert J. Martin. .1. H. Bor ders and associates, now- comprising the Oregon Valley I .and Company, were selling and partitioning lands In the San Ulis valley. Colorado, on the plan they have adopted for opening the Ore gon strip. And that is the way the story -.began. The end of It will be the throwing of S"0.oiv acres of jUch southern rd open to the farmer, the town hullder and the rancher. Cities will spring up like magic. Homes" will be built where now only sagebrush, grass and wild rye sway In the morning breeze. Fields of grain and orchards of fruit will appear in the now vacant prai rie, and irrirjation ditches will replace the trails of straying cattle and sheep. This little world of new people will become a part of the great Oregon crrmrnunlty. one in thought and purpose with the half million people who are now proud to call themselves Oregonians. The part of the grant now being sold with such wonderful rapidity is said to be the best of the lands, lying in southern Iike and Harney, and a narrow strip in Klamath. The settle ment of the lands means Increase of population in. a part of the statu where it is most needed. Portland Man Visits Grant. That the land Just being -plaoed on the market is capable of becoming a productive farming and fruit district is shown by the testimony of any number of people who have made thier homes there for years.. Alternate sections, not embraced in the wagon grant, have been open for settlement for years and are now being successfully farmed. People prominent in Lakeview. and the surrounding country having written of their experiences in farming, stock raising and fruitgrowing, and their stories are those of success. They are enthusiastic over the prospects for a great development there, now that the wagon-grant lands are opened for set tlement. At the Pacific Coast offices of the company. 830-831 Chamber of Com merce. In this city, sales are in charge of C. M. Hyskcll and R. F. Flke. Mr. Hyskell. who has just returned from a trip of Inspection to the grant lands, had the following to say in regard to what the country offers to settlers: Real Land of Promise. ,I have never looked upon a more Inspiring scene than the Goose Lake Valley where a large proportion of our tracts are located. They are raising g-ood crops of grain, vegetables and fruits over there without Irrigation. In a small addition laid out adjoining our lots in Lakeview. the county seat of Lake County, the owner Is selling; lots for J200 and J300 per lot. He sold four the week I was there. The town is full and there is not a house to rent. Coming back along; the east side of the valley, right against the sagebrush hills I picked a lot of vegetables and corn. The potatoes and corn are finer than we average In the Willamette Valley. "Goose Lake Is a big. clean body of water, 33 miles long and eight to ten miles wide, lias sandy beaches and soon will be one of the great Summer resorts of the West. At present It is the home of thousands of water fowl. lakeview l:a a gravity water system, a reservoir on the hill fed by large springs further up. The county is completing a fine f-.-oOO- courthouse, and has the money in bank to pay for it. Lakeview In the best town in the L'nited States today off a railroad. There are numerous new rail road surveys to the grant lands. The latest la the Oregon Kastrn. which Har riman says he will build Immediately." Opening Plan Tried. The men behind the Oregon Valley Land Ounpany have just completed a successful colonization movement that resulted In the sale of the lands of the San Luis Valley. Colorado where TOOO farina were settled In this way. The San Luis Valley opening was In August. There were 3000 of the contract holders in attendance at the San Luis opening; and after that event the Oregon sales jumped enormously. Purchasers lot the Colorado tract seem to have been well pleased, and they have helped boom tbe Oregon lands by IMHng their friends about It. In a single day recently the company's homo office at Kansas City received 1SS applications. John M. Orawley. traffic manager of the Nevada. California Oregon rail road, has gone on record in this wise: "I do not know any section of California or west of the Rocky Mountains witch affords the same inducements as Lake County. Oregon, on account of its health ful climate, rich land, good water and a people of the highest standard." Good crops can be grown on the lands lp. Goose Lake valley without Irrigation, but with irrigation the products can be greatly increased. In this respect Na ture has especially favored this region by forming reservoir sites on the two principal streams entering the valley, which, by the expenditure of a propor tionally small amount of money, the res ervoirs will store a sufficient amount of water to put all of the lands under Irri gation. These two sites have been se cured by the Oregon Valley Land Com pany, and will be completed and in ope ration when the land is opened for set tlement. Railroadmen Iiike It. That one or more railroads will in the near future penetrate the grant there Is little room for doubt. Railroad engineers who have worked through the grant brine out favorable reports of the country. Carl Stradlev. chief locating- engineer for the Oregon Short Line, is authority for this statement: "I backed my opinion of that country last August by the pur chase of 600 acres of land and have lately refused an offer of 160 per cent Increase over the purchase price," Mr. Journey, who was one of tbe locat ing engineers In charge of a Harrlman crew that surveyed the Oregon Eastern system throughout that region last year, says he "found crops of rye that had not been reseeded for seven years, and a good crop taken off each year." He declared he had seen potatoes raised there in abundance, without irrigation, weighing an average of four pounds, and that when he left Lakeview December 6.' 1S07, he saw "tons of apples yet on the trees and not seemingly hurt by the weather." A more favorable commen tary on Lake County climate could hardly be made. G. W. Rice, formerly one of the. Chesa peake Ohio Railway engineers, after a trip through the grant this year said 6f the big Goose Lake valley (where this land company seems to be blocking out the most of their smaller farms, some )00 in numberl "practically all of the lands In this valley will come, under the Cottonwood and Drews canon reservoirs, and is about the finest lot of land I ever saw.. Atfalfa. potatoees. fruit trees and other product? are in healthy condition on many of these lands, and a!t grown without irrigation." Judge Carey's View. There seems' to be a unanimity of opinion, widespread and flattering to Oregon in general. In the sayings of those who have visited the region through which the grant extends, and good things are also to be heard about the company, its methods, and the ex cellent title that passes with the ejrant. Tudge C. H. Carey, of this city, who ex amined the title, stated that it had been upheld by the decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States. I quote from his written opinion as given the companv: "The lands which you are buying," lying within the limits of that grant, are a perfectly safe Investment. The usual element of uncertainty of title that must be taken into consideration In acquiring land grant lands is entirely eliminated in this instance. " Attorney-General Herbert S.-Hadley, of Missouri, the live-wire who. once upon a time administered a severe shock to the Standard Oil Company, is on record with a no less sweeping statement than this: "As attorney for the Oregon Valley Land Company I have had some occasion to familiarize myself with the .proposition that they tsi-' -ill iufi ah v'l.v'-" .. &:;. : m-- x . f - j- c; w -c- I 4. 8 K J 1 , !' 1 f - 1 .:: 5 )t - -v 2 v r x 7 " rr X -V. X "sV 5 Cl " f nnvrlffhtrd 1Q08 "by SCHLOSS BROS & CO. Fine Clothes Makers Baltimore, and New YorU 4! L 4 i - 3 Clothes Deautitul a. clothes World Exclusive in design Correct in style -Right in quality moderately priced. Master Tailored Clothes of Character and Individuality-desiped and made in advance.in keeping with the "h urry9 trend of the times that you can slip on at once and be ready for any occasion without wait or. doubt or misgivings as to the result. THESE Imperial Raincoat are really swell. They look to be jut smart, dashy Street-Coats ; and they are; but when it rains you'll find them watertight. Among the hundreds of models we make we can stylishly - dress every form and figure with correct clothes for every calling or station Ask the Fashionable Clothes Shop cf your City to show you the 1909 SCHLOSS models if they haven't the new models we will cheerfully send them no obligation to buy our pleasure to show. " DON'T ACCEPT a substitute look for the genuine with this LABEL sewn m garment. f Wholesale Drapersrl! itv. cotwiownp ism . J iL.KP., lllllHXsA .Balthnore SCW0SSBK)S. & C0.New Tork are offering; to the public, and from Information I have received I am satis- V. - ifamria la A. KOlind One." Recent visitors from the East vrhox have drifted over the course 01 me 01a road builders to Lakeview have not been sparing; in the compliments hand ed to Oregon. "It is the best proposi tion I struck In seven weeks' travel from Kansas to the Pacific Coast," said T. B. Hoffman, ex-county treasurer of Kdwards County, Kansas. "The clim ate is fine; the soil black, rich loam in the valleys; .all crops good without Irrigation and better when they use water; all kinds of fruit and vegeta bles fine; a nice little toi of about 1200 people (Lakeview); air well-fixed, happy and friendly." Hoffman could have hardly spoken better of his own sunflower state. Union-Avenue Bridge Open. The new Union avenue bridge across Sullivan's Gulch was used yesterday for the first time by the cars of the Portland Railway, Light & Power Com panv. Hereafter the detour of the Vancouver, Woodlawn, Alberta and Broadway cars by way of Grand ave nue will not be necessary, for these cars will use the Union avenue tracks in both directions. The completion of the new bridge results In better serv ice to the district reached by the Union avenue Hoes. Take vour wife and sweethearts to the Perkins Grill for Sunday dinner. Who sell Chalmers' "SO"? Keats Auto Co. ' lr roar msnta simitar 1A aar wa w th bovat If so. bo BMd to war a wobblr. anaaable partial plats or 111-fltUHf ordinary hrids work. Th Dr. Wise eyatam of -XELKTH WITHOUT FUk.IK8" The rasult at 3x years' ZBenac. the now war o( replaclnc iMtn la tb moutb tMta la fact. Ula la appearaoc. tola ta chaw sour food upon, a xeu did opoo your nat ural oaea. Our force is ao orcuUaad we an do your entire crown, bridg or plat work In a day If necessary. Poi lively pala leee extracting. Only blsa-ciaaa. cieaiiae W8rk" WISK DENTAL CO tSC pr. w. A. Wise, Mar.. 31 years la Portland. Second floor FalUnc bide.. Third and Wasblnstoa streets. Office hour. 8 AM. to P- K. Suadays. to X P. M- Palnleea extracUns. 0ei slates, ti aa. Ptoses a aaa Kala 22a. Selz Royal Blue shoes fit feet well ' i iai You'U find the fit of 1 1 a snoe nas a lot to do with the av a y it wears; if your shoes fit, you get not only comfort to your feet,- but long service. Poor fitting shortens the life of a shoe a good deal. If you want the utmost of comfort and long service at the minimum of cost, get one of our Selz Royal Blue shoes; they're the best-fitting shoes made; and they wear like it. . , - Selz Royal Blue, $3.50, $4, $5. Seventh and Washington Cor. 7th and Washington Sis. Tomorrow Is Washday, Avoid Its Troubles by bending to the UNION LAUNDRY COMPANY Where Linen Lasts 1 FAMILY WASHING Rough dry 5c a pound, rough dry by the piece lc up Call Main 398 or A 1123