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
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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
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f nnvrlffhtrd 1Q08 "by
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Fine Clothes Makers
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Ask the Fashionable Clothes Shop cf your City to show you
the 1909 SCHLOSS models if they haven't the new
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buy our pleasure to show. "
DON'T ACCEPT a substitute look for the genuine with this
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f Wholesale Drapersrl!
itv. cotwiownp ism . J
iL.KP., lllllHXsA
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are offering; to the public, and from
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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
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If you want the utmost of comfort and long service
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. , - 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
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Where Linen Lasts 1
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Rough dry 5c a pound, rough dry by the piece lc up
Call Main 398 or A 1123