Willamette farmer., February 11, 1881, Image 1

-r
VOL. XII.
EASTERN JREGON.
Waico County, IU Stock and Farm-
lng Xnteroats 3,000,000 Acre
of Vacant Land.
Umatilla County Tho Moat Dcnlra-
bio Region East of tho
Cascades.
VnloiM'iHiult.itiiille) IkraJcwrl rl n
Frame or .Mountains,
Baker, Grant and Lake Countles-An Immense
Aroa that Walts Development-Covered
Now With Flocks and nerds.
111 UK niVKHKII IN TIMK WITH TWIIT.TKX
IIIOTHANII IIDMKri.
Kastcrn Oregon is ft mucli mora extensive
region than Kastcrn Washington, but linn at
tracted leu attention of late than tho latter
because it lien more remote from transporta
tion facilities. Tho steamers which reach tho
Upper Columbia ami Snako rivers find tho
product of the Walla Wnlla anil Palouso
alleys waiting to froiirht them Kick, whllo
tliu agricultural areas of Kastcrn Oregon, ex
cept in Northern Wasco .nnd Umatilla conn
ties aro no distant as hardly to Justify extend
ed production. Immigration also, seeks a
country nearest to transportation, so tho set
tlement of Kastcrn Washington has of lata
gono on inoro rapidly than in tho counties of
Oregon to tho Southwatd. More has been
written about Washington than Oregon bo
uauso tho Northern Pacific has an Immense
land grant that lies In that country! covering
its licst agricultural lands, and has been anx
ious and willing to make its advantages
' known, whereas tho people of Oregon have
dono nothing to encourage immigration, nnd
the Oregon and California railroad, whoso
'.grant lies in Western Oregon, was only Inter
Vested in attracting attention to tliu Western
IUjiv So wo enter upon tho work of des
cribing Kastcrn Oregon with no published
statements prepared, to consult, nnd have to
work tho matter up from current facts and
material and from our own personal experi
ence, but fortunately, during past years, we
bavo traversed nearly all this country, ami
arc moderately familiar with its contour, its
resources of all kinds, and so speak with a
'measure of confidence of what we havo seen
and experienced in person.
WASCO COU.NTY.
Only a few years t-go tho WilUmcttu valley
was Oregon, but hero is one single county
Kat of the Cascades whiclPha an area equal
to that of tho tiiiio counties of the Willamette
alloy and must contain laud available for set
tlement equal to half tho farming lands of the
Willamette. A rough estimate of the domain
of Wasco county shows that It contains at
least eight millions of acres. It is naturally
divided into districts, as follows: The streams
that have their rise near Mount Hood and
pour into tho Columbia or Pes Chutes rivers,
reaching from tho Cascade mountains to tho
pea Chutes, and from tho Columbia on the
.North to tho Warm springs Indian rescrva
on tho South, with Dallas City for its ccntcn
we call this the Dalles district. 'Another lo
cality, bordering tho Columbia and reaching
trom mo lie chutes river 10 umauiiauuuuiy,
wo will rail tho John Day district. The Mid
dle district includes Antclopo creek. Trout
vreek, Hay creek nnd Willows creek, that
pour into the Deschutes, aud other streams
that head with them and pour their waters
castwnail to John Day river. South of this
lies tho Ochoco district, with l'rinesvillo for its
center! containing a good deal of excellent
land now utilized for stock ranire. with limited
farming operations to supply the home demand
anil gold mines tnai aro women to me rvaai-wardamom-
the smirs of the Hluo mountains.
The Dalles district commences at Dallas
Ijity and contains already considerable popu.
latum and diversified interests. Dallas City
liei under ami upon a bluff and is a place of
great importance, as it lias on extensive irauo
with Klickitat and Yakima to the North, and
with the rest of Wasco and Grant counties to
the South. It contains several thousaJsU in-
,JM riotm"". has many charming residences and
ii lock "streets are lieautiful with foliage,
while the busiuess portion ol the town is
building up In a substantial form. Hack of it
are high hills, and from the very highest of
these hills there looks down upon the town a
splendid farm of 600 acres, owned by Mr,
llird, who has thus demonstrated that the
hill lands of dry, Kastern Oregon can he made
cry valuable for production of grain, hay,
fruits anil vegetables. He last Summer cut
his wheat green and made hay of it because it
waa most profitable to do so. Settlers at an
early day made their homes upon all the
creeks to utilize the intervening hills for pas
turage, but the hills have proved to be avail
able for practical agriculture. Hack to the
Tygh river all the bottoms were claimed
twenty years ago, but of late we bear that
settlers are makintr homes on the high plat
eaux. Last Spring we had a letter, and pub
lished it, showing that the Oak Grove coun
try, and the Tinnicam settlement, South of
We Tygh valley, offered mnch good land to
migrants, and people there were very anx
ioua to treat new comsra well. We instance
this to show that '-unea can be found, on good
and, within eaa -ach of so important a
plaeo ns Dallas City. There sre many wealthy
stock men nnd farmers in this pait of Wasco
county. Duftif Hrothem havo their sheep
imiicIi on fifteen Mile creek and their Summer
and Kill pasture is nu uxteusivo swamp laud
claim, on n bench ot tno mountains, at mo
hascof Mount Hood.
Tho John Day District consists of itplantls,
bordering tho Columbia nnd extending South
fifty miles between the waters of Dcs Chutes
and John Day rivers, nnd Kant to the lioiind
nry of Umatilla enmity. Col. T. 8. Lnng,
who has interests in this section, represents
tho soil ns excellent, a very good grass coun
try over all that ilistnucu. 'i'ho bunch grass
grows vigorously almost from tho banks of
tho Columbia river nnd it Is equally good for
grain. Wlu-revcr water is found there is rich
liottom land. Water comes nenr tho surfneu
in ninny places and can be easily hail by dig
ging. Springs aro mora nbundnnt than was
supposed to bo tho vase at nil early day. Wells
have been dim ten miles from tho Columbia,
at Spanish Hollow. The question will soon
bo testeil as to tho productiveness of tho soil
on theso uplands, as the lltalock ranch, which
has been described in our columns, is in this
district. Tliis ranch is located nt the junction
of tliu Columbia nnd John Day rivim ami
contains over 00,000 acres, nnd is taken up by
n comuauy of enterprising men with a view to
co-oncratfvo finning on n largo scale. If this
section proves as nvnilahlo as is hoped, it will
afford homes for thousandsof families. Thirty
Mile creek, wlileli is near tlio Umatilla line,
is settled its whole length and is n good farm
ing country. Hook cirek, which empties into
tliu John (ny river, has u rich valley, settled
thickly for thirty miles, extending townrds
tho little mountains in Umatilla county. Col.
Ling, who is at home in this region, informs
us that peoplo raiso only what they need for
homo supply, but havo not grown farm pro
ducts to send abroad owing to the dilliculty
of reaching market aud because stock raising
has always been mora profitable than farm
crops. They will grow grain extensively when
transportation is perfected to encourage it.
Tho scheme of tho Oregon Hallway nnd Nav
igation Company includes lirnuch lines to
bring all tho rich farming country along tho
Hluo mountains for two hundred miles, into
connection with tho river and their main
trunk lino of road.
The. Middlo District' of Wasco county
reaches from tho Dis Chutes river to tho Hluo
mountains and is more than Urge enough to
constitute a great county of itself. A glance
at tho map will show that it is well watered
by streams running into both the Dcs Chutes
and John Day rivers. It has thriving vil
lages; Willoughby, Antelope, llridgo cicck
are trading points and the country is well
adapted to agriculture through its wholu ex
tent, but tanning operations arc chieily re
stricted to supplying tho local demand. The
country is devoted tostock raisin?, and there
fore sparsely settled upon. Whenever rail
roads can reach Middle Wasco, nnd encouragu
farming and denser settlement in this well
watered region, the lesult will bo a magical
change from pastural to active farm life. Col.
Lang has visited this region and represents it
as possessing many desirable qualities that
will dovelopu when transportation is possi
ble. Ono of the most promising poitions of Kast
crn Oregon is tliu Ochoco district, located on
tho branches of Crooked river, the Southeast
ern fork of tho Des Chutes, This region has
I'rincsville for its trade center, a thriving
place with several hundred inhabitants, a
newspaper nnd a brisk tradu with the couutiy
and mining districts in the Southwestern
snurs of the Hluo mountains.
One great advantage claimed for all tho
country south of the Columbia is that the
Winters aro milder and stock do much better
in severe seasons than North of the Columbia.
For this reason Middlo Wasco is desirable as
a stock country and some of the most success
ful stock men we have are to be found in
(jrautand Wasco counties. November "Oth
wo published a letter from Dr. L. Vander
pool, an old icstdcnt of Crooked lllver valley,
which will bo reproduced in the extra edition
wo compile from tho tiles of the F.tltMEK for
Kastcrn circulation, and this lively account
of that reirion, and stock raising thereabouts.
answers tlio purpote so fully that e refer the
reader to it for a complete idea of the Ochoco
ilistnct. lr. anuerpooi iooks to tno iiiturc.
when railroads shall come to their relief, nnd
explains the wonderful resources of that val
ley for production of farm crorw. The time
is coming when railroads will reach even
there. Iho present indication is that the
narrow gauge w ill cross tho Cascades to effect
a Junction with tno rtevaita .northern roan,
ami that road, when completed, will give the
Crooked ltiver country an outlet towards both
the Kast and the West. When the time
comes for Wasco county to settle up, the laud
table furnished us fr;m the United States
Und Office at The Dalles shows that 3,000,
000 acres of unsurveyed lands are vacant. A
correspondent wrote us not long since that
Wasco county offered as great inducements
for settlers as either the 1'alouse or Yakima
countries, and such seems to be the case.
The census tables show the population of
wasco county to be lu.'.-is; number oi tarms,
871; land actually farmed, only 80,000 acres;
value of livestock, $1,771,30 which ranks
all other counties in that respect; farm pro
ducts, in value, $287,000. Wasco is first in
both sheep and horses, and next to Maker aud
Grant in cattle. So far as climate and health
are concerned, there is probably no pleasauter
climate nor any more healthy region in tbe
world. Stock thrive better here than in any
other portion of the Columbia region.
LAKK OOU.NTT.
This county is in South Middle Oregon and
take iu name from the fact that it is a great
lake region. A gradual divide separates it
from Grant county, and mnch of Lake, as well
as the portion of Grant south of tbe Indian
reservation, ia of Hbt character of soil, con
sisting of a mim volcanic ashes, but Lake,
though a high and lty country, ha many
PORTLAND, OREGON, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY
charming valleys nnd good land. Spi-nguo
rivcrhas n lieautiful valley, Hows West into
Klamath lake, nnd thence through the Cns-
cade rangu the Klamath riverseeks the ocean.
Other streams in Lako comity How Into lakes
and the wuters sink. This region will Ihj
traversed by tho projected railway from Iteno,
Nevada, noith, to connect with thn road pro
jected by tho Orrgonian Hnilwny Company,
l.iko county has nboilt .1.000 population, and
there aro any limnlier of chances for home
steads. Stock raising is tho chief sourco of
income; Lnkevicw, tliu county seat, on the
shorn of (loose like, is a thriving town nnd
has two newspapers. Liukvillc, at the West,
is also a good point for trade. This county
has no direct connection with the Columbia
river and can hardly deserve to ho ilcscrilicil
as a pnit of tliu Columbian region.
IIHA.NT COUNTY.
This county Is very extensive and has tho
Western slope of the Hluo mountains for its
boundary. It used to hate lich placer mines
that supported nn active imputation aud n
brisk trade, but tho placers aro mostly work
ed out. Quartz mining is offering inducements
for enterprise nnd may lio expected to form a
permanietit source of prosperity for all future
time, even though not yet making returns for
outlay. Tho farming operation on Upper
John Day valley aro for supply of tljo mines
and stock ranches, for this comity has the
great rattlo herds of tliu northwest in its lim
its. Wo publish elsewhere nu account of
cattlo ranching iu this county by Mr. Miller,
now of Douglas county, who has been success
ful in Harney valley as a cattlo man and nlso
with horses. II is letter givesn graphic sketch
of life on the plains of Middle Oregon. There
isanimmensu area of vacant laud iiillrnut
county, mxmi to bo ndded to by tho throwing
open of the Mnlhucr reservation, which is no
longer needed for tho use of Indians. Grant
county may lu time lie reached by railroads,
but it will not lie soon, unless soma unlooked
for enterprise comes upon tho world, and the
advance so rapidly making for tho develop
ment of tho country" East of tho CascaiWs
leaves It very posilblo that Grant coun
ty will be brought within reach of market.
This comity is diversified by mountains aud
valleys nnd plains. Its altitudomay interfere
with good results from promiscuous farming,
but trero i so great an nrea of vacant lands
awaiting settlement that it is not necessary
to forestall timo to say what every section of
the country can promise for the future.
UMATILLA COll.NTV,
Coming Uick to tho Columbia river, u
find, on tho Kast of Wmcu county, a grand
agricultural region, joining on tho Southwest
Walla Wnlla county of ashington 1 crntory,
including a fair part of Wnlla Walla valley,
which is divided by the -1(1 degree of latitude
so that a good slico of that beautiful valley is
Oregon soil, liock creek, which empties into
tho John Day river in Wasco county, has its
best lands iu Umatilla and is thickly settled
for twenty miles. Along tho Columbia is a
grass region of upland that promises less than
similar land in Wasco county. Leaving out
tho river shore region, Umatilla Is a splendid
county. Tho Blue mountains extend through
it, parallel with tho river, distant BO to 00
miles, running West with a trend toward tho
South, as the map shows. Following tho
mountains for 125 miles, through Umatilla
county, is an arablo stretch of country that
averages ' to :!0 miles in width, aud aliovo
Umatilla it extends to the very shores of tlie
Columbia. Not long ago it was rango for
cattle, but to-day settlement Is coming in to
claim and cultivate every plain and every
hillside. It is truo that from tho Umatilla
river, West, this county is chiefly devoted to
stock raising, and iu value of live stock it is
second only to Wasco. Transportation favors
tho northeast cml oi the county more ami
there wheat farming is carried on very exten
sively. Ilcforo lout branch railroads will
favor tho whole arable belt of Umatilla coun
ty and then the era of production will com
mence in eamest, ami Umatilia county will
have an immense wheat surplus, A vlanco at
the map shows that the streams branch out
anil water well all the country near tho moun
tains and afterwards flow into tho larger riv
ers. The Umatilla Indian reservation occu
pies as fine a portion of country as can be
found Kast of the mountains, much to the
annoyance of white settlers adjacent, and of
many who would like to claim these lands for
settlement. A glance at the" Und tables we
publish will show the amount of land in this
tilla county in many respects the cream of
Kastern Oregon. Its arable land cannot le
excelled; its climate is fine; its nearness to the
Columbia river, and the certainty that rail
road facilities will reach every part of it.
makes it at present the most attractive region
now open I or settlement, w line It has only
about 10.000 inhabitants, it can easilv accom
modate ten times that number. It otters such
excellent Unds away from the mountains a
the Cold Sprinic country, which lias been
fully described in our columns, and which is
yet in a great measure vacant. It lias a
splendid region of valley and foot-bill lands
for 12S miles in length aud 23 to 30 miles
broad, and the Blue mountains themselves we
expect to see occupied in course of time by in
dustrious farmers and stock men, for the soil
is excellent and many sloping reaches of
mountain lands, covered with scattering pine
forest and no underbrush, can easily be trans
fered to fields ofgoldcn grain and orchards of
luscious fruit. The region to the Kaatward is
so undeveloped that we cannot tpiage it fu
ture by the accessories of the present. Devil
ODament once be'nin "ill con Linus at a rapid
I rate, and with rsilru onnactioa completed
to tho Kast the stieam of emigrants to come
will till up the laud with busy industry.
The Hluo Mountain reetou now affords a
grent Summer range for the Hocks and herds
of tliu Umatilla and Wnsco plains. Stock men
build cnlilui .and corrals and m establish
claims that nru . respectod ns rights of prvco
deiico. Ycarafter year they drive their stock
to these mountains ranges aud they fatten on
tho native grasses and i-.-ue tho hunch grass
of the lowland for Winter pasture. Hye
grass grows iu swails und alougMntcri'ourscs;
a long glass gross through tho open pine for
ests that havo no underbrush, and there is a
short shcep-griCss, much liked by that stock,
fouuil in the loot Hills ami which takes the
place of bunch Ktas when it is fed down ill
tho foot little. There is no reason why this
mountain laud, containing many sloping
reaches of tliu richest soil,' ell watered und
timbered, ami not so elevated, by any means.
ns tho Cascade range, shall not, in duo time,
ho nppreclntctl tor agricultural purpose mm
mndu uso of for settlement.
There are many thriving towns all through
Umatillacountyi'lleppnir, l'cndlctou. Pilot
Hock, Umatilla, Wmton. Milton nnd Center-villi-,
aro nil growing places, surrounded by
an excellent laruiinir country. Tho immi
grant can find at pirsetit, room for his homo
sUnd m tho Cold Spring Country, or along
tho scopo of valleys to tho Westwnrd there is
nbundnnt room to locatu the domain the Uni
ted States government stands ready to be
stow.
UNION IIIL'.NTV.
ltaugcK of mountains extend fioiu the. Neva
da line, north -ard, through Kastern Oregon,
known as Steins mountain on tho South, nnd
developing Into the broadly spread Hluo
mountains to the northward. The interior
country, along the Cucnde rnnge, on tliu Kast,
is much higher rand than is found iu tho
Willamctto valley, ui the W:st; therefore
there is much less dralungo from tho Cascadu
Summits to tliu Kast than to tho West; the
distance from thocsJ.ini pi lino to the summit
Is'evcry where less, than on tho West, nnd tho
mnilntndiit nrn Wm rti'L'ed to clilldi. Whllu
tho Hjuo inouiitalA'iu.liol.o IimicSi-sbIMo ins
tho Cascades, they are still a grandly outlined
mountain region, spreading from tho Columbia,
South, in irregular fornr", ovcrn wide district,
containing many pleasant grassy reaches,
wooded with open pine forests, that will cer
tainly tw at no distant day appreciated for
settlement mid cultivation. This range of
mountains supplies, froti its fountains, tho
various streams that make tho lieautiful val
leys of Columbia and Walla Walla counties
iu W. T., tho Umatilla river mid all the
sirenms that empty hclaw it intothuColumbia
nud John Day river iu Wasco county is fed
entirely from them. Not only so, but Crooked
river, the main fork of tlio Des Chutes,
heads far around to tho Southeast, so that
these mountains nru the source of fruitful
streams which create tlio arable lands of near
ly half cf Oregon nud tliu richest portion of
Washington Territory, On tho hast, nlso,
they supply tho How of tho streams which
reach Snako river. Some of tho most fertilo
and lieautiful country Kast of tliu Cascades is
found hemmed iu by tho walls of surround
ing ranges, for Snake river is" for quite n dis
tance, iu Idaho, liounded by Inaccessible
mountains. Tliu course of tho early cinini
grations followed down Snake river, hundreds
of dreary miles, over sago brush plains that
weru parched and desert in npjicaratico, nnd
through canyons nnd over burnt bills that
saw many a wayside grnyu that buried family
holies, and were strewed with carcasses of
animals that died along tliu road. Coming at
last to tho divido that separates the waters of
the Grande Hondo from I'owder Kivcr, they
found spread out U-Iow them as beautiful a
picture as eyo has ever looked upon. It lay in
native wilderness, untouched by the hand of
civilization; a few Indian camps may have
been teen there, and perhaps herds of Indian
horses fed on the rich prairie grasses, but
otherwise It was untouched by man. Here
was a valley, cradled among the, mountains,
watered from innumerable streams aud
springs, averaging ten miles In wiifthby thirty
miles iu length, spread out broadly but lying
in a winding shape, with coves and inlets of
prairie resching into tho hills where streams
IiermitUd and with abundant feed for stock
to compensato for tho burnt plains they had
left behind. Tho traveller felt here that his
troubles were over, Across the range, only a
two days march, were the valleys of Umatilla
and Walla Walla.
There aro several lively towns In Union
county, chief of which are La Grande ami
Union, eacji of which supports a newspaper
and does a good business. While Tniou is the
county seat, La Grande has tho land offices
both of the State and United States.
minim; oihcovichikm.
Ilefore this valley had a settler, iu IWi-', led
by the.diacovcry of ge-ld on I'owder Kiver,
thousands of prospectors found thrir way iu
early Spring over the Hluo mountains to hunt
for the new gold fields. The snows of the
preceding winter had been heavier than ever
were known; paths luul to ho made through
them, aud the road to the gold fields was a
hard one to travel. It was after a week of
such toils and hardships a cannot easily be
told, that we stood upon the brow of the ran
ges that overlook Grande Honde Valley on the
West and saw with delight the most beautiful
valley eye ever looked down on, all bright
and verdant iu strong comparison with the
snows that surrounded us. The mines did not
prove rich enough to reward all who went
there, and many preferred to locate hemes in
this land f p '.nite rather than to dig for
gold. It wsXtt vesjafUrthe outbreak th
11, 1881.
civil wnr, and tliu same fall thousands of
families crossed tho plains and Hindu jinnies
along tho streams and on tliu prairies of
I'owder ltiver and Gmudo Honde, or crossed
to tho attractive fields of Uiuitilln. l'rom
that timo luistcm Oregon has had prominence.
At nt early date tanners found u L'ood
nnd remunerative market nt tho mines, i'nek
trains, nud wagons of immenso strenvth
drswn by ox or inulo teams, inadu iaths nud
roads from the Columbia liver iuall directions.
Gold wns discovered In many district nnd
fabulous riches were gathered Irom tliu won
derful placers of .Salmon river iu Northern
Idaho, and Hniso Hasin amid tho high moun
tain rnngos of Southern Idaho. Through tho
Hluo mountains were found many tlclmlucersi
on tliu waters of John Day's ricr, in Grant
comity, million of gold were dug.nmlCaiiyou
Lity wns n mining l.cniir; on uranu jipiiiio
liver there were placers worked; while in
linker county, on 1'oudcr ltiver, and tlio
waters of Hunit river, there were oxtvnsito
nnd profitablo diggings. Them milling dis
coveries gave the lirst imictus to settlement
nud cultivation in all Kin tern Oregon nnd
Washington. Hut, while mining is carried
on yet, with somo degree of success, tliu day
of the prospector nnd plncer mining Is nearly
over. Kfforts nru conducted on n greater
scale, by large companies, nnd there nru somu
discoveries of quartz ledge that nro paying
well. No doubt tho business of mining will
lie carried on through tho future nnd will
prove more extensive ns new discoveries mo
inailo nnd as tliu science of quartz mining be
comes perfected und gold can be saved nt less
eoit. We havu slightly alluded nt different
times to mining operations, but tin.chaa como
to explain the settlement nnd development
nlrcnily attained in Knstcrn Oregon, so wo
digress koinuu hat to present theso fncts. No
doubt many who shall como hero will bo at
tracted by tliu fascination of gold nud silver
mining, hut tho truth seems to bo that gold
and silver has often cost more than It wns
worth. Minesmaterlallynidagriciiltiiiawhru
they offer a market for farm products. They
gave tho lirst impetus to nil tlio Upper Coun
try. I'or many years Dalles City and Wnlla
Wnlla were the scene of much riot and nam-
bllug nud the baldly earned gold was soiirin
dcrud with lavish hand,. Portland was llllcd,
in winter, by tho miners who came down hem
to spend tliu mouths when water existed only
in the form of snow or ice, und tho decadence
of tlio mines made a very heavy deduction
from tho incomes of hotel Keepers. Wo were
in the mines of Cahfurnla nt ft very early day,
also had olliei.il connection with thu mining
legions of I'-utcrn Oregon nt the Ust liaying
period, but whilu there are exceptional Instan
ces where prospectors and miners acquire
wealth, our experience shows that tho best
success follows agricultural development, lu
its train comes schools, churches, good society
nnd happy homes, nnd thu farmer, whilnhu
can only claim n reasonable share of Ik-hcIUs,
enjoys them most and is most independent iu
enjoying them.
IIKM'IIIITION or UNION roUNVV.
Union county id a very attractivu region,
has varied character of soil as wo go from the
rich valley html to the foot hills, or climb to
thn higher valleys, such as Wallowa, lictween
tho (iraudo Honde Vulley and Snako river.
Giaud Hondo river seeks an outlet through n
mountain canyon aud thu valley is fairly
hemmed in by mountain walls. Thu climate
Is healthy and w inters seem tempered by thu
sheltered nature of tho situation. Wallowa
is a higher location with more everu winters,
but is a favorite region for stock men, Ia
Grand and Unioiitown nru tho chief towns,
but other thriving villages nro scattered
through thu county, Union has tl,70.'l inhab
itants by thu census of 18b0. It Is devoted to
farming and stock-raising; valuo of live stock
Is nearly a million dollars; Union has n great
many horses and thu number of, milch cows
and quantity of butter made shows it to bo
favorable for dairying. Swino do well there
and pork products constitute an important
iart iu farmers' incomes. This county stands'
well in tho production of wheat, oats, hiy and
orchard product". While the best lands of
Union county are no doubt taken up, thu land
tablu shows that there Is vacant laud that has
been surveyed to thu extent of 1100,000 acres.
It is also trim that unproved lands can he
bought here, as elsewhere at a reasonable
figure. 'I'ho gieat objection to this region has
been its remoteness from market and tho
great cost of transportation. This dilliculty
will soon lie removed. Already tho track for
a railroad is lieing cleared, across the Hluo
mountains, fiom Umatilla, and thu scheme of
thoO. R, fc N. Co., includes an early building
of a railroad from tho Columbia river, through
Union and Haker counties, toconnect with the
Utah Northern road, and form a through liuo
to tho Kast, so that it is certain, as human
events can lie, that Uniou county will shortly
have railroad connection with Portland iu
one direction, and the Atlantic States iu the
other,
IIAKKU COUNTY.
This couuty has an area nearly two hun
dred miles long and from the mountain sum
mits to Snake river and the Idaho Hue. It
contains on the North, the valley of Powder
river which presents quite a surface for culti
vation and has several thriving towns and
villages. The mines of the Itlue mountain
region offer a market for ".what is produced,
and quartz veins of rich ore are found and
worked at the very edge of the valley, This
valley is rather cold, but produces all the
cereals aud moat of the vegetables in profusion
and of excellent quality, I'owder river tuts
good grain lands for some distance into the
mountains, where stock ranges, though agrif
culture has not been seriously attempted
The speedy construction of the railroad! rum
the Culumbii river gives a hope for fnture
growth and prosperity that induce aatticineut
already; we not! Mthat the Baker city news
papsrs (the alaw -as twe) speak of the fact
ft. Vm '
NO.
Or
that quite n settlement has been made tho
pist seniou on lands South of Powder river
nud llurnt river valleys, on the waters of tho
Malheur Wo used to tracrsu nearly tho
whole length of Haker county, slxtrcu ycats
ago, when going to thu mines of Southern
Idaho, mil found, along tho wny, much good
land, rich with grass. Sinco then, Haker
county has becoinu tho great glaring ground
for cattle, of which the census returns over
-13,000. Thu population of Hiker county, last
spring, wns -1,(1:11, a trilling population for
such nu extensive legion. There nrc not many
sheep in this county but much attention is
uid to horse, iu which connection Haker
coiiuty stand fourth in tho State. Powder
river valley I tho most populous portion of
Haker county, nnd iu the -Northern part nru
several mining districts, tu thu central por
tion is the Mnlhciir country, containing exten
sive tattle ranges nnd timo will probably do-
inoiiitraio its nvniiamuty lor regular lanmng.
In the Southern part is the Otvyhco river nud
tributaries, aud somu farming is carried on iu
tho vicinity of the mining district iu Idaho,
near tholinc. Kast of them is the Steiu's inouii
tain country, n famous stock range. The
Mnlhucr Indian reservation is partly lu Grant
county nnd pint in Haker, but wo havo Infor
mation that m It is no longer required for
occupation by Indians, It is soon to In
thrown open for tho settlement by the whites.
Haker auil Grant counties constituting nearly
one-third of thn total smfaco of the great
Stnto of Oregon, i cumin to this day In n great
measure vacant lands, limned over by great
herds of stock, utilired only pnrtilly in this
wny, with their resources only slightly un
derstood nnd waiting tho development of thu
future, in Powder river valley tho capacity
for production is well established and wu havo
no doubt that in timo a great part of tho val
ley lands of Haker county will bo cultivated
to L'ood advantage. There is more or less ol
sage brush plains in this county, especially
along thounpcrpnit of Snnko river. This
sago brush land is in many instance tho rich
est of soil. Wo remember resiling years ago
how n fanner In Powder river valley brought
nu irrigating ditch to liear upon a plcco of
heavy sagebrush land, strong with alkali, for
nil sngo laud has this vliaiactcilatlc, and alter
grubbing thelsago, pl'-wi-d nmls)Wed to wheat,
nn.1 rti..l Au-tyhlishcls to tb. .!(',' -Tl.u
lack of water prevents successful agriculture
over much of this interior region, but thu
remedy of artesian wells may lio tried them
uith ns much success as in Lower California.
Thu government has inado an appropriation
to test this nutter nnd it is probablti thst the
question of water supply will bo some way
solved so that tho great wealth of soil that
semis wasted oer n whin stretch of country
between tho Sieras of tho I Villi' aud thu
Kncky mountains, will be inado available for
habitation and cultivation.
Within two years a railrord will Ixi iu ope
ration from thu Columbia river to Haker city,
nud will tiring nil tho region nlong that dis
tance within a reach of market. It is possi
blu that within that timo the Utah Northern
railroad will push North to inaku u junction
and establish through connection with thn
Knst via tho Union Pacific railroad. Thu
timo rapidly npproachcH when the hitherto
wns to lands of Oregon will have all thu valuo
that transportation facilities call uivo them
and this great section of valley nud mountain
land that lias so long been utillnl only lor
stock ranges mid mining venturers, will as
sume tho greater iiuportanco that nttaches to
iMiuaiicnt homes nud steady cultivation of
thu soil.
Haker city is tho trading point and comity
sent for this great county, nnd is a growing
plncu with nil thu Impetus given by quartz and
placer mines, fanning nud stock raising, it
supports two newspapers, strango n it seems,
fur even tho most rcmoto portions of our State
givu lilieral aid to thu country journal, There
uru nearly ono bundled newspapers hi Oregon
and Wasliington.
ii' '
Letter from Wasco County
Tvoil Vali.lv, Jan. 'lt, ISM.
Kditor Willamette Karmeri
This is my first effort to write fur a ier,
but thinking the readers of thu KaumkuwoiiIiI
like to hear from this urt of Wasco county.
1 will drop a fuw lines.
Our Winter has 1k-.ii, and still is, pretty
rough. It set in on thu 1st of December with
a heavy rain, but tinned cold and began to
snow, and kept on snowing for time days; at
the end of the storm thu snow was twenty-six
Inches deep. Some of thu old snow it on thu
ground to-day. It has not been so very cold
Olio or two mornings tho thermumerwasdowii
to zero, but as a rule from H to 'JH has been
our coldest weather. Wo had a heavy rain
about the 10th of this mouth, that raised thu
Tygh and White rivers as high as they wen
iu 01-'.'. Mr. Shcrar claims it has injured
him to tho amount of $3,000 ami there is
others that have lost from 8100 to $300 in
timber and fences. Stock is dying fast. If
this.Wiutcr last much' longer our sheep men
will not have a very heavy shearers dill to
pay next Summer, Cattle are dying off by
wholesale. Hay is selling at $30 a ton. Kvery
one is praying for a Chinook w ind to take oil
the snow, and the sooner it comes thu better.
Tho WlLLAMKTTA Kakuick is a welcome visi
tor at our firesides and we cannot well get
along without it, and hopo that times may
never get so bard but what we can pay for it.
O.S.
The llrooklyn Times says of thu North
American Hevlewi "It is the Intellectual
periodical of America, and draws to itself
what is best in American brains. It is thu
-ream of the nation's thought." The Keview
and the WlLl-AMirm; Kakmkk are furulshod
together at $0.'i!i tier year. Subscription
should be sent to thu office,
I Head the adiartiaaueata.
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