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About The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933 | View Entire Issue (June 29, 1889)
i i r i ! I ! ' - : ! I r . i i S n - HOOD RIVER, OR., JUNE 29, 18S9. TIIE WATER QUESTION. , - ' There is an absolute necessity of our beautifying the town, and to thia end an abundance of water for irrigation . is necessary,. There ia no place in the county where such an abundance of water can be brought in at no little cost and no place where it would be of as much benefit. What the town needs more than any other place, because of the nature of its business, is to be made attractive. It should be a garden, with well kept lawns and beautiful flowers; a delight to the eyes of the thousands whom the railroad carries by it. Peo ple will come here for pleasure, rest, recreation, and it is our duty to do the little nature has not done for us. The Glacier will cheerfully contribute to a fund for making a survey, and will back its opinion concerning the benefits to be , desired, by putting up liberally for the construction of a flume. Every property owner is interested in the matter and ( we hope ere another week rolls round to be able to chronicle the fact that a moye has been made in the . matter. Indian creek is the most available, but if this ' cannot be managed, Hood river will give . us an inexhaustible supply. There is much difference of opinion as to the fall , in the river, but a small outlay for sur veying will settle that matter, and we , Ought to have this information anyway; There is five dollars in this shop to help pay for the survey, and more if neces sary. We ought to know iow much fall there is in the river, and now is the ac cepted time to investigate it. WE ARE PROSPEROUS. :. From all over the state east of , come reports of short crops, caused us by , the extraordinarily hot weather and lack of rain. Here the crops of all kind v are excellent. The berries were of fine t quality, and abundant. Thn grain now , being harvested will run front thirty to fifty bushels to the acre ; the apple and' , pear trees are loaded with fruit, and the peach crop will be the largest we have had for years. Our excellent crops taken in connection with the fact that much work for teams and men has been furnished by the Mt. Hood Stage com pany, have made money matters more than usually easy with all. We have fared better than any of our neighbors, and feeling that the Hood river valley has entered an area of progress and pros perity, everybody is satisfied. New comers are taking up all available lands, or purchasing small farms from the old settlers and Boon the whole valley will be what -nature intedned it to be, a . grand fruit farm. . . TRUE OF THIS SECTION. Arcadian simplicity combined with t idyllic charms are presented in the fol lowing description, of what constitutes happiness and prosperity in the blissful state of California, the golden : '.'The , happiest and most prosperous man of tfamily of California, today," says the Biggs Argue, "is he who has in a fifteen or twenty acre tract his all of land, on which he raises his own garden, his few hogs, his two or three cows, his chick ens, his variety of fruit and berry, nuts, and in fact everything he wants. We know of but few so situated as yet, but the tide is drifting that way, and the sooner our people give up the idea that a man must own nearly a township to make a living cultivating the mother earth, the sooner our people will become versed in the true philosophy of what Constitutes the simou pure life of coin fort and happiness. ' FOOLISH INFIDELITY. It is stated that many of the survivors of the Johnstown disaster became infi dels through it. They say they cannot worship a God who would permit such a wholesale destructiln of their relatives and friends. They seem to forget that God does not change natural laws either to punish or protect the human family. The rains that caused the Johnstown flood were natural, and nature had pro vided for the escape of the waters with out carrying with them such terrible destruction. Men -made the dam, and their ignorance, combined with criminal carelessness, was the cause of the dis aster. God was no more responsible for the result than he would be for the death of a man who, placing his head on the railroad track, held it there until it was crushed by a locomotive. The misfortunes of Johnstown cer tainly have not come single. The ter rible flood and appalling loss of life, was followed by fiendish , mutilation of the dead, by sickness and suffering, and more recently my the burning of twenty five houses, .which . the flood had left. Last Wednesday thirtv-five or forty laborers stealing a ride home from the ill-fated city, met their death in a collision between freight trains perishing many of them by drowning and burning as the people of Johnstown had done. It is to be hoped that the last of her misfortuaes have happened. The approach to the depot is an eye sore and the company should fix it up. A short piece of stone wall, with a broad flight of steps would add mater; ially to the looks of the place and it would not cost much either. As this is to be the point of departure for the Mt. Hood glaciers it is meet that the rail road company should make their grounds as. neat as possible, and the put ting in shape of the sand bank at the depot is about all that is required. We respectfully call the attention of the county commissioners, or the road supervisor, if it is his business, to the eastern approach to the bridge.across the river here. TLo road is very narrow, the bluff high, and unless a good strong railing is placed alone the edge of the bluff, somebody is going to get hurt, and the county will have the damages to pay. The place is dangerous in the extreme, and it is gross carelessness to allow it to remain as it is. One of the most extensive prune grow er in Ponoma, California, is' George Rhorer who will dry his own fruit this year and ship it to St. Louis in white cloth baes. where the prunes will be put in boxes and sold. Mr. Rhorer has given this matter much attention, and informs us that he believes the best financial results can be had from thus marketing the fruit this season. Wash ington Farmer. . , There is no doubt but that a big mill will be in operation here by this time next year. The inexhaustible supply of timber, and unsurpassed water power in combination is bound to cause it. When a train load of lumber leaves here every day, which it win in tne near future, the town will improve so rapidly that we will hardly know it. He who is wise will secure a building lot while the prices are yet low. We desire to caution campers and others to be careful about their fires. Everything is dry as tinder, and a neg lected camp-fire is liable to start a con flagration, and cause untold damage. In leaving jour camps be sure and put out the fires, thus protecting yourselves and preventing unnecessary damage to own ers of the land. Good Words From Abroad. Pendleton, Or., June 27, 1889. Editor Hcod River Glacier : Dear Sir: The initiatory 'number of the Glacier has just reached me and I hail with delight the advent of a paper which shall be devoted to the interests of Hood River valley and her people. You modestly disclaim the intention of trying to nil a long felt want, but allow me to assert that your paper is the much needed lactor in the development of a section of country hitherto neglected and unnoticed, but which is destined to come proudly to the front and rank as one of the most fertile, heathful and pleasant little valleys in the great state of Oregon While the booms have been booming on every side and the various papers have been crying the resources of their respective localities, we have heard noth ing of Hood River because she had no representation or voice in this struggle for supremacy. During these rushing times of immigration it is very essential and a duty we owe the people, that we call their attention to such beautifuul tracts of country as this valley in ques tion, else they are apt to be misled by the truthless and extravagant assertions of these booming journals, and disgusted with the worthlessness of the locality, anu tne recklessness ot tne writers, tney leave xne country without ever stopping to investigate further. Only today we picked up a paper which, with gleaming headlines, lauded to the skies the possibilities of a certain little town situated in a 6age brush desert, and sur rounded by a country only capable so far of producing horned toads and bob tailed squirrels, but such seems to be the extent to which one's interests will bias the mind. Why there is hardly a town in w asnington territory that does not expect the capital, or a village in it that is not "destined to be," etc. e do not expect any unreasonable thingy at Hood River, or wish to hear any extravagant assertions, nor is it necessary, only that the truth may be stated, which is enough, and that people may not come and go without knowing Oregon has a Hood River valley. The Hood River people may not have much but what they have is their own, and they d not pride themselves in owning several hundred acres Of land covered by first, second and third mortgages, as is the case in many other localities. In fact, it is doubtful if you can find another agricultural people encum bered with so little debt, and surrounded with so many natural conveniences in the state, as those of Hood River valley. If any one should become dissatisfied with Hood River and her surroundings let them take a trip at this season of the year, oyer the dry, treeless region of Eastern Oregon and Washington terri tory, and they will certainly return, re- ?enting of having complained. From 'he Dalles to Spokane Fads it is one continuous .stretch of rolling hills and hollows. This of course is the great wheat producing belt, and under favor able circumstances its productiveness is comparatively astonishing, but the great misfortune of this business is, the producer too often receives the least of the profits thereof. The country, how ever, is gradually merging from the most stressing circumstances, and each year finds the people in a little easier condition, and there is apparent a gen eral contentedness and satisfaction, ex cept with a lew, whose ambition is never eatiafiedbecause they can't raise, enough to get money enough to buy land enough to raise wheat enough on. And it is this class of farmers who slight their work, try to put the whole country in wheat who suffer moat dur ing such times as we are having now. There never was a better prospect for an abundant harvest in the history of the country than there has been this spring, but the recent hot winds have proven very disastrous. There is abundant mois ture in the ground but it does not come to the surface as it usually does, and these winds and hot nights have literally cooked and wilted the wheat to the ground in many localities. Under the most favorable circumstances the coun try cannot now expect more than half a crop and many farmers will have to buy their bread and seed. From Pendleton to Dayton the lall wheat that was prop erly put in is doing quite well, but from Dayton to Spokane there is nothing but a little Btnp very near the mountains,, from Lewiston to Rockford, and this can not hold out. long against this hot weather without fain. We have just re turned from a trip through the great Pa- louse country and know the above state ment to be a fact, but it is the first fail ure ever ISfcwivinhis celebrated wheat producing section. llie towns along the line are all in a very prosperous condition, and many substantial improvements are being made. Pendleton is becoming quite a city and much money is being expended in fine brick blocks and permanent im provements, and the volume of business will still be increased bv the opening of the state road to Canyon City. Athena, in the pride of her new name, is rushing along assuming a dignity becoming a citv of much greater proportions. The towns of the Palouse country are all building rapidly, but the shortage of crops will set them back considerable and force some of the light merchants to the wall. Walla Walla's attention seems to be almost whollya bsorbed in the "great liunt system," as some of her enthus iastic citizens are wont to call it. They gave Mr. Hunt $100,000 to come in. and now they want to give him $200,000 to go on, and in his great "generosity" he nas accepted tne proposition, now absurd, how reckless 1 And ; yet, to speak against it is to call foith a storm of harrangue from its supporter about "mossbacks," "deadheads," etc. The Walla Walla Journal dubs Mr. Hunt as "our redeemer," "the saviour of the country," etc. As brother Eesserer is too smart a man to be the thus "soft soaped," we will be pardoned in think ing he is lust hired to put taffy on Mr Hunt's stick. Everybody knows that if the JNorthern Pacinc does not own these roads it soon will, and that the same rates will be maintained as are given over the O. R. & N. The time has come when the N. P. is determined to enter the O. R. & N. territory, and the probability is, Mr. Hunt is the con tractor in disguise lor this company, and the bonuses he gets is clear gam He built the Pendleton branch last fall to the brow of the hill four miles 'from the city, and then stacked arms and waited for the $100,000 bonus. The amount was finally reduced to $80,000. and the good people made it un and the grading is now completed, and the trains will soon be running in. Here is an other absurdity : to stop four miles oui of a place transacting the business Pen dleton does, and stay out for a vear waiting for a bonus which one month's business would nearly pay. But various are the schemes individuals as well as corporations have for feathering their nests. . Nemo Walla Walla reports murh damacn to grain crops from dry weather and the loss of several fields by catching fire Irom sparks from the locomotives. The Kootenai Indians on the Flathead reservation are giving trouble; cause, attempt by the sheriff to arrest two of them charged with murder. Sheriff Heyfrom has started from Missoula with ten companies of soldiers to arrest the Indian murderers on the Flathead reservation. I, llffll DEALER IN IF y Groceries, Boots and Shoes. toYes am Flour and Feed. A General Assortment of such as is usually found in a country store. HOOD RIVER, OREGON. O.D Tinware, . .' 1 .