SPECIAL EDITION OF THE TILLAMOOK HEADLIGHT.
______________
No Cyclones, No Destructive Storms or
Droughts—Rainfall 117 Inches in 1898.
i
N aturally r the most important question to a stranger seeking a home is the
weather. Well, we can supply only a limited variety of weather, We don’t claim
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to be running a department store. Seekers after cyclones needn’t apply, We
never carried ’em in stock. Blizzards? You will have to go to some other old
Northers? No; they are too expensive, too high for us.
) place for them
Droughts ? Just out. In fact, have been out since the days of Noah.
Some evil-minded people insinuate that when the Lord commanded the
rain to cease on that memorable occasion, he forgot all about Tillamook, and it
has been raining here ever since. We can’t supply you with any ice, either. As for
snow, well, we have some just for to sample, but three good healthy boys could
make the whole season’s crop up into one man, and a stack of snow balls to
protect him with. In fact, if the weather ever got to be 10 degrees below zero,
all old-timers would freeze up solid, and would be giving you the frozen hand,
which they never have done yet to anybody. This lack of cold weather, however,
is not really a drawback.
When one of our Minnesota men gets lonesome in the winter, he only has to
travel about 15 miles up in the mountains where he can get into snow over his
head.
The principal fault with our weather is its lack of variety. A fellow never
has the satisfaction of guessing what it is going to do next. He knows. He knows
that when he puts in a crop, it is going to come up, and after it comes up, he
knows that it isn’t going to freeze out, or dry up, and blow away. He knows
that nobody in Tillamook county never lost a crop, unless he was too lazy to
harvest it. Gum boots come handy at times, but our experience leads us to believe
that a man on a farm can do more wearing gum boots than he could wallowing
around on snow shoes, or a pair of skates. In fact, we never “get our skates on”
—at least hardly ever.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE TILLAMOOK HEADLIGHT.
I
their hay crap in good order. It sometimes happens that the eclipses come in
those months, and if the hay makers will pay attention to the warnings given by
the U. S. \V. B. or their local pratical voluntary weather observer, they would lose
little or no hay, as has been demonstrated in our county. When the rainfalls are
light our crops are blessed with dew by night equal to light rains. I builder storms
are either very few, or not at all during the summer months, except they occur on
the summer eclipses. Mr. Editor, with the abovecondition of the '‘natural" supply
of water for the crops of all kinds, and the general status of temperature given
above. I say, sir, what need have we in Tillamook County for “irrigating trusts or
their irrigating machines?’’ None, sir. The only trust we have any faith in for
raising our crops is the abundance of rain fall. Taking the above remarks under
consideration let me draw a comparison with the country south, east and north.
Beginning with California, the total amount of rain given for the last year is 15
inches, Arizonia 7 inches, Idaho9 inches, Washington from 15 to 20inches, according
to location. What do we derive from the effects of our rain as against those other
states with their light rain fall ? While the newspaper and U. S. W. Bureau reports
the droughts and failure of crops, leaves drying up and falling from the trees for
I want of moisture in California and Arizonia, and almost similiar weather in Kan.
sas and Nebraska, and to the north of us a short summer season, and long,
icy, stormy winters, Tillamook County does not experience any snch seasons of
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drought or loss of crops.
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The moisture is so distributed that drought has no chance to take hold and
make barren fields, nor ice and snow to interfere with our growing crops. While
we have the mountains continually covered with evergreen trees, just so are onr
fields green with grass in the wood, and pastures the entire year, keeping onr
creameries and cheese factories running the wholeyearon account of the abundance
of green clover and grass. The loggers are able to go into the mountains, cut
down their timber in summer, put it in the rivers, and when the fall and winter
rains come take pleasure in seeing their logs float down stream, starting at the
heigth of 2,000ft. above tide water. As regards the health of Tillamook county, I
say we have no malarial lagoons or swamps to breed fevers and agues, and the
experience of my 32 years' residence in Tillamook county is this, that those persons
who come to Tillamook and have those diseases, bring them with them in their
system, but owing to the bracing sea breeze and equable climate soon get rid of
them.
TEMPERATURE.
I
Low est
Min.
DELIGHTFUL WEATHER.
Highest
Min.
No Elizzards,
AND
H ighest
M ax.
MILD
CÖ he TJ
« H
From September 20th, 1898,
e =
M r . E ditor ,—Requests are made by many persons in and out of Tillamook
SC J
to
March
20th,
1899.
£
==
C *5
to have the weather reports published, so that they may know what the climate (t
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is in our county during the winter season, as also to answer the questions asked
58
54.
N.W.
43
SEPTEMBER
69
of me, both by letters and the U.S. Agricultural Department, as to what is the
OCTOBER ................................ 66 ... 54 . .. 51 ... 30 ..
w.
amount of water supply, and how much irrigation do we have to perform, in order )
NOVEMBER............................ 72 ... 43 .. . 50 .... 30 ... N. W.
I
to insure a crop of grain, fruit or vegetables. I have paid close attention to the I
DECEMBER............................ 51 ... 25 . .. 48 ... 25 ..
\V.
I
reports of the weather in other parts of the state of Oregon and of the United I
w.
JANUARY................................. 55 ... 39 . .. 48 ... 28 ..
FEBRUARY............................ 54 ... 28 .... 48 ... 10 ... N.W.
States. Those reports show that in many of the Eastern and Northern states the
To MARCH 20th...........
w.
57 ... 45 . .. 43 ... 30 ...
snowstorms were heavy enough in places to stop all traffic in cities and on country
roads and railroads for many days; as also the violent wind and rain storms,
Total amount of rainfall and snow, from September 22nd, 1898, to March
causing the ’.oss of many lives of men and animals, as well as a large
20th, 1899:
amount of shipping,
A close examination of the 'lillamook reports will show
Amount Greatest
that while those destructive storms were raging in the Eastern and
of rain amount in
Nortlien States, in Tillamook county we were enjoying a mild winter, for
in inches. 24 hours. Date. Snow.
the full amount of snow hill on the lowlands during the whole winter did not
SEPTEMBER.................. ...................... 3.78 ... 1.12 .. . 30
0
reach 10 inches in depth, while in Eastern Oregon, Washington and Idaho, the
OCTOBER........................ ...................... 8.51 ... 1.00 ..
0
1
temperature went so low as to kill many hundreds of fruit trees and cattle and
NOVEMBER................... ...................... 16 34
2 50
30
0
horses. For six nights only, at my station, did the thermometer run down “ to 10
DECEMBER.................... ...................... 12.00 ... 2.25 .. . 26
0
JANUARY......................... ...................... 23.53
. 2 85 .. . 20
degrees above zero," and the greatest amount of ice found at any one time, was
h
FEBRUARY...................... ...................... 16.89 ... 3.20 ..
8
8
during those six nights. It only froze 2H inches thick on a large sheet of water,
7
MARCH.............................
5 40 ... 0.80 ..
0
and on a close observation no fruit trees have been winter killed. Fall sown
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grain sowed early is doing well. Pasturage has kept green and growing all the
Totals................... ........................86.45
8V2
winter, lor five days in the month of November, 1898, at noon, at mv station,
So,
in
closing
my
remarks,
I
say
to
those
persons
who
have
been
frozen
or
the maximum temjierature reached 98 degrees, and for the 33 years that I have kept
draughted out, and are searching for a home where the climate is mild, and no
a local daily record of the weather at my home or station, I have only once in that
irrigation is needed, let them come and dwell among us.
time known the temperature to go down as low as it has this winter, nor in that
length of time have I any record of, or know of a failure of crop« in Tillamook
CAPTAIN JOSEPH J. DAWSON,
county. We have no use tor irrigation, trust or combines to control these things. ?
Weather Observer. Kilchis Station, Tillamook.
Our creeks and rivers are all rapid, and if necessary, it would be but a small
ecpc.ise to throw water from them over the low lands, or over high buildings, for )
these rivers and creeks have never l>een known to go dry. In the dry season we
PACK ME OFF TO TILLAMOOK.
get occasional heavy wet tog and dew, equivalent to rain showers in the interior I
) counties.
j Annual feelin's cornin’ on
Want to lie in camp at night
Having given you the status of the general weather or climate of Tillamook
As the sun gits up a heat,
Hearin’ the coyotes howl;
Want to pack up an’ begone
County during the six months of the fall and winter season, from the month of
Watch the fire a.sparkin' bright.
To
some
mountainous
retreat
;
Listen
to the hootin'owl.
September to the month of March; the question naturally occurs to, and by the i
Want to leave the city's din,
Mebbe wouldn't die of fear
Jieople. imput ing about the status of the weather, health and general character of
Shake it's troubles an’ its sin,
Or of tenderfootish sheer
1 illatnook county in summer as well as in the winter, are we burnt up with sum­
An’ jest fairly revel in
If we now an' then would hear
Laziness from head to feet.
mer heat, drought and failure of crops? To all of the above questions, I lieg leave )
Mountain lions 'round us growl.
Pack me off to Tillamook.
to reply, from official reports collected by me during the six months, front the
Pack me off to Tillamook.
spring Equinox, March 20th, 1898, to September 22nd. 1898 :
Want to seek some quiet nook
Want to feel the sothin’ kiss
Only God has every seen,
Highest maxmium, 93 degrees, June 5th; lowest maxmium. 44 degrees. March
Of the breezes in their freaks,
Near a crystal babliiig brook
23rd; highest minimum, 60 degrees. June 25th; lowest minimum. 25degrees. March
Revel in the feathery bliss
Playin' in a frame of green.
Of their touch upon our cheeks;
22nd. Mean of highest maximum anti lowest minimum temperature during the (
There to drink the mountain air
Want to sec the spray arise.
six months, 59 degrees.
)
Like ’tw.as wine of vintage rare.
Dart around like jewelled flies.
An' forgit there is a care
Total amount of rainfall for the same period (31.30) thirty-one inches and
Sparkle ‘neith the sunlit skies
Or a sorrow cold and keen.
Archin’ o’er the dashin' creeks.
thirty tenths, inde^ndent of the heavy dews that fall during the summer months
Pack me off to Tillamook.
Pack me off to Tillamook.
In order to show that we are not parched and sun dried, nor the leaves of the trees
I
curled up, nor the bark of the fruit trees cracked and shriveled for want of rain
or irrigation—as the lands in the States south of us. as also east of us to the Rocky
mountains. 1 give the raintail in each month in inches and tenths
March
3.33 April. 8.89; May. 6.18; June. 6.89; July. 1.55; August, 0.87; Septemlier.3.51 ■
m order to show the nmgnificient distribution of the rain during the whole season’
Yim wdl observe that during the hay making month, otjulv and August, the rain-
■ tall is very light, giving a good opportunity for the farmers to make and house
Want to see the deer at play
On the lirgiu grassy sod,
W ant to loll the hours awav
Coupled to a fishin' rod. '
Listen to the tnerrv songs
Of the birds in joyous throngs_
Go where everything belongs
Jnst exclusively to God.
Pack me off to Tillamook.
Same ol' yearnin’ feelin' comes
Reg'lar with the dawn of spring,
Till the mem'ry-lteaten drums
Of the ears with music ring—
Music of the hummin' bee*.
Music of the whisp rin breeze,
Music of the rustlin’ trees
An' the notes the songbirds sing.
Pack me off to Tillamook.