The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1849-10-12
Interesting Letter from, Oregon.

We are indebted to Judge CATION,
of this place, for permission to pub
lish the following letter from Oregon.
For a correct account of the present
state Of things in that interesting por-
ton of our country, we could refer
the reader TO no document more re-
liable than this letter.
Pleasant Dale, Yam I'LL Falls, Yam Hill
County, Oregon, Narch 4, 1919 !
Sir.-l am a very poor hand at
making an apology, | will, therefore,
forego the attempt, and will let my
desire to give you my opinion of Or
egon Territory do that for me. |
am located on the Yam-Hill river,
a tributary of the willamette, from
40 to 80 miles south Of its junction
with the Columbia, and from % to
80 miles 5. w. of Oregon city,
This valley is about $50 miles North
and South, and will average from
30 to 40 miles East aud West, inter-
spcrSed with hills of various heights
and shapes, as well as extent; these
are generally covered with a stunted
growth of oak, excellent for frewood
the ashes of which are equal to thos c
in the States made from Rock Elm,
for the purpose ofmaking soap
The valley is all rich alluvial land,
excellent for all farming purposes.
There is a chillincss in the night air,
in my opinion, owing to the proXimi-
ty of the Pacific ocean on the West,
and the Cascade range of mountains
on the East, the tops of which are
covered with snow for the greater
part Of the year. This operates a.
galnst the raising of maize and to.
bacco, although the tobacco raised
here is of superior quality to that
raised in the Western States, avera-
ging about 10. to the plan.. The
native grass, called bunch grass, is
superior to any thing Of the grass
kind an acquainted with for s;ocl,.
and covers aH ,ac hjIts and gal!inS.
The timocr used lrr fencing is tac
white, red, and yellow fir, growing
on the mountains and on the margins
Of streams (Which are very numcr-
ouS) to the height of 2jO feet. vary
ing little in diameter from the base
to the height of 100 feet. lin some
instances, where the valley is wide,
timber may be said to be scarce,
however, there are but few claims
that cannot include frcwood. altho'
the fencing may have to be Brought
from = to D miles, scarcely ever
more. 1t has always been rcpresen-
ted that stock requires no feeding
in the winter, however the winter of
40 and the present winter have both
been very severe, and | Of opinion
that every good farmer should be
prepared to feed his whole Stocl, at
least one month, that is, the last win
ter month, yet it will frequently
happen that this is not requisite, the
grass remaining fresh and green all
the season, except in July and Au-
gust, at which time the bunch grass
runs to seed and ripens.
| am of opinion that no State in
the Union offers equal returns for
the labor of man. You will, in all
probability, ere the receipt of this,
have received the news of the cX-
tensivc and rich gold mines discov-
cred in California, which bids fair
to revolutionizc the monetary affairs
of the world. Some 5000 of our cit
liens have been to the mines, many
of whom have returned, bringing
back gold, whose labors, while in
the mines, will not average less than
$50 per day. 1t is estimated that
the inhabitants of this valley have
brought into it, within the last three
months, gold from California to the
value Of about e3,000,O00. The
mines, as reported, are about 200
miles square. There is no doubt
that the gold mines commence at, or
near Chihuahua, and run westward
into the Pacific ocean. Some little
gold has been found in this valley.
EVERYTHING has changed appear
ances here. Mechanics and labor
ers who, twelve months ago, were
plenty, and whose wages were good
but not extravagant,a ARE now entirely
out of the question, Good carpen-
ters cannot be engaged for anylength
OF time, at 50 day, paid daily, in
gold, and transfers will not stay
with you at 80 day, paid every
night. An individual who, twelve
months ago, assisted you in fencing,
has been to the mines for about four
months-hc returns and offers you
81,