Mineral Point weekly tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1859-1868, 1863-01-14
LETTERS FROM RECON-.
,Gy THE JUNIOR
Portland, Oregon, Dec. II; 1862.

olOSoI, D0C Aft ICo-'
The weather, thus far, on the Pacif.
coast, has been mild, resembling the pleas
ant Indian Summers of Wisconsin. l have
seen ice but once since / have been il
Portland
Their being no particular news of IN
terest from the mines, l will continue my
description of the country, still drawing
largely from information and from printed
documents.
Eastern Oregon possesses a climate
much resembling that of the upper Miss
issippi valley, but not so cold 1t is dry
and open; usually somewhat bleak, ow-
ing to the large proportion of prairie
land, but seldom bitter cold, the mercu ry
rarely falling below zero, in tn extreme
of winter. Last winter, however, it was
exceedingly cold in this region; but that
was winter unexampled in severity every
where in the Pacific States
Spring, in Eas tern Oregon, is fine, ear
ly and open. Summer is hot and gen
orally dry, with cool nights. Variations
of temperature, corresponding with diff
erences of altitude, are observed, some
times amounting to several degrees, at
places only few leagues apart. Autumn
frosts begin sometime in October, but it
does not become wintery till very late.
mountains Eastern Oregon is exposed
to an almost continuous breeze, which
sometimes swells into quite a gale, but
storms never occur The wind in sum-
mer is from the south west.
Western Oregon has moist, mild, and
peculiarly uniform climate. Except in
rare cases, the winter is not cold, nor the
summer hot, more than two or three days
in succession and extreme cold never oc
ours.
1t is rarely necessary to feed stock, for
more than fortnight, and frequently no t
at all, during the W hole year.
The amount of rain which falls in this
part of the State during the Rainy: Season,
is small
In lS46-7, Hugh Burns, Esq, of the
Willamette valley, kept diary from which
it appears there were days of continU-
Gus rain in November, 3 in December, 3
in January, and in February, making
only II in the four months of the Rainy
Season During the same time, there
were 66 entirely clear days-viz: II in
November, IT in December, 16 in Janu-
ary, and 81 il February. From the first
of November, lS45, to the 1st of March,
1856, there were 20 rainy, and 40 clear
days; the rest were variable.
The two nrtural divisions of Oregon
differ in respect to the quality of their soil,
as we'll as n climate The plateaux of
Eastern Oregon have a moderately rich
soil, whose chief component is SILICA, and
containing but a small amount of vegeta-
BILE matter. Little effort has been made
to test its capabilities for agricultural
purposes until very recently. The ex-
pertinent, SO far as tried, has proved ex-
ceedingly gratifying, AMI many persons
maintain that these uplands are destined
10 be the first grain lands in the State
But the natural adaptation of these i'm
mense tracts, is to grazing-cattle heard
ing and bucalic pursuits. Rolling prair-
les and level plains of almost illimitable
extent, stretch out from the foot of the
Cascade Mountains almost to the eastern
border of the State, and are covered with
uxuriant bunch-grass, afordIng an mex
pasture for any amount of stock
This grows in large tufts not Joined togeth-
sr by their fibrous roots, as is the case
vitc most other grasses. 1t grows to diff
erent heights, from six to eighteen inch
%. according to the quality of the soil. In
lutritive properties, 1t - not exeelled by
any grass known. Attaining its full
growth about the time the dry season com
nences, it cures into q fns favorous
nay, which, owing to the absence of dew
IN this region, in the summer, remains
excellent until the autumn rains come,
when the whole country is again covered
with gree grass.
Mountain streams, having their sources
in the mountain chains, interscet these
table lauds, flowing through valleys ard
-ondes of various dimensions and amazing
fertility The valleys of the Deschutes
and its tributaries, are all that have peen
tested with cereals, and they
have yielded very large crops. Vegeta-
bles of nearly all varieties, yield almost
crops Indian corn doe, as we'll