Prescott journal. [volume] (Prescott, Wis.) 1861-1871, 1865-04-22
From the Pacific Coast.
Correspondents of the State Journal.
ASTORIA, Oregon, Feb. %, 1856

letter of mine, written for the Patriot, from
which infer that my "notes" pass over 10
you, whether as "next of kin" or by "es'
cheat" will not stop TO inquire, but VIII
continue INV writing, hoping that may oc-
occasionally in my wanderings serve up some
thing of interest to your readers, Having
left the gold region" you viii not be sur
prised to fluid me occasionally following up a
"copper" vein," knowing that to be "my
STYLE"
| write you from the ancient town of as
tOria-famous as being one of the oldest
points of settlement on the Pacific coast, and
as having been the great trading post of the
Fur Companies west of tne Rocky Mount
aims. Those who have read Irving's "Asto-
ria" land who has not , will feel curiosity
in learning the present condition OF place
which his writings made famous, connecting
| il with so much of frontier life and adven.
ture. The town is situated inside of large
bay, formed by Cape Disappointment and
Point Adams, some fifteen or twenty miles
| from, but in sight of the Ocean. 1t is situa-
| ted on a narrow table land, backed by high
hills or bluffs The village, / should Judge,
contains population of 400 or 500, and is
the county seat of Clatsop county. The orig
inal settlement, or trading post OF the old
American Fur Company, erected by Astor in
| 1890. or near that time, was made short
distance above the present town; but as they
were adobe buildings, they have long since
/ disappeared, leaving only a few ridges to
mark their location. In 1912, the Hudson
BAY Company took possession of the ground,
| and after driving out the American Com
pany built trading houses where the present
village is That company held possession of
the post until forced to give it up, uRder a
treaty, entered into think, under President
Polk. The buildings of the latter company
are fast going to decay, and In few years
will entirely disappear. l can find no one
here who has any definite knowledge OF the
the history of the place, or who takes any in
terest in il, but / have gathered the follow
ing, which seem to be well authenticated
facts: In 1892 a fort was erected near the
mouth of the Colum bia, and named Fort Clat-
SOD in honor of an American trading vessel
that visited the river that year-prObably one
of Astor's vessels. The river then bore the
name of Oregon, but l cannot find that it has
any local meaning or authority. The name
seems to have originated with an English
publisher, who in ITS, published book des-
criptiOn of this portion of the Pacific coast,
and gave il the name of "OregOn," a word
originating probably in his own tancy-cer-
tainly it has no local meaning, that can be ar
rived at now. The river was afterwards
named Columbia, / think by the American Fur
Company, but the State retains the name SO
unauthoritatively given the Territory.
Astoria is a port of entrance-has Gus |
tom-hOuse and other prominent buildings, but
has little local business the fur trade Is en-
tirely gone, and though there are a few |
" mixed bloods" here, claiming to be descen- |
dents of the old traders aud trappers, and a
few vagabOnd Indians wandering about the |
neighborhoOd, there is little to remind one of
AstOria's former people, or Importance as the |
centre of a great trade-a noted marginal |
point between civilization and savage life. A |
short distance north of here, on the Wash |
ton shore, is an extensive oyster bed, |
from which considerable quantities of |
biValves are brought to this port for shipment |
to Portland, San Francisco and other points.
On the Washington side 1.-THE Columbia is the |
dividing line between Oregon and Washing |
ton TerritOry,) about six miles from here is a /
government fertilization to protect the har- |
bor Above the town, in sight, is a high, |
rocky prOmOntoIy, which tradition says |
was once held by the Spaniards, and near |
which they buried several pieces of cannon on
being forced by the Indians to abandon the |
position. 1t is probably nothing but tradi- |
ton" The town looks old and neglected. |
the houses are moss grown, and speak OF the |
olden time" If Boston is the Atlantic |
" hub of the Universe,p there is little pros
peet of Astoria's ever becoming the "hub"
on the Pacific side.
The Columbia is large stream, being at |
this place between two and three miles wide |
and from Portland, a distance of about 100 |
miles, it passes between high, basaltic cliffs |
and fir-cOyered mountains, affording the wild |
est and most varied scenery | ever looked /
upon. There are but few settlements along |
the river-the face of the country being too |
rough to admit of it. From our steamer We |
had excellent views of Mts. Hood and Helen, |
two grand peaks, whose submits wear a per- |
petual covering Of snow. Theyrise far above |
the surrounding hills, and present in the sun
light magnificent sight.
During the latter part OF the autumn, the |
miners come down from the mountains, to |
winter on the coast they have commenced |
running back. and the hotels are fnll of GUS |
toners with packs, waiting conveyance up |
the river. There will, from present indica- |
tons, be a greater rush for the mines from |
this coast this year than there was last, and |
1 think more gold viii be gathered in Idaho |
than ever before-the gold is there, and min |
ers are bound TO have IL. There is an interest |
and fascinating excitement attaching to min- |
ing that exists in no other occupation, and |
men follow it ardently and hopefully, appar-
emily Indifferent to past disappointments or
present dangers and difficulties There is
something in long boots, SLOUGH hat, red shirt,
and careless life, and the prospect" ever be-
fore the miner, that makes him feel extreme
" independent. The business once entered
upon is hard to be given up-even with my
"little 'sperience," cannot look upon the
tribe wandering towards the golden land
without strong desire to Join it,
The older printers of Wisconsin will re-
member printer by the name of S. ii. Tay-
lor. He was for a time, while working as a
jour, engaged as editor of the Madison States
man, was afterwards employed on the Mil
waukee .lSe1itina, and later published for time
the Watertown JsfersoRian, succeeding Judge
Butler. He came overland to this, then Ter
ritory, with his family, and died near Port
land some five or six years since. He left
"printer's fortune,n and his children have
been educated by tine Masonic fraternity, of
which he was an honored member happened
to meet with his widow a short time since,
who, among other incidents of early times,
remarked the difficulty with which "school-
mans were kept at their calling, and in IL
lustration of it showed me a contract drawn
by her late husband, between an applicant
for school and the district board, from
which copied the following as an " ITEM
"And it is further agreed and understood