, 1866-12-28
I.ettnr from Sam Franclsco.

DAN FRANCISCO, Zee. Aoi looO.
EprroR SrArEsEAN.-I suppose ere this, you
are closed out from communication With the
outside world BY water but as you have land
communications, and as it is mot down"-a-lA-
tsleeraph-I hope this msy reach you.
Since my last things have changed, and
hope for the better. The people in the upper
country will, hope, have a chance to olive as
they ought to live," and not be cramped in
their movements as they have been, by the all
seeing and apparently all,powerful o. s. N Co.
7. ia true. the o. S. N. Co. have done a great
deal for the UPPER country, but then on the 9TH
er hand, the upper country have done good
deal for the o. S. N, Co.. F; in fact, Eastern
Washington (now cut up into Idaho aud Monta-
ma Territories has made the 0. s. N Co.,
without which they never would have aspired to
ANYTHING save their original wheelbarrow ar
rangements up the Willamette. But when ST.
mil. .kameen and Rock Greek were discovered,
and in 1860, begun to be developed then the
Nez Perce mines then the Salmon River, Flor
ence and Elk City, all lying northeast from
wa!lula, began to be worked, all in 1861, then
the o. S. N. Co. began to prick up their ears.
1t became necessary for them to buy out R. r.
Thompson Co., who were then running the
only steamboat on the upper Columbia, the
"COl. Wright" which they did. They then COM
menced building steamboats, at Cello, about as
| fast and after the same style as country wag-
on-maIer wodld wheelbarrows for a proposed
Railroad company. The transportation from
the Dalles to Cello, distance of Is miles by
team, was entirely too slow for the fast and en-
lghtened community that were rapidly flowing
| into Washington Territory east of the Cascades,
and railroad must be built over the portage to
facilitate trade. 1t was built, and was built in
such position that it kept from $50 to 200 men
constantly employed to keep the drifting sand
off the track. You must remember that the
name, Cello, is the Indian for "moYing sands"
Properly named was Cello.
About this this time, there loomed up another
little company on the upper Columbia. This
company was headed by Capt. Ankeny, of Port
land, DR.. Baker, of WaHa Walla aud Billy
Gates, ship-carpenter. This company built
aud put on the steamer "Spray," which as
an independent steamer for awhile but it pros
we'd an eye sore to the ''powers' and with a tri-
fling outlay of $50, 900 they succeeded in buy
| ing her off. Then Capt. W. H. Gray must needs
put machinery in his little schooner, and put
her upon the river. She travelled under the
name of the "Skedaddle," though think her
C h ristian name was "Kaskadilla." Capt Lew
Whits-the Commodore of the river-must needs
lay the keel of steamer at Colum bus, few
miles above Cello. She was baptised under
the name of ''Kayuse," but like the tribe of
Indians she was named after, soon got her back
broke bucking against the "powers," and very
soon the whole batch, "Spray," 'Ktyuse" and
"skedaddle" went into thefgreat NAV of the
o. S. N. Co.
"Abont this time, e,"-as the Almanac would
say-the y. s. N. Co. may be said to have
dropped their sual Hing clothes aud immeIi
ately donned those of a man-grew proud and
arrogant Everything and everybody must by
their will AMI wish, make their bow to the great
city of Portland, little town on the Williams
ette river, about Is miles from its confluence
with tue Columbia. Then everything and every,
body must go down again into the Columbia
| upper
Columbia. All this was very fine tor the o. S.
N. Co., but the people in the upper country
could Mt see it-never have seen it-don't want
10 see it it Amt to their interhst to see it,
About this time. the Company thought they
saw another arena of trade which they might
absorb, and chen TREY could put gate up at the
mouth of the Columbia River aud admit none
but those who would make their bow to the
town of Portland. But to do this, they must
have Ocean Steamers, and to get them at chea-
pest rates, they must be built East. This was
nooted in the Board of Directors, and strenu-
ously opposed by some but fought through by
Portlanders. But, alas, it was the rock on which
this great monopoly was wrecked. By doing
this, the o. S. N. Co. raised the ire of another
transportation company, known throughout the
Pacific coast as the c. s. n. Co., and ere the
o. S. N. Co. had perfected their arrangements
and put up their gate at the mouth of the Co.
lumbia, the G. s. n. Co. had gulped down all
of the o. S. N. Co., save a few of the knowing
, ones these they left out in the wet-of Oregon
Now comes the tug of war. Will the new
owners open up the direct route for ocean COM
munication with the upper country Will they
land their ocean steamers at St. Helens, or run
them to Vancouver .? In either case, leaving
Portland where she is, off the great natural line
of travel, up the Willamette RIVER From what
can learn, one of the above mentioned places
will be the terminus of the ocean steamers, and
Portland in no event. enter the arena-and
why should she2 The Portlanders now exclaim
with Wolsey IA little altered J "Here the
weight that pulled me down my boats have
gone beyond me; in this one city / had ceutered
all my hopes-it is lost forever. No sun shall
ever usher forth her honors, or gild again the
! whimpering troops that waited at my command
Had served the whole people with half the
zeal that have tried 10 throttle them, they
would not have left me naked to mine enemies
long farewell to all my future greatness"
TRAVELLER.
The Ladies' Fair.
EDIroR SrArEsMAN:-Mth your kind leave
the Sisters Of the ST. Viucent's ArAdemV vopld