Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1873-02-13
SAN Francisco, January %, 1877;


To the Editor of the Herald:
Two days after our arrival at Portland, Mr..
J. L. Halsey, whom some of your readers
have good cause gratefully to remember, in
vited us to take trip on the West Side Rail-
road. We left at early dawn, and having
passed through several little settlements, ar
rived at St. Joseph, the present terminus OF
the road, 45 miles distant, at about 10 o'clock.
At 2 o'clock we left on our return, reaching
Portland at five. That portion of the valley
through which we passed was, if possible,
better farming land than the east side. 1t
was about equally divided into prairie and
wood land, very level, well watered, and
very deep, black soil. This entire country
has been opened to culture since the con-
struction of the railroad. Everything is new.
The road will be continued 100 miles or more
further, to point of junction with the east
side road, at the head of the valley. The
land subsidy for this road is very liberal, and
there is hardly an acre that is not of the
richest quality. 1t will ultimately sell for
enough to build half dozen such roads.
Some curious facts in the early history of
Oregon may partially account for much OF
the shiftlessncss of its farming population.
To encourage settlers, Government, in 184S,
enacted law granting to every single actual
settler 320 acres, and to every man of family
$40 acres. In order to reap the advantages
of this law, little girls of seven and eleven
years of age were married to young men,
and took upon themselves the duties of wives
when they arrived at manageable age. Lo-
cations were made upon the best lands in the
Willamette, without reference to surveys or
straight lines. The result is, that all the
early farms are in every conceivable shape
At the time these locations were made, Ore
gon afforded no market for produce. All
that the early producers cared for was suf11-
cient to live, and this, in the prolific soil of
their farms, was raised with very little exer-
ton. They became lazy at first for want of
incentive to labor, and they continue in that
state now, from force of habit. There are
farmers who own immense plantations, fine
orchards, large herds of cattle, and droves OF
hogs, who, rather than work, buy their dried
fruit and bacon at San Francisco, and torego
altogether the use of milk in their families.
This seems incredible, but it is fact. In
passing through the valleys one can readily
determine, by the external appearance OF
farms and farm improvements, whether the
owner belongs to the class of first settlers or
has recently moved into the State. This is
the greatest drawback to-day upon the agri-
cultural prosperity of this great State, and
until the generation of early settlers has
passed away and new men taken their places,
and the farms are divided up, Oregon will
suffer more from this than other cause.
We are under great obligations to Captain
Ainsworth, President Of the Oregon Steam
Navigation Company, for the opportunity OF
. trip on the boats and cars Of the Company
70 Dalles City, on the Upper Columbia. This
trip takes the tourist through 81 the stnpend-
ous scenery of the great river ef the west. 4
pleasant call Of twelve miles hEiAgs ~ 70 the
mouth Of the Willamette, Ouf nrst yiew q
the Columbia has aoshiag n i = Distinguish
It from any other large riysr- II banEs Arc