Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1880-07-17
OREGON.
THE FLOOD IN PORTLAND AND THE
DAMAGE DONE.
The csrsus Up Population spscu.
lations-The Recent State Fair
The Narrow Gauge Politics.
PORTLAND. july -. 1880.

PORTLAND, July -, 1880.
For two weeks the flood of water dowl
the Columbia, caused by the melting snow
that feed Snake river from the south ano
that fill the Columbia from the mountain
ranges of Montana, has held the William
cite in check aud backed up its flow unit
the lower business portions of this city
have been submerged and the streets NOR,
navigable for boats than for wagons. Peo
pie have traversed the thoroughfares OF
raised temporary walks, and the wharves
being submerged has caused great sus
pension of trade, and business has conse
quently suffered. transportation to the
upper Columbia has been limited, and part
OF the time actually suspended, but the
partial subsistence of the food has enabled
the 0. r. and N. Co. to commence freight.
ing again, and the rush of merchandise is
temporarily greater than can be accommo-
dated The lower business streets look
fearfully dilapidated ; water still stands in
them as the lowering of the food has gone
only very slowly and cannot have subsidized
more than fifteen or eighteen inches. The
supply from above must be immense, for the
Columbia can hold and carry great guam
tity, and all this while, for two weeks
past, has been pouring broad torrent
with vast power into the ocean.
The damage caused in this city, though not
great in any particular instance, will ag-
gregate heavily, besides the loss by deten-
tion of business but along the Columbia
river there are many farmers whose hopes
are ruined for 1850. One of the most pro-
ductive spots is Sawyer's Island, ten miles
long, reaching from the Columbia up the
Willamette, that has been entirely SUBJ
merged. The Cowlitz region is heavy
loser, and all along the river the devasta-
ton has been lamentable, and at the ex-
pense of hard-working people, who cannot
spare what they lose. The flood lacked
about ten inches of being as high as in 1876,
aud the people have had the experience so
lately encountered to guide them in their
treatment of it. The two greatest floods
known in the history of the country hap
pen with only three intervening years, and
the question arises If it is not possible and
probable that the rivers are filing up with
mining debris and silt from cultivated
lands, as has been the case with the Sacra-
mento, and if such is the case it may be-
come necessary for the city of Portland to
IA Sc the grade of its lower streets-a small
job that will prove costly at any time, and
more so after while, when they are all
built up with permanent business blocks.
These are the questions that rise and de-.
,Jara Ee
older.
THE CENSUS.
From present appearances the population
of Oregon will approximate about 40, 900,
so thinks the Superintendent of the Census.
Our Solans who met in legislative conclave
in 1878 were confident they said that the
population was then 200, eco, and on the
strength of that claim, stoutly made, they
claimed the benefit of constitutional pro-
vision which gave permission for the organ
ization of a separate Supreme Court when
the State should have that many people.
Before that time the five Circuit Judges
met as Supreme Court once or twice a
year. The new Supreme Court has gone into
operation, and was at first appointed by
the Governor, but the people have recently
elected an entirely new bench, no member
of which was ever a Judge before, and
when the Legislature "guessed that the
State had 200, 900 population it probably
had not more than l40, 600, which shows
that the Yankee gift of guessing has not
extended to the northwest coast. The
census may develop interesting facts rela.
tive to Oregon, and probably will do SO !;
L oft Ill
and show but little growth of manufac-
turing We have considerable trade, re-
tail and wholesale here in Portland, and a
reliable future, but otherwise we are
a people who Craze herds and grow wheat
for the English market. 1 landed here
thirty years ago, when the population of Ore
gon was between 5000 and 1000, and the
territory included all that now makes
Washington and Idaho Territory, if not
more than that During that thirty years
Kansas, Nebraska and Colorado have grown
from nothing, and we, with distance
against us, are still comparatively few in
numbers. When railroad connection is
made, and emigrant rates fixed low enough
to permit of people coming here in num-
bers, we shall have an influx of population
to amount to something. There is so much
room up here that the passengers who
come by steamer, and those who come,
as many do, by land travel from
the Eastern States and from California,
are swallowed up by the all-pervad-
ing empty space and never heard of more.
Not exactly that, but they do little TO-
wards filling up the vacant lands. They
don't come to this valley, which makes but
slow progress, for, since the world has
found out that the upper Columbia region
offers plenty of homesteads of good soil,
they give us the go-by and push on up the
great river to get one of Uncle Sans do.
nations or to buy of the North Pacific
Railroad Company's granted lands The
census report of 1890 may tell different
story and give something to boast of, but
that of 1880 will merely tell the world
that We have been too far off to make the
same progress as newer Eastern States.
THE STATE FAIR.
Overcome and impoverished by success
sive October rains that had plunged it into
a debt of over 800, 900, the State Agricult-
ural Society concluded last year to make a
radical change of programme and meet
this year in July instead of October. The
experiment has been tried, and proved a
success Tor the society, and that, too,
against many obstacles. First was the
flood that demoralized Portland and pre-
vented large attendance from here next
was the impoverished condition of the
country people generally, that made thou
sands stay at home who would have gone il
able last was the fact that the gorgeous
display of fall squashes and vegetables was
to be foregone, and only replaced with a
few cary stuff of no practical account; the
wealth of red apples, peaches, grapes,
pears, plums and all that we're poorly off
set by few strawberries and cherries, and
the grain exhibit bore no comparison to
fall display. As a consequence the
Pavilion was poorly filled, but there was
good show Of stock Of all kinds that was
very creditable to the State. The sheep
men were out in force with merinos, Cots.