, 1880-10-30
A Letter from Umatlla County.
HELIX, tnrat;ilia Co, 0yn.,
lctobsr IL ISM


October Is, 1850.
EprroR Sr.rEsNAN.-Ths first rain Of
the season, warm, penetrating and refresh
Ing fell throughout this section on Thurs
dsy of last week, which has placed the
soil inanexce!leatcondition for plough;ng,
an operation which IS now actively pro-
crossing over all the vast expanse Of the
different prairies ct Umatii!a county.
The progress which this portion of Una
tilla Is making can only be seen and ap-
pee ated after an extended absence; new
improvements are bnilding up the coun-
'ry On solid self-sunporting basis. DIR.
Blalcck's fume at Milton creates coLud-
cradle business for that burg, and the I'M
petus which this cheap mode of transpor-
ting lumber, rails, etc, lends TO farming
Improvements, and the settlement of the
surrounding prairies can only be estinat-
ed by figures, for words are entirely in
keeps up her old lick and is fast at.ainin.
the pre-eminence to which the ene'gy snd
foresight Of her business men In locating
town IN such a commanding position
Justly intities her Among the noticeable
improvem nts gong un AT Weston are the
handsome two-storv brick. now nearing
completion. erected by J. E. Jones, who
viii carry on his hardware business there
IN; Dusenhery x &c. are about moving
IL a brick store adjoining their odd stand,
To- afford them accommodation for their ex-
tended trade; new Cry Hall, of the
same material, Is also S2Ias up which Will
prove quite Az adornment and a.!a much
IL the value OF real esrat. Ia the eity; Mr.
Johns new hut is a fne bniliin., mn.
que in architectural design, which en-
hances the !appe france of the whole block
IL which 1t is bIit; the establishment Is
being upholstered and furnished through
finished, the completeness IT its appoint
men,s will entltle II to take is place as
rne of the best hotels in the country.
The Weston Hn-ei under the manlg .ment
of DIR. Eppin2 er, more than maintains Its
old reputation as
THE Boss HOSrELRIE
Of the upper ennn'rv The doctor is one
Of the most ohliaina and attentive "i care
ful hosts, and takes delight IN making his
guests feel a. hnn,. which naturally ex-
TENDS The high reputation which this
house always had: the table is one of the
hest, supf!isd WI !. ail the delicacies al the
sea,on, and the is are tip-top. Sailing
| & Rees have hightrn"d the froat of their
brick store i;.s a further protection against
IRE, which gives L a better and more bnsi-
| nesslike aspect. The Weston FIGURING
Mills under the abe management "f the
Prehstel Brothers do an immense home
| trade and export large quantities of the
| usual high standard brand Of -four which
| this mil always turns out. The Weston
| Lea Ter, under the combined editorial
man ,.s ment of Messrs Williamson IS Ne
Gail Is an able exponent Of the progress
and resources Of Weston, and IS running
the East Oregonian icl"se race for the
supremacy Of the leading democratic pa
per Of Eastern OREGON
Centerville Ike Weston, has also grown
considerably this year, and is tha seat of
a large and constantly increasing trr1e,
hut owing to hurried visit, we are un-
able to specify in detail the various new
buildings and improvements which are gt,-
inc On. This part Of the country is suf-
fer:ng from such tidal wave of horse
stealing operations tha: the citizens here
abouts are taking the initial steps To stop
it. Ii is not safe te leave horse attach
ed to a public hitchins post in the str els
of Centerville, and even the livery stables
there are not exempt from the visits of
these daring brigands There is undoubt-
edly an
ORGANIZED BAND OF HORSE THIEVES
in this part Of the Columbia Basin which
has its members in every town. Emi-
! gratis have had th-ir teams stolen from
them, and horses have been appropriated
! fr"m different ranch es in many varying
points Of the pra'ries. The law only ap-
Plies a remedy when the felon is caught,
but the people propose from this time on
10 take the most eifectual step to prerent
the recurrence of the Operators, and it is
extremely probable that some startling
and interesting developments Will soon be
made, for indications have been discover
ed which seem To implica;e by par,icipa-
/ ton IN these exploits, seine very respect
able and generally esteemed individuals
on both sides of the State line. one Of
whom, am reliably informed. is gettieg
SO anxious that he is preparing TO skip
! the country
The Bill now before the Legislature to
organize the county of Wise out Of this
| portion of Umatilla IS decided imposi-
ton on us as It only gives the new county
six townships # agricultural land. II the
bill passes, Mr. Kelly, It's author will lose
| all his heretofore
WELL EARNED POPULARITY.
The Bill is unfair, not only in the extent
of the territory it assigns US, hut also in
| the location of its boundry lines which ex-
cludes us from natural outlet Of orr ewn
on the Columbia river We ought To
have Summon Landing which is included
in another bill before the Legislature in
troduced by Mr.. Wilson Of Heppner, to
organize the county Of Knox, which gives
us the territory to make fair county and
as such meets the approval Of this section
which is most interested III the matter
It's impossible for sirang Is Ia get q
correct appreciation of the unlimited ag-
ricuI:ural resources of Umatl!a co1ntv by
travelling the main thoruughfare- This
can only be done by striking right acr"ss
the prairie toward the Columbia riveI
from any point on the stage road. The
whole prairie fronting the Blue Mountains
is under fence and much of it this year
raised its virgin crop. New houses are
gong up; the soil was being broken and
teams without number were engaged in
hanlins lumber, rails and material for
improvements as I traversed it. On the
Columbia river side of the prairie, what
| is known as the
COLD SPRING COUNTRY
IS now the great attraction for land seek
ers Here IL a large extent Of prairie cnm-
prising several townships OF as good
land as ever a CROW few over. on which
many new Corners have settled this year.
In point OF fact there is no section OF
country open To settlement which possess
es 30 many advantages as this same Cold
Spring country. for II is closer To mar
ket, has a natural outlet for Its products
at the Cold Spring Landing on the Col
umbiz river, and is traversed at Its base