The daily Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1878-1???, 1883-12-20
The Daily Bulletin.
WESTERN RAMBLINGS.
Special Correspondence to The Bulletin:


Cur last was written just after our arrival
at Salem. Our stay at Salem gave US op-
portunity to interview The city which is the
capitol of the state and located On the Villa
mette river, ftty-three miles south of Port
land. Tine town 10 situated on level
prairie, rolling timber land and some brush
land 10 seen north and east OF the river
The town Is we'll laid out streets 100 feet
wide and present 9 neat appearance. The
business of the place is mostly of a local
nature, however, there are three large -four
ing mills with capacity Of LOCO barrels
Of -four per day and considerable trade ia
carried on in supplying other markets with
-four. Several ine school buildings orna.
ment the town and considerable interest is
paid to education. In company with q
mute friend, Mr.. Jacob Brewer, We attend.
cd the mute school, where We found Is
mutes in attendance. The exercises of writ
ing compositions and sign reading were in
tereshDg. The whole school repeated the
Lords prayer In concert in the silent Ian.
guage so peculiar to the deaf and dumb
Rev. N. Knight is the principal and Mrs
Scott, of Ohio, mute, is head teacher.
The asylum for the insane has just been
completed, and the inmates, some 400 in
number, removed from Portland to their
new quarters. 1t is q fine brick building
that cost about 100000 The State CAPT.
tol building is also fine structure, and
when finished will cost about half million
dollars. The court house is building pre-
senting an imposing appearance and built
at cost of $4,000. The Opera block
cost about 100000 A half dozen or more
churches point their spires heavenward be-
meath which the people worship. The
population Of the place is about 5000.
This section OF the west has been settled
for over forty years which accounts for the
absence OF certain phases of society 90
noticeable in newly settled sections. The
cast OF society is similar to that OF the old
settled states. There is not that hustle and
hurry and extravaganza 10 business circles
50 common to our own state, Colorado.
The people both 10 town and in the country
have settled down to q regular routine of
business, take life smoothly, calmly and
pleasantly, being satisfied with good liv-
ing and pleasant surroundings. This con-
sentative mode of life may owe it's origin
10 measure to the fact this section of
country il only few feet above ocean level
and the abssncs OF that overplus of electric
ity and sreal atmosphere that makes
the people Of high slti.
tude 20 restless, impetuous and
persevering, even beyond prudence many 8
time. Colorado has an altitude four TO ten
thousand feet above this section of Oregon.
A drive of twenty miles west of Salem
across the country gave US opportunity to
sec considerable of the country. This val.
ley, tue Willamette, extends in q northern
and southern direction from the Columbia
river to the California Mountains, distance
OF about IT'S miles. The Cascade noun
tains border on the east, the coast range
on the west. The valley has width of
from 30 to 40 miles, the northern end Of
the valley is principally timber and lies
rolling rough and ragged as you approach
the mountains, some of it very rich and
some Of 1t very poor. Further south the
country changes, and we came to q variety
Of gently rolling aud level country divided
into prairie and woodland. Such is the
section over which We visited in our ram
bHngs across the country east of Salem.
The prairie lands are mostly level, very
productive and easily cultivated. The tim
Der lands are covered with an underground
of pine and oak brush, and over much OF
the timbered section growth of heavy fir
timber 10 found which to remove requires
considerable expsnse and labor. We fad
some fine farms opened in those timoered
sections. The large timber is felled by
boring and burning and the immense trunks
are divided into sections in the same man
ner and then piled and burned. The grub
blng of the underground is done mostly by
bands of Chinsmen who 90 from place to
place taking jobs from Is to SIS per acre
for simply grubbin9. We are told that to
get these heavily timhered lands in a good
state of cultivation it will cost from $75 to
500 per acre to do SO. The prairie lands
are the most productive AMI have been in
now from thirty to forty years.
The farms are mostly enclosed and divided
into fields by the use of the old fashioned
worm rail fences. We noticed one farm
with unusual high fences, the rails laid up
over eight feet high. We inquired of
genial driver why this man built such an
high fence. He told us the