The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1888-08-24
The Old "Bed Rock Over Grown With Pines.

The Old "Bed Rock Over Grown With Pines.
Judge Murphy, formerly of the Montana
Bench, IS, you might say, Immersed" IN var
ious kinds of business in Seattle with flatter-
ing prospects. His family reside in San
Francisco and the eldest daughter is married
to a prominent attorney. Seattle is the most
active, go-ahead business place I found on
the coast, and with its 5000 people is only a
village compared with what it is destined to
be. Nearly all who travel this way take in
the Sound steamer trip, which includes a call
at Port Townsend and Victoria, and some
extend the trip to Vancouver, Whatcom
and smaller ports on the islands, and it is a
delightful trip at this season of the year and
not expensive. 1t is worth while for a Mon
tanian to call at Victoria just to dine once at
the Driad hotel and to tax lessons in Sab
bath keeping. Here all business is closed,
and neither steamers nor ships are permitted
to depart on Sunday. 1t is also paradise for
clerks, as on week days stores open late and
close early.
1 called on Nelson Bennett at Tacoma and
met MI. Donegan, who has lost none of his
geniality by mating. Mr.. Tom Rutter has
a photograph tent on the AVN near the Ia
coma hotel. My stay in Portland was short.
I met Pat Powers, formerly of Washington
Gulch, now with headquarters at the Quimby
house. Old man Comfy, who left here in go
with $1,000 and invested it in Portland, is
now rich, but up in the eighties.
X X
The Sound cities are all in big timber, but
trees and stumps are disappearing to make
room for the phenomenal growth of the
towns. Portland, with its 60, 600 people and
populous suburbs, was a village in the woods
when first visited by the writer. The climate
Of the Sound country at this season could
not be beaten if prepared to order.
All kinds of fruit excepting peaches and
tropical productions are grown in abund-
ance, and it is of the finest quality. It was a
rich treat to gather cherries from the trees,
and such delicious %blackberries and rasp-
berries from the bushes. The moisture of
the climate preserves the verdure in its
springtime freshness, and the only evidence
of change from summer to fall is the ripening
grain and fruit, and the former has to rustic
to get on its yellow robes and into the barns
before the coming Of the fau-rains. The
Willamette Valley, $50 miles in length and
from 20 to GO miles in width, must be one of
the most lovely spots or earth. After cros-
sing the range south of the Umpqua the eli
mate of Southern Oregon is more like that
of California, but the arid season is much
shorter.
Lindsay Apologize, one of Oregon's lead.
ing pioneers of 1843, resides at Ashland,
Rogue River Valley, and although 81 with
his head bleached for the harvest, expects to
live to see wonders yet in the growth and
development of his adopted State.
"A tramp in Siskiyou County in Northern
California after an absence of % years en-.
abled me to note the wonderful changes
made by time. Some Of those who were
then boys and girls are now grandparents,
and it required a little effort in some cases to
recall the old acquaintance of years almost
forgotten.
AL Peacock, who says lie has not a gray
hair in his head, and is not bald, was train
ing horses for the Chico races, and Bill
Mcconnell, formerly of Blackfoot, is living
in luxury in Yreka on dividends from a
rich placer on the klamath. Those parts of
the country not abandoned by the working
out OF mines looked natural as life, though
the growth Of fruit trees and shrubbery gave
it a more home like appearance.
At Orc Elmo, my old mining camp in Scott
Valley, I was surprised to not find even a
splinter or a shingle of any house in the
original town. All had been sluiced out and. (
instead of a town, neat little cottages en- :
powered with vines nj fruit trees dotted the :
in every direction, and on the bed.
rock of my old claim pine trees had grown !
to the height Of ten feet. Here 1 saw for the /
time the hydraulic elevator at work and !
Hank Wright & Co. are working an i'm
mense bed of rich gravel twenty feet below
drain level, shooting gravel, boulders and
up an incline pipe with a force that
grinds many of the porphyry boulders to
powder. He estimates that four men do the |
work of fifty with no expense for pumping. |
4
On reaching the base of Mt. Shasta, the
point of tourists desiring to ascend, |
l gave it up, concluding that 1 could enjoy |
the trip in imagination to my entire s~atisfac- |
ton, though many ladies can boast of max !
ing the climb. 1t is a huge old pile of earth,
inspiring in its grand proportions and lofty
snow-clad buttes.
Below on the head Of the Sacramento are a
of excellent soda springs, with fine |
for tourists. As we had a large dele. |
CATION of teachers on board the conductor
made a halt, giving us time to get gloriously
on the delicious water, quite as palatable
rs any at the 1danha Springs.
Desiring to see the Sacramento in da Wight
a party Of US stopped off at Reddinq and
took the West Side accommodation in the
morning, getting q good view of the i'm.
mense wheat fields of the middle Sacrament
TO and the large vineyards and orchards of
Yolo, Napa, ETC., and returning we took the
East Side accommodation via Miles, Lath.
rop, Stockton. Sacramento and Marysville.
10 that by making occasional stops we had a
daylight view of the country from San Fran
to Victoria, with the exception of the
.mpqua, through which all the trains pass
n the night. The red h;llsides in Northern
California, that we used to thing could only
produce c%happarral, manzanita and scrub
oak, are proving to be the finest fruit lands
n the State, producing full crops without
my irrigation, and in many localities in the
State vineyards are cultivated on slopes so
that side sluices have to be used for
off the spring rains to prevent the
of water from washing soil and
lines to the valley below.
Judge Hosmer retains his position in the
custom House at San Francisco. and al.
hough "a is hale and hearty. expecting to
long enough to take the wind ont Of