The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1891-05-14
FROM OREGON.

THE FACTS TRULY STATED.
MANY DRAWBACKS.
- - III
EDITOR ADvANcE.-It is almost six
months since my last letter to the
good old Worthington paper, aud
knowing that many my old friends
and neighbors who are readers of the
ADVANCE would enjoy little letter
now, I proceed to give you few items,
which hope will be of interest, and
answer, several Inquiries. -.. =
We have resided here now five years,
and have seen much of Oregon. We
had = very pleasant fall, In fact till
about the first of February. the wea-
ther was very good. After that time
it showed good deal for four weeks.
but tlIawed about rs it fell. 1t is nice
to see it snow here. Tie fakes, often
as large as silver half-dollars, come
down so thick and so lazily, as the
wind scarcely ever blows here. We
had only 81 inches of precipitation last
winter being about 10 inches below
normal. The roads were. and are yet
very bad. Spring is about four weeks
later than usual, but the weather is
very beautiful now. and people are
nearly done planting. We had flowers
in the garden ali winter. and there
were wild flowers in the woods all the
time too. Peach trees here and many
other kinds of deciduous trees do not
shed all their leaves in fall or winter,
but hold them green, and the peach
bloom may be seen red and bright six
or eight weeks before they bloom out
full.
There is ar excellent prospect for
fruit of all kinds here this year. Our
orchard though young, is very full of
fruit.
Our bees wintered we'll and are very
strong. Stock, too, that were fed did
we'll. But at least 80 per cent. OF all
stock in Oregon does not get near
enough to eat any time in the year, es-
pecially in the winter, and are very
poor all the time. That is not pleasant
to realize, but it is nevertheless true.
People often wonder when they see
the milk We get from our COWS Whilst
many Oregonians have not even one
COW many have four to ten, and do no,
have milk and butter enough to do
them.
A great many "webfOoters" here are
heavily mortgaged and cannot redeem.
Carelessness and incidence. l think.
are the principal causes. l am sure j,
is not often extravaganza in fine dress
Yet, as have written oft before, do,
not understand Oregon. with its,6nes,
Of clim .tes, its healthfulness and
fruitfulness, &c. Yet it has serious
drawbacks. Scarcely any one can MAKE
Il dollar III the winter season. 1t rains
so much, night and day, and nearly all
winter, SO no one can work much and
Ca tie have been An Improbable in
vest,nent, since we have been here.
Even merchants do but little in win
ter. II is even too disagreeable fol
schools. SO that after even a five yeal
residence here do not know how a
man could support family here if he
had not considerable money. Yet man,
are c)ntinuaIy arriving who Seem l..
have but little means, but many OF
them 60 back. Through the effect OF
exaggerating booming papers a loom"
has struck this section of the state
lively. 1t seems our harbor, the i'm
provement of which is to he begun now
and we have a very good prospect for a
railroad, down this Sinslaw river. The
right of way is mostly secured and
company of eleven surveyors has been
1T work for some time. The people
now are doing all they can for the
"tenderfoot," the new CONNER for his
money. They are coming by the train
load and every one wanting to lodge
them haul something for them, or sell
them something. My sympathy is with
the newcomer, who would have been
no doubt, better off if he had staid east.
I have been in twenty states and Min
nesota is perhaps the best of them,
all considered. l would like to spend
a week in the vicinity of good old Wor-
thington.
1t is very pleasant living here and it
very unpleasant too. No preaching,
no Sunday school. No Sunday. Very,
few who profess to believe in the Bible.
But it is changing, many good people
are settling among US from Minnesota
and other good Northern states. They
bring civilization with them. They
keep Sunday aud try to make an honest
living. I do not want to give wrong
impression now about the people here.
There are many very good old settlers
here but there are more shiftless peo-
pie here than I ever saw anywhere be-
fore.
Wheat is advancing, -four is worth
2.4O, oats IS, potatoes so, butter 25,
eggs Is. Horses are worth from Sis to
$3.50, cows SIS to $25 and poor sale.
1 see men often with large roll of
bedding on their back las all laborers
here and in California furnish their
own beds) hunting work, but do not
know where one could get a days
work. Soon it will be different, as
there is great abundance of fine fir
timber here which must be got out. II