The Dalles daily chronicle. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1890-1948, 1895-05-13


local market, except such as is cut when
in the milk for hay, and they are used |
almost universally for that purpose.
Last year Waseo county shipped about
600 900 bushels of wheat, an amount
that will probably not be increased, un-
less high prices prevail, as more and
more of it will be fed to stock. Pota-
toes are sure crop, aud yield well, and
though raised only to meet the local
demand, the call from the East met
with response here, and some Is car
loads were shipped this spring. Onions,
lettuce and radishes grown in the open
air were in the markets early in March,
and in abundance.
STOCK.
In the earlier settlement of the coun-
try it was devoted entirely to stock
raising the prairies and the hIllsides
being covered with a luxuriant growth
of bunchgrass, which gave sustenance to
vast herds of cattle and horses. For
several years that was the sole industry,
and the idea prevailed that the land
would not grow anything, but. as expe-
AAAAOhIc CLOWC0 IL Wd6 q RLOAAAO
and unfailing soil, the bunchgrass lands
began to be turned into wheat fields.
In spite of this, however, the stock in
dustry is the leading one of Eastern
Oregon. and is a very important one in
Wasco county. The sloping hillsides
are covered with cattle, and when a
certain distance from the river is
reached, usually about thirty miles, the
lands are still devoted to stock-raislng
on account of the expense of hauling
farm products to market. While the
exact figures are not attainable, a con-
servative estimate of the number of cat
tie shipped from this point each year
shows that the. grand total reaches the
handsome sum of 206 carloads, or about
ir5, 500 head. To this should be added
220 carloads OF sheep and sixty of hogs.
The assessors figures for 1894 show that
the county has $1,000 sheep, and be-
sides this Crook county, lying to the
south of Us, has as many more, and
both the increase and wool from these
vast focks find their market at The
Dalles. In the summer these focks
find fresh and abundant pastures in the
Cascade mountains. They are usually
run in focks of from 1 800 to 5000, and
as soon as the shearing season is over
they are started for the mountains, fol-
lowing the grass up, as the season opens
often being close to the retreating
SHOWS, and only stopping at the line of
perpetual snow on Hood, Jefferson, and
the other great peaks. In the fall they
feed down the mountains again, nipping
the tender grasses started by the fall
rains, and arriving at their winter our
ters in fine condition. The raising OF
horses is being abandoned, owing to
their low price, but we add by way
of information that this was the
original home of the ''noble animal"
In the fossil beds of the John Day lin
some respects the finest in the world) are
found the petrified remains OF Eo-hip-
pus, the primal horse. The full grown
animals were not larger than good
sized sheep.
WOOL.
It is hard to estimate the amount of
wool grown in this county, for that from
Morrow and Grant counties finds mar
ket at The Dalles, Wasco's county seat,
and considerable comes from Klickitat
county, Washington, on the north. 1t
is probably in the neighborhood of
100000 pounds. The Dalles is the
greatest wool shipping point in the
United States; that is. there is more
wool gathered here from first hands.
The amounts will run from 4 4,500, 900 to
100000 pounds, or, on an average,
about 5000 tons. Large fortunes have
been accumulated in the industry, and
though prices are now low, it is still
profitable, and the outlook is brighter
on account of the increased and increas-
ing prices of mutton; prices that prom.
Use to be permanent, not only for mutt
ton, but for beef, and which will COM
pensate largely for the low price of wool
prevailing the past two years.
Continued.