The Oskaloosa herald., 1905-10-05

AEEN our war.

touring the states " Oregon and cnll.
fefnia. fAvefp the llufAld readers with
Anuthtr Interesting letter descriptive
" The places Visited. thlnrm secn and
tells 81 FORMER oskalcoea people met
en- route.
Dear sernlds--i havp been "a busy
visiting and Sightseeing since last
wrote. that writing has been neglect.
ed.
Beginning where Mft on. we spent
a very pleasant day on SIC. Chchaiem.
whore we had a splendid view of the
beautiful Chehalcm valley IN which "a
the town OF Newberg. a town Of about
twenty-five hundred Inhabitants.
There Are comparatively level tracts on
the mountain where good crops are
raised, but would prefer TO be ex.
cused from getting the crop to market.
There IL splendid fruit on the noun.
tain, but no way OF making II proat.
able.
One thing that impressed me was
the utter indifference with which the
people regard noxious weeds. This.
ties ell along the road everywhere.
What would our good Iowo farmers
think Of thistles down two feet deep
along the fences? saw II. Another
thing think is wrong, is the reckless
waste Of the beautiful timber. The
timber Is cut down and then set on
fire to clear the land. think in timo
the timber will be worth more than
the land. Besides, II would be a
source OF continual revenue to cut OH
the trees that are large enough for
lumber and let the thousands Of little
trees grow till they were large enough.
We spent In all five days in Portland,
1.-TWO visiting relatives, two at tho
Fair and one visiting places OF inter.
est In the city. The Fair Yves small
compared with st. Louis, but the
grounds and everything were pretty.
The forestry building was the object
Of much comment The pillars IN
front each contain eight thousand feet
Of lumber. It was all built OF lumber
with the bark on and had a very rustic
appearance.
In Portland we visited the museum,
the oregonian building, where we had
a fine view Of the city, and some or
the fine stores. Portland 10 busy,
thrifty looking city Of about one hun.
bred thousand inhabitants.
We left there Sept. at s:45 p. m,
with six In our party.
Sept. THE first town we pays OF
any size il Grants Pass, which ID SIT.
uaed in level valley surrounded by
mountains. We see several places
where there are gold mines. The
mountain sides are covered with small
trees and sage brush. One Of our
party remarked that he would hate 10
come TO this country TO find the Gar
den OF Eden. After we left Woodville
we saw the largest corn field ,wo have
seen since we have been in Oregon
the stalks were the tallest. but there
was no corn on them. II was being cut
for fodder.
Near Central Point we came 70 o
nice level valley several miles wide,
where corn, wheat and alfalfa are rails
ed; also large orchards. Soil black
and rich looking in places; in others
It Is sandy. II would be well TO look
at this soil before you buy.
AS we were passing we noticed that
the Iowa Lumber and Box Company
had large plant at Medford.
At Ashland the Board Of Trade have
a building near the depot for the dis
play OF the grains, fruits and vegeta-
bles OF this section, which were fine.
After leaving Ashland we saw big
lumber yard where the lumber was
sawed back In the mountains then
hoated down In fioom.
We now have beautiful mountain
scenery and are running with three
-engines, two pulling and one pushing.
After mucn winding about Siskiyon Is
reached, the highest point between
Portland and San Francisco. Just as
the sun Is setting we catch a glimpse
Of Shasta Mountain in all It's snow
clad beauty. Our train being late, II
was about nine o'clock when we reach
ed Shasta Springs. The passengers
all left the train 70 get a drink OF
shasta water and to see the falls,
which were beautifully illuminated
with electric lights Of different colors.
We would so much have enjoyed pass.
ing this place by daylight. We could
hear the water trucking down the
mountain for mile or more after We
passed.
Thursday morning we reached Oak
land Pier, where two Of the party took
the boat for San Francisco, while the
others changed cars for Los Angeles.
We spent two days with J. A. Hellings,
who Is running a prosperous business
In the city. He showed as about the
city,yisiting the wharf,t the Cliff House.
Seal Rocks Golden Gate Park. Chutes
Park. many OF the resident and busi-
ness portions OF the city, and the new
postof1ce which Is a marvel Of beauty
and when completed It will have pipes
for blowing the mail to the different
stations in the city.