Wallowa County chieftain. [volume] (Enterprise, Or.) 1909-1911, 1909-09-16

now the LANDSCAPE, as far as huni"n
eve can see, is glowing with rlpen,
ed grain. as if some magician h1u
spread a cloth o, gold over al lne
earth. and the contain sides as
far up as the timber line, are a rus
set brown, with llster Ike VeNe|
which is caused by the mature Dule"
grass, the choicest OF fodder for Ia
taning mutton and beef.
There is very little waste land IN
the valley. Almost every acre Is
planted to grain and alfalfa, the
most profitable cro.s, which are
called for in unlimited quantities
from the mining regions of Montana
and Ilaho. Farmers cut three crops
from every meadow and then turn Ill
the hogs The ripeled alfalfa Is
stacked in enormous piles by a der
rick to wait for winter prices. Inc
land was all taken up a generatl0h
ago and the way the Indians were
crowded oft in 1S7-iS by the "au-
vance of civi i.ati5n" is one Oi the
most shameful cha ter in our history.
Senator Hear, in a speech at a New
England dinner in New YORK, once
said that when the Pilgrim FdtherS
landed at Plymouth Rock, they fell
upon the knees, ana then fell upoA
the indians, which very nelry des-
cribes The settlement of this valley.
But the invaders were a moral and
God-fearing people, and aside from
robbing the Indians Of their land,
they have left good example for
their po5terity to emulate. Only the
other day Mr.. Mcdurray, general pas
Sc ger agent o. the Oregon Railroad
and Navigation Company, received a
petition signed by almost everybody
In the va ley asking him not TO per
NIT Sunday excursions be oausa they
disturbed the q liat OF the Sabbath
and interfe ed with divine worship,
In 1888 a brunch OF the Oregon
Raj read and Navigation Company
was built from La Grande up to Il
town called Fl. in. In 1898 it was
extended up the Wa Iowa Valley to
Joseph, being opened for traffic last
November. 1t has done a good busi-
ness and has given an impetus to
every form Of Industry and activity.
The increase o. traffic has been re-
markable, although it runs through
an old country, which has been thick.
ly settled for nearly thirty years
The railway is changing methods of
farming also. People are giving up
catte ald are pllnting wheat, oats
and sugar beets. There are many
sheep in the TO )thills. More than
million and a half pounds of wool
were shipped from the valley last
year. string of thriving towns
nave sprung up along the line, and
new settlers are coming in rapidly
from the central West-the over
flow from Iowa, Illinois, Missouri Ne
oraska, but it isn't pioneering. This
valley Is as wei settled as any part
OF Kentucky or Conn ecticut, only the
population is not so dense and there
Is room for more between the noun
; tain ranges.
1t Is prohibition county. 1t went
dry long be ore there was any
political agitation of the question in
the state, because the people realize
uhe advantage of temperance and
the evils o. the saloon.
Wallowa is an old town, founded
In the 7Os, but 1t has grown slowly
because of its isolation. The farm ars
mad to haul their grain and wool
from sixty to eighty miles to market
peiore the railway came in last NO
'emDer; hence they found il more
pro. ltaDle to raise cattle and sheap
and other produce that would furnish
iOs own transpor alton. They have
made money and have kept II and
'nefe Is no moe prosperous, intelli-
gent or contented community in the
land.
Joseph is at the end of thu track
"hi h o;ks Ike a fishhook on the
map because 1t follows the trend of
The valley. 1t is a square evenly
built town with broad regular straets
nned with modest but comfortable
cottages. An irrigation ditch hugs
every sidewalk on either side tbrouet
which which the water rushes with
musical sound, bringing life and
growth and heal,h to everything If
rea ches.
enterprise is another thriving town
ten miles below Joseph. and the big
warehouse that has just been built
along the side of the railway station
SHOWS that its people have plenty Of
. valuable produce to ship away The
sound of the hammer is heard eyerv.
Ul.N