Wallowa County chieftain. [volume] (Enterprise, Or.) 1909-1911, 1910-04-28
OPPORTUNITY GROWS
HERE IN WALLOWA


Grande Ronde valley. People who
had never tried said it was "too
sandy" Like all new countries
some one with initiative enough and
courage enough had to try 1t. One
rancher tried, with the result that
he raised 101 bushels of oats to the
acre, and ever since then no one has
disputed that oats could be raised
in the Grande Ronde valley.
So it was with Wallowa county
wheat. apples, pears, plums, cherries,
and vegetables. When these were
tried and the crops cared for abund-
ant yields came and the agricultural
and horticultural possibilities here
were demonstrated. 'Frosts" was
the great, cry. But with cultivation
and continued working of the soil,
loosening it and caring for it as 1t
is cared for everywhere, "frosts" be-
gan to disappear.
A Parallel Case.
A parallel case is found In the his
tory of Illinois development. Today
Illinois stands at the head of the
corn producing states, having won
over Iowa last year for the first
time In history of corn raising. No
one today would dispute Illinois
right to the claim of being a corn
producing state, unless he wanted
to be laughed at. But In the de-
velopment Of Illinois, the time was
when settlers rode across the rich
prairie land, ignoring it with disgust,
to settle along the streams and to
chop down tree and grub out
stump for every hill of corn they
planted. Until some one with initi-
ative enough and courage enough,
,ohcei'ed that possibly he might
raise corn ON the Illinois prairie.
Today the prairie land Is the great
est corn land of that state,
There is another similarity also:
When settlers began turning over
the bottom lands of Illinois for corn,
everybody i'm the locality took" ma
,arial fever. The river bottoms
swarmed with ma,aria. People had
he shakes" and malaria enlarged
he settlers ivers until practically
he only medicine used by the doc
.ors was quinine or bluemass or
both. The wr!tar has met one pio-
leer physician who, In the early day,
ais team of ponies one "Quinine"
and the other "Bluemass" Settlers
onged to flee such a country. At
intervals everybody nearly, In CIV
IN locality, would be sick. Turn
ing up the damp, poisoned soil let
oose fevers and discouragements
Ind added hardships. But cultiva-
ton outlasted malaria, thwarted the
ever, eliminated It, and brought
corn and riches and comfort and
happiness within a generation.
The similarity exists, in that con-
.inued cultivation in portions of Wal
'owa county where frosts occur, will
IN time eliminate the frosts to the
extent that cultivation in Illinois
bottoms eliminated the fevers.
But there Is in reality no compari-
son between early Illinois and present
Wallowa county. Here there are no
fevers, no unhealthful conditions of
any kind, no epidemics. The eli
mate is clear, serene and healthful.
The purest and coolest drinking
water that can be found anywhere
pours down from the eternal SHOWS
of the mountains. Springs bubble
from the foothills. and the water is
pped to Enterprise. Sunshine is
prevalent and the skies practically
always smile. Nearly every farmer
has spring or several springs on
his homestead or ranch. And above
all, instead Of cultivating feyers out
OF the soil, all the farmer has to do
rs 10 stick pillow into the ground
and raise a crop of wheat or oats
or other product.
The wheat belt, like the eastern
corn belt, is becoming more defined
every year. The bread consumers
OF the world are finding out scien
lircally just where wheat can be
grown to advantage. The consump
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