News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1917-04-04
LETTER FROM OREGON
PRINGLE FALLS, Oregon.
March 23rd, 1917.

Editor Ne,osaRd Citizen =
When tod ay's mail brought me the
last issue of your paper l felt like had
received personal letter from home.
So strong was this impression that I de-
cided l would answer.
About ten weeks ago my wife and
left Vermont for Oregon. We came by
the Northern Pacific railroad, the route
of the "big baked potato" where each
meal in the dining-car potatoes weigh
ing a pound or more each are served to
every person ordering. The Northern
Pacific have their own farm in Montana
where these potatoes are raised. This
year they are installing fish hatchery
at this same farm. This is to enable
them to make brook trout special fea-
ture of their dining service along with
the ''big baked potato"
Portland, the City of Roses, was reach
ed in FIVE days. This city, along with
| the entire western coast has been suffer
ing a business depression for the pa t
three years. But all that is over. Port
land is a busy, hustling place now and
| is making itself known as the leading
! ship-buil6ing center of the coast 1t
leads the United States as lumber GEN.
ter.
The West has too long depended upon
the East for its manufactured articles.
This has in degree caused the depres-
sion in business. There were more peo-
pie here than there was work for. Now
"Made in Oregon" is the slogan of the
state. So far as possible everybody buys
home grown and home-manufactured
goods. This is increasing business ana
developing the unlimited resources of
the state.
While in Portland l made a trip to
Bunker, Wash, lumber camp owned
by the Hill Logging Company, of which
many former Vermonters are stockhold-
ers. The entire camp is owned by the
company; houses are built and rented
by them, the store and goods belong to
DEMONSTRATING to be left when the
lumber was cleared away. Whereupon
tie company will go on to more timber
and build another camp. l was much
interested in the material they were put
ting out for ship-building, the pieces l
saw being IS inches square and Io4 feet
long. Eleven donkey engines were
the railroad track where they were load
ed on cars and hauled to the mill, three
to five logs making a carload
After months stay with our son in
Portland, we came on TO Pringle Falls
to our daughters, the entire trip being
one of the finest scenery.
The Columbia river highway which
extends from Portland east for over a
hundred miles is concrete automobile
boulevard, twenty feet wide, built high
up on the face of cliffs that vary from
500 to 1000 feet in height. High in the
air, across canyons and in front of wa
terfalls are built graceful cement and
steel arch bridges. The most impress
sive of the falls are Multnomah, $40 feet |
high, and Gordon Falls, series of cas-
cades falling goo feet
After leaving the Columbia river at |
The Dallas, we turned south into the |
Deschutes river canyon. This canyon
is from one to two thousand feet deep |
and over a hundred miles in length. |
Here about ten years ago was one of the
greatest railroad strifes in history. There
Was hardly room for a trail along the
edges of the Deschutes river and yet
both Hartman and Hill became deter
mined to put railroads into central Ore
gon through this, the only gateway.
Both fighting strenuously they built
heir roads separately, overcoming en-
cheering problems that seemed impos-
;ible. They dynamited each others
Dad beds and fought each other for
light of way up through the entire can
'on and then, strange 20 say, compro-
missed There are two railroads through
he canyon for over a hundred miles to
Metolius, from there on to Bend, less
han so miles the two companies use the
anne track
Pringle Pals is thirty miles south of
Send. The road is a very good one for
utos in the summer time. The most
interesting thing to us along the road
vas Lava Butte, recent volcano, and the
ava flows that have flowed from it.
'r1ngle Falls is on the Deschutes river
md is one of the newest towns in the
United States. 1t is over d., 600 feet in
levation and is in the heart of the vel.
ow pine belt.
The town and power sites are owned
" a company that are installing a
ower plant on the Deschutes river.
here is small saw mill here and a
anger one will be put in this summer.
'ringle Falls is the home of the Dolly
arden trout; they are caught here
,eighing as high as twelve and fourteen
ounds. The hunting is good-deer and
ear are plentiful The Deschutes is
for twenty miles above here.
is one of the most unusual rivers in
1e world as its rise and fall never varies ,
yer eight inches.
Altogether Central Oregon is a new
ountry, the homesteader and the in
estor having each his opportunity.
here are over a million acres of agr1-
lltural land open to settlement in this {
ounty. Crook county is over half the ,
re of Vermont in area and has a popu- ,
ltion of D. to the square mile. In the
ate it ranks first in acreage of irrigated
nds, second in production of rye and {
fth in alfalfa. S
My letter may be little long, but l
Ope it may be of some interest to my I
ermont friends. =
With all good wishes, 1 am, :
Yours truly,
A. +. ROGERS. =