OCR Text |
Show UM:QUA VALLEY. Laurel Dogwood Cherry, and Ash, with a great variety of shrubs, a~d 'p la' nts; and m' any such as we have never seen i~ any other. countt·y. B~sides the power at the Falls of the W1llammette, which is alone sufficient to propel an immens~ machinery, there i~ a vast amount of the water power, in this valley ; at )east entirely sufficient, always to supply every want of the cot~ntry. Besides the Mills at the Falls, of which we have already made mention, there are in the upper Willammette, a Grist and Saw Mill, belong· ing to the Catholic Missipn, and a Grist and Saw Mill, built by the Methodist Missiqn~ and another Saw Mill b,uilding by an individual. In the Twalit~ plains, there is a Flouring Mill in operation, and a S~w Mill in progress ofbqilding. Seven miles above Vancouver, the Hudson's Bay Company have Saw and Grist M11ls. Twenty five miles above Astoria, and near the Oolumbia, there is an excellent Saw Mill in operation, and on the Cl.atsop plains, there is a small Patent Mill being set up for the accommodation of the settlers, at the mouth of the River. The present population of the country, the great portion of which is in the Willarnmette Valley, amounts to ~bout 6000 souls (exclusive of th€ Natives.) A portion of these are English, French 'and half br~eds; but a large majority are from the United States, and have emigrated to this country over land, within the last four years. Those ~ho have come into the country, have been industtious, and improv~ments qav.e gone rapidly on. Quite a considerflble portion of tqe Willammette Valley, has already been bro~ght into cultivation, and there is, ~Jter supplying the in· habitants, and emig1·ation, aqnually, sev.eral thousand bushels of I • ' I surplus wheat. New farms are being qpe.ned daily, and the cabin of the bold a.nd enterprising pioneer, may be se.en rising oq p1f!ny ~ verdant h1ll, or nestled ~way in the quiet se.clusion pf. 'flany a flowery n~ok ;. and ere long, the plow share ~nd the axe promise to turn thts w1ld and fiowe.ry wilderness into rustling fields and plooming gar?ens. ' · ' · The·Valley ~f the Ymqu~ is divided from that of the Willam· ~ette by the Calapooiah Mountains, a single and almost unbroken ~1dge, the course o( whic~ is nearly East and West. Across ~hese ~ountains, ~~~ch are not high, and the ascent and d~scent of whlCh are very gr~dual, is a distance of about twelve rniles.They are .thickly cove.~·ed ~ith good Fir timber, are not rocky, and have ~ s01l ?t for c~ltlVatwn. The U mqua Valley is about thirty pve ~1les w.tde, and 1t~ l~ngth is not c~rtainly kn0wn. Its general Fh~rac~ef 1s very stmllar lo ~he Wil~a~rnette V fllley, exc~pting UMQ.UA VALLEY. 45 t·hnt its surface is more undulating. The U rnqua River runs through the middle of the Valley, receiving numerous tribu. taries, from the neighboring Mountains. It is a stream sufficiently 'large for navig~tion ; but the great rapidity of its current, wiH probably ·always prevent it from being useful for that purpose.r. Fhe Valle.v. is diversified with woodlanr1 and prairies; but the prai· l'ies occupy the greater portion, the timber being principally along the water courses and on the borderipg Mountains. The prairies have l\L good soil, and are covered with a most excellent kind of grass. The1:·e is a great deal of fall in the smaller streams ; and, having their sources in the Mountains, they are constant, and affo1·d numerous fine water privileges. There is some granite in this Valley; but the prevailing rock is basaltic. The Umqua Indians, ,arP. quite numerous. 'Fhey arc not openly hostile to the whites; but yet, it is not considered entirely safe, for a few persons to travel through their country. No settlement has yet been made in the Valley, and no person ha8 yet visited it, except those passing through, to or from California. The Hudson's Bay Company have a Trading Post near the mouth of the River. Supplies are taken to it over land, from Vancouver, on pack animals. There is a small bay at the mouth of the Umqua; but the depth of water, ut the entrance, is sufficient only for small vessels. It affords a tolerable harbor; but the intervening Mountains, extendiiJg along .the coast, separate , the Valley from the Ocean, and the River pas· sing through them, probably contains Falls, Rapids, and Canions, that will prevent vessels from passing any considerable distance up the River. This Valley, although it is separated by the sunounding Mountains, not only from all other portions of the country, but also from the Sea-board ; nevertheless, offers sufficient induce· ments, to ensure its speedy settlement. The Calapooi ah Mountains are so gradual and unbroken, that a good waggon road ,can easily pe made across them, into the Willammette Valley, and ~ rail1·oad c~n be made, to connect it with the navigable waters of lhe Willamm~tte, whenever the necessities of the country require it, and its wealth is sufficient to construct it. South of the Valley of the Umqua, are the Umqua Mountains, running nearly parallel with the Calapooiah Mountains, and ~~parating this Valley from the Valley of Rogue's River.' rhe distance across them is fourteen miles. They are high, very $leep, and somewhat broken; but not rocky, and covered with forests of Fir, so dense, that _they __ entirely prevent the growth of grass. |