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Show REPORT OF TEE (LOMMI8BIONEB OF INDIAN ASTAIRE. 177 action, requested a conference with the o5ce, which was granted May 1 last. On the 3d of thst month a report of the wnference was sub-mitted to the Department,, with the recommendation that an inspector he instructed to accompany Joseph to the Wallowa Valley for the purpos'e of ascertaining whether land su5cient and suitable could be found therein for making allotments to him and his. band. May $24 Inspector James McLaughlin was so instructed, and June 23,1900, he submitted his report, of which the following is a r6sumk: The Wallowa Valley is about 40 miles in length from southeast to northwest, and averages about 15 miles in width. It has four pros-perous towns, Wallowa, Lostine, Enterprise, and Joseph, the latter being at the upper end of the valley and about 1 mile from the foot of Wallowa Lake, a lake situated in a gap of the Powder River Mountain where the range is 8,000 feet high. The upper townships of the val-ley, Joseph and Prairie Creek, extend into the mountains, and only about one-third of their area is tillable, The lake is fast becoming a favorite summer resort. It is 1 mile wide, 4 miles long, and 275 feet deep, with a temperature in summer of about 45O. The adjoining lands are held very high, one 80-acre tract at the outlet (north end) being valued at $6,000. The country south of the Wallowa Lake is rough, broken, and worthless, except the lower portions of the mountains, which are grazed by cattle and sheep. about three months of the year. This is true of the country east of Wallowa Lake and of the town of Joseph, through to Snake River, about 30 miles, except in the narrow valleys of the Imnaha River and its tributaries, which are from 2,500 to 3,500 feet lower than the plateau levels of the surrounding country. Every spot in these narrow valleys is under irrigation and in a high state of cultivation, devoted chiefly to fruit orchards, even tropical fruits being successfully raised, protected as they are by the high canyon wall* between which the creeks run. In Wallowa County, which is the northeastern county of the State of Oregon, the lands are held at from $5 to $75 per acre, and in the Wal-lowa Valley at from $20 to $75 per acre, according to the quality of the soil and the nature of improvements. The following is the assessed valuation of the lands in Wallowa County: Tillable lands .............................................$ 166,420 Nontilbble lands .......................................... 193,625 Town lots ................................................. 12,040 Improvements on lands.. .................................. 101,250 Improvements on lots.. .................................. 52,205 Total asse~aedv alue ................................. 525,540 For actual vale add 50 per eent.. .......................... 262,770 Approximate actual value .............. ... ....... .... 788,310 6266-12 |