OCR Text |
Show The assessed valuation of realty and live stock is about $1,100,000, to which should be added 50 per cent on realty and 333 per cent on live stock to arrive at the actual value of such property. The county has a population approximating 6,000, mainly located in the Wallowa Valley. The votes polled in the county at the recent State election were as follows: Wallowa precinct ............................................ 250 Lostine precinct .............................................. 200 Enterprise precinct.. ......................................... 235 Joseph precinct .............................................. 160 Prairie Creek precinct ........................................ 87 Trout Creek precinct ......................................... -85 Total votes in Wallowa Valley proper ................... 1,017 Divide precinct (which is east of Prairie Creek in the Sheep Creek country) ................................................... 30 Imnaha precinct, including the settlers along the tributaries of the I m d a River.. ........................................ 160 Paradise, Flom, and Lost Prairie precincts, which are in the northern portion of the county .............................. -300 Number of votes cast in Wallowa County in May, 1900.. .. 1,607 It is therefore evident that Wallowa County is well populated, and that practically all desirable agricultural lands in the county which control adjacent grazing privileges are owned by whites and mostly occupied by the owners. The settlers are an intelligent and prosperow class of farmers and stock growers, who have their farm lands nearly all under irrigation and well fenced. Unless some portion of Wallowa Valley were included, suitable agri-cultural lands for Joseph and his band could not be found in the county, and it would be very expensive to secure any portion of Wal-lowa Valley upon which to locate those Indians. Even the two upper townships, less valuable than any others in the valley, could not be pur-chased with their improvement8 for less than $150,000. No one with whom the inspector conferred manifested any desire to sell his hold-ings; while all expressed themselves as opposed to Joseph's band being brought into that country. While a majority of the settlers of the Wallowa Valley retain no ill will against the Nez Perck for the troubles of 1877, yet there are some whose relatives were ravished and killed by Indians on Salmon River and Camas Prairie during that outbreak who vow vengeance against all members of the band, and more partic~tlarlya gainst Joseph, and many of the settlers predict that should the Indiana be returned to this valley to stay permanently Joseph would be sssassinated within a year. Joseph's band would now hardly recognize this valley as the one over which they roamed twenty-three years ago, with an abundance of game in the mountains and fish in the streams. The game has |