CHAPTER XVI.
THE WALLAMET PRAIRIES.
The prairies of the Wallamet Valley are not an uninterrupted level, like those of Illinois. In some parts they resemble the "oak openings" of Michigan; again they are quite extensive plains, but nowhere out of sight of large bodies of timber, either on the mountains or along the Wallamet, and its numerous affluents. Ranges of hills and isolated buttes occur frequently enough to save the landscape from monotony, and to furnish variety in soil and location.
Time was when all this valley waved in early summer with luxuriant native grasses, red and white clover, and beautiful wild flowers. When the first herds of California cattle, purchased in that country, and driven over the mountains of Southern Oregon, with great labor, and danger from the hostility of the Indians, to supply the Mission and the earliest settlers, they might wallow through grass breast-high on the prairies, and higher than their heads in the creek-bottoms. These herds increased rapidly; and the country being sparsely settled, they were allowed to roam at will over it.
Stock-raising was an easy and lucrative business in Oregon at an early day: in the first place, because cattle were scarce among the settlers; and next, because after they had become more numerous, they came suddenly into demand as food for the freshly imported mining population with which the gold discovery flooded the southern portion of the State. The stock-owner put his brand on his herd, and turned them out to "summer and winter" themselves on the abundance of the virgin prairies. In course of time this indiscriminate pasturing injured the grasses, and reduced them to a shorter growth; though it is said that when the land is permitted to lie idle under fence they recover their old luxuriance. We have seen a species of wild timothy growing four or five feet high on the Tualatin Plains, in Washington County.
The lives of the early settlers of Oregon, though not luxurious, were easy and care-free. The genial climate and the kindly soil rendered constant or excessive labor unnecessary. If they were stock-raisers, comparative wealth was easily attained, when one hundred cows were worth ten thousand dollars. To mount his horse, and ride about to look after his cattle, was a pastime for the stock-raiser; good riding, good shooting, and knowing how to throw the lasso, popular accomplishments. Clad in his buckskin suit, and booted and spurred in true vaquero style, it was his pleasure to scour the prairies day after day on any errand whatever. And well it might be—unless some of his wild California stock "got after him," when a sharp race was sure to ensue, which not unfrequently ended in the herdsman being "treed."
This free-and-easy life, in a country so beautiful, had many charms which are easily understood. Nor is the Oregon of to-day so densely populated as to be without much of the same romantic freedom. Although most of the open or prairie land in Western Oregon is owned by donation claimants, locators, and others, comparatively little of it is cultivated. The uncultivated prairie lauds, together with the half-wooded bench lands of the foot-hills, make a large extent of country still in its primeval condition as to cultivation. One may ride, barring occasional fences, almost at his pleasure from one end of the Wallamet Valley to the other; though for greater convenience he would probably keep to the traveled road. A very pleasant ride it would be, too, if he were fond of equestrian exercise, and by far the best method of obtaining correct notions of the resources of the valley.
It seems at first a remarkable condition of things, that a population of 82,000 people should have appropriated the largest portion of the agricultural lands of Western Oregon—a country 275 miles by forty or fifty in extent. But a large proportion of the open prairie lands were taken up under the Donation Law, which gave 320 acres to a married man, 320 more to his wife, and the same amount to every white male citizen, widow, or head of a family, who would occupy the same according to the requirements of the Act. It is reported of the Oregonians that while the Act was in force, very early marriages were the fashion; and even that the courting which preceded it was sometimes accomplished at the door of a farmer's house, while the would-be husband sat on his "cayuse," and the not unwilling bride of thirteen or fourteen summers stood on the door-step—the object of both being to secure a partner in a mile square of land. Large families who "took up" in this way adjoining "miles" were able to call whole townships their own.
So much land, though gladly accepted from Government as compensation for the toils, privations, and dangers of first settling the country, has proved any thing but a blessing to the owners, by preventing close settlement, and the efficient working of a free-school system in the farming districts. Many a farmer has sold his land, where it was somewhat remote from the town, for a merely nominal price, and gone to reside where he could send his children to school. It was impossible, as it was useless, to cultivate a mile square of land, where neither rail-car nor steamboat ever came to take away its produce. And as for stock-raising and wool-growing, it was not necessary to own large bodies of land, since there was vacant land enough, of the best kind for that purpose, in the foot-hills on either side of the valley. If every farmer burdened with a mile square of Lind had been able to give away half or two-thirds of it to good, intelligent farmers, who would immigrate to take possession of and improve it, the mere fact of their neighborhood to himself, and their assistance in all kinds of enterprises, would so enhance the value of his remaining half or one-third as to make it equal, in value, to the whole, unimproved and isolated.
Doubtless this view of the subject will present itself to the land-holders of Western Oregon, when the lands of the Railroad Companies begin to be sold; and although they may not wish to give them away, except where they have subscribed for the building of roads, they will be desirous of putting their surplus land into market at very reasonable rates.
We will suppose that we had set out to take a ride through the Wallamet Valley. Starting at the northern end, on the west side, we should take a look at the so-called Tualatin Plains of Washington County. Immediately upon entering them from the heavily timbered Columbia or Wallamet highlands, we are struck with the beautiful natural arrangement of the plains and groves. Small prairies, from one to six miles in diameter, are separated by belts or groups of fir and oak intermingled. Growing in more open spaces than the forest affords, and in a soil of great richness, these trees have attained perfection in size and form. Never have we beheld more truly "Arcadian" groves. It strikes us as a sort of profanation that the farmer at whose house we stop, has allowed one of these grand forest cathedrals to be used as a shelter for his stock, and so to become defiled. Indubitably this is not a utilitarian, nor even a humanitarian view; and the farmer showed care for his cattle, where we should have shown care for the trees. Yet, were not sheds good enough for creatures that are born and die in half a dozen years? and should they be allowed to bring to grief these giants of centuries old?
This county is one of the oldest-settled portions of the State, as the farming improvements show. A large surplus of grain is raised annually, which is wagoned to Portland, or Springville, and there shipped to California, the Sandwich Islands, or some port on the South American coast. The West Side Railroad will soon put an end to the wagoning of grain, and will revive the cultivation of fruit, which has been discontinued on account of the cost and loss of transporting it to a market.
One of the pests of Oregon farming is a large, coarse fern—compound or branching (Pteris aquilina)—which is common to the forests, and which encroaches on the improved lands contiguous to them. It is very difficult to eradicate, the roots penetrating to a great depth, and being very tough and strong. Wherever it is found, however, the soil is sure to be good, and more especially adapted to fruit than the exempt prairie. Fern troubles the farmer on the Tualatin Plains, in those fields which border on his timbered land; but thorough plowing and harrowing, or mowing when it is full of sap, will finally kill it.
There is no lack of excellent water in this county. Streams and springs abound; but wells are in general use for domestic purposes, the water being soft, pure, and cold, which is obtained by digging. The Tualatin River is navigated by a small steamer nearly to Hillsboro, the county-seat. Other streams in the foot-hills furnish abundant water-power and mill-sites, which are, in many cases, already occupied; and yet a fresh influx of population would create a demand above the present supply. So nicely is supply and demand adjusted in the farming districts, that there can be no rise and fall of the markets from excess or diminution of current manufactures. This leaves openings for immigrants to begin business, to about the same extent as if the country were entirely new; while the temporary assistance afforded by the older establishments to new settlers greatly lessens the hardships of starting anew.
The price of these "broad acres" in the Tualatin Plains, whose smoothness attracts us, is fully as great as any land in Oregon—being held at from ten to twenty-five for improved, and from three to five dollars for unimproved. In giving the prices of land, allowance for the rise consequent on railroad enterprises will have to be made by the reader; as some parcels, lying along the lines of the roads, or near railroad towns, will increase considerably in value during the current year. The railroad lands will be mostly taken in the foot-hills, where there is a mixture of valley and hill land—small prairie spots, and larger tracts of timber. They will be excellent in quality; of greater variety than the prairie, and better adapted to fruit-growing or the pasturage of stock.
Washington County has Columbia County, to the north, between it and the Columbia River; the Coast Mountains, to the west, between it and the sea; and a high ridge dividing it from Multnomah County and the Wallamet River. South of it, and separated from it by the Chehalem Mountains, lies the famous County of Yamhill. There are probably 350,000 acres in Washington County, of which about one-sixteenth is under cultivation, and five-sixteenths timber.
Hillsboro, the county-seat, is a small and quiet town on a branch of the Tualatin River; not notable, nor particularly handsome in its location. Forest Grove, six miles south-west of Hillsboro, is, on the contrary, beautifully located, near the base of a mountain spur, and is a thriving place, with an academic air. Forest Grove is the seat of the Pacific University—a college under the patronage of the Congregational Church. The present buildings, three in number, are of wood, sufficiently commodious to accommodate the present wants of the country. The Professorships are all filled with men of ability, and the University Library is a valuable one. This college first conferred the degree of A.B., in 1862, upon Mr. Harvey Scott, the present chief editor of the Oregonian newspaper, who has kindly furnished us the following notes on the university: "The project of establishing an institution of learning at Forest Grove can scarcely be said to have had its origin as a missionary enterprise, as was notably the case with the educational work at Salem, under direction of the Methodist Episcopal Church, which developed into Wallamet University. Nevertheless, men who came out to Oregon as missionaries, as early as the year 1840, were the men who devoted themselves to the work of building up the institution at Forest Grove. Its founder and most generous patron was Rev. Harvey Clark. He was not a man of wealth, but he was a man of industry, and a man who had thorough ideas of educational work. By donations of land and by vigorous effort among the people, he succeeded in founding an academy, which became quite prosperous. This continued in operation for some years, and attracted much notice as a useful school. In the year 1851, Rev. S. H. Marsh, then a young man from Vermont, came out to Oregon to engage in educational work. He went to Forest Grove, and by his efforts a new era in the institution was commenced. He devoted himself assiduously to his undertaking; the name of "Pacific University" was given to the institution, and it began to make advancement. The academy was continued. College labor devolved almost wholly for the first few years on Professor Marsh, but he was enthusiastic and untiring. Subsequently, Rev. Horace Lyman, who had come out to Oregon about the year 1850, became connected with the university as Professor of Mathematics, which position he still holds. In 1859, Mr. Marsh went to the Eastern States, and succeeded in raising a large endowment for the institution. On his return, its prospects were quite promising, and another Professor was added to the Faculty. Again, in 1868, Mr. Marsh went East, and succeeded in increasing the endowment. At this time, Rev. Geo. H. Collier became connected with the institution as Professor of Natural Science. Three Professors, besides the President, are now engaged in the university, and the endowment is ample for their support. The religious influences are Congregational, but the institution is not a denominational one. It stands on an independent basis, embodying clear and pronounced educational ideas of its own. It is attaining a growth as one of the distinctive institutions of Oregon, and its prosperity seems assured." In connection with the university is an academy for young ladies, some of the students of which also take the college course.
At Forest Grove, reside some of the earliest settlers of the valley—persons who have seen their children, born in Oregon, grow up to manhood's estate, and have sent them back to "the States" to learn something of an older civilization than that of the mountains and plains of Washington County. There is always a great charm in hearing the annals of a State from the lips of its founders. Many walking cyclopedias of Oregon history belong to the population of the Tualatin Plains, and to their influence is due much of the good order and good morals of the community.
Traveling south from Forest Grove, we soon cross the northern boundary of, and find ourselves in, the beautiful County of Yamhill. Comparisons between counties in this portion of the State, would truly be invidious. Their comparative merits must be very nearly the same; yet this is, if possible, a more beautiful section than Washington County. Yamhill is, also, one of the first-settled and favorite sections of the valley, with perhaps a little larger population, and a little more cultivated land, than Washington County. It contains eight towns, none of them of much size. Lafayette, the county-seat, is situated on the pretty Yamhill River, about eight miles from its junction with the Wallamet, at the Yamhill rapids or falls, on the north side. A short distance below, and on the opposite side, is Dayton, the grain-depot of the county; and about the same distance above is McMinnville. These are the three principal towns. McMinnville is a handsomely located place, and will be a railroad point. It is the seat of a flourishing academy, as well as the centre of the agricultural interests of the county. The West Side, a paper devoted to the interests of the county, is published here.
The Yamhill River is formed by two streams, both rising in the Coast Range, and uniting about ten miles above its mouth. The Salmon River rises in the same pass of the Coast Range through which flow the head-waters of the South Yamhill, but runs in the opposite direction, and empties into the sea. The gorge of these streams furnishes an opening for the sea-breeze to cool the temperature of summer, or moderate that of winter. It is also a roadway for horses and carriages, by which the summer travel reaches the sea-coast. The sea-beach at the mouth of the Salmon River, is a favorite resort for the people of the central portion of the Wallamet Valley. To come here in July, camp out for two or three weeks, fish, ride, hunt, and eat "rock-oysters" and blackberries, is thought to be both a sanitary and a pleasurable manner of taking the summer's recreation.
The "rock-oyster" of Salmon River is so called because it is found embedded in sandstone-rock, and has to be released from its captivity by hard blows with a hammer. When it was so encased is not very well known, and the subject is one of no little interest. The quality of the testacean does not seem impaired by confinement; on the contrary, it is said to be remarkably good. The oyster, when extricated from the rock, is pear-shaped, with the impression of a scalloped shell on the broad base of the shell which incloses it, this being rather soft and tender. At the small end, or where the stem of a pear would be placed, is a foot, or feeler, projecting, not only out of the shell, but also reaching out through an air-hole in the stone, and probably used to secure food. These oysters are found at several points along the coast, but never above the reach of tide-water.