THE WILLAMETTE VALLEY
CHAPTER V.
The Willamette Valley.
At Yaquina Bay, where Newport is situated, the government has expended considerable money for the improvement of the harbor, and though the place is a fine summer resort, there is no extensive shipping done. It is a most beautiful place to while away the hot summer days, with fishing, boating and bathing in the surf. Here is the terminus of the Corvallis & Eastern Railway, at the town of Yaquina, the principal offices being at Albany, where the road connects with and crosses the Southern Pacific Railway. It is picturesque to travel through the Willamette valley at this season of the year and to see the trees with their branches hanging to the ground, laden with delicious fruit, and at the hotels to see them picking fresh fruit for the tables. We Butte smoke-eaters do not get our fruit that way. Albany is supplied with a woolen mill and flour mills, an iron foundry, and is an important railway center, besides considerable shipping being done on the river. It is no dream that the citizens of Albany are the most sociable, happy, and contented people that I have had the pleasure of meeting on the continent, and the town is a paradise for any one wishing to make a life-long home.
I found very much the same conditions at Corvallis, where the State Agricultural College is located, and at Lebanon, with its large paper mills. Brownsville, near here, has woolen mills, the product from which is sold over the entire west. Harrisburg is at the head of river navigation. From here I pass Junction City, going through continuous prune farms, arriving at the university city, Eugene, an important lumbering and mining center in addition to its fruit industry. South of here is Cottage Grove, the supply point and from where is extended a branch line to the Bohemian gold mining district.
The other towns of southern Oregon are Roseburg, justly named from its abundance of flowers, and Grants Pass, in the center of a rich mining section, Medford and Jacksonville, where are many very extensive and rich fruit farms; and Ashland, the largest city in the southern part of the state, where the State Normal school is situated.
Klamath Falls and Lakeview are the inland towns of Southern Oregon. Marshfield and Coquille are shipping towns on Coos Bay, as is also the town of Tillamook on Tillamook Bay, which has large cheese factories.
On the west side of the Willamette river are McMinnville, Dallas, Monmouth, Independence, Dayton and Newberg, while on the east side are Woodburn, Mt. Angel and Silverton, constituting the great hop growing localities, with Salem, the center and distributing point. Through this stretch of country are seen everywhere the buildings for the drying of hops, and during the autumn months there is a scene of continual activity for the growers, pickers, pressers and buyers, getting the hops ready for shipment to eastern markets, principally to be used by the large breweries. The soil and climate are especially adapted to the production of hops, and from the proceeds the owners receive an exceptionally good profit, about two million dollars' worth being the annual production.
Forest Grove, a college town, and Hillsboro are next visited, and then I am back to Portland, the hub of the State of Oregon.
From here I again start over the Northern Pacific Railway, making a number of stops. Tacoma, Washington, the Puget Sound terminal, I will fully describe later. At Ellensburg, one of the State Normal schools is located and this city is also a division point of the Northern Pacific Railway. From here I viewed Mt. Adams to the south, towering 12,250 feet above the sea level.
North Yakima is located in a very rich section, which produces all kinds of fruit, as well as an abundance of hops. This land is made productive by irrigation.
All traveling people will recognize the expression, "Keep your eye on Pasco," as I did. I then passed through the wheat country to Ritzville, Sprague and on to Cheney, where the other Normal school of the State is located. Then to Spokane, from where I go through the pan-handle of Idaho, on to Butte.