Being a member of the Scientific Corps of the United States Expedition, in 1841, I had the misfortune to be wrecked, in the ship Peacock, at the mouth of the Columbia River, and subsequently traveled that portion of the country south of the Columbia River, known as the Wallamette Valley, and thence across the mountains to California.
The soil, we observed, generally on that route, although not as rich as that of the Mississippi Valley, was still sufficiently so, when cultivated, to produce from twenty to forty bushels of wheat to the acre, of as good quality as any I have ever seen in my native State (Pennsylvania), which, added to the facilities for settlers in finding the land ready for the plough, without the labor of clearing, while sufficiency of the finest timber is found on the banks of the numerous streams, is alone sufficient to invite to the further settlement of the country when known. But this is not all. The winters are so mild that it has never yet been found necessary to house cattle, or provide winter food for them. They thrive and multiply beyond expectation.
Salmon are procured in great profusion in almost all the streams, and ready markets are found for them, as well as all the other products of the territory, in the markets of Mexico, South America, and the numerous islands of the Pacific Ocean. Thus, from its position in the Pacific, it has all the advantages which we possess in the Atlantic Ocean; gaining in the China what might be considered as partly lost from the European trade.
The tract of country to which I have more particularly alluded is about two hundred and fifty miles long, including the mouth of the Columbia River, and reaching to about one hundred and fifty miles from the coast. This tract of country I considered quite equal, if not superior to Pennsylvania, both in commercial position and capability in agricultural product, and much superior in its advantages for raising cattle, etc., being generally interspersed with prairie and woodland.
Would the above hasty notes prove satisfactory to you or any of your friends, or if they only serve to awaken a spirit of inquiry, it will always be a source of pleasure to me in having communicated them.
With great respect, I have the honor to remain, yours truly,
To Thomas Morgan, Esq., Washington, Pennsylvania.
Letter by Peter H. Burnett to the St. Louis Reporter:
Taken from the Ohio Statesman of September 11, 1844.
