Route across the Rocky Mountains with a Description of Oregon and California (1982)/Chapter 8
CHAPTER EIGHT
GENERAL VIEW OF OREGON AND CALIFORNIA.
As we have now completed our explorations in both Oregon and California, we will make a few remarks upon their fitness for the occupancy, and various uses of civilized man.
As we have already said, the climate, in Oregon and California, is far milder and more agreeble, than it is in the same parallel of latitude, any where on the Eastern side of the American continent. There is, we think a difference of perhaps 10 to 12 deg. We suppose that some may think this difference too great, but when they recollect than animals can live well through the winter, in Oregon, in in the 47th deg. of North latitude, and that scarcely any snow falls during this season of the year; and that that which does fall, even in this high latitude, lays but a very short time, in the lower and more productive valleys; and that good beef is often killed in mid-winter from the grass, any where between the Cascade Mountains and the Pacific Ocean, South of the Columbia River; and then recollect what the Winters are in the United States, even as far South as the 25th deg. North, we are inclined to believe, that most, if not all, will be ready to believe, that we are nearly correct in regard to this matter.
As the farmer's stock can live well all winter, not only throughout California, but through nearly the whole of Oregon, he will here possess one advantage that he can never have East of the Rocky Mountains, except in the most Southern part of the United States; consequently, he will not be compelled, as he is in most parts of the great and fertile Valley of the Mississippi, to labor six months' labor, to his stock. And there is not only in the territory of Oregon, but also in the province of California, another great advantage, that is, indeed, paramount to all others; which is, health. Those countries, with the exception of a few small localities, are, beyond all doubt, and must ever remain, very healthy. Some of the causes which make them so, must be obvious to all, who become acquainted with those countries. They are high, dry, rolling, mountainous, and well watered with the purest springs and streams; and come the wind from whatever point it may, it must ever be free from miasma and disease, as it always comes, either from snow clad mountains or passes over the pure and untainted waves of the briny Ocean.
There is, however, one drawback to the mild, otherwise pleasant winters, over a large portion of the countries we have seen and described; on the western shores of our continent: which is, the great amount of dark, cloudy, and rainy weather, through most of the winter season. The rains, however, as it has already been seen, do not generally fall in heavy showers, but are, mostly, gentle and light, and often, nothing more than heavy mist. We are inclined to believe, that little if any more water falls there, in the winter, than falls in most parts of the Mississippi Valley; with this difference, that there it is rain instead of snow.
In those countries, as in the Mississippi Valley, the winters do, in some degree, vary. When compared with the winters East of the Rocky Mountains, they are always mild; yet some are more so than others, and some are much dryer than others. The first winter we passed, West of the mountains, was milder, dryer, and much more agreeable than the second; indeed, there was much of the first that was dry, sunny, and agreeable, beyond anything we had ever before witnessed. The second was more rainy and disagreeable. But as far South as the Bay of San Francisco, in California, it is never colder, even in the winte, than to produce heavy white frost.
We believe that small grains of every description, that are raised in the United States, will grow well, and produce abundantly, throughout Oregon, and over all the Upper or Northern portion of California. So also, will the grasses; but Indian Corn never will, as the nights are too cool in Summer, over all those regions, for the thrifty growth and proper ripening of this grain; it can, however, be raised in small quantities, but the farmer there, can never grow it to much profit.
The Willammette Valley is, perhaps, the largest district of productive country in Oregon. Something more than two thirds of it is open, or prairie land, and the largest part of this is rich; the prairies, indeed, generally, through the country, when turned up by the plow, make very much the same black, rich appearance, they mostly bear in the Mississippi Valley; some doubt, however, their being as durable, as there seems to be a great absence of lime. Near one third of this valley is timbered, and the timber is mostly good, and as it furnishes great manufacturing, as well as agricultural privileges, it would be capable of sustaining, were every portion of it made to yield to the best advantage, a population of nearly a million of souls.
The Unqua Valley is, perhaps three-fourths prairie. The Rogue's River Valley, two-thirds, and the Clamuth, four fifths.
In many places through these several valleys, the prairies are of convenient size to be eintirely settled and cultivated; in others they are so large that it will be inconvenient; but as the neighboring mountain lands, are, with few exceptions, thickly clothed with the finest timber in the world, they will, in time, all be brought into cultivation.
North of the Columbia, and West of the Cascade Mountains, there is, perhaps, not more than one third of the country that is not timbered, and much of it stands so thick on the ground, is so tall and large, that it will not only make lumber most abundant in the country, but it must long, if not always, be capable of furnishing immense quantities for exportation.
The valleys, through this portion of Oregon, are smaller than they are, South of the river; here the country has more broken, mountain, waste land, and consequently it cannot sustain so large a population. It is thought, that considerable portions of the timbered land between the Cascade Mountains and the Pacific, both North and South of the Columbia, is good for cultivation, though mostly, if not always, much inferior in point of productiveness, to the prairie lands.
The Cawlitz Valley, North of the Columbia, like the Willammette, South, furnishes, perhaps, the largest valley of land, suitable for cultivation, between the Cascades and the Ocean; but on the North, as well as the South side, there are many other smaller valleys, besides these, capable of sustaining considerable settlements; which will, altogether, in time, when all that can, is made to yield, furinsh agricultural products, sufficient to sustain a population of some millions.
And through this whole region of country, many of the hills and mountains, will furnish the best, and healthiest pastures for sheep; and there cannot be a doubt, but that hundreds of thousands of these useful animals, can be kept in the finest condition, between the Cascade Mountains and the Pacific; to furnish the factories that are destined to rise up at no far distant day, in this great world of water power, with heavy fleeces of the finest wool.
Should the United States maintain her claim to the entire Territory of Oregon, she will then have Puget's Sound, the second best Harbor on the Western shores of America, and a considerable district of country around it, said to be good; besides the whole of Vancouver's Island, which, of itself, is capable of sustaining a considerable colony; but as it is most likely that the 49th parallel of latitude will be the boundary settled upon, as the Northern limit of our territory, it is doubtful whether we will possess the fine Harbor of Puget's Sound, and we shall not have more than one third of Vancouver's Island.
The country East of the Cascade Mountains, and laying between them and the Blue Mountains, is an excellent grazing country. Immediately on the streams, and along the base of the mountains, there are many narrow strips of fertile land, suitable for cultivation, and these portions of rich soil, though small when compared with the entire country containing them, (not more, we think, than one tenth part,) will probably be enough to grow a sufficiency of agricultural products, to sustain a large grazing population. And that this country will, at some future day, be filled with such a population, there cannot be a doubt; as it contains, in most places over all the country known as the Walawala Valley, as abundance of the most nutrutious grass, so that, within the bounds of this valley, great numbers of stock can be kept through the year; and although the valley contains no timber, with the exception of Cotton Wood along some of the streams, as the neighboring mountains are mostly well timbered, and as a large portion of the tillable land lies immediately along the base of the mountains, and convenient to the timber, most of the farms could be furnished with it very readily. But those that might be improved on the streams, would, most of them, have to be furnished with the necessary timber, at the expense of much labor, as it could only be had from the mountains, at a distance, in some places, of many miles.
Inasmuch as there is a river called Walawala, some might suppose the valley bearing the name, to be the valley of that stream, and that, therefore, the manner in which we have spoken of it is incorrecdst; but upon noticing particularly our description, and finding that not only the Walawala, the Snake River, and many other smaller streams, but that the great Columbia itself, runs through it, they will at once that the valley has not obtained its name from the river, but that the name applies to a portion of country bounded by high mountains, both on the East and West, and stretches North and South some three hundred miles, covering an area equal to twelve or fifteen thousand square miles. This large district of country is not only good for raising and keeping horses, mules, and cattle, but it will be very good for sheep also, as great numbers of them can be raised and kept in the finest and healthiest condition.
This valley has, also, much water power.
The Blue Mountains, which form the Eastern boundary of the Walawala Valley, cover an extent of country about seventy-five miles broad, and are, we believe, about nine-tenths timbered; through these mountains there are numerous small valleys, furnishing in many places, good soil, and every where fine pasture, upon which stock of every description can be kept in good condition throughout the year. But as the valleys in the mountains do not, perhaps, cover more than one twentieth of the whole area, this portion of country could only sustain a sparse population, and keep a limited amount of stock.
The entire country East of the Blue Mountains, including the Rocky Mountains and a broad belt of country some five hundred miles wide, West of them, embracing altogether a tract of some one thousand or eleven hundred miles broad, is, with the exception of some small spots-widely, very widely separated from each other, a vast and dreary desert—a sandy, dusty, rocky waste. Over much of this desert region, there are large dusty tracts, on which there is almost no vegetation. These dusty regions bear much the appearance of ashes and burnt earth, mixed.
The small spots of productive soil that are scattered over this grat desert of America, cannot amount to much if any more than one thousandth part of the whole. From which it will be seen, that it is better calculated to sustain small bands of savages living after the manner of the wandering Arabs, than any fixed population of agriculturalists.
South of the Snowy Butte, which is not far from the parallel of 42 deg. North, to the head of the Sacramento Valley, a distance of one hundred miles, the country is entirely covered with timber. It is mountainous, and contains no land fit for cultivation; and although much of the timber in these mountain regions is of excellent quality, it is so far removed from the extensive plains of California, laying far South, that it can never be taken to them to make enclosures for farms; and much of the country where it grows, is so exceedingly broken, that it will be difficult to take it out for any purpose. But from many parts of this extensive tract of timber, immense quantities can and will be taken out in lumber for all purposes, and used in many distant parts of the province; and by way of the Sacramento, it may be taken into the Bay of San Francisco, and from thence wherever wanted.
The Sacramento Valley, which probably contains about ten thousand square miles, is nearly or quite, one-third timbered and one-half suitable for cultivation. Much of the soil is very fertile.
From the Bay of San Francisco to Monte Rey, and between the California Mountains and the Coast, including the Valley of St. Wakine, covering an area of near twenty thousand square miles, there is not more than one-tenth of the country timbered; but nearly one half is fit for tillage, with some very productive lands.
From Monte Rey to the Lower Puebla, embracing the Southern portion of Northern or Upper California, there is, perhaps, not more than one-hundredth part of the land timbered, and one-twentieth, suitable for cultivation; but there is a much greater portion good for grazing.
The Sacramento and St. Wakine Valleys, furnish much of the largest body of good country in California. Indeed from the health of this country, which is good beyond all doubt; from the great mildness of the climate; the fertility of much of its soil, and the great commercial advantages it will have, by means of the noble Bay of San Francisco; it must, at no distant day, become a very desirable, if not the most desirable country on the Continent.
When it is recollected, as we have herefore stated, that over a large portion of Upper California, fresh meat will keep good, hung in the open air, at any season of the year, for several days together, without salt; there can be no doubt of the great purity of the atmosphere, and consequent health of the country.
Most of the Northern portion of the Province has a sufficienty of good water power; but in the South, the supply is less abundant: and in some parts, it is very deficient.
When this Province shall have been settled, by an industrious and enterprising population, disposed to avail themselves of all the advantages which Nature has so bountifully spread out, over this country; it will be covered with vast multitudes of stock of all kinds; the upper country will become a manufacturing district, and every where, on and around the extensive Bay of San Francisco, the most active and extensive commercial operations will be constantly going on.
But no country of which we have any knowledge, is so fitted by nature to become one great manufacturing region, as the territory of Oregon. It has every where, over it, an abundance of never failing water power, sufficient to propel machinery of any kind and to any amount; and as we have already said, all parts of the territory are suitable for raising the finest sheep, (not excepting the best ever reared in Spain,) and over this country sufficient numbers can and will be raised, to keep the numerous and extensive factories in constant operation.
But little is yet known of the minerals of the country. Some lead and iron have been discovered; and if an intimate acquaintance with the country shall discover an abundance of the metals, then will there be nothing wanting, to make Oregon one of the greatest manufacturing countries in the world, but the necessary population and capital; both of which, time and the enterprise of out countrymen, will give. And, although much of it is rocky and mountainous, and every where over it, are strong and evident marks of powerful, and not very remote volcanic action; as the country is very healthy, the climate mild, and the volcanoes, from appearances, mostly, if not all except Mount St. Helen, extinct; we think the day not distant, when it will be sufficiently peopled to carry on extensive manufacturing and commercial operations. And as it is situated for carrying on a direct trade with the South Sea Islands, all the countries on the Western shores of South America, and with China, the trade of which, under the treaties that have been made with this country, since the British war, must, in a few years, be extensive and important. Oregon must, at some future day, become a great Commercial as well as Manufacturing country.
But we do not profess to give a full description of these countries. There is no one whose knowledge concerning them is not very limited. After the natives, from whom, of course, little is to be learned, those who have longest inhabited them, and traveled over them most, the traders, are nearly all illiterate; and the few who were somewhat competent to investigate and judge, have had their minds wholly engrossed with other matters. A few years is insufficient to acquire a particular knowledge of such extensive territories. It yet remains for others to explore, discover, and make known, many of the hidden resources and subjects of interest, with which those remote, new, and peculiar regions, most probably abound.