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ORDINANCE OF 1787 18, 1818. He served in the Seminole War in Florida and on the frontiers until the beginning of the Civil War, when he became brigadier-general of volunteers and was given command of the Pennsylvania reserves, and gained the battle of Dranesville (December, 1861). In May, 1862, as major-general of volunteers, he was given a command in the department of the Mississippi, and took part in the battle of Iuka and the capture of Vicksburg. In 1865 he was in command of the army of the James and the department of Virginia, and was in the battles that ended the war. After the war he became a brigadier-general in the regular army, had command of various departments, and retired in 1881 with the rank of major-general. He died at Havana, Cuba, July 22, 1883.  Or′dinance of 1787, The, was an act of Congress in July, 1787, for the administration of the affairs of the great Northwest Territory of the United States. The ordinance contained this oft-quoted provision: “Religion, morality and knowledge being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged.” The ordinance contained six articles which were expressly stated to be of the nature of a contract between the people of the states already existing and the people of the Northwest Territory. It guaranteed freedom of worship and prohibited slavery in the lands granted to the Ohio Company; and it looked clearly forward to the time when these lands should be organized under permanent constitutions and governments.  Or′egon. Oregon is in the northwestern part of the United States between the 42nd and 46th parallels of latitude. It is bounded on the north by Washington, on the east by Idaho, on the south by Nevada and California and on the west by the Pacific Ocean. Only six states exceed Oregon in area. It is 285 miles from north to south and 360 from east to west. Population, 672,765.

Physical Features. Two mountain ranges, the Coast Range and the Cascade, run parallel with the coast. West of the Coast Range lies a comparatively level country, varying in width from 10 to 30 miles. This is cut into many little valleys by divides extending westerly from the mountains. Notable among these valleys are the Nehalem, the Yaquina, the Alsea, the Siuslaw, the Umpqua, the Coos Bay country and Rogue River Valley. East of the Coast Range or between the Coast and Cascade Ranges lies Willamette Valley. This valley is drained by a river of the same name, which rises in a divide that joins the two great ranges about 100 miles from the southern border of the state and flows north to the Columbia. The valley averages about 50 miles in breadth. Its elevation is low, and the soil is fertile. South of this divide the country is divided by Umpqua and Rogue Rivers, which flow through passes of the Coast Range to the Pacific. All of the country west of the Cascades is known as Western Oregon, all east of it as Eastern Oregon. The elevation of Eastern Oregon varies from 2,000 to 5,000 feet above the sea. The Blue Mountains, about the center of the state, extend in a northeasterly direction into Washington. In Eastern Oregon the rivers flow towards the north. In the southern part are a number of large lakes. Western Oregon is a country of valleys with many streams of water flowing through them. Eastern Oregon is known as a plateau country, its streams are far apart, but frequent enough to make irrigation practicable.

Climate. As the state is divided into two great parts in regard to surface, so it is in regard to climate. Eastern Oregon has hot and dry summers, pleasant autumns, cool, clear weather with occasional showers until December; then cold winters, often with a great deal of snow, cold until late in the spring. Western Oregon has delightfully cool summers, cool nights even after the warmest days, and the winters are never severe. During the winter considerable rain falls, but the total rainfall does not exceed an average of 46 inches a year. Many winters pass without snow, many summers without an electrical storm. Tornadoes and hurricanes are unknown, but heavy rainstorms amounting to cloudbursts are no uncommon thing in Eastern Oregon.

Resources. The resources are just beginning to be developed. For example, in 1902 the annual cut of the lumber mills was about 600,000,000 feet, for 1910 the cut was 2,084,000,000 feet, yet the immense forests which extend from the seashore to the summit of the Coast Range, down the eastern slope and from the lowest foothills on the western coast of the Cascades to the snowline seem scarcely to have been touched by the sawyer. Of the trees comprising these forests, the most important are fir, pine, cedar, hemlock, tamarack, myrtle, ash, maple and laurel. Many important mineral products are found. Gold is mined extensively, the most important mines being in Baker County, Eastern Oregon, and Lane County, Western Oregon. Large fields of sienna are being opened in Western Oregon. Coal, iron and a good quality of building-stone are found in abundant quantities throughout the state.

Agriculture. The three great agricultural products are wheat, hops and dairy products. The largest wheat-farms are in the northern part of Eastern Oregon, the largest dairy-farms are along the coast, and the hop-farms are in Willamette Valley, which also has wheat and dairy farms. Oregon produces two fifths of the entire hop crop of North America. Other important products are oats, barley, flax and hay. Clover, cheat, timothy, vetch and alfalfa are grown. Alfalfa produces three crops annually in the