Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 4.djvu/226

216 regions where finer grazing fields are to be had than the slopes of the Bitter Root Mountains; and the freedom from excessive dampness, the pure, fresh mountain springs, are all so many advantages, that I confidently look forward to the day when these many well-grassed slopes shall be covered with fleecy flocks, and when the waters of the many silvery streams that now flow through the Walla Walla Valley, shall be caught and used to turn the wheels of a woolen factory, from which shall be turned out all the fabrics needed to clothe the population destined to find homes to the east of the Cascade Mountains. The clothes made by the Salem factory compare favorably with those imported. One thing certain, there is no cotton in their fabrics. Flannels of every hue are turned out at forty cents per yard; blankets from $4 to $8, according to texture; and clothes from 75 cents to $1.50 per yard, according to fineness. It would be a most happy result if every merchant, farmer, miner, and professional man in Oregon and Washington would determine in his own mind to have at least one suit of clothes made from Salem cloth, and every bed to be covered by at least one pair of Salem blankets. This would be affording a practical proof of our pride in seeing established in our midst these factories, which must eventuate in the profit of individuals. It is much to be regretted that the immense and illimitable mill power at Oregon City is not now turned to good account. The disasters by fire and flood of the Linn City mills have been of such a sad character that the tendencies now are to intimidate capitalists, at least for a time, from embarking in similar investments at the same site. A substantial railroad is being built around the portage at Oregon City, destined to diminish the time and cost of shipment up and down the Willamette. The season for practicable steam navigation to the upper points of the river being over, but little