Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 12.djvu/290

 282 CHARLES WILKES The line of woods runs on the east side and near the foot of the Cascade Range. The climate and soil are admirably adapted for all kinds of grain wheat, rye, oats, barley, peas, and so forth. Corn does not thrive in any part of this territory where it has been tried. Many fruits appear to succeed well, particularly the apple and pear. Vegetables thrive exceedingly well and yield most abund- antly. The surface of the middle section is about 1,000 feet above the level of the lower or western section, and is generally a rolling prairie country. That lying to the north of the parallel of 48 is very much broken, with mountain chains and rivers ; consequently barren and very rugged. From the great and fre- quent changes in its temperature it is totally unfitted for agri- culture, but is well filled with game of all kinds that are found in the country. The mountain chains on the parallel of 48 are cut off by the Columbia, as before stated, leaving an extensive rolling country in the center of the territory, which is well adapted for grazing. The southern part of this section is destitute of timber or wood, unless the worm wood, Artimesia, may be so called. To the north of the paralled of 49 it is covered with forests. Wheat and other grains grow well in the bottoms where they can be irrigated. The soil in such places is rich and capable of producing most anything. The missionaries have succeeded in getting good crops. Stock succeeds here even better than in the lower country, and, not- withstanding the severe cold, their cattle are not housed, nor is provender laid in for them, the country being sufficiently supplied with fodder in the natural hay that is abundant every- where on the prairie, and is preferred by the cattle to the fresh grass of the bottoms. No attempts at agriculture have been made in this section ex- cept at Fort Hall. The small grains thrive tolerably well, to-