Page:Portland, Oregon, its History and Builders volume 1.djvu/451



For 1872 the entrances from foreign ports, comprised of American steamers, eighteen, and American barks, eight, with a tonnage of eleven thousand, nine hundred and forty-six. Of foreign vessels, twelve barks and two schooners, nine thousand, one hundred and forty. This made the total tonnage for the year, one hundred and thirty-one thousand and thirty-five.

The following exhibits the imports :

From England, value of $350,980

From British Columbia, value of 31,294

From Sandwich islands, value of 171,332

From Hong Kong, value of n 5,338

All other, value of 59,831

Total $728,825

The following exhibits the exports :

To England, value of $304,744

To British Columbia, value of 107,508

To Ireland, value of 187,549

To Sandwich islands, value of 8,824

To Hong Kong, value of 33,995

Total $642,620

During these years one notices with interest the steady increase in ship- ment of wheat to the United Kingdom — showing that Portland, as the commer- cial city of Oregon, was rapidly building up a foreign trade. In 1871, this was but 99,462 centals, valued at $257,276; while in 1872 the shipments rose to 209,337 centals, valued at $511,166. Flour shipped to California was 192,500 quarter sacks. The total export of wheat was twenty-three thousand, eighty- two tons, and of fiour, fourteen thousand, five hundred and fifty-eight tons. Although these figures show a large increase in quantity shipped, the prices re- alized during this season were so low as to impair somewhat the advantage thus derived.

In 1873 Portland experienced a great fire by which about a million and a half dollars worth of property was destroyed. This great loss, calling for its re- pair, all the money that might be raised upon real securities, necessarily with- drew from trade and commerce, large sums which would otherwise have been ap- plied to their enlargement. Confidence was for a time somewhat shaken, and the year was less productive than was expected at the beginning; nevertheless, the volume of foreign trade continued to steadily increase as before, and the total valuation of all exports for the year is set down as $2,500,000.

Coast-wise entrances aggregated 112,100; clearances 79,694 tons. Foreign entrances 19,143 tons; clearances, 23,467 tons. The tonnage of American ves- sels in foreign trade was: entered, 10,302; cleared, I9,444- The imports reached $514,343, and the exports about $1,600,000 to foreign countries.

Following this year a new impetus to the production of grain was given in the upper Willamette valley by the opening of the Willamette river to the head of navigation by means of a canal and locks, at Oregon City. Steamers were thereby enabled to carry grain from points, even as far as Eugene City to Port- land without breaking bulk.

"From a table compiled the year of 1874 to show the exports of wheat from 1868 to the middle of 1874, we find a total value of $11,105,850."

"The bulk of the wheat was exported to the United Kingdom and also a round aggregate of flour — but the largest proportion of the latter was sent to San Francisco, to New York, to ports in the Pacific, and to China and Japan."

It is reported for this year that nearly two hundred ships were employed in the export trade; but this evidently included all coast-wise craft of every description.