Page:Portland, Oregon, its History and Builders volume 1.djvu/455



It was in 1883 that the O. R. & N. Company's Hnes were finished and the main hne of the Northern Pacific was pushed to a junction with its eastern section.

In 1844, however, a great business collapse resulted from the unusual ex- pansion of the preceeding months, and the year was rather disastrous. The Oregon and Transcontinental stocks dropped to a minimum. Villard failed and many Portland stockholders were greatly crippled. Fictitious values had to be brought down to a substantial basis. Cessation of railroad construc- tion, discontinuance of disbursements, and the fact that the railroad now coming into operation began to absorb the money in the country, all tended to create a stringency. Prices of wheat fell low, and productions therefore re- alized but poorly, and during the holidays in Portland the whole city was block- aded by an unprecendented storm of snow and ice, so that the somewhat un- usual preparations of Portland merchants failed to realize their object. The main line of the Northern Pacific Railroad having been completed, brought in immigration from the East. The O. R. & N. Company pushed their line to a junction with the Union Pacific, and formed a net-work of lines in the valley of the Columbia. The Oregon and California road was continued to Ashland, and the Oregon Pacific was finished from Corvallis to Yaquina bay. The sec- tion of the Northern Pacific from Portland to a point on the Columbia river opposite Kalema was also built.

The exports aggregated, domestic, $6,284,735; foreign $5,648,116, making a total of about $12,000,000.

Tfie wholesale trade diminished, owing to the cessation of railroad construc- tion, but, as an offset, country merchants found that they could do better at Portland than at the east.

In 1885 there were shipped 4,546,546 centals of wheat, valued at $4,- 643,650, and 459,159 barrels of flour, valued at $2,750,589, making a total value of $7,394,239.

The shipment of wool aggregated 11,558,427 pounds, worth $1,637,936. The value of exports reached $14,280,670, being $2,347,819 over the exports of the preceding year. The greatest crop of grain hitherto raised in the northwest was harvested this year.

For 1886 the following table of exports still further illustrates the growth :

Wheat, centals 4,919,346

Flour, barrels 605,694

Salmon, cases 548,366

Wool, pounds 19,227,105

Woolens, cases 819

Mill stuffs, sacks 227,719

Barley, centals, 40,685

Leather, packages 590

' Tallow, packages ^,7^5

Butter, packages 286

Eggs, packages 3,488

Provisions, packages 6,570

Pig irons, tons i ,567

Lumber, M 28,771

Flax seeds, sacks 68,43 1

Furs, hides, skins, etc. lbs 2,383,710

Hops, pounds : 6,520,036

Barrel stock, pkgs 1 1.594

Potatoes, sacks :. 1 1 1 ,062

Oats, sacks 209,126

Laths, M 6,658

Green fruit, bo