Page:Route Across the Rocky Mountains with a Description of Oregon and California.djvu/52

Rh the power at the Falls of the Willammette, which is alone sufficient to propel an immense machinery, there is a vast amount of the water power, in this valley; at least entirely sufficient, always to supply every want of the country. Besides the Mills at the Falls, of which we have already made mention, there are in the upper Willammette, a Grist and Saw Mill, belonging to the Catholic Mission, and another Saw Mill building by an individulal. In the Twalita plains, there is a Flouring Mill in operation, and a Saw Mill in progress of building. Seven miles above Vancouver, the Hudson's Bay Company have Saw and Grist Mills. Twenty-five miles above Astoria, and near the Columbia, there is an excellent Saw Mill in operation, and on the Clatsop plains, there is a small Patent Mill being set up for the accommodation of the settlers, at the mouth of the River. The present population of the country, the great portion of which is in the Willammette Valley, amounts to about 6000 souls (exclusive of the Natives.) A portion of these are English, French and half breeds; but a large majority are from the United States, and have emigrated to this country over land, within the last four years. Those who have come into the country, have been industrious, and improvements have gone rapidly on. Quite a considerable poriton of the Willamette Valley, has already been brought into cultivation, and there is, after supplying the inhabitants, and emigration, annually, several thousand bushels of surplus wheat. New farms are being opened daily, and the cabin of the bold and enterprising pioneer, may be seen rising on many a verdant hill, or nestled away in the quiet seclusion of many a flowery nook; and ere long, the plow share and the axe promise to turn this wild and flowery wilderness into rustling fields, and blooming gardens.

The Valley of the Umqua is divided from that of the Willammette by the Calapooiah Mountains, a single and almost unbroken ridge, the course of which is nearly East and West. Across these Mountains, which are not high, and the ascent and descent of which are very gradual, is a distance of about twelve miles.—They are thickly covered with good Fir timber, are not rocky, and have a soil fit for cultivation. The Umqua valley is about thirty five miles wide, and its length is not certainly known. Its general character is very similar to the Willamette Valley, excepting that its surface is more undulating. The Umqua River runs through the middle of the Valley, receiving numerous tributaries, from the neighboring Mountains. It is a steam sufficiently large for navigation; but the great