Benton County, Oregon - Chapter 38: General County History, 1885

settlements on the banks of the "Oregon" and its tributaries, the great bane of the State has been, and still coutinaes to be, that the imports exceed the exports, and that money is being continually sent abroad for articles that should be produced and manufactured at home. To-day even, farmers are eating butter and bacon shipped from other States; are wearing fabrics from abroad, while, cows, hogs and sheep are running at large, by the hundred, without particular care or attention. Fine farms are tenantless and cannot be made to pay ; splendid water powers are useless and vast forests are rotting all around ; to say nothing of the untold wealth that yet remains undeveloped in the bowels of the earth - and yet we find croakers - happily they are few - in every community, and hearty able-bodied men hanging around the street corners, or lazily lounging about saloons, talking of " hard times " instead of pulling off their coats, rolling up their sleeves and going to work like true men.

The first newspaper published in Benton county was the Oregon Statesman, by Asahel Bush, in 1855, during the short reign of Corvaliis as the State Capital. Subsequently several others were started and after surviving for a timesuccumbed to the inevitable. That which has stood the test of time the longest is the Corvaliis Gazette, a special history of which, with the other publications in the county, will be found elsewhere. That newspaper was founded in the year 1864, but, we have unfortunately, been unable to procure the first two volumes, they being missing. Our researches therefore have, of a necessity commenced with the third volume of the series, the initial publication in which was issued December 2, 1865. The Gazette was then published every Saturday by T. B. Odeneal, at the office on Third street, Corvaliis, in the first building north of that of Messrs. Thayer and Burnett; while, in its advertising columns we find the business cards of M. Canterbury, M. D., who had his office in that formerly occupied by Charles Brunn, his residence being in the first building north of the Methodist church; on the same street F. A. Chenoweth, Attorney-at-Law, had his office; while Doctors Bay Icy and Lee were located on the same thoroughfare, opposite the City hotel. George Mercer was then a Notary Public and Conveyancer, established in the " new drug store," and the Corvaliis boot and shoe factory, was conducted by H. Manns. Among other names we notice those of Waters & Clark, J. G. Kriechbaum, Holder & Phillips, E. Holgate, Joseph Gearhart, R. M. & S. H. Thompson, William E. Dyer, Thomas Eglin, Charles H. Friendly, G. Hodes, Lipscomb & Wells, H. P. Harris, J. W. Souther, Graves & Robinson, Charles Bales, and John Bauerlin. Souther offered seven hundred and thirty volumes of "choice reading" at the price of five dollars a year, in the form of a circulating library, while his stock of blank books was unsurpassed in extent and variety.

The leading article is on the fruitful topic of newspaper wars, while under the caption "Our City Charter" it says: "We understand there is a disposition on the part of some to have the city charter of Corvaliis repealed by the Legislature. The gentlemen who advocate the repeal of course have their reasons for it, and we do not question their motive, but we cannot see a single thiug to be gained by setting ourselves back to where we were eight years ago, while we can clearly see a great many evils to result from it. In a few years our streets would be almost impassible on account of mud in winter and other obstructions the rest of the year. Our walks, which are now better than those of any other city in the State, would soon go to decay and there would be no way to compel their repair. Half the men in town would each keep halfa-dozen hogs* or more; dogs would be 'too numerous to mention/ and very soon dogs, hogs and fleas would take the place; dirt and filth would accumulate to such a degree that in the event the cholera, which is slowly extending hither, should get in our midst, it would make a clean sweep of all of us. Perhaps our city fathers sometimes enact laws they ought not too, but it is an easy matter to repeal them when found to work hardships. Let us retain the charter and have none but wholesome laws."

Under the heading "Siletz Agency " we have the first mention of a desire to open up the country towards the coast. The Gazette remarks : " Some people are naturally inclined to growl and find fault many times when there is no sort of reason in it, and these are always certain officious, tell-tale individuals who are given to the habit of catching at everything they hear, however insignificant and unmeaning, and magnifying and torturing it into some terrible slander, about somebody else and repeating it over and over until they get to believing it themselves that it is a thing of gigantic proportions.

" We believe that the fewest number of the people of Benton county have any fault to find with Indian Agent Simpson for any of his official acts. The reserve belongs to the Indians, and it is the duty of Mr. Simpson to see that they are protected in all their rights so long as that remains a Reserve. In all that he has done, so far, we accord to him honest motives and good intentions. This county wants the land along the Yaquina thrown open to settlement. The people wish to convert those lands to useful purposes and to accomplish this Mr. Simpson is lending his influence and using his utmost endeavors, because he believes, as all sensible people do, that it would be of no disadvantage to the Indians, and as all are working for the same thing, there is no reason why they should not do so harmoniously."

In the same number of the paper, Judge Stratton is highly complimented on his instructions to the grand jury, relative to the Sunday law, at the November term of the Circuit Court. It would appear that the learned judge remarked that, the law was never intended to persecute people, nor should it be brought into contempt by frivolous indictments, etc. " We presume," observes the Gazette, " that no man in this community has violated the spirit of the law, while scores might have been indicted, as has been the case in other places, at an expense of a thousand dollars to the county, for imaginary offences, for the purpose of making the law odious. The grand jury did not find that anybody had violated the Holy Sabbath."

On June 30, 1866, Company A., Oregon Volunteers, Captain Lafollet, commanding, composed of men from Benton and Polk counties, were mustered out of the service at Fort Yamhill, by Captain Williams, United States Army, and returned to the walks of civil life, after having acquitted themselves in a highly commendable manner, and, although they had no opportunity of proving their devotion to their country, they evinced a spirit of patriotism of which they might well be proud. They had not been called upon to face the " cannon's opening roar," or feel the iron hail of battle, or witness terrible scenes of carnage, like their patriot comrades at the East, yet they were none the less patriotic and brave, and had the opportunity been afforded, would have marched as steadily and gallantly to glorious victory. All honor to those brave men, who taking their lives in their hands, went forth at their country's call, bidding adieu to the loved ones at home, not knowing what day they might be ordered to the front. But thanks to a kind Providence, the Benton county recruits were not tlfus called, and the Pacific Coast - notwithstanding the fearful forebodings of evil and the deep intonations of the singing elements of warfare - was spared the honors of a civil and fratricidal war. The olive branch was accepted and the angel of peace spread his wings over the country for which, even now, every lip should breathe a silent prayer to him who doeth all things well.

The death of one of the original settlers in a new country is always a melancholy episode in history. We have elsewhere stated that in the year 1855, James L. Mulkey, died peacefully at his home near Corvallis ; in 1862, Johnson Mulkey was found frozen to death in Eastern Oregon ; and on November 22, 1866, Isaac King, one of the first to take up his residence in King's valley, came to his death under very singular and sad circumstances. This old gentleman and his sons went out on a hunting expedition in the morning, the father taking his pistol - a five shooter. Upon returning Mr. King stopped at the barn, while the boys went into the house. One of them looked back, saw his father aiming at a stake, and heariug the report of the pistol, supposed the old gentlemen was trying the same at a mark. Two shots were fired. Sometime after, the mother having occasion to visit the barn found her husband lying on the ground, dead, the bullet having entered under the chin and came out at the top of the head, while his whiskers which were heavy were not powder burned. Three charges remained in the pistol, but all the caps had been snapped. Mr. King was between forty and fifty years of age, in good circumstances, and left a widow and eight children.

Not only the history of a county, but also of the world in all ages, has shown that the men who take the lead in the affairs of the country are self-made, and of this class was most emphatically Hon. R. E. Stratton, Judge of the Second Judicial District Born in the year 1821 in Tioga county, Pennsylvania, his early life was spent in obtaining such rudiments of an English education as he could, and assisting his parents in the management of their domestic affairs. Like most of the settlers in that portion of the United States, he was taught some useful occupation and became a millwright by trade ; but having his mind fixed upon acquiring a classical education, he would, during the day, labor for means to defray his expenses at colleg » and pass his evenings in preparing himself to pursue, to advantage, the course of study prescribed there. After taking a four years' course of instruction in an Ohio institution, during the last two years of which he taught students in private, from the junior classes of the college, he graduated, obtaining the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He then applied himself to the study of law and after being admitted to the bar, practised in Madison, Indiana, where, about 1850, he was married to Sarah Dearborn, a lady of refined mind and high, literary entertainments, who survived him. In 1852, he removed to Oregon, comirjg out with his father, and a year or two afterwards his family followed him, settling/in the Umpqua valley, near Scottsburg. He was, until 1858, Prosecuting Attorney in the district, at which time he was elevated to the Bench by the popular vote of the Second Judicial District of Oregon, to which place he was again elected in 1864. / harmony with his friends - of being just and fair in his decisions, and being ever actuated by pure motives and a desire to do right. But not only in legal matters was Judge Stratton prominent and active, but also in general business affairs. He was, if we may so term it, one of the fathers of the Oregon Central Military Road, being at the time of his death the president of the company, as well as of the Springfield Mill Company, who own one of the finest water powers on the coast. Judge Stratton's literary attainments were not confined to the law alone, as he was an attentive reader, both in English and in Classical literature, and was wont to quote word for word, long passages from their authors. In private life he was genial, social, polite, kind and ever a gentleman, while to his friends he was always true.

And now we have to record the passing away of one of the first ladies that cheered the lonely homes of Benton county's pioneers. On Sunday, October 13, 1867, William F. Dixon, his wife and two sons, James and Cyrus, left Corvallis in a hack for their home on Yaquina bay, the father and mother staying for the night at the residence of Benjamin Tharp, while the younger ones went home, to return next morning. On Monday Mr. and Mrs. Dixon concluded to go on. When the summit of the hill was gained, a short distance from Mr. Tharp's upon a narrow grade, one of the horses fell and thus precipitated the hack and its occupants, down a steep embankment, Mrs. Dixon receiving injuries that proved fatal in about three hours. This esteemable lady was much esteemed by the community in which she dwelt and was noted for her kindly disposition and true christian spirit.

During the year 1868 the subject of railroads was the all absorbing topic of conversation throughout the State ; while in his message dated September the fourteenth of that year, Gov. George L. Woods made the following observations : " There is perhaps no subject inviting such general attention in this State as that of railroads. All see the importance of, and feel the necessity for cheap, and easy transportation. A general system of railroads in Oregon, is an absolute necessity. And I am proud to know that the people are thoroughly aroused upon this subject. There are at this time as many as six different railroad enterprises within the State in process of execution. The Salt Lake and Columbia River Railroad connecting the Union Pacific Railroad with the navigable waters of the Columbia river. The Oregon Branch of the Central Pacific Railroad, running through the Rogue River, Umpqua and Willamette valleys, to the Columbia river and Puget Sound. The Oregon Central Railroad, (west side) ; Oregon Central Railroad, (east side) ; the Salem and McMinnville Railroad ; and the St. Helens and Hillsboro Railroad, all of which are of vast importance to the people of the State. And while rival companies may be disposed to waste their substance in needless litigation, it is the manifest duty of the State, rising above merely local ambitions and petty jealousies, to foster each and all alike. And I respectfully but earnestly recomend that you give all the encouragement you rightfully can to those great enterprises ; avoiding all preferences and seeking only the general good of the people." The line which has since developed into the Oregon Pacific Railroad Company was only being mooted in the year 1868. But although considerable attention had been for many years excited towards Yaquina bay and its importance resulting from its excellent harbor and varied resources, it has at long last been appreciated. Situated about a hundred and ten miles south of the Columbia river, there is required but the construction of something like forty miles of railroad to connect it with the extensive and fertile plains of the Willamette, thereby opening by far the quickest and cheapest route for transportation between Oregon and California. At first glance a person can hardly realize how great is the necessity for this road ; but a careful investigation of facts will convince anyone that no enterprise ever contemplated could lead to results so beneficial to Benton county.

The section of country which will derive immediate benefit from the establishment of this line, comprises some of the finest land in Oregon, hitherto isolated in position # and paying exorbitant rates for transportation; the owners of these lands having derived but a niggardly revenue and a most ungenerous return, for their management and cultivation. With the railroad from Corvallis to Yaquina, and the connection from the latter point with San Francisco, by ocean steamers, we have a reduction of distance over the old land route of at least one-half.

This new and expeditious transit into the interior is the talismanic sesame which will open new avenues of wealth in all branches of business throughout the country. Immigrants will crowd into the country and settle on lands hitherto ineligible ; in the train of a large and increasing population will come manufacturers, from whom articles shall be obtained at reduced prices, and the money still be retained in the country, in lieu of small packages of groceries coming into the market groaning under a heavy weight of charges for transit and storage, trausferage, etc., at intermediate points.

To show the condition of the county at the time we may mention the fact that for the month ending October 31, 1867, the transactions in real estate amounted to the sum of nine thousand seven hundred and twenty-three dollars and eighty-four cents, while the total number of acres that changed hands was one thousand eight hundred and fifty-one, showing an average of five dollars and twenty-five cents per acre.

At his residence near Monroe, on January 7, 1869, Rev. John W. Star, aged seventy-four years, died after a lingering illness of about sixteen years. The reverend gentleman came to Oregon in 1848, and by a consistent christian life endeared himself to all who knew him. He had been a member of the Methodist Episcopal church ever since he was twelve years of age, and a preacher for upwards of forty years.

During the month of March articles of incorporation were filed by a company composed of James Edwards, Thomas Reader, S. B. Cranston, R. R. Rounds, S. Stannus, James Bruce, O. C. Swain, William Garlinghouse, R. Smith and C. R. Bellinger, for the purpose of navigating the Willamette river between Eigene and Oregon Cities, the capital stock being fifteen thousand dollars in shares of fifty dollars each. These gentlemen intended devoting a portion of their energies to navigating the Long Tom river, as far as Monroe, to which place the steamer Ann had managed to make her way some three or four times.

Under date February 1, 1870, the farmers of Benton county, after holding a mass meeting at the Court-house in Corvallis, unanimously agreed to organize a Farmers' Club, the following gentlemen being appointed to draft a constitution and by-laws for its government : E. Hartless, C. E. Moore, N. P. Newton, H. C. Lewis and A. G. Mulkey.

During the month of March, 1870, a petition for the removal of the Indians from the Siletz Reservation, and a portion of the sub-agency at Alsea was being circulated in the county, but it was thought by many that the coveted possessions would not enrich the people generally, for the amount of tillable land in that region is not very extensive.

To our unbiased mind it seems a question whether any such scheme is wise or just. Just think ! All Southern Oregon was once the broad green heritage of these now miserable tribes. Its bright rivers and boundless fields were all their own. And to-day how changed ! Shut in upon a few half-productive acres between the mountains and the sea, they know no more the sweet freedom of their native wilds. No bayonets bar the mountain door now ; the shadowy arm of a powerful Department holds them fast enough. The lands they now live upon are theirs, slaves as they are. The great government of the United States has pledged its faith, and the contract ought to stand so long as the honor of a Christian nation is stainless and without reproach. Shall we thrust them back, then, from their little domain to some still meaner lot, just because those poor acres have excited the cupidity of a few ? No ! Perish the thought!

However, sentiment does not enter much into the business transactions of this matter of fact world. If the Anglo-Saxon sets his heart upon a tract of land he rests not until it be his, by might if not by right, therefore early in the year 1874 a determined move was made to throw upon to settlement portions of the Reservations of Alsea and Siletz, the scheme finding Senator Mitchell a warm supporter, as the following communication will show :

Hon. Columbus Delano, Secretary of the Interior : My Dear Sir - By executive order under date of November 9, 1855, an Indian Reservation was established in Western Oregon, designated and known as " Coast Range Indian Reservation," subject to future curtailment if found proper. This Reservation is extended from Cape Lookout on the north to a small stream about ten miles south of the Suislaw, a distance of over ninety miles, and from the Pacific ocean back to its boundary line, about twenty miles in width and forming an area of over one thousand eight hundred square miles, which incloses within its boundaries some of the finest grazing and timber lands in Oregon.

"On the twenty-first day of December, 1865, the President of the United States released a certain portion of it, that is to say - a strip twenty miles in width immediately north of the Alsea river running back from the ocean to the western boundary of said Coast Reservation ; and restored this portion to the market, thus dividing the Coast Reservation in two, since known as the Siletz and Alsea Reservations.

" Upon these two latter, as near as I can ascertain, there are, all told, only abqut fourteen hundred Indians distributed as follows: North of the Salmon river, about two hundred and twenty-five ; on Siletz, about one thousand ; on Alsea, about three hundred. Those remaining north of Salmon river down in the Tillamook country are fragmentary bands of Indians, never really under the direction or control of any agency.

" That so large an extent of country, over one thousand four hundred square miles, the present aggregate area of the Siletz and Alsea Reservations, should be thus held for the benefit of these Indians, thereby excluding settlers and preventing the settlement of this country, so much to be desired, is in my judgment, and so far as I can ascertain, it is the judgment of the people of Oregon, a policy which is not called for either by any vested rights of the Indians, or the demands of justice. I therefore most respectfully but earnestly urge upon the attention of your Department, and through it, upon that of the Executive, the following suggestions : That by executive order the following portions of the Siletz and Alsea Reservations may be thrown open to settlement and released from such Reservations - that is to say, all that portion of the Siletz lying north of a line lying due east from the mouth of Salmon river ; also all of the Alsea Reservation, excepting a tract of twenty miles to be designated as follows: the north line of the Reservation to begin on the Pacific ocean at a point five miles south of the Alsea river and running due east to the eastern boundary of said Reservation ; the south line to begin at a point on the Pacific ocean twenty miles -south of the north line and running due east to the eastern boundary of said Reservation. This would leave an area of over four hundred square miles in the Alsea for the accommodation of the three hundred Indians, and about six hundred square mile3 for the Siletz Indians, retaining of course the Agency buildings and grounds, etc., in each case.

" This is a matter of vital importance to the people of Western Oregon. The Indians certainly cannot be prejudiced by such action, while the general settlement and prosperity of the State will be greatly advanced. The present Reservations give to each Indian, man, woman and child, about eight hundred and twenty-five acres of land, while under existing laws, a white person, who is the head of a family, perhaps with from six to ten children, gets by paying well for it, one hundred and sixty acres, while his wife and children get nothing. I am in favor of a humane policy towards the Indians and believe in dealing justly with them, but I am opposed to a policy that discriminates so largely in favor of the Indian and against the white pioneer and settler. I therefore respectfully urge the considerations upon your serious attention, and hope they may meet with your prompt attention.

The matter was pushed by people and officials with much vigor and on March 5, 1875, a bill passed the United States Senate authorizing the removal of the Alsea Indians to the Reservation at Siletz, it being abandoned, September 16, 1876, and thrown open to settlement, a number of the more civilized Indians taking up claims.

On January 11, 1872, at the age of fifty-five years and eleven months, there died at Corvallis, Hon. Wayman St. Clair. He was a native of Kentucky, crossed the plains in 1845, and settling in what is now Benton county, there continued to reside until his death. Mr. St. Clair at an early day devoted his attention to mercantile pursuits, as is elsewhere shown, which resulted greatly to his pecuniary advantage. He was subsequently elected to a seat in the Legislature Assembly of the then Territory from Benton county and served its constituents to their entire satisfaction. At various times, and when he died, he was a member of the City Council of Corvallis. In his general intercourse with men Mr. St. Clair commanded the respect and confidence of all, being respectful and deferential to others, yet maintaining his own opinions with firmness and dignity.

Thayer, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Oregon, for the Second Judicial District, who breathed his last, April 28, 1873. He was born at Lima, Livingston county, New York, November 27, 1818, and acquired an academic education at what was known as the Wesleyan Seminary, but afterwards became the Western University. He read law at Warsaw, Wyoming county, New York, in the office of James R. Doolittle and L. W. Thayer. In that place he was married, October 9, 1842, to Miss Mellissa D. Chandler, a most exemplary woman, whom he left a widow. In 1849, he was admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court of New York, at Buffalo, and at once entered upon an extensive and lucrative practice of his profession. He continued to reside at Buffalo until the spring of 1853, when he crossed the plains to Oregon, settling late in the fall, upon the laud claim owned by him at his death, a few miles north of Corvallis. There he resided, having an office and a winter residence as well in the city. In 1859, he received from President Buchanan an appointment as United States District Attorney for this district, it being the first appointment of that kind made in Oregon. He held the position with honor for six months, when he resigned. In 1860, a question arose among the electors of the State of Oregon as to the proper time for holding the Congressional election, one party claiming that it should be held in June and the other contending that no time having been designated by law, therefore the Congressional election should be held in November, at the time of the Presidential election. Accordingly at the election in November, 1860, Judge Thayer was chosen as the Representative of Oregon in the thirty-seventh Congress. He was admitted to a seat in the extra session of July, 1861, which he retained until the close of the session, when it was awarded to Hon. George K. Shiel. In 1862, Mr. Thayer was elected District Attorney for the Second Judicial District of Oregon, which office he conducted in an able manner for two vears. In 1870, in the same district he was elected Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, which office he held at the time of his death, his term having only about half expired.

Judge Thayer was a man of sterling integrity, a ripe scholar, an eminent jurist, a successful lawyer, a firm, devoted friend. For twenty years he had resided in Benton county and was highly esteemed by all who knew him. His demise was most keenly felt by the legal fraternity of whom he was an honest member and shining ornament, whose learned counsels on the Bench were sadly missed.

For the following two years affairs in Benton county appeared to be at a stand-still, it being thought that the high prices at which most of the large land holders in the State valued their possessions kept back immigration, and retarded the growth of the whole of Oregon. The same rule applies to-day.

The thousands, yea, tens of thousands of acres of fertile lands within her borders, that are now lying idle and profitless, would at once be put in cultivation by thrifty, energetic farmers from the Southern and Western States, even with the inadequate facilities for travel, if they could be purchased at anything like a fair figure. Men who return and pay taxes upon lands at from five to ten dollars an acre, under the technical dodge of " pasture lands" will not sell them for less than thirty to forty dollars per acre. This is what keeps people out of this State. Nor can we hope for any material augmentation of population until these "dog in the manger " disposed individuals are compelled to pay taxes on their lands at the figure they will take for them in cash.

Under the present system of assessing not only is immigration kept out, but the country is cheated out of her just revenue and the internal interests of the State suffer in consequence.

Early in the year 1876, the Benton County Canal was beginning to attract attention, a chief object of it being to supply Corvallis with pure fresh water from a point four or five miles above that city. The matter soon took hold of public attention and assumed a different, a broader, a wiser and more feasible aspect. This scheme was no less than to unite the waters of the Long Tom river and Muddy creek, at some point near Monroe, and bring it to Corvallis, crossing Mary's river by a flume. Such a canal it was urged would enhance the value of every farm on the Grand Prairie through which it would pass, by draining it in winter and furnishing pure living water in summer for stock and other purposes, and would be more beneficial to the general public than the first idea of bringing water from the Santiam ditch, in Linn county.

There was also a project on foot, if the building the canal were undertaken, to unite Coyote and Spencer creeks, bringing them by canal and flume across the Long Tom at or near Monroe, there to connect with the Corvallis and Monroe ditch, thus draining a very large section of excellent farming land, which was usually overflowed to such an extent that it was valueless.

These enterprises, however, were but the phantasms of a too sanguine imagination, like the railroad to Yaquina bay when first mooted, the scheme was pronounced good, and the sleeper continued his dream.

At a meeting of the citizens of Benton county, convened at the Court-house, April 15, 1876, to take into consideration the building of a canal from some point on the Long Tom, or the Willamette river, to terminate at Corvallis, the following committee was appointed to organize a company and adopt articles of incorporation with such capital as may be required to construct such a water-way, and to cause such examination of the several routes and lines as might be necessary: G. B. Smith, Dr. J. R. Bay ley, John Baker, Sol. King and James Kinney.

Surveyors were at once placed on the line proposed, who made the following report which was presented at a meeting held June 24, 1876: "To the Committee having in charge the organization of a company to construct a canal, or water ditch, from the Long Tom, or some point on the Willamettee river, to the city of Corvallis, and to procure a preliminary survey of the route : - Sirs. The undersigned would most respectfully report, that he has made an examination and survey of four several routes, viz :

" The first one starting out of the Long Tom, above Dr. Richardson's, at the slough, and running in a northerly direction across the high land, which was found to require excessively heavy work and to afford an inadequate supply of water.

" The second, beginning a short distance below the mouth of the slough, coming into the Long Tom above its mouth, and running in a northerly direction along the bottom through the lakes east of Irvin's Buttes ; thence to a point near John Baker's house ; thence to a point a few hundred yards west of John Record's house; thence to a point on Mary's river, opposite the late J. C. Avery's orchard; thence across Mary's river, intersecting the southern extremity of Fifth street in this city; thence down Fifth street to B street ; thence down B to Fourth street, and down Fourth to Monroe, and along Monroe to the Willamette river. Whole distance twelve and one-half miles.

" The third, diverges from the second a mile south of Irvin's Buttes, and runs west of the buttes with a view of crossing the rim of high ground further south than on the second line. On this line the ground maintains its elevation to a much greater distance than on the other line and in consequence the work will be heavy. Estimated at seven thousand dollars per mile ; the distance on this line is twelve miles, which renders it impracticable.

" The fourth line starts out from the Willamette river just below the house of G. B. Smith, Esq. I find the water at that, the beginning point below the table land on which the city is situated and that the excavations are extremely heavy, rendering the line wholly impracticable.

"I would give a decided preference to the second line, described above, which I regard as altogether feasible and practicable. The fall between the head of the canal and the top of the bank in this city is fully sufficient to bring the water to us in abundance, and with the thirty-foot head, at a medium stage of the river, all can see that it affords every advantage that can be derived from such an improvement.

" The estimates on this, the second line, are, including excavation, embankment, timber, flumes, dams, bridges, engineering and superintending, forty-two thousand dollars as a total. This estimate is based on a ditch twelve feet wide on the bottom, with a slope on the sides of one lateral foot to a foot in height. A ditch six feet wide on the bottom will cost twenty-seven thousand dollars - the only material difference in the cost being in the difference in the amount of earth to be removed.

" I need scarcely enlarge on the vast advantages to accrue to the city and county from the construction of this work. The impetus it will give to manufactures and other improvements in the city, with the advantages of drainage and stockwater throughout its course, are understood and appreciated by all who have studied the subject.

On June 16, 1876, there died at Corvallis, Hon. Joseph C. Avery. He was born in Lucerne county, Pennsylvania, June 9, 1817, and at the time of his death was fiftynine years and seven days old. Mr. Avery was educated at Wilksbarre, the county seat of his native county, and in 1839 come westward and located in Illinois. In 1841 he married Miss Martha Marsh ; crossed the plains in 1845; arrived in Oregon late in the spring of 1846 and settled then in what is now Benton county, taking up a claim at the junction of the Willamette and Mary's rivers, on which, in the winter of 1850, he laid out the town of Marysville, now Corvallis. He engaged in the mercantile business in 1849 and continued the same for twenty-three years. He was a member of the first Territorial Legislature of Oregon and served for several terms, was Postal Agent under the administration of President Buchanan and figured prominently in the politics of Benton county for over a quarter of a century. Noble, generous, though slightly impetuous, he had warm and true friends, and bitter enemies, while his deeds of

During the year 1876 the Centennial rejoicings were had, if not in the county, then associated with the residents of some other locality, all combining to make them worthy of so grand an anniversary. In the two following years Benton county enjoyed a fare share of prosperity, its various phases being adverted to in other portions especially bearing on the locale of their occurrence, while we now take up the thread of narrative in 1879. Unhappily the tale henceforward is but a record of the harvest gathered in by the unrelenting hand of Time.

Another of Benton county's most useful and prominent citizens breathed his last, August 24, 1879. The Hon. Judson Sherman Palmer was born in Marietta county, Ohio, in April 1831. In 1854 he came to the Pacific coast, stopping at Salt Lake City until the spring of 1855. He then went to California where be remained until 1858, when he removed to Oregon and located in Benton county, where he afterwards permanently resided. In June, 1868, he was elected Sheriff of Benton county, which office he held continously until June 1876, when he was elected joint Senator for Benton and Polk counties, a position he held at the time of his death August 25, 1867, he was married to Miss Sylvia Butterfield, of Corvallis, and just twelve years afterwards, in the same room where they were joined in matrimony, his encoffined remains lay awaiting the tomb. Mr. Palmer possessed a warm heart and no case of poverty or distress ever appealed to him in vain. He was a devoted loving husband, kind and affectionate father, obliging neighbor and steadfast friend, while the large concourse of people that followed his remains to the grave, bore testimony of the esteem in which he was

The State generally was visited by a hurricane, January 9, 1880, but Benton county escaped any very disastrous results from it. Farmers suffered most in the prostration of fences which in some instances were laid flat for miles ; their barns and sheds were demolished, destroying much grain and hay and injuring farm machinery which had been stored away for the winter. In many places the roads were blocked by fallen timber, bridges were destroyed and traveling rendered very difficult and unsafe.

We now have to notice one of the most serious losses that the county had as yet sustained. On Sunday, April 25, 1880, William B. Carter wjis summoned away to the " bourne from whence no traveler returns." We who have gone through the files of the Corvallis Gazette from its first issue by him, know with what force Mr. Carter fought the battle for Benton county, manfully maintaining, sometimes against overwhelming opposition, a fight to bring her forward to her proper place among the counties of the Pacific coast. Valiantly did he wage war for this section of the country ; but he did not live to see his utmost wishes - the opening up of the Yaquina District - come to full fruition. In the publication so lately edited by him, under date April 30, 1880, we find the following :

" William B. Carter was born in Springfield, in the State of Illinois, in the year 1831, and was there brought up, educated and learned the trade which he practiced all his life long. Having heard like the rest of the early settlers here, a good report of the fair western land, he crossed the plains in 1851, and by dint of persevering, if tedious, travel, got safely to the end of that weary journey. Thus he typified so many of this undertakings of his after life, wherein he never knew how to turn aside or be put back from any course his judgment assured him was desirable, and his conscience approved, however long and dusty the road, how great so ever the obstacles in his way might be.

" He practised his trade here in Oregon till 1859, and then for a season returned to his home in Illinois. There he married, very happily, and came back to Oregon in 1862. In the year 1865, he acquired that interest in this paper for which he so faithfully worked until his dying day. Here our pen hesitates, doubting for a moment to pass on at once to the review of his public life, which is the property of us all, or to raise with reverend hand the veil of private life and private sorrow. But here, after all, lies the key to many a public man's subsequent career, which, without a knowledge of the secret of his private life, would fail to be accounted for aught. In 1877, the family of the friend whom we mourn to-day was visited with afflictions severe beyond the common lot. Death laid his cold hand on three fair children, while it was doubtful for a time if the father would then follow them or no. We doubt not that in those terrible shocks to body and mind, the seeds were laid of that disease which ended so suddenly on Sunday last.

" It would not have been strange if a man so tried had refused to lift again the burden of daily toil and to resume the harness which was worn the more lightly while the family circle was unbroken and health was vouchsafed sufficient for daily needs. But our friend resumed his pen and as soon as strength returned was found again in his working place, striving to show once more that cheerfulness and heartiness of interest in public and social matters which was one of his strongest characteristics. Not many journalists could turn back for fourteen years to the files of their paper and not blush for some bitterness of temper; for some public object not quite honestly advocated ; for some opponent not quite fairly struck ; for some yielding to private ends or private pique. And William B. Carter was far too honest and humble-minded and sincere a Christian to examine himself, and plead not guilty before the bar of his own conscience. But we, his friends have the privilege he would have denied himself and we can boldly ask, where can we find his like again. For to match him the man must be as he was - honest in soul and pure minded ; eager and persevering for the public good ; capable of a warm and thorough enthusiasm for, and ready to undergo sacrifice of no common kind in pursuing a worthy object for benefitting the community where lay his home and heart; gentle and forbearing in controversy ; trying ever to hit but not to wound ; faithful to his party and ready in their service, but open-eyed to the good principles and good men on the other side ; cheerful and bright as a friend, and thus filling no small place in the little world in which he lived ; charitable and kind to all in need ; seeking always to be of service, regardless of the sacrifice of his own time and comfort ; and ever ready to recognize and be grateful for any kind act or intention in others.

" For many months past it has been but too obvious that his health was failing and that the strain was too severe, the lines of care and sickness on his face testified only too well. On Friday evening last he attended the Good Templars' meeting according to his wont, and though complaining, nO one supposed him more unwell than, alas, was usual with him. On Saturday evening he was bright and cheerful ; taking lively interest and satisfaction in the insertion by the Oregonian of that day of his vindication of his beloved Yaquina bay, and expressing firm hopes that he would soon see the public recognition of that object which, as he said, he had made his own for ten years and more. About one o'clock on Sunday morning he was seized with severe pain in the region of the heart, which medicine could not allay, and at five o'clock he passed peacefully away.

" As we laid his body to rest this bright spring day in the Masonic cemetery here, followed by so large a throng of ail classes and ages, testifying by their solemn demeanor at once their sense of loss in him, and their deep sympathy with the widow and son whose grief is too deep and sacred for words to avail aught, the words which follow come to our mind. Let us copy them and so conclude this notice in a sense we cannot but think our friend would himself most thankfully adopt : 4 In that rest, which remaineth for all His people, we shall be far away from all weariness, all anxiety, all care, all sorrow ; and while the soul shall pass to God to enter on the rest of glory, the mortal body has its rest no less, sleeping peacefully till the resurrection day. And when the green grass of another spring waves over us ; when the soft summer wind again sighs through the now green leaves ; when the genial sunshine shall again brighten the stone which may bear our name and yours ; what better can we wish, than that if we leave behind us those who may sometimes visit the quiet spot, they may be able to say, humbly and hopefully, ' Surely, here, at last ; and surely there, in a better place, the weary heart and hand are still ; yea, surely, God hath given His beloved sleep.' "

The foregoing lengthy tribute we have inserted in the pages of the history of Benton county as our meed of praise, respect and thanks for a series of lucid articles through many years, that have, more than aught else, aided us in the compilation of the county's chronicles.

On looking back over the occurrences of the year 1880, the most important events that have transpired were the obtaining of the Congressional grant for the improvement of Yaquina harbor and the subsequent incorporation of the Oregon Pacific Railroad Company. For both, the county is mainly indebted to the persistent energy of Col. T. Egerton Hogg. The farmers had the blessing of an abundant harvest, justifying the title of the garden of Oregon to the Willamette valley ; while the visit of President Hayes, General Sherman, and the Secretary of War was an affair that caused the people of the Eastern States to alter their tone concerning the far away Northwest.

It is a matter of interesting record here to state that, April 26, 1881, General Joseph Lane, the first Territorial Governor of Oregon, and a man who occupied a most important place in the history of the State, passed away at the ripe age of eighty years. His death was long expected and was no surprise to his friends. General Lane was born in North Carolina in 1801, and in 1821 he moved to Indiana, settling on a farm in Vanderburg county. In 1822 he was returned to the Legislature; his representative career thenceforth extending over twenty-five years, as State Senator and Member of the lower house of the Indiana Legislature.

At the breaking out of the Mexican war, in 1846, he resigned his seat in the Indiana Senate and volunteered as a private soldier, but was at once appointed colonel by President Polk and soon afterwards commissioned Brigadier-General. At the battle of Buena Vista, where he was wounded, he commanded the left wing of the

American army. October 9, 1847, at the head of three thousand men, he defeated General Santa Anna at Huamantla. On the nineteenth, he took Atlixa, losing only one man while the enemy lost five hundred. November the twenty-second, Lane took the strongly fortified town of Maidre Mori, with a large quantity of military munitions. He afterwards captured Orizaba. On the twenty-fourth, he defeated General Jaruota at Tehualapan. At the conclusion of the war Lane was breveted a Major-General of the United States Array and in August, 1848, was appointed Governor of Oregon Territory, from which office he was subsequently removed by President Taylor. In 1851 General Lane was elected Delegate to Congress', beating Governor Gaines, and continued to represent the Territory until 1858, when, July the seventh, he was elected to represent the new State of Oregon in the United States Senate, receiving forty-five out of fifty votes in the Legislatures In 1860 Joseph Lane was nominated by the National Democratic Convention at Baltimore, for the Vice-Presidency, on the ticket with Breckenridge, and on the breaking out of the war was in sympathy with the doctrines of secession. During the Indian war in Rogue River valley he took an active part, having been unanimously tendered command of the forces operating against the Indians. General Lane filled every position honestly and well, and any errors committed, even the fatal mistake of sympathizing with the rebellion, were errors of judgment. As a private citizen Joseph Lane left the unsullied record of an honest man. The brave old veteran answered the roll-call of the Eternal - may his rest be easy.

The old soldier was laid to rest in the Masonic cemetery at Roseburg, in the family vault, to which the remains of his wife had been removed. There was a large attendance from Salem, Albany, Corvallis, Eugene City and Oakland, and a very large gathering from Douglas county. An eloquent and impressive eulogiura was passed by his old friend, ex-Senator J. W. Nesmith, who paid a fitting tribute to the memory of a man who had filled so large a space in the history of Oregon.

Many of the early pioneers, will remember Edmond Marsh, who died in Corvallis, May 1, 1881. He was born in what was then Lucerne, but now Wyoming county, Pennsylvania, June 9, 1818, where he resided until manhood. In 1845, in company with his brother-in-law, J. C. Avery, he came to Oregon, and settling in Benton county, there resided continuously until his death. Mr. Marsh was the first man to carry the United States mail through the Willamette valley. Commencing in 1851 he continued that business for nearly ten years, and was the friend of many of the argonauts of Southern Oregon, who always expected to see him on his regular day, and the weather was never so bad, or the waters so high that he did not come, thus evincing the indomitable courage and perseverance that always characterized the man.

There died at his residence near Monroe, April 30, 1881, H. C. Buckingham, who was born in Cheuango, New York, March 15, 1812. He came to Oregon in 1847, and in 1850 settled on the land in Benton county, on which he died. Mr. Buckingham was a prominent member of society, universally respected by all who knew him ; a good citizen, an upright man and a consistent christian. He left a wife and family besides a large circle of friends to mourn his departure to the unknown realities of the other world.

On September 27, 1881, appropriate memorial services were held, consequent upon the death of President Garfield, Julge Burnett, and R3V. Jo3eph Enery making effective speeches, while Judge Kelsay paid his meed of honor in the following beautiful sentiment : " I desire to say a few words on this sad occasion. Party spirit sleeps this day throughout the length and breadth of this vast nation. Man, the lord of creation, is the sport of every wind that blows and every wave that flows. He is beset by ten thpusand dangers, both seen and unseen, along the short road of life. He is like the grass of the field, which grows up, is cut down and withers before the sun is set ; or, Jike the dew of the morning which sparkles in the sunlight on the flowers and is soon exhaled.

" President Garfield but a few weeks since was in the noon of his life and prosperity, filling the first office in the gift of the American people, and then and there, without the slightest intimation, was mortally wounded by an assassin and passed from this life a few days since.

" His ascending spirit let fall the spotless mantle of purity to gild with unfading beauty that imperishable pillar of our country's fame which stands like a towering beacon to the coast of human destiny, exhibiting to surrounding nations and empires the chart of American liberty. We can see a man better, just after his sun is set in the twilight, as his day declines along the hills, amidst the cross lights and shadows of that hour, than at any other period, for there is no envy or malice that reaches beyond the grave. President Garfield has been added to the growing constellation of presidential stars which float below the horizon of time, and like our natural sun after he has set, throws his light down upon us by refraction and reflection. So will the light come to us and our race through all succeeding ages.

" He was assassinated not for the causes which led to the assassination of Dion, the tyrant of ancient Syracuse, or Julius Caesar, who crushed out the Roman Commonwealth at Pharsalia, but for doing his duty, with ability and learning superior to any other chief executive of our Union, save Jeflerson and John Quincy Adams. The death of President Garfield will cause no change in our system of Government. We will have no usurpers as in ancient times, and no quarrel here as there was in England a few centuries ago between the Red and White Roses. The people of the United States will ever respect the 6 jewel of liberty in the family of freedom.' Therefore we can go home and mingle our feelings of sadness with feelings of safety and security."

One more of the earliest pioneers of Benton county was called away, November 16, 1881, in the ninetieth year of his age. Jesse Belknap was born in Chany Valley, Chenango county, New York, January 27, 1792, where he grew to man's estate, and in 1811 married Jane Garlinghouse, who died December 10, 1877. While yet a young man Mr. Belknap removed from the place of his birth, with his young wife, to the State of Kentucky, from whence he went to Ohio, and from there, in 1839, to Iowa. After remaining in that State until 1847, he started from there across the plains with his family, arriving in the fall of that year in the Willamette valley, where he, with a few others, in those pioneer days, formed the Belknap Settlement, where he resided ever since, and where he passed from this world of care.

This already long list was added to on January 18, 1882, by the death of David Newsom, at Howell Prairie, one of those men that did noble work toward bringing the resources of Oregon before the public and assisted in obtaining for it a deserved recognition. He was for many years employed by the Agricultural Department at Washington, and contributed largely to that institution. He was a constant writer, interesting and truthful, and never advocated a wrong principle, while the example he set was on the side of good laws and good morals. He was a pioneer in the settlement of Yaquina bay in 1867-68. His writings at that time viewed by the light of to-day, read like the prophesies of olden time. He was a man of energy but its force was spent in a direction that seldom brings personal profit. Men who use the pen to tell the world of advantages in a new country invite immigrants, but receive nothing for their outlay of patient toil, save the rather cheerless satisfaction of having performed a duty. Almost his last work was the advocacy of an enterprise that to him had been a " reverie by day, and dream by night " for fifteen years - the building of the Oregon Pacific Railroad, which is now all but completed. Dying at the good old age of four score years, the grave claimed an honest man and a pure christian.

On February 25, 1882, the warehouse of W. A. Wells, near the railroad depot at Corvallis was destroyed by fire. The saddest occurrence of the affair, however, was the death of George P. Wrenn, who was instantly killed while assisting to move the contents of the burning building, a portion of which falling, he was struck on the head and shoulders, and by its force crushed to the ground.

Mr. Wrenn was born in the District of Columbia, May 9, 1825. Having removed with his parents to Ohio, he married, January 31, 1847, Miss E. F. Caldwell. He came to Oregon first, in the year 1849, by water and stopped at Portland, where he remained but a short time, when he went back to Ohio for his family and returned to Portland. In the year 1851 he came to Benton county, settled in the town of Marysville (now Corvallis), and in company with one Douglas, carried on the business of blacksmithing and the manufacture of plows. After which time he settled on a Donation claim to the west of the city, on Mary's river, since when he lived a portion of the time on that land and the remainder in Corvallis. He was a carpenter by trade and while residing in Portland, and a part of the time in this county, worked at that business. At the session of the Oregon Legislature for the year 1876 he was elected and served as Sergeant-at-Arms of the Senate, and at the session of 1878, he was elected and served as door-keeper of the same Body. His health having failed so as to be unable longer to labor at his trade, in the spring of 1879 he opened an office in the town of Corvallis as real estate, broker, and insurance ; also dealing in doors and windows. At the June election in the year 1880, he was elected Justice of the Peace for Corvallis precinct, which position he held at the time of his death. His first wife having died in Benton county, he was married, April 25, 1867, to Elizabeth Freel,and had a large family.

Mr. Wrenn had always been a very active and efficient member of the Fire Department of Corvallis, and to him, more than to any other, is she indebted for that branch of public utility and security. Through his efforts, mainly, was Young America Engine Company organized, and in 1872, he was elected their first foreman, being, on the official formation of the Department elected and served two terms as the first Chief Engineer of the Corvallis Fire Department. He was entitled to a certificate as an exempt fireman ; was at the time of his death an active member of the Hook and Ladder company, and lost his life fighting the flames. Mr. Wrenn was also one of the charter members of Corvallis Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, being at the time of his untimely demise its Senior Warden. Of Mr. Wrenn it has been said, he was one of the few men who always performed whatever he undertook to do, without fear or favor and with the utmost energy of purpose.

James A. Yantis, whose long and favorable connection with the Gazette is familiar to our readers, died at Walla Walla, April 7, 1882. He was born December 10, 1849, in the State of Missouri and emigrated from there with his father's family in the pioneer days of 1851, to Oregon, where they settled in Linn county, and where Mr. Yantis grew to manhood on his father's farm. His education from boyhood to riper years was almost exclusively under the supervision of Rev. S. G. Irvin, of Linn county, by first attending the district school, in early days, where Mr. Irvin taught, and afterwards at Albany Collegiate Institute, where he studied the languages and finished his education while Mr. Irvin had charge of that place of learning. After retiring from these scholastic halls he taught one of the district schools in Corvallis for some time. He soon after gave up teaching and entered the office of the County Clerk of Benton county upon the duties of a deputy clerk, and continued in that position for several years, during which he studied law and was admitted to the bar at the December term of the Supreme Court for 1874. Mr. Yantis was possessed of those finer feelings of human nature which always actuated him to use his utmost endeavors to please and contribute all in his power to the hapiness of those around him.

There died, September 18, 1882, at Healdsburg, Sanoma county, California, in the seventy-fourth year of his age, B. R. Biddle, long and familiarly known to the citizens of Benton county. He was born in Southampton, Virginia, July 2, 1808. In early life he emigrated to Tazewell, Tennessee, where he was married in 1834. In the same year he moved to Springfield, Illinois. Mr. Biddle was one of the pioneers of California having arrived in the early portion of 1849, and built the first business house in Shasta City. Here he remained until 1852, when he returned to Illinois and removed with his family, in the same year, to Corvallis. He remained in Oregon, filling several positions of honor and profit until 1875, when he took up his residence where he died.

The Gazette of August 17, 1883, notices the death of Mrs. Lucy Walling, near Amity, Yamhill county, at the age of one hundred years. This lady came to Oregon almost forty years before, when the country was a comparative wilderness, being then nearly sixty years of age. She was the mother of G. W. Walling, the famous nurseryman of Oswego; and, of A. G. Walling, who has been long engaged in the book, job and lithograph printing business in Portland and is the publisher of the History of Lane and other counties in the State of Oregon, works that are awarded the credit of ability, and will in the future, prove vast store-houses of information regarding the districts of which they treat. From what has gone before it will be seen that pioneers do not live for ever.

At no time since the landing of the Missionaries - those early pioneers of the Pacific slope - have the prospects of Benton county, and in fact the entire Willamette valley, been more flattering and more full of hope than in this year of Grace, 1884. The full grown men and women of Oregon will in our humble opinion, live to see a bright and glorious future for the State. Questions seriously affecting her most vital interests are being discussed and upon their proper and wise solution depends, in a great measure, her weal or woe, for years to come. We have confidence to believe that the people are aroused to their own interests and that they will decide those issues aright.

The excited state of the public mind and the intensity of feeling manifested by the people at the present time is not accidental - does not happen by chance. There are good and sufficient reasons for these upheavings of public sentiment. "Coming events cast their shadows before/' The flood of immigration pouring westward, and the millions of Eastern capital seeking investment to-day mean something. The eyes of the world, like the star of Empire, turn westward. The magnetic pulse of the Pacific, that now throbs in unison with the great heart of the world, is only the precursor of other and stronger bands that will, inevitably link us more firmly and closely with the progressive spirit of the age. The days of corduroy bridges and dead-ax stage coaches are numbered in Oregon. Oregonians have caught the inspiration, energy and enterprise that invariably accompany railroads and telegraphs. Those who are not ready for these things must step aside and make way for those that are.

It has frequently been asked, what openings are there in Benton county, and what is the value of land ? For every kind of farming there is abundant scope. Whether in the Willamette valley and its open prairie, in Soap Creek district, or on the rich bottoms along the muddy river, the wheat growers can find the best farms ; for such he would have to pay from fifteen to twenty dollars an acre. A very moderate price, when the ample improvements, good houses and barns, and abundant fences, are taken into account, with the yield of from twenty to thirty bushels to the acre, for which he may reasonably look, and the excellent facilities for marketing his produce.

For the farmer who desires mixed land, there is still more ample scope. The long stretch of foot-hills of the Coast Range and the westward slopes of the same foothills, are full of good farms. Here may be found many a choice spot where the white farm house, seated on its eminence, with barn and stock corral, adjoining, overlooks the thrifty orchard, through which babbles the rippling stream of constant water. A good clearing of, say fifty acres, grows the wheat and oats, whilst all around, the pasture interspersed with brush and timber, gives food and shelter to the cattle and sheep which seem here to be in their native home. King's Valley particularly is full of such places; as is, indeed the whole strip of country lying within ten miles on either side of the foot-hills of the Coast Range.

In this district prices of farms lie within the compass of more moderate means. It is a fair calculation that from seven to fifteen dollars an acre will buy such a farm as we have described. The occupants will have to take a longer journey to church and warehouse, and must content himself and family with a weekly visit to town.

By going farther into the hills the dairy and stock farmer will find a pleasant and profitable home. In the hills of Benton county is abundant range, where natural grasses grow in profusion, while the wild pea spreads everywhere beneath the fern. The cattle live and thrive the year round, being " salted " occasionally by their owner and handled to keep them gentle. It sounds absurd to say that in Benton county cheese and butter have to be imported from afar, while nature ordained the county, not only to be self-supporting in this respect, but to add largely to the resources of its inhabitants by offering them freely every facility they need. But so it is ; surely as these facts are known, we shall see those settle who understand how to appreciate and use these healthful ranches in the hills. The price need stand in no man's way, since from four to ten dollars an acre for the farm would buy most of these places, and the out range for stock is free.

Most land is held under the Donation (six hundred and forty acres) Act, and there are a number of larger holdings ranging to over three thousand acres. These large tracts are leased in subdivisions, and as a total failure of crops has not been recorded in the country for over thirty years - although there have been some partial failures and occasionally a little rust, in 1879, for instance - the tenant farmer scores a success here more frequently than in less favored regions. The average of holdings is said to be large, three hundred and twenty acres; new comers, however, average one hundred and sixty acres.

In Benton county are all the elements of prosperity and progress and they are rapidly, almost mysteriously, developing. What means these excited and animated discussions about the necessities of the country ? Our proximity to the ocean ? etc., etc. It requires no prophetic vision to foretell what these things mean. Attention is being called to the district, let citizens therefore arise from their lethargy. If they do not avail themselves of these natural advantages others most assuredly will. Vast interests are at stake. Climate, soil, agricultural and mineral advantages, as well as geographical position, all are unequaled, but like the pearl beneath the ocean's bed, or the statue in the quarry, they need bringing to the surface, shaping and polishing. It matters not that these advantages are possessed unless they be known and turned to good account. Why is it that the people of Benton county are sleeping at their posts? She is susceptible of sustaining a population of fifty thousand souls. Encourage them by every means in your power to come. The county embraces a good harbor within fifty miles of Corvallis, the heart and center of the valley. Her resources, agricultural and mineral are inexhaustible, which, with her nearness and ease of access to the ocean, renders it one of the most desirable locations on the coast. Here is the natural outlet for the commerce of Central and Southern Oregon. Of this there is no doubt. People abroad appreciate this as is evidenced by the building of the Oregon Pacific Railroad.

It has been the fashion to contrast Oregon with California, and always in favor of the latter. It is true that Califernia has outstripped Oregon in point of population and wealth in the past ; no project has been left untried to prevent or retard immigration to this State. But there are other reasons besides these, of soil, of climate, or geographical position, that has rendered California superior and more favorable to growth and prosperity than Oregon, and that is her liberal legislation towards incorporated companies, and by inviting investment of foreign capital. Oregon has by her heretofore stringent legislation pursued a widely different course; but these days are over. Let her motto be " The liberal deviseth liberal things, and by liberal things shall ye stand."