112 



OKKtIOX. 



bia in 1792. John Jacob Astor in I SI 1 established a 

 fur-trading sUtion at AsL.ria mi tin- in. r. lull the 

 port was will iu IS]:; t.. tin- North-western Fur Com 

 pany. Actual fttli-iiiriit I'.v New Kiiirlamlrrs began 

 ..', and a Methodist iiii-.-i.ni to the Indiana was 

 planted in IVil at Salem. 



Great Britain bowvrer put forth claims to the " .Ore- 

 gon country " and the I'. S. < ioveninient was remiss in 

 reiH'lling them until Mr. Marcus Whitman, a zealous 

 m missionary and promoter of i in migration, 

 CTQsBed the mountain- in (he winter of IS412-43, and 

 ;:horities at Washington the true value 

 of the territory whieh thev had almost allowed to pass 

 under loreiirn control. The Orepm qoMtHNi Was a 

 prominent factor in the pr-sideiitial contest of 1844, 

 tin- Democratic party insisting on extending the claim 



of the I'liilcd State* :1 > tar 'tli as 5440'N. hit. 



President Polk's administration, however, cotnpro- 

 miaed with the Hriti.-h government on the extension of 

 the boundary of 4'J N. hit. to the Pacific. After the 

 iic.|uisiti..n of California by the Mexican war, Oregon 

 Territory was organized in 1848. Its limits were rc- 

 duced in 1X53, and in 1859 it was admitted as a State. 

 Rtpulatimt. Oregon at its admission to the Union 

 had a population ol about 50,(KK). The State census 

 ': irave it a population of 1M1.H.")1. not counting 

 4L'-Jn Chini -e. In tin- census the population of Baker 

 county is estimated at 7(HK), the records of the actual 

 enumeration having been destroyed by the burning of 

 its court-house. The State has received a new impetus 

 since the completion of the Northern Pacific Railroad 

 in 1883. Three new counties have been organized, 

 Malheur, Morrow, and Wallowa, 



Finn nee*. The gross value of the property in 

 the State in 1 887 was $120,635,706. The State tax- 

 rate for general purposes is 49 cents on each $100, 

 for militia '2 cents, and for the State University I cent. 

 The estimated expenditures for 1888 were $482,709, 

 against which there was a balance in the treasury of 

 $71.7.V>. 



Kiliinitinii. The school age in Oregon is from 4 to 

 20 years. The following table gives the educational 

 statistics of 1887: 



Males. Females. Total. 



Penoni of school -age 44,691 42,526 87,217 



Enrolled in public schools.. ..27,183 25,842 53,025 



Average attendance 1S,!C:< ltvl. 37,406 



Teachers 919 1,170 2,089 



Average monthly par $45.78 $34.79 



School-houses 1,324 



Enrolled in private schools... 2,505 2,429 4,934 



In 1887 the public school system was extended to in- 

 clude the Kindergarten. The receipts from the school 

 funds were $669,935. The irreducible school-fund was 

 1,059,409. There are in the State 8 colleges with 44 

 instructors and 809 students. The State University at 

 Eugene City has 184 students enrolled with an average 

 attendance of 1 10. It has over 40,000 acres of public 

 lands, and an endowment of $126,000, and the legis- 

 lature makes an annual appropriation of $5000. In 

 1887 its expenses were $18. 285 and the income $21, 511. 

 The State Agricultural College at Corvallis was founded 

 in 1*70 by the Methodist Conference but received 

 Home gupj>oit from the State. The Conference in 1886 

 erred the property to the State, and the Legis- 

 lature accepted it on condition that the friends of the 

 institution erect suitable buildings. The com. 

 was laid in August, 1887, but the Conference of that 

 year endeavored to recall the gift. This college had 5 

 instructors and 52 students, the annual expenditure 

 being $8470. It haa 90,000 acres from the grant of 

 the U. 8. Government, and its fund in 1887 was 

 $99,015. There are normal-schools at Ashland, Mon- 

 itiouth. Drain, and Wcston. Among the other educa- 

 tional inHtitmi.'ti- are 40 academics, a school for the 

 blind, and one tor the deaf and dumb. 



The Penitentiary in September. 1SS7, had 2f>7 con- 

 victs, being leas than the average number. Of these 



165 were engaged in foundry-work by contract, and 30 

 in brick-making. Their labor pays half the coat of 

 (Kcir maintenance. The expenses for two years were 



TL', and the receipts $36,063. The Insane Asylum 

 it Salem, built in 1*S1-S3, half a mile from the peni- 

 tentiary, cost $I44.'HMI. 



RadroadM. The Oregon and Califoniia Railway 

 extends from Portland southward, passing through the 

 Willamette Valley. It has a branch line from Albany 

 to Ix'banon. Its we.->t side division runs to Corvallis; 

 its east side division is leased to the Southern Pacific 

 Railroad. 



The Oregon Railway and Navigation Company 

 extends from Portland to Huntington, on the eastern 

 border of the State, 404 miles. It then joins the 

 Oregon Short Line, which connects with the Union 

 Pacific Railroad, to which company the whole is leased. 

 The company has authorized the construction of 1300 

 miles of branch roads. 



The Northern Pacific Railroad reaches Portland bv 

 a ferry at Kahuna. Besides the foregoing through 

 lines to the east and south, Portland has a narrow 

 gauge road 80 miles long on the west side of the 

 Willamette river, with some short branches. 



Legislation. At the election in June, 1884, the pro- 

 posed constitutional amendment conferring the right 

 of suffrage on women was rejected by a vote of 28,176 

 airainst 11,223. At the election in November, 1887, an 

 amendment prohibiting the sale of liquor was sub- 

 mitted to the popular vote and defeated, there being 

 19,973 votes for it and 27.958 against it At the same 

 time the amendment to change the date of the State 

 election, and another giving the Legislature power to 

 fix the salaries, which are now prescribed by the Con- 

 stitution, were both defeated. The registry-law for 

 voters has been pronounced unconstitutional by the 

 Supreme Court. In 1887 the Legislature set apart 

 the first Saturday in June as Labor-day. It also strictly 

 prohibited the sale or gift of opium, chloral, or cocaine 

 except by physicians and druggists for cure of diseases. 

 A State Board of Agriculture was appointed in 1885, 

 and a State Fish Commission, State Itailroad Commis- 

 sion, and Stock Inspector were appointed in 1887. 



Stiitiftii-x. In 1SS5 there were by the State census 

 I.12I.;.'.M)4 acres under cultivation; 373,247 cattle; 

 165,909 horses ; 3591 mules ; 202,612 hogs; 1,636,929 

 sheep. In 1887 the State Board of Agriculture re- 

 ported the sheep at 2,593,029. 



The State census of 1885 gave the following amount 

 of agricultural produce : wheat, 8,933,718 bus. ; oats, 

 ('.,1217.300 bus. ; barley and rye, 1,694,614 bus. ; hay, 

 :{77.sj2 tons; corn, 273,497 bus.; butter and el 

 H,i2S7.'.>i>3 Ibs. : flaxseed, 14,262 bus. ; tobacco. i::.iM7 

 Ibs. ; hops, 2,547,378 Ibs. ; potatoes, 2,650,284 bus.; 

 wool. '.1,165,830 Ibs. ; apples, 2,005,373 bus.; plums 

 and prunes, 150,306 bus. There were 169,135,72!'. ft. 

 of lumber cut in that year. 



The mineral products for the year 1885 were 29,600 

 tons of coal, and 14,005 oz. of gold; the latter is 

 probably less than the actual amount obtained, as 

 many miners do not report. 



The county reports to the secretary of state in 1887 

 irave the following statistics. There are altogether 

 5,874,668 acres of land, valued at $34,091,141. The 

 horses and mules are valued at $6,185,037; cattle. 

 $6.059,134; sheep, $2,504,888; swine, $184,187. 



The salmon fishery is one of the most important 

 interests of Oregon. Its growth is seen in the follow- 

 ing table : 



Year. Boats. Cases. Price. 



IS66 2 4,000 $16.00 



ls7o 80 KiO.OOU 9.00 



1878 300 ."7.".,cXKi 5.60 



1880 900 5*0,000 4.80 



1883 1700 629,000 4.80 



i 1700 rtilVKK) 4.60 



18S5 1600 5.)3,800 5.00 



1S86 1500 448,500 5.30 



1887 1400 379,000 5.96 



