OREGON. 



707 



was: Portland, 6,717; Salem, 1,200; Albany, 

 830 ; Astoria, 556. In eastern Oregon there 

 were then scarcely 10,000 persons. Two years 

 later, on January 1, 1870, the State's popula- 

 tion was 90,988, while the number of inhabi- 

 in Portland, owing to the building of the 

 east and west side railroads, had increased to 

 11,103 on January 1, 1872. From that time 

 to tlio end of 1874 very little increase was 

 made in the population of Portland or of the 

 State. Portland had on January 1, 1874, 12,- 

 439 inhabitants, while the State's population 

 aggregated 95,673 persons that year. From 

 1875 to 1878 both the population of the State, 

 Portland, and Astoria had increased wonder- 

 fully. Oregon was then estimated to contain 

 160,000 persons, Portland very nearly 20,000, 

 and Astoria 1,800. But the most rapid stride 

 in population was in eastern Oregon. In 1874 

 the entire number of white persons therein 

 amounted to only 12,000, and official statistics 

 show that there are now in eastern Oregon and 

 eastern Washington Territory close upon 60,- 

 000 persons. 



The tables of grain exports, prepared from 

 the statistics of the Portland Board of Trade 

 by its Secretary, William Reid, show that dur- 

 ing the year ending January 1, 1868, Oregon 

 exported 120,980 barrels of flour, and only 45,- 

 810 centals of wheat, none of which was sent 

 to foreign countries. This was considered a 

 remarkable increase over the year ending Janu- 

 ary 1, 1867, when only 29,811 barrels of flour 

 were exported. In 1869 the total values of 

 wheat and flour exports amounted to $589,872. 

 In 1870 Oregon began to do a direct foreign 

 trade with Europe, and dispatched from the 

 Columbia River 12 vessels with 189,892 cen- 

 tals of wheat, of the value of $379,618. The 

 united exports of wheat and flour to all coun- 

 tries in that year amounted to $1,050,522. In 

 the succeeding year, 187l-'72, there were dis- 

 patched to Europe 12 ships of larger tonnage, 

 with 242,759 centals of wheat, of the value of 

 $531,689. So successful had these ventures be- 

 come that in the next year the foreign exports of 

 wheat were more than doubled, as in 1872-'73 

 there were dispatched to Europe 24 vessels with 

 509,430 centals of wheat. The next year, 1873 

 -'74, Oregon tried the export of flour to Europe, 

 and shipped 97,600 barrels and 999,382 centals 

 of wheat to the United Kingdom in 54 vessels, 

 receiving in return therefor $2,435,794. The 

 total receipts from wheat and flour exports in 

 that year amounted to $4,037,008 an increase 

 in two years unparalleled in the history of any 

 other State. In 1874-'75 there were dispatched 

 to Europe, China, and Australia 78 vessels, 

 with 1,299,318 centals of wheat and 116,000 

 barrels of flour, in addition to 826,322 centals 

 of wheat exported to California and other 

 countries the total exports, reducing flour to 

 wheat, that year, 1875-'76, being 2,563,539 

 centals. The year ending August 1, 1877, did 

 not show any increase of exports in quantity 

 over the preceding year, but the values were 



considerably higher. In the last harvest year, 

 ending August 1, 1878, there were exported to 

 all countries, including San Francisco, British 

 Columbia, and Puget Sound, 352,161 centals of 

 wheat, including flour, of the aggregate value 

 of $5,635,156. Estimated by tons, there were 

 exported to Great Britain alone in 1878-74 

 49,469 tons of wheat, increased next year to 

 64,989 tons ; the year ending August 1, 1-876, 

 79,911 tons; 1877,112,697 tons; while to all 

 countries for the year ending August 1, 1878, 

 there were exported 176,000 tons of wheat, in- 

 cluding flour. A corresponding increase during 

 the next ten years will make Oregon take rank 

 among the greatest wheat-producing States in 

 the Union. 



The tonnage in like manner has been in- 

 creasing each year since 1868. In that year 

 the gross tonnage of vessels which arrived in 

 Columbia River was 19,966, and of those de- 

 parting 16,022, including steamers to and from 

 San Francisco; whereas in 1876 the arrivals 

 amounted to 56,882 tons register, and the de- 

 partures to 76,617, an increase of 300 per cent, 

 on arrivals and nearly 400 per cent, on depar- 

 tures during a period of eight years. In 1868 

 47 vessels went to sea over the bar of the Co- 

 lumbia River; 106 in 1874, carrying 71,012 

 tons; 108 in 1875, carrying 134,500 tons; 231 

 in 1876, carrying 154,459 tons ; and 256 in 1877, 

 carrying 232,897 tons; while in 1868 the total 

 tonnage carried to sea by all classes of vessels 

 was 23,367. The river tonnage shows equal 

 development. In 1868 there were received at 

 Portland by river-steamers 418,968 sacks of 

 flour and 55,368 sacks of wheat, and there were, 

 then only nine steamers engaged in the carry- 

 ing trade on the rivers, with a registered ton- 

 nage of 2,179. In 1875 the Oregon Steam 

 Navigation Company, Oregon Steamship Com- 

 pany, and Willamette Transportation Company 

 had together 82 steamers and barges, with an 

 aggregate tonnage of 18,698 alone ; in addition 

 to which other individuals then owned 12 

 smaller steamers, of the aggregate tonnage of 

 2,473. In 1878 the river-steamers plying on 

 the Columbia and Willamette Rivers, including 

 three steam-tugs on the Columbia bar, num- 

 bered 72, with an aggregate registered tonnage 

 of 25,089 ; in addition to which there were 20 

 river-barges, of the united tonnage of 5,661. 

 The productions raised by the farming popula- 

 tion required greater facilities of transporta- 

 tion and new steamers each year. To these 

 have been added two railroads, 250 miles in 

 length, which bring to Portland daily large 

 quantities of wheat, flour, and other produce. 

 Up to January, 1868, the whole of the export 

 trade, except to Puget Sound and Honolulu, 

 was with San Francisco. According to the 

 manifests of the cargoes of all the steamers and 

 coasters from Oregon to the Golden Gate, the 

 value of merchandise then exported was $1,- 

 678,793 ; while the shipments by Wells, Fargo 

 & Co., from Oregon mines, of gold dust, bars, 

 coin, and treasure, a record of which was then 



