ized, and began their great work, Sacramento, Stockton, San José, as well as other towns and the more thickly peopled mining quarters, likewise formed their committees of vigilance and safety, and pounced upon all the rascals within their bounds. These associations interchanged information with each other as to the movements of the suspected; and all, with the hundred eyes of an Argus and the hundred arms of a Briareus, watched, pursued, harassed, and finally caught the worst desperadoes of the country. Like Cain, a murderer and wanderer, as most of them were, they bore a mark on the brow, by which they were known. Some were hanged at various places, some were lashed and branded, but the greater number were simply ordered to leave the country, within a limited time, under penalty of immediate death if found after a stated period within its limits. Justice was no longer blind or leaden-heeled. With the perseverance and speed of a bloodhound, she tracked criminals to their lair, and smote them where they lay. For a long time afterward, the whole of California remained comparatively free from outrages against person and property.

"From all the evidence that can be obtained, it is not supposed that a single instance occurred in which a really innocent man suffered the extreme penalty of death. Those who were executed generally confessed their guilt, and admitted the punishment to have been merited."

THE State of Oregon is situated between 42° and 46° 20' N. latitude, and between 116° 31′ and 124° 30′ W. longitude. It is bounded on the north by Washington Territory, on the east by Idaho Territory, on the south by Nevada and California, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean. It is about 395 miles long, from east to west, and about 295 miles wide, from north to south.

TOPOGRAPHY.

The surface of the eastern part of the State, lying between the Cascade Range and the Snake River, is mostly an elevated plateau, broken by mountain ranges. The western part, lying between the ocean and the Cascade Range, is mountainous.

"The Coast Mountains and the Sierra Nevada, traversing California, continue northward through Oregon; the latter, after leaving California, are named the Cascades. Near the southern boundary the chain throws off a branch called the Blue Mountains, which extend northeastwardly through the State, passing into Washington and Idaho. The course of the Cascades through the State is generally parallel with the shore of the Pacific, and distant therefrom an average of 110 miles. In California, the direction of the Coast Mountains and coast valleys is that of general parallelism with the sea-shore; the mountains sometimes approaching close to the shore, and then receding miles from it, leaving belts of arable land between them and the ocean. In Oregon, the Coast Range consists of a series

of high lands running at right angles with the shore, with valleys and rivers between the numerous spurs having the same general direction as the highlands.' "'*

The western part of the State is the only inhabited and regularly organized portion. It is thus described by a writer thoroughly familiar with it:

"Western Oregon, between the Cascades and the Pacific, is made up chiefly of three valleys, those of the Willamette (pronounced Willam'-ette), Umpqua, and Rogue rivers. The first named stream begins in the Cascade Mountains, runs west 60 miles, then turns northward, runs 140 miles, and empties into the Columbia. The last two begin in the Cascades, and run westward to the ocean. There are, perhaps, several thousand miners, including Chinamen, in the Rogue River Valley; but nearly the whole permanent farming population is in the Valley of the Willamette. This valley, taking the word in its more restricted sense of the low land, is from 30 to 40 miles wide, and 120 miles long. This may be said to be the whole of agricultural Oregon. It is a beautiful, fertile, well-watered plain, with a little timber along the streams, and a great deal in the mountains on each side. The soil is a gravelly clay, covered near the creeks and rivers with a rich sandy loam. The vegetation of the valley is composed of several indigenous grasses, a number of flowering plants and ferns, the latter being very abundant, and exceedingly troublesome to the farmer on account of its extremely tough vitality. The tributary streams of the Willamette are very numerous, and their course in the valley is usually crooked, as the main stream itself is, having many 'sloughs,' 'bayous,' or 'arms,' as they are differently called. In some places the land is marshy, and everywhere moist. Drouth will never be known in western Oregon; its climate is very wet, both summer and winter, the latter season being one long rain, and the former consisting of many short ones, with a little sunshine intervening. The winters are warm, and the summers rather cooltoo cool for growing melons, maize, and sweet potatoes. Wheat, oats, barley, potatoes, and domestic animals thrive well. The climate, take it all in all, is much like that of England, and all plants and animals which do well in Britain will prosper in Oregon. The Oregon fruit is excellent, particularly the apples and plums; the peaches and pears are not quite so good as those of California. All along the coast of

* Report of the General Land-Office.

Oregon, there is a range of mountains about 40 miles wide, and they are so densely timbered with cedar, pine, spruce, and fir, that the density of the wood alone would render them worthless for an age, if they were not rugged. But they are very rugged, and the Umpqua and Rogue rivers, in making their way through them, have not been able to get any bottom lands, and are limited to narrow, high-walled cañons. The only tillable lands on the banks of those rivers are about 50 miles from the sea, each having a valley which, in general terms, may be described as 12 miles wide by 30 long. Rogue River Valley is separated from California by the Siskiyou Mountains, about 5000 feet high, and from Umpqua Valley by the Cañon Mountains, about 3000 feet high; and the Umpqua again is separated from the Willamette Valley by the Calapooya Mountains, also about 3000 feet high. All Oregon-that is, its western division, except the low lands of the Willamette, Umpqua, and Rogue valleys-is covered with dense timber, chiefly of coarse grained wood-such as fir, spruce, and hemlock. In the southwestern corner of the State, however, there are considerable forests of white cedar-a large and beautiful tree, producing a soft, fine-grained lumber, and very fragrant with a perfume, which might be imitated by mixing otto of roses with turpentine. Oak and ash are rare. Nearly all the trees are coniferous. In Rogue Valley and along the beach of the Pacific, there are extensive gold diggings. There are also large seams of tertiary coal at Coose Bay. These are the only valuable minerals in the State. The scenery on the Columbia is grand, from Wallawalla, where it first touches Oregon, to the ocean. There are five mountain peaks in the State, rising to the region of perpetual snow: Mount Hood, 13,700 feet high; Mount Jefferson, 11,900 feet high; the Three Sisters, Mount Scott, and Mount McLaughlin, all about 9000 feet high."

The Columbia River, already described, forms the principal part of the northern boundary of the State. It receives the waters of the Wallawalla, Umatilla, John Day, and Falls rivers, east of the Cascade Range, and those of the Willamette, west of it. The Rogue and Umpqua rivers empty into the Pacific Ocean. The lower part of the Columbia forms a fine bay, and affords an excellent harbor. It is navigable to the falls for large vessels, and above them for a considerable distance for steamers. The Willamette is navigable to Portland for ships, and for 80 miles above the falls for small steamers. The Umpqua is navigable for 25 miles for small steamers, and its mouth forms a harbor for vessels drawing 12 feet of water.

There are several small lakes in the State.

Oregon is principally an agricultural State, but mining is growing in importance. Gold exists in the State. The deposits of copper are almost inexhaustible, and there are considerable deposits of coal in the Valley of the Williamette.

CLIMATE.

The climate is mild along the coast, but increases in severity as one proceeds eastward. The winters are very irregular, but are usually short and mild.

SOIL AND PRODUCTIONS.

In the eastern part of the State, much of the land is unfit for cultivation. In Western Oregon, the lands in the valleys are among the most fertile in America, and produce large crops.

In 1869, the agricultural resources of the State were as follows: