A LETTER FROM OREGON

My father's father's father, Frederick James Cartan, was born January 7, 1860 at Brantford, Ontario, Canada. At age three his father died and the family moved to Wisconsin. His mother later sent him to his sister and her attorney husband in Medicine Lodge, Kansas in hopes of educating him to be a lawyer, but at age 21 he ran away to a cattle ranch in Montana, returning in 1885. Eventually a friend of his father got him a job in San Francisco as a conductor for the Market Street Railroad. In 1889 he married a Swedish waitress, supposedly because of the perky way she tied her apron. After the death of their first child, they moved back to Medicine Lodge, where his mother had resettled and near to where his wife's family had immigrated to. While there he kept a cow pasture, sold strawberries, kept bees, and served as an editor of the Medicine Lodge Cresset. In 1909 he moved his family to Hood River, Oregon to manage an orchard owned by his sister. Six months later he wrote a letter for all his friends back in Medicine Lodge about his first impressions of Oregon:

Medicine Lodge Cresset, Medicine Lodge, Kansas
Friday, September 10, 1909

F. J. Cartan Writes About The Fruit Growing Section of That State

Changing one's abode from Kansas to Oregon brings many surprises, some pleasant, others the reverse, for the two states differ so much in climate, topography and the various industries that it takes some time to adjust one's self to the changed conditions and determine whether the move was for the best from all view points. We have been here six months and our first impression, which was favorable, has been confirmed.

Hood River valley is known the world over. The fame of its fruit has reached many lands, fame that is based on keeping qualities, flavor and beauty of coloring. The apples grown in this valley command the highest prices in the world's market and strawberries shipped to Chicago - four days in transit - take first money over all comers, local or otherwise.

I have eaten apples this summer of the crop of '08 that were as sound, crisp and delicious as any ever eaten at Christmas, that were stored in an ordinary cellar, and would no doubt remain so until the '09 crop was ready for consumption. Buyers come here from New York, London and other foreign ports and bid for the yet ungrown crop. These conditions are responsible for the price of land in Hood River valley, conditions that will double the price in less than five years. Some bearing orchards have sold for $2,000 per acre, others for $1,500, and very little is to be had for less than $1,000. One orchard of 100 acres sold this summer for $105,000. These prices are for land in the lower and more developed valley, near the city of Hood River or within 6 or 8 miles of it. In the upper part of the valley where we are located, land can be bought for from $100 to $200 per acre.

This unimproved land is covered with cedar, fir, oak and other valuable timber and will cost from $50 to $100 per acre to clear. And such timber! To walk through it seems like it would be walking on the bed of the ocean. Scarcely a ray of light filters through the branches of the giant trees which rear their heads hundreds - actually hundreds - of feet above you. And it seems a shame to a man from Kansas at least, to see acre after acre of this timber blown out by dynamite and burned. Where located near a sawmill the logs are valuable, but one cannot wait for a mill and the trees must be reduced to ashes to make room for apple trees and strawberry plants. All day long we can hear the shots put under the trees. The timber is going down in all directions and in its place are appearing young orchards, soon to be loaded with their valuable fruit and bring to their owners from $500 to $1000 per acre each year.

The above figures may seem exaggerated to some of your readers, but such is not the case. There are orchards in this valley that have returned $1800 per acre for one crop. A man by the name of Struck, living two miles from Hood River, who bought an old, neglected orchard of nine acres a few years ago, cleared $1050 per acre last year on 3 acres of the oldest trees and during the past month refused an offer of $25,000 for his place. There are hundreds of small orchards that are bringing the same profit to their owners and such being the case why should the land not bring $2000 per acre? What other business will return as large and certain interest on the investment?

Many trees of three and four years old can be seen with a fair load of fruit, but it can be pretty certain that the first five years will be outlay. The sixth and seventh will return some profit and after that the owner of 5 acres or more is independent for life.

But while you are waiting for your apple trees to come into bearing you can obtain a good return from strawberries. These planted between the rows of young trees yield from $250 to $400 per acre net. One of my neighbors, adjoining my sister's place in the lower valley, sold last year $2900 worth of berries from 8 acres and another neighbor this year cleared a little over $1600 from 4 acres. Clark's Seedling is the only variety planted and their great value lies in their keeping qualities. Kansas berries are superior in all other respects. The plants are grown in hills and given clean cultivation. All runners are kept off and they receive an ample supply of water during fruiting time.

The berries are picked every day and it is a sight to visit a 20 acre patch during harvest time. Such a field requires about 60 pickers and 20 packers. All berries are firmly packed in a box and are usually topped with 4-tier berries, face up. Packed in this manner they cannot move in the box and arrive at their destination in fine shape. Hood River berries are shipped as far east as New York. Early berries sometime bring $12 per crate - 24 boxes - and fall to $2 at end of season. From $2.50 to $3 is the usual net price and the yield is from 60 to 200 crates per acre, the latter being a heavy crop.

The irrigating system in the valley is probably not excelled by any other system in this country. The rain ditch of the valley has a charter, calling for 4000 inches and I understand, but 1600 inches are used. There is very little land not under the ditch so there can never be a fear of shortage. The water is taken from Hood River which is fed by the melting snow and ice on Mt. Hood. This peak is perpetually covered with snow and several glaciers are in plain view from our door. The hotter the summers the more water.

Hood River is one of the finest streams I have ever seen. It has a fall of over 66 feet to the mile. The bed is filled with large boulders, and the water is continually dashed into foam. Excepting July and August, when the glacier ice sends down a flood of whitish water, the water of this stream and tributaries is as clear and sparkling as cut glass. It is an ideal trout stream and the waters are well stocked with this beautiful and gamey fish. Rainbow trout, and salmon are plentiful and afford exciting sport.

I had the pleasure of landing a 33-inch steelhead salmon this summer after a fight of nearly an hour. Had 225 feet of line and it was nearly all out two or three times. My son, Duke, was with me and kept a close watch on my reel. When I would get a little excited after the fish had made a long run and broke water several times in so doing, Duke would say, "take in the slack! Take in the slack!"

I have caught many kinds of fish but this was the most exciting catch I ever made. The salmon would break water and leap two or three feet above the water, shaking himself like a broncho while pitching. I was compelled to take to the water and wade around a bush as he went down stream over a riffle. After tiring him out I got him close up to shore and Duke put his hand inside his mouth and caught him by the gills. His wrist was badly cut by the teeth but he held bravely on and dragged the beauty out and held him down with his knee until I came to help him.

Deer and bear are quite plentiful a few miles from here and I have seen signs of both within a mile of our place. There are also blue grouse, brown grouse or partridge and California quail.

My sister and I have bought 48 and a half acres, one and a half miles above Dee and the end of the railroad. About 30 acres is cleared, with part in orchard and part in red clover. The road is now building to a point 6 miles above us - passes within half mile of our place where there is a siding.

Hood River valley is a picturesque place, being surrounded by mountains on all sides. Mt. Hood, over 11,000 feet, stands at the head of the valley on the south and Mt. Adams, in Washington across the Columbia, at the north. Both mountains are snow covered at all times and many large glaciers extend downward from their slopes. When the sun first strikes Mt. Hood you could imagine you could stand at our door and almost reach it, it looks so close, though the distance is about 12 miles.

The climate so far pleases us. There has been no rain since March, or very little. Very few hot days this summer. The ocean breeze comes up this far and tempers the rays of the sun. I am told that considerable snow falls here - 14 miles from Hood River city on the Columbia - in the winter. But the winter season is short, no snow until the middle of December and spring comes the fore part of March.

Living expenses are a little higher than in Medicine Lodge. Horse feed is high. Rolled barley $1.30 cwt., hay $20 per ton. The cheapest thing we have found is ice. I ordered 100 pounds by phone from Hood River Sunday morning and two hours after I received it at Dee, packed and sacked at a cost of 35 cents.

One pleasing feature of the climate here is that the wind never blows at the time it rains or snows. But no doubt there are some disagreeable facts yet to be discovered for there are few countries that have nothing to conceal while soliciting immigration.

The runners thrown out by strawberry plants after July bear fruit and we are now enjoying fresh strawberries and will have them until frost cuts them off.

FRED J. CARTAN.

For more, see Fred's Dispatches from Montana Territory