At Milwaukie, on the east or left bank of the river, is the famous "Standard" flouring-mill, which exports "best Oregon," in large shipments, to San Francisco, the Sandwich Islands, and New York. Here, too, is the first nursery of the Pacific Coast. From the grounds of Meek and Lluelling, at this place, were taken the first cultivated apple-trees; and the earliest export of this fruit was made to San Francisco in 1853, when two hundred pounds brought five hundred dollars. The following year the same firm sold forty bushels for $62.50 a bushel! From that time to this Oregon has maintained its reputation for apple-raising, until "the land of red apples," or "the land of cider," has come to be its synonym.
Milwaukie is one of those towns that started m as the rival of some other town—Oregon City, in this instance—and could not sustain itself. It has, however, great advantages for milling and manufacturing, from the abundance of water-power in its vicinity available for these purposes. The Wallamet receives within a dozen miles three tributaries, either of which is a good milling stream. Milwaukie has a large tannery, which turns out as good leather as is made on the coast—a branch of business very profitable in this country.
As we approach Oregon City the river becomes quite narrow in places, and in summer, when the water is low, the channel is barely wide enough for the steamer to pass between the gravel bars. The attention of the tourist is first attracted, on nearing the town, to the spray, which rises like a mist from the river, just above the steamer's landing, and he gazes with ever-increasing interest upon the leaping, foaming cataract of the Wallamet, which, although less in height and in volume than Niagara, has much of the same grandeur and force.
