seminary, besides common schools, and a college within a few miles of it. It has considerable trade; though, having been cut off from river navigation fully half the year, it could not have a constant trade which was not purely local. As it is situated in one of the best agricultural sections, the time when the railroad reaches it, which will be very soon, will see a rapid change in that respect. The Corvallis Gazette, a weekly newspaper, is a well-conducted journal.
Two or three miles south of Corvallis, on the east side of the river, is a new town called Halsy, an outgrowth of the Oregon and California Railroad. It is receiving a considerable number of settlers, and promises to be a place of some importance as a grain-depot.
The face of the country in this portion of the Wallamet Valley is extremely picturesque and beautiful. The narrowing of the valley toward its head brings mountains, plains, and groves within the sweep of unassisted vision, and the whole resembles a grand picture. We have not here the heavy forests of the Columbia River region, nor even the frequently recurring fir-groves of the Middle Wallamet. The foot-hills of the mountains approach within a few miles on either side, but those nearest the valley are rounded, grassy knolls, over which are scattered groups of firs, pines, or oaks, while the river-bottom is bordered with tall cottonwoods, and studded rather closely with pines of a lofty height and noble form.
Two tributaries enter the Wallamet between Corvallis and Eugene—the Muddy, from the east, and Long Tom from the south-west. The country on the Long Tom is celebrated for its fertility, and for the uncompromising democracy of its people. The school-master and the Black Republican, are reported to be alike ob-
