An Ohio River Flat-Boat.
The construction of the five great Pacific railway lines, the Northern, the Union, the Santa Fe, the Southern, and the Great Northern, with their various branches, brought into valuable employ infinite reaches of fertile land previously as good as desert. Texas made most remarkable advance both in square miles occupied and in density of population, brought about by great extension of railway mileage, and of cattle, sheep, and wheat culture. Large patches of the Dakotas, Montana, and Idaho filled with settlers. Colorado became a giant in production, the rush of population thither in consequence of very extensive and rich mineral discoveries having been a stampede almost like that of 1849-50 to California. Every hill was black with miners. The growth of New Mexico, Arizona, and Nevada, considering their natural wealth, was slow, owing in part to Indian hostilities. New Mexico fell from rank 37 in 1870 to rank 43 in 1890. Tucson, Ariz., according to the best figures, fell between 1880 and 1887, from 10,000 to 7,500 inhabitants. In material things Utah prospered greatly under the thrift, economy, and hard work of the Mormons. Here mining and speculation were less rigidly pressed, and more energy devoted to agricultural pursuits.
An Irrigated Orange Grove at Riverside, California.
In California, a smaller proportion than formerly of all industry was now applied to mining, a larger to agriculture and cattle-raising. Southern California became the competitor of Florida as a winter residence. Oregon and Washington vied with Minnesota for the world-medal in wheat culture. Over the infinite pasture lands at both feet of the Rocky Mountains roamed herds of bullocks destined to feed distant cities in America and in Europe. It was foreseen that many of these lands would in the course of time be ploughed, and by the aid of irrigation turned into corn-fields, wheat-fields, and market-gardens, a process which in New Mexico had already gone far. Even the tract inclosed by the parallels 31 and 45 degrees and the meridians 100 and 120 degrees, which long seemed destined for perpetual sterility, spite of the many enterprises conceived, and the others, like the scheme of the Colorado River Irrigation Company, initiated for redeeming it, grew valuable when it was believed that the National Government would undertake to irrigate there. Crops in that region grew bountifully under irrigation, and permanent water-supplies could easily be created. Natural woodland existed there only near the few streams, and of the scanty trees which grew scarcely a single variety of hard wood was found; but the state and national afforestation of vast tracts bade fair to change this. The region comprised in the States and Territories named was not only the richest precious-metal field in America, but one of the very richest on the globe.
The picture we have presented is too glowing for the year 1893-94, during which great depression afflicted the whole West; but this was only temporary. Recovery was indicated by the success of the Trans-Mississippi Exposition at Omaha, in 1898. There were 2,600,000 admissions. The total cash receipts were $1,761,364, and the stockholders in the enterprise were paid dollar for dollar.
The city of San Francisco had 500 inhabitants in 1840, 34,776 in 1850, 56,802 in 1860, 149,473 in 1870, 233,959 in 1880, 298,997 in 1890. This progress may be taken as in some sense an index to that of the West as a whole, far more so than the apparently spasmodic increase in some of California’s smaller centres. Los Angeles mounted from a population of 5,728 in 1870, and of 11,183 in 1880, to one of 50,395 in 1890. Oakland had but 10,500 in 1870. Ten years later the figure was 34,555; and in 1890 it was 48,682. Stockton leaped from 10,287 in 1880 to 14,424 in 1890. In 1858 Denver was uninhabited. In 1870 it numbered 4,759 souls; in 1880, 35,629; in 1890, 106,713. Portland, Oregon, had in 1890, 46,000 inhabitants; in 1900, 90,000. In the decade 1880-90 Wyoming grew from 20,789 to 60,705.
The growth and prosperity of this great western section of our country become apparent from an inspection of the following table, compiled from authentic sources:
| Population. | Propertyvaluation. $ | |||
| STATES. | 1870. | 1890. | 1880. | 1890. |
| California | 560,247 | 1,208,130 | 1,343,000,000 | 2,533,733,627 |
| Colorado | 39,864 | 412,198 | 240,000,000 | 1,145,712,267 |
| Dakota, Total | 14181 | | 118,000 000 | |
| Dakota,North | | 182,719 | | 337,006,506 |
| Dakota,South | | 328,808 | | 425,141,299 |
| Idaho | 14,999 | 84,335 | 29,000,000 | 207,896,591 |
| Kansas | 364,399 | 1,427,096 | 760,000,000 | 1,799,343,501 |
| Minnesota | 439,706 | 1,301,826 | 792,000,000 | 1,691,851,927 |
| Montana | 20,595 | 132,159 | 40,000,000 | 453,135,209 |
| Nebraska | 122,993 | 1,058,910 | 385,000,000 | 1,275,685,514 |
| Nevada | 42,491 | 45,761 | 156,000,000 | l80,323,668 |
| New Mexico | 91,874 | 153,593 | 49,000,000 | 231,459,897 |
| Oregon | 90,923 | 313,767 | 154,000,000 | 590,396,194 |
| Texas | 818,579 | 2,235,523 | 825,000,000 | 2,105,576,766 |
| Utah | 86,786 | 207,905 | 114,000,000 | 349,411,234 |
| Washington | 23,955 | 349,390 | 62,000,000 | 760,698,726 |
| Wyoming | 9,118 | 60,705 | 54,000,000 | 169,773,710 |
| TERRITORIES | ||||
| Alaska | | 32,052 | ||
| Arizona | 9,658 | 59,620 | 41,000,000 | 188,800,976 |
| Value of Farms. $ | ||
| STATES. | 1880. | 1890. |
| California | 262,051,262 | 697,116,630 |
| Colorado | 25,109,223 | 85,035,180 |
| Dakota, Total | 22 401 084 | |
| Dakota,North | 75,310,805 | |
| Dakota,South | 107,466,335 | |
| Idaho | 2,832,890 | 17,431,560 |
| Kansas | 235,178,936 | 559,726,046 |
| Minnesota | 193,724,260 | 340,059,470 |
| Montana | 3,284,504 | 25,512,340 |
| Nebraska | 105,932,541 | 402,353,913 |
| Nevada | 5,408,325 | 12,339,410 |
| New Mexico | 5,514,399 | 8,140,800 |
| Oregon | 56,906,575 | 115,819,200 |
| Texas | 170,468,886 | 399,971,289 |
| Utah | 14,015,178 | 28,402,780 |
| Washington | 13,844,224 | 88,461,660 |
| Wyoming | 835,895 | 14,460,880 |
| TERRITORIES | ||
| Alaska | ||
| Arizona | 1,127,946 | 7,222,230 |