January 9, 1886, construction trains were running within nine miles of Pomeroy; but track laying had ceased for some time past. Difficulty was experienced in getting railroad iron to "the front" fast enough. On the 23rd the track had reached Pomeroy; the railroad "consummation devoutly to be wished" was an accomplished fact. Here the road ceased; it was never extended to Pataha City; Pomeroy became the terminus. November 14, 1885, the East Washingtonian published the following:

"It is a fact that it was only by the 'skin of the teeth' that the people of the county have been assured of the speedy construction of a railroad in our midst. Had not the order to build been given when it was it is not likely that it would have been given for two or three years. It was really against the interests of the Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company to build the Pataha road this fall. Here there was no threatened competition. It would have been much more to their interests to have built the Farmington road first, because the Northern Pacific is competing for the traffic, while here there is no opposition, and no probability of any. It was difficult to get money to build any road, and if the company had constructed the Farmington branch first, they would so far have exhausted their means that we might have had to wait for years for a road. It was a fortunate thing for our farmers that things took so favorable a turn. We have been assured that the guarantee for the right-of-way and depot grounds had much to do in bringing about this result. In fact, without this guarantee the road would not have been built, and we might have remained for a long time in the same helpless condition we have been in for years. It has cost something, and it will cost more to secure the right-of-way. A bond was given in the sum of $10,000 to secure the right-of-way and depot grounds. Had not a number of our citizens come forward and made this bond, there would not have been a stroke made on this road."

Thus that great need of transportation was met by co-operation of railroad and people. It does not seem likely that the O. R. & N. Co. would have suffered, even if they had met all the expense themselves. Pomeroy has become one of the greatest original grain shipping points in the state, which means in the world. In 1916 there were over a million bushels shipped from the warehouses at Pomeroy.

RIVER IMPROVEMENT

The improvement of the rivers has always been of special interest and importance to Garfield County. Immense quantities of grain are produced in the fertile plains of the northern part of the county. To much of that area the haul to Pomeroy is long and hard and the river is the best resource. For about half the year Snake River is navigable from Asotin to its mouth, and for nine or ten months, from Asotin to Riparia. Steamers of the O. R. & N. Co. have plied regularly for many years on this latter run, gathering up the wheat along the southern shore and conveying it to Riparia whence it went by train to seaboard. It is needless to observe that the railroad is not in business for its health or for gratuitous service and with practically monopoly conditions the freight tariffs were heavy. Hence it was clear that an "Open River" to the sea was of vital importance. Garfield County has therefore borne an active part in the systematic efforts to secure Congressional appropriations for these purposes. In the Legislative sessions of 1907 and 1909, a special effort was made for co-operation by the State of Washington with the Federal Government for improvement of Snake River, with the expectation that the Government would thereby proceed more rapidly with the Celilo Canal, the key to the Open River. Hon. J. R. Stevenson, representing Garfield County in the State Senate, performed a most valuable service in securing appropriations by the state looking to this co-operation. In the face of considerable opposition from portions of the state not directly interested, Senator Stevenson handled the situation with great skill and brought the result to pass which had a decisive bearing upon the Government. For following the successive appropriations by the Legislature the Government, convinced of the need and of the wishes of the people, proceeded to definite and continuous appropriations, culminating in the Celilo Canal in 1915, as detailed in an earlier chapter. For this happy result we are indebted largely to Senator Stevenson. In the House, Hon. W. O. Long of Garfield was equally faithful to the wishes of his constituents, though not in a committee position to exercise the same power.

But the most unique feature of transportation on the rivers is the system of running grain sacks from the highlands, 2,000 feet above sea level, to the river, seven hundred feet or less, above the sea.

In the early '80s Paine Brothers of Walla Walla undertook to run wheat down in a wooden chute and sack it below. This was found impracticable, because of the friction. In 1887 and later a tramway with wooden rails was built about opposite Wawaiwai. In 1891 a much better tramway was built known as the Mayview Tramway, owned by a joint association of farmers. After several accidents and some discouraging experiences the enterprise passed into the hands of John Worum. Both tramways are now owned by Max Houser of Portland. It was found that the chutes either for grain in bulk or in sacks were not practicable on account of friction. But the tramways, one of them using buckets and the other cars, after some losses, have proved a great success. The cost of operation is small, as the weight of the descending cars of buckets lifts the empty ones, and a vast amount of grain is lowered by them to the steamers. The tramway at Ilia handles about one hundred and fifty thousand bushels annually, and the one at Mayview about two hundred and fifty thousand.

The grain business, nearly equally divided in some years between wheat and barley, but in recent times with much more wheat, has been the leading source of income. Two large and well equipped mills, one at Pataha and one at Pomeroy, furnish constant centers of activity. Both these are owned by Houser. Mr. Fred Matthes is manager of the Pomeroy Mill, and Wm. Houser of the Pataha Mill.

THE STOCK INTERESTS

While the grain business is now foremost, Garfield County started as a stock country and even yet has important stock interests. A valuable article on the stock interests by J. O. Long appeared in the Pioneer Edition of the Washingtonian, and it is worthy of permanent preservation. We insert it here: