Oregon city is a new town, containing about 150 buildings, two saw mills, one of which is a double mill, and two grist mills. At each of these mills, water enough is wasted to carry four other mills. I think I may justly say, that there is water power enough at Oregon city to carry five hundred grist mills. It seems, on taking a view of the natural dam at the upper end of Oregon city, that when the fissure now constituting the river was formd, the paroxysmal effort from beneath causd a lateral dismemberment of some of the rocks along the sides of the fissure, and upon sliding down chokd up the chasm from one side to the other. Below the falls, the terrace on which the town stands seems to have taken a similar slide, but being filld in part with rubbish beneath, prevented an entire union of the rocks, leaving the chasm now constituting the bay.
The waters of the falls are precipitated over the cragged rocks at several different places, foaming and tumbling with tremendous roar, to the depth of thirty feet into the waters of the bay below.
About one mile and a half above the falls, on the west side of the river, is the small tributary calld Twality, issuing from the coast range.
Two or three miles farther up, is another slide of rocks, which chokes up the entire stream, with the exception of a small chasm or two, too narrow to admit boats of any considerable size to pass.
About twelve miles above Oregon city, on the east side of the river, Molala and Pudding river waters unite with the Willamet. These two tributaries have good supplies of water for mills. After having collected their waters from the hilly country east, they meander about over the land, and finally empty into the Willamet at one place.
About thirty miles above Oregon city, Yam creek unites with the Willamet, on its west side, watering the country from the coast range in two separate branches, till within about ten miles of the Willamet, where they unite and form one.
Salem, a small town on the east side of the Willamet, about forty-five miles above Oregon city, is the site of the missionary, Mr. Lee, of the Methodist order, now no more. At this place, is a classical school of considerable merit, the only one of importance in Oregon territory.