They came from every corner of the State of Oregon and from adjoining states, rough people and refined, all eager to share in a new prospect of comfort and prosperity. Yet, the cause of this boom was a mere rumor, an unsubstantiated report that the government was going to dam a river in distant hills and construct major canals to irrigate the desert. It could be a land rush, as had happened in the past, or something worse, if the rumor really proved false.