go
THE WEST SHORE.
March, 1880
SUNSET SEEN PROM " MARY'S PEAK."
IIV w. I). LYMAN.
A mountain begirt with inountuiiiH,
And, iVS Itl ffSHJ ereflt,
All nwathod in foronU dim
A nilenco wliono ihep woiship
Is broken but tiy hird-AongH
Or the pint tnM hoI inui hymn.
Fur 11ml ihudowy to tho eantward mi wy iuukn
in Hplmnlor rifle,
On whoto frozen Mope the torn-god matter roiieii
im I10 Mien :
At whom loet tho level valley blight with Kohl
of harvont Ho,
Rolling liko tho ma with hIiuiIowh of tho chimin
nlow nailing by.
Now tho ma-wimli hinder blow,
And tho wi Htcrn Iioiivoiih glow,
Whilo tho found of ittftlbilM flow,
Tranidlgiiriug tho laud.
Now tho misMlOltl hindwaid itfMUlfnff,
Liko a huiiiii'ifd iiiiuy morning,
Standard Umlngf Ih'IhioIh gloaming,
On tbl )i i U-HlniiH tiotOtl Ittod.
On tho flwirling BMM of vapors, rainlnw tint
it nonont rout .
Then, liko utaitloil bird iiiHiriii(iii)r, hide behind
the inountain'11 crcit.
Plain of gold and hill of nilvur, wiiflhcd by wave
let of a double nun ;
On it mottled nurfat'o, Itlttltflfi liko vat ico-berg.
Heating free.
LoBgOti fainter, grow the hndoSri I paler now
the nmy kii :
Hut while fade thoir traiiaiout glories, tur in
grander dinlaui e tlM
BpUndON of tho mimmor evening, oloildl with
ihiuiiig iuuadioiiH bright,
Fall not from the linking day-nt ir lo bo buried
in the night.
For buiuily hai It roKiirrediou in the until thai
give it birth,
And the light will nliiiio ill heaven that no longer
tdiiuoH 011 earth.
So the wreath of broken rainbow" fall like olndltl
in the nen,
Hut Utotf I01I hue, lloating upwind, from the utar"
realm beam 011 too.
Iii Montana, recently, in cutting
down ;i Inrge pine tree measuring
ne. mIv foui feel in diameter, there was
found a smooth bullet Imbedded in the
solid wood, about twelve inches from
the bark. There was also found in
digghigi about four Feet below the sur
face or the ground, a tooth which
weighed Bvq ami a hair pounds, ami
Which w as in a slate of perfect preservation.
An establishment for the manufac
ture of gloves was recently opened in
Olympia. A tanner) will soon be
si. 11 led in connection with it. it is ex
pected that when in full operation
twenty to thirty hands will Ke em
ployed. Married life often begins with rose
wood ami mahogany and ends with
pine.
WHITMAN COUNTY.
Whitman county in Washington Ter
ritory, is hounded on the north hy the
new county of Spokane; on the east by
Idaho Territory; Walla Walla and
Columbia counties on the south, and
the Columbia river on the west. The
area of the county is 4,300 square miles,
two-thirds of which is cultivable. Roll
ing prairies arc the general surface of
the country. Valleys are numerous,
and the hills between are specially
adapted to agricultural pursuits and
stock raising.
THE son..
Is deep, rich and loose loam with an
average depth of three feet, except, in
sonic instances, on the south hill sides,
it is slightly clayey. The soil is the
deepest and richest in the eastern part
of the county; growing lighter and
thinner toward the Columbia river.
On the hills the soil is somewhat lighter
I ban in the valleys, but equally as good
for general agricultural purposes.
WATER.
There is water in great abundance
all over the county, The hills border
ing on Snake river abound with living
springs, as do also the hills in the east
ern and middle portions of the county.
In some localities it is necessary to dig
wells in ol der to obtain w ater for house
hold use, but the depth to which they
have to be sunk, is insignificant, say
from six to thirty feet, according to
locality.
TIMBER,
The timber of the county is confined
principally to the strcamsr and mount
ains and consisls of tamarack, pine,
cedar, red and w hile fir, balm, willow,
anil some aspen. Pine is used almost
exclusively fur fuel. The principal
supply offence timber is obtained from
the CcBUr M Alene mountains in Idaho
Territory. Fire wood is hauled from
one to twelve miles. The timber for
manufacturing lumber is rafted down
the Palouse to the different sawmills.
The present price of rough lumber is
from leu to sixteen dollars ami dressed
lumber from twenty to thirty dollars
per thousand feet.
GRASS.
A very nutritious indigenous grass,
commonly known as "bunch grass,"
Futuca prattnsu, grows spontaneously
over many square miles, affording ex
cellent range for stock. It is self-curative
and retains its nutritious qualities
when allowed to remain on the "round
uncut.
CLIMATE.
The avenge temperature is as fol
lows: Spring, 5a deg.; summer, 73
deg.j winter, 36 deg. The average an
nual rain-fall is about twenty inches.
Our winters are mild compared with
those of the Eastern States in the same
latitude. The'past winter was the cold
est experienced in five years. There
has been very little snow this winter
and the weather has been principally
dry. Our summer days arc hot and
sultry, hut the nights are cool and re
freshing. HEALTH.
In regard to health, Whitman and
those counties lying north and east, arc
most favorably located. Malarial fevers
are experienced only by those who
were affected before coining to this
country. The altitude renders the air
pure and invigorating, giving to per
sons used to inhaling a dense and im
pure atmosphere, a sense of buoyancy
and vigor, never experienced by the
Inhabitants of low, Hat countries. The
water is pure and cold, coming as it
docs, from the mountain ranges' on
either side of us, in such abundance
that it forms one of the chief features of
excellence claimed for this county.
POPULATION, PROPERTY, ETC.
The last census was taken in June,
1879, and our population at that time
was 6,000. It has increased probably
1,000 since June. According to the
above census there were in June last
1,437 children between the ages of four
and twenty-onc. At the time of the
last assessment the taxable property of
the county amounted to nearly a million
and a half of dollars. Our indebted
ness is about two thousand dollars. The
political complexion is Republican.
TOWNS.
Colfax is the county scat and has a
population of 600. The U. S. Land
Ollice for Whitman District and the N.
I. R. R. Land Office for the Pen d'
Oreille division are here located. Near
ly all the religious denominations arc
represented, and an academy and busi
ness institute receives a liberal support.
The shipping points are Penawawa,
Almota and Wawawai, on Snake river.
Penawawa is 23 miles south-west of
Colfax, Almota 17 miles south and
Wawawai 22 miles south. Each of
these places arc supplied with large
ware-houses and Penawawa and Almota
are business points of some importance.
Good ferry boats cross the river at the
last named points. Our inland towns
are, Farmington, 23 miles northeast of
Colfax on upper Pine creek. It is one
of the principal towns of the county.
Palouse City is situated on the Palouse
river 18 miles east of Colfax and is the
principal lumbering point in the county.
The tow ns of Lcitchville, Irene, Col
ton and Uniontown, all lying south of
Colfax on Union Flat at a distance of
respectively 20, 30, 33, and 37 miles.
Rosalia is 2S miles north of Colfax, on
the Spokane Falls' road. All these
towns are supplied with general mcr
ichandise stores, hotels, 'livery stables,
blacksmith shops, etc.," and churches
and schools flourish all over the county.