Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 1, 1881)
8 THE WEST SHORE. January. 1881 (IIKIIA1.IS COUNTY. Chehalis county e mhracc a tract of country on the Pacific coast in Wash ington Territory situated about half way between Fuca Strait nml the Co Itinibia river, and has an area of about J,5x square miles. The greatest por tion of thin county is covered with timber, interspersed more or less with small prairies, 'l'lic hin f.u:c i much va ried, having every variety of topogra phy, from rough and rugged hil! (some of which arc high enough to be called mountain) to the most beautiful and fertile valleys. It may be divided into three parts, of nearly equal extent, viz: hilly, flat uplands and river bottoms. Gras and grain grow well on any of these lauds, and the valley lands cannot be surpassed in feitdity. That there is a bright fut 111 o for Chehalis county, at no very distant day, no one can doubt who is acquainted with its history and the circumstance now so advantageous for it growth. Here is found a large variety of the finest timbei in the woild, including cedar, fir, sugar pine, spruce, hemlock, curly maple, cotton wood, alder, ash, etc., with the Cheha lis river and it tributaries, which can be brought into use in the collection of limber for'milliug purposes. (ill A v'h H Alt IK lit is ample' for the purposes of shipping, with nn easy and safe entrance. The Chehalis river on which i situated, per haps, the largest body of good land west of the Cascades, i navigable much of the year through the entire county. There are large Unci of good land on the Satsop, Wynoochce, Wishkah and lluuiplulups livers. There it also a fli.e tract of country north of (iray's Ilatlior, extending from the tipper Wishkah, across the heads of the I to quiam to the llumptulnp, which is a splendid location for a siniill colony Thcrt are also valuable lauds for gran ing on the coast, north from Gnty'i II alitor. There are at this time, per lmj, thiee-founh f the lest agricul 1 111 m! lands in the county unoccupied The imputation of the county is c-ti mated at about a thousand. A (pu lton will naturally suggest itself to the Mrangcr: Why is it that a country having mi many advantage is so slow in settling f This question i not dill't cult of solution. Illumine the w aters of Pugct Sound and the course of the Chchuli approaches within twenty mile of the waters of the bound, oei tlement began on the Sound, and from thence to and down the Chehalis river, until it reached Gray's Harbor, a dis tance of seventy-five miles. As the ettlement advanced down the river, roads were opened, making the Sound the OM.V (it'll. KT ANI MARK KT, It may easily be seen that only a lew farm products could be taken to market over such a distance of bad road. It is also asserted th.it sonic persons of in fluence about Olytnpia exerted all their energies to turn away capitalists from Gray's Harbor, for the purpose of hold ing the Chehalis trade at that point. It is easy to see that under audi circum stances it required a good deal of reso lution for a pet son to settle in Chehalis county. We have, for the last twenty years, on the lower Chehalis, been pay ing from $20 to $40 per ton for our freights. Hut happily things have taken very important turn for the better. We are now beginning to ship the pro ducts of the country down stream, in the order that nature intended, and our purchased supplies arc brought in at (iray's Harbor and up stream, as they hould lie. Our rich bottom lands pro- luce the finest grains, trasses, fruits and vegetable in abundance; the dairy products are becoming quite considera ble and of the finest quality, and ulti mutely the product of timber must be of immense advantage to the whole country. W. S. SI'OKANE, WASHINGTON TERRITORY The country northeast of Spokane, for forty-five miles is a level plain, covered with bunch grass ; the land is fine for grazing, but not considered extra for agricultural purposes, although rops have been grown successfully on the plain. All west and north of Spo kiinc, after leaving the town about six miles, there is a level prarie, the soil liemg a rich black loam, pronounced by the General Land Office chemist to lie the liest in the United States for wheat growing ; the prairie is inter sered with timber, and abundantly watered by creeks and hikes. The sec tion ia settling up fast, and where one house could lc seen last spring, more than forty could be counted from any door-step the dead level of the coun try offering no oltstruction to the view. The prairie extends from Sjxikitnc to what is known as the Big Bend of the Columbia River, fully sixty miles. South of Spokane the country is some what rough, but valuable for grazing. The town of Spokane has the finest water power of any on the Pacific Coast, and surrounded as it is by an ex- tensive agricultural and grazing coun try, on the line of the overland rail road, with outlet to both seaboards, anil the seat of government of the county and section, is future as a manufactur ing and distributing point is assured. NOMENCLATURE OF TUGKT SOUND. BY F. F. VICTOR. In 11592, before the power of Spain had declined, the Viceroy of Mexico acting for the Spanish Government, and extending its possessions, fitted out an expedition to examine the northwest coast of North America, in search of some passage into the Atlantic by water, which should shorten the voyage from old Spain to her Pacific posses sions, and especially to the Philippine Islands. As navigators of all nations placed themselves at the service of Spain as the great maritime power, one postolas Valerinos, a Greek pilot, at tached himself to the Spanish navy under the assumed name ot Juan de Fuca, and was entrusted with the com mand of the exploring expedition above mentioned. In cruising along the coast looking for openings, he discover ed the strait which bears his name; but he was nearly a degree out in his reck oning of latitude, and when subsequent navigators looked for his strait where he placed it, it was not found there, and they concluded his story a sailor's yarn; though they never quite forgot to keep an eye out for Fuca's strait. Therefore to a Greek are we indebted far the name of this remarkable arm of the sea, leading into Puget Sound. Along about 17S7 and i7SS, a good many traders of various nationalities visited the coast of Northwest America, hav ing learned from the narrative of Cook's voyage that there was money to be made by purchasing furs from the natives of this coast and taking them to China to sell to the rich merchants of Canton. Several companies were en gaged in this lucrative trade who ren dezvoused at a snug little harbor on the coast called Nootka,and claimed by the Spaniards. One Berkeley, master of a ship from Ostend, in 17S7, while run