r 'arch, 1 88a.
THE WEST SHORE.
55
THE NORTHERN PACIFIC RAILROAD
AND OTHER LANDS.
The bulk of the agricultural lands of
t! v Northern Pacific Railroad, in the
rcific Northwest, now in market, is
situated in Yakima, Walla Walla, Co
lumbia, Garfield, Whitman and Stevens
;; Washington Territory,' and in
Nez Perce county, Idaho. These lands
are, for the most part, accessible, and
within easy reach of transportation fa
cilities, not only by way of the tr,unk
line of the Northern Pacific Railroad
and the Columbia and Snake rivers, but
aba by the branches of the Oregon Rail
way and Navigation Company's system,
extending from Walla Walla over the
refon south of Snake river, and from
a point on the line of the Northern Pa
cific, 48 miles northeast of Ainsworth,
through the territory watered by the
Palouse and its numerous tributaries.
Among the regions most desirable for set-
. tlement may be mentioned those water
ed by Crab, Rock, and Hangman creeks,
in Stevens county, and by Thorne, Pine
ani Cottonwood creeks, in Whitman
county. The .soil is exceedingly rich
and productive, and living water is
found in almost every quarter-section.
There are also extensive tracts of equally
desirable railroad land in the counties
of Garfield, Columbia, Yakima and
Wt'Ja Walla.
The lands of the Northern Pacific
Railroad, lying west of the Cascade
rr.:jntains, are principally timbered.
Thre are, however, large tracts in the
vi' jys of the Chehalis, Cowlitz, Lewis,
0. ! Salmon rivers as well as on the
l '. :au north of the Columbia, extend
ir ' award the Cascade mountains, which
rr be easily cleared and brought under
c vation. Here, all kinds of fruit and
i thrive equally well. On Puget
C id, too, there is plenty of rich bot
t: land that can be brought under cul
ti . ton at but little cost.
'ihe Northern Pacific Railroad Com
s p: sells its lands on easy terms, and
it ' w prices, assisting intending settlers
h ery way to find suitable locations,
aide the Northern Pacific Railroad
C ipany and the United States Gov
( nent, the Oregon Improvement
( "pany is the largest seller of land in
t territory east of the Cascade mount-
This company owns 145,000
1 of carefully selected agricultural
1 in Whitman county, Washington
ritory, and ao,oxJ cr in Grand
Ronde and Powder river valleys, Baker
county, Oregon. These lands are par
ticularly desirable, owing to their prox
imity to the Palouse branches, and the
Grande Ronde branch of the Oregon
Railway and Navigation Company.
They are sold on easy terms, at from $5
to Jio per acre.
The February number of the West
Shore contained complete statistics
about land and land laws in the Pacific
Northwest. We will mail a copy of it
on receipt of 25 cents, or, send it and
two other numbers of different dates for
50 cents.
Alsea Bay, Benton county, is the
place to get a home. If you have no
home, go to Alsea Bay, for there are
one hundred settlers and plenty of land
for one hundred more. Times have
been better this winter on the Bay than
ever betore. The rush to Newport
gave us a market for our vegetables,
eggs, butter and honey at a very high
price. This country, when cleared, is
well adapted to farming, for the hills
possess a rich soil and grass will take
well on farms, and the hills when the
brush is chopped off, make good
pasture land. We have a schooner
plying to the bay, owned by Cant.
Lutjens. Strangers pass every day
looking for land. Some locate, others
pass on. Come we welcome you to the
garden spot of Oregon. C.
The Blakcly mill is the largest single
sawmill on Puget Sound, and cuts on
an average, in twelve hours, 110,000
feet of splendid lumber. Occasionally
the tally boards in the evening show
that 140,000 feet or more hits been cut,
but the average, week in and week out,
is 1 10,000, per day. The new 65-inch
circular, which is the largest on the
Sound, has been tested and found to
work to the satisfaction of all.
What is known as the Big Bend
country, situated west of Spokane Falls
and north of Spragtic, contains about
So,ooo acres of rich wheat and grass
lands, with sufficient timber for farm
purposes. At no time this winter have
cattle there been without outdoor feed.
The Indians have raised good corn in
that locality, and many of the whites
intend to make the experiment.
A ledge of iron has been discovered
not far from Tacoma, and close to the
railroad. The specimens found indicate
the ore to be what it known as gray
hematite, and it is thought to be rich.
COST OF LIVING IN 1849.
Whilst the Forty-niners made their
money easily, they also had to spend it
quite as freely. We were recently
shown a bill of those old days. The pri
ces are rather steep to say the least:
Auburn, Dec. la, 1849.
Mr. Kttirchlld Bought of Wi-Uler & Co. i
II fts Rice(3i7$ eta ..$ 9 00
9 tt Mcal(a.7 eti 6 75
II It Suriu:i8o cla 8 80
10 IU Cherriea (dried) (a 80 cla 8 00
10 ttu Peaehca (dried) (a $1 10 00
a tta Tcnf:$l.50. 3 00
77 tt Pork(o;8o eta 61 60
85 ttta Hecf (corned) ($$0 cla 4a 50
10 tha Rnialna (n oo eta 6 00
1 lb CftmlMa $a, a 00
150 Iba KlourfnOocli. 90 00
$247 65
Paid, Wktzi.kr & Co. .
The same bill of goods could now be '
bought for about 538 50.
Value ok a Timiif.r Claim. Upon
this point tho Fost-Intelligtnctr remarks
as follows: Puget Sound is noted for
its magnificent timber and its enormous
supply, and yet comparatively few peo
ple have an accurate idea how much
timber is to be found on a single quarter
section of land. A friend of ours, who
is a practical woodsman and a reliable
man, tnlorms us that he with others,
perhaps more competent than himself,
recently made a critical examination of
160 acres of land in the Samish section,
about sixty miles north of this city.
They went all over it most carefully,
counted trees, computed contents, and
reckoned up the vast quantity into lay
000,000 feet of k wed, merchantable
lumber, or an average of 75,000 feet per
acre. The stumpage on this tract at
the low rate of 50 cents per thousand
feet, would bo no less than Jt6,ooo, and
at common rate in tho ICust fa
would be $36,000. Is it to be wondered
when such facts and figure arc comtcm
platcd, that the timber lands of this
country ant in such demand ? Np farm
ing lands anywhere to be obtained are
at all comparable with them in value.
TEMPERATURE FOR 1880 1, AT I.F.W
ISTON. v Mean temperature for the entire year
of 1880 wos 49.5. Highest mean for
any month (July) was 72.. Lowest
mean for any month (Nov,) was 31.6.
Mean temperature for the entire year of
1881 was 51. Highest mean for any
month (July) was 73.3. Lowest, (fan.)
39.1. All above . Thus it will be
seen that the di (Terence between the
highest mean of July, 1880, and July,
1881, was one-tenth of a degree, and
the difference between the lowest mean
of any month in 1880 and 18S1 was two
and rive-tenths, and the difference in
the average temperature between the
two ye&rs was one and five-tenth. The
bov shows a uniform mild climate.