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About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 1, 1882)
Bhoee. VOL. 8 No. 9. SShjS'Str' Portland, Oregon, Septerabor, 1882. Kntxrml nt !h PiMtnfflm, Par Annum. I MixU Mftlw. the West SPECIMEN NUMBER. Any one receiving this copy of The West Shore will please consider it an invitation to be come a regular subscriber. COMPLETE FILES FOR 1882. Complete files of The West Shore from Jan uary to September, inclusive, can be had, postage paid, by remitting $1.50 to this office. 1 SEATTLE. Seattle, the county seat of King county, Wash ington Territory, and beyond question, at least at present, the commercial emporium of the Puget Sound region has an eventful history, and has had her full share of the fluctuations and reverses incident to frontier towns. Settled in 1852 and 1853 by Messrs. Phillips and Horton of Illinois and F. Matthias of Penn sylvania, together with others who are now among the most prominent and public spirited citizens of this flourishing city, the town had in 1855 attained a population of about 300 souls when the Indians commenced hostilities. For), while the infant settlement was threatened with extermination, The barque " Brontes," lying at anchor in the bay, afforded a place of refuge to many of the wo men and children then living in Seattle, while the remainder sought refuge with the men in an extemporized fort from which, after several fierce attacks, the enemy was driven back with serious loss on their part. : The settlers were aided to some extent by a few shells thrown into the woods by the U. S. sloop of war Decatur. this struggle between the Americans and the abor igines only two white men lost their lives, Messrs. Holgate and Wilson. i In 1867, Seattle contained only 75 houses and 400 inhabitants. In 1872, Seattle had outstripped all competitors on the Sound and claimed a population of 2,000. Olympia, the Territorial seat of Government, coming next, with 1800 souls. .. Since that time the growth of Seattle has been onward and upward, only one period of anything like serious depression occurring during this inter val of ten years. Seattle, as many other places have done, aspired to and hoped for railroad ter minal advantages; and when it was announced, as it was supposed, authoritatively, that New Ta coma had been declared the terminus of the N. P. R. R. system of roads, a wet blanket, meterphori cally speaking, was thrown over the high hopes and lofty aspirations of the young city. ! However,' with what has been, by a recent writer, most aptly termed, "exceptional public spirit," the citizens of Seattle determined to be themselves, the architects of their own fortunes, '" with what results the facta and figures which we shall present to our readers In the course of this y article will speak with a force more potent than whole columns of panegyric and eulogy. A few words, however, by way of description may not be out of place in introducing the Grad grindian portion of our remarks. Whether the visitor approaches Seattle by sail or steamboat, from north or south, he or she gets no hint of the beautiful vision which is to greet his or her eyes until the boat has rounded West Point on the north, or Alki or Battery Point on the south. Rounding sither of these, Elliott's bay, with a shore line of from twelve to fifteen miles and a depth from a line drawn from point to point of say five to six miles, to the shotc, lies outstretched before him, throned on many hills, rising terrace above terrace, the fine young city of Seattle challenges his admiration and surprise. The white-walled town of San Buenaventura, in Southern California, presents much such a beauti ful picture, as the passengers on a coast steamer paze on it on some 'pleasant summer day. ' We do not know where, elsewhere, to go for a com. panion picture to Seattle, Such is the conforma lion of the land on which this city is built that from the bay, or say fromYesler's wharf the public buildings, notably the University, the new Trovi dence Hospital, the churches and the elegant pri- viae reridences, of which there are many, each and all seem to be shown at their very best from these particular points of view, and alt contribute to the creation of an impression which closer examination will but deepen and intensify, that where so much has already been done by a community Isolated from the rest of the world as this has been, except for water communication, much more will lie done when the barriers which separate tliem from the rest pf the world have been broken down ly tn pick and shovel of the railroad builder, Ascending one ol the many hills which environ it, town, a panorama of rare and constantly vary i Wutv unfolds Itself at every turn. Away off to the southeast, Rainier raises Its lofty pinnacles 1.. A ii mm it of eternal snow. Uwcr I. dmn downward to the foothills rolieil sempiternal green, and these In turn slope down r tn verdant meadows, which mark the en trance of the Duwamlsh river, swollen with the waters of its tributaries, the Green and Cedar, and smaller streams Into Elliott's liny. Follow ing the shore line Alki, or Battery Point risei from the water edge. Beyond, the eye catches a elimpseofPort Blakely, with its mammoth mill cutting over 200,000 feet of lumber a day, and it. B ... - 1 .i.Milw fur fhrir rar- deep sea ships waning imwi.... ernes for many a foreign lanu, ten thousand e.iti further away, tne umn of mountains, lift their rugged columns ami miles away their serrated crests, snow crowned throughout the year, Into a sky as blue ever bent aliove the blue L. ' w,n northward for many ami many Eeean, stretcning - - a league until West Point lift, a curtain of emerald . 1 .l mitmrinff still which hides the ur 7"- . - .h waters of the bay aw loveiy - ... . .h. ... leflillie irwwiuir - II hushed," or tossed into white freshening breeze, afford at once .t..tf.r- tn 1 leel 01 ve' tels which, to Seattle, cans DV a r . I . and a a nignw.j - , . .,-.. n erv iruwi, I" .rui. i It understood, is a summer 1 111 " g .. -.a lw.tjVr. of when it was his privilege to look for the lint time on these pleasant scenes. Of course, there are many days, weeks even, In the year when clouds will intervene and all this prosct les. Uni cannot expect It to be summer always. In calm 01 stoim, however, except when the line of vision is narrowed to a hand's breadth y fog or blinding drifts of snow, and these latter come but seldom, the site of Seattle, and the vis- ion of its surroundings like the prophet's view of erusalam is " beautiful exceedingly." ELLIOTT IIAV. This indenture 'of fliore line of Puget Sound extends from Alki or Battery Point, on the south, to West Point on the north, a distance uf from four to'five miles across, and runninghock to the water front of Seattle about six miles, The crescent shaped slime lines between the two points present a water frontage ol from twelve to fifteen miles, almost all, if not quite all, of which is available for city use. Sheltered by the two points above named from all prevailing winds, except an occa sional norther, secure anchorage is found the year round, and ample space for the accommodation of whole fleets and navies. It W hardly necessary to amplify iiion what must be patent to the most casual ubscrvcr, , FACTS AND flUUMKS. We do not know how we Can better Introduce the subject of Seattle's presrnt and piuajicctlve commercial lmiottance than by presenting the reader with a tabular statement of the steam and sailing vessels directly engaged In the Iraiispoita. lion of her mails, licr lnixrls and hei exports. The list is as follows and is believed to be Com plete 1 From Seattle to,' San Francisco) the steamships Geo. W. F.lder and Dakota in con stant service, arriving and departing every ten days. It Is lielicved that a third sleimcr will soon lie added, in which event weekly trips will lie made. (We were miormeu Uxin what we consider good authority that it Is Intended to Iransfoiin the steamer Mississippi, originally a blockade runnel during the late war, Into a first class passenger ship, to lie used a the third steamer just above alluded to.) The Oregon Irnrave ment Company s line of colliers, the Wslta Walla, Umatilla and Willamette, averaging cargoes uf 2,200 tons, and five trip a month. The stern wheelers Zephyr, Messenger and Otter plying daily between Seattle, Olympia and way porta the Geo. E. Starr, North Pacific and Idaho, from Seattle to Victoria, New Tacoma and way ports) the Lily, stern-wheeler, regular to Duwamlsh, White and Cedar livers; the Success, propeller, to I'urt Blakely) the Augusta, to Port Madison) the Nellie, to Snohomish river and all way ports) the Josephine, to Skagit river and all way ports) the Chehalia and Welcome to Mockilteo, Talallp, Coupevlllc, Oak Harbor, Uisalady, LaConrver and Whatcom) (lie Hope, to Ssnjusn, Lopes, ridalgi and Ores Islands) (he Dispatch, iq Nah Bay, Dungeness, Port Angelos and way ports. All of die above named boats, excepting the Sot) Fiao ico lines and the Zephyr awl Mswtfnger, carry the United State mail. Krigagnl la (astral