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About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 1, 1883)
Jannary, 1883. THE WEST SHORE. 3 old mill man of experience, it the trusted super intendent of tliis large establishment, including the store, logging camp, steam tug and all other interests of the firm connected with the mill on thi sound. The city of New Tacoma was laid out in a most admirable manner adapted to the surface of the ground, and with two great divisions separated by Division Avenue, having a general direction east and west. The city faces east and the direc tion of its tiun.nered streets is east and west, commencing at Division Avenue on either side. Its principal business street at present is Pacific Avenue, being on the lowest of the three distinct benches. The cross or lettered streets beginning with A run parallel to Pacific Avenue. The railroad company is at present grading this Avenue, using (or this purpose a temporary track laid through the centre of the street, and a sub stanti.il main sewer also is being placed on Pa cific Avenue. When these improvements shall have been completed according to the plans and specifications this will certainly be the finest street in the Territory. Next to Pacific Avenue in Im portance comes C street, which is plainly destined to be the next business street. Where Ninth street crosses it two diagonal avenues converge into it. Here, facing the bay, are located on the same block, the Tacoma Land Company's office (a large building), the fine new court house, and the new brick office of the Tacoma Ledger. Hut such are the location And direction of Ta coma avenue thnt its prospects appear to be su perior to any other thoroughfare in the city for fine residences j and the belief is not uncommon that it may lie ultimately used for business houses. It is, like all of the other avenues, loo (ect wide, running on the highest bench the entire length of the city, from north to south ; and from any part of this avenue the best views may be had of the grand scenery, which of itself is some day des tined to make this city famous. Tacoma avenue over-looks the rest of the city lying below it, the bay, including the wide scope of tide flats through which the Puyalluy river meanders, the Puyallup Indian Reservation and the valley and mountains beyond it ; and this avenue is nearly on level with and leads to what is known here as the prairie, but which is in reality a more splendid natural park than graces the environments of any other city. We see in the future the evident ad vantages New Tacoma will have over other places in the pleasing impressions it will leave on tourists and traveler seeking pleasure, from the magnificent scenery ra ngin view of the carriage as it rolls along. Tacoma avenue will sicedily and permanently be reinforced by the pleasures of a drive through this park. Pawing out of the south end of Tacoma avenue into the county road by drive of say two miles through the timlier, you are carried to the boundary of the park, which is indicated by a licit of evergreens and low scrub oaks. The surface of the prairie is fine gravel, so that your wheels may roll as smoothly in one direction as another, there being short stubble of tough grass rooted in the thin filling of black vegetable mold which lies between the small pebbles, and it gives to you a soft, smooth and agreeable sensation suggestive of riding over brusscls carpet. In the spring and early summer the prairie is carpeted with wild flowers of beau tiful hue, and, later on, wild strawberries tempt desire all over the plainSr Separating this prai rie on all sides from the fir forest which surrounds it, is a belt of low evergreen trees of various heights, arranged by nature at such Intervals as to suggest the hand of art. This belt of ever greens is from a quarter to half a mile in width in places, and you may drive through it for twenty or more miles. The outline of the prairie being of course irregular, the scene may be varied In your drive by occasionally venturing Into the open country, the road-bed being the same all of he entire distance smooth and delightful. There are localities in this belt of evergreens where the trees are arranged in such perfection of beauty that the hand of art could not improve upon the arrangement. By a ride of about eight miles over this prairie we are brought to Gravelly Lake and that portion of the prairie owned by Captain J. C. Alnsworth, the Portland capitalist, men tioned above as one of the commissioners who selected the terminus. He has here bought a large estate, including Gravelly Lake, which he hn selected as by far the most Inviting of all the rural retreats known to him In the northwest t and in making the purchase of several thousand acres of land, and this valuable little body of water, he foresaw in addition to the pleasure and recreation which it would yield to him and his family during the summer months, the value which would attach to it in the future by reason of its close proximity to the terminus. From Gravelly Lake we cross the prairie to the north and east, pass through the belt of evergreens once more, and enter the fir timber to Wapato or Tacoma lakes. So that with the splendid scenery of New Tacoma, boating on the bay, hunting on the tide marsh, the large area of ground devoted to the uses of a public park within the city limits, the magnificent scenery, the drive from the northern extremity of Tacoma avenue to the prairie, and thence in a circuit by way of Gravelly lake to Ta coma lakes, and back through the evergreens the denitens of and visitors to this place will not lack the meant of healthful pleasure, a from Hi ele vation and location in general it doe not lack the conditions of health. As to agricultural resources, New Tacoma Is favored In marked degree that Is, for a city of Western Washington. Puyallup valley, a view of the lower part of which it commanded from all parts of the city, is thirty miles long by from three to five miles wide, and richer parcel of ground for some uses is not easily found. It Is prin cipally alluvial deposit and is supposed to have been jn the past times remote, an arm of the bay, for the deposit of sandy soil is very deep. At Puyal lup town, which Is at a distance of nine miles from New Tacoma, a well suak espostd at the j depth of 100 feet a log of cottonwood. The na tive growths are of Cottonwood, vine-maple and alder. Scattered all over this valley are something leu thsn sixty hop growers, erewhile imiecunious, but now, by virtue of poor crojis in Kuru and die where, highly pecunlous, that is, they sold their hops at sixty-three and eighty-five cents wr pound as against the ruinous depression to five and eight cents a few years ago. But it is found that this valley brats the whole world in xlnt of quantity and quality of the yield per acre in hops. The sixty hop growers with only an average of ten acres each have thil year raited 1,000,000 pounds of cured hops, on which they will realize 1 net profit ff si out $400,000, which calculated for (be profit per acre beats King Cotton It) hjj tul cyon days, or any other crop. For the fifteen years since hop growing began In this valley, It is found that the price realiied has avernm-d wvit jo cents per pound) while the cost of raiting has been leu than nine cents per pound. This land is peculiarly adapted for hop culture and has al ready txcome famous even in Europe on this ac count. This great hop garden, practically in its infancy, is one of the resources of New Tacoma, lieing tributary thereto, and it Is rich for fruits, grasses, oats and vegetables. The hop farmers are now Investing tome of their latge gains of last season in lots in the city of New Tacoma. The valleys of the Stuck and upei While rivers, connected and similar in character, arc also tributary to New Tacoma. Thry will sup port a large farming population, South ol New Tacoma are the Ncsqually plains, on which there is a considerable farming population, and a little to the east of these and Including the region of the Tacoma lakes It a licit twenty miles wide and fifty miles long running southeastward, of clay loam soil, heavily limbered, strong and rich like that ol the foot hills bordering the Willamette valley, on which crntof from forty to fifty bushels of wheat have been rased to the acre, and on which mine of the best fruits of that valley are grown. This belt of land it being rapidly settled iiMin, and lis orchards will stock the fruit cars of the Cascade division. Passing southward over the Pacific division about sixty miles we come into Iwlt county and the valley of the Chehallt river. That county and that valley are and will In the future more largely be Iribulaiy to New Tacoma, the distance of the haul being short, and here is, and here will In the future he, the market fur the pro ducts of that rich and large agricultural district of Western Washington. We conclude a long and yet not exhaustive ar ticle by brief reference to the great and only true bituminous coal field found on this coast for which New Tacoma is the shipping xilnl, and to the relations of this city with the wheat growing re gions of the Northwest, Twenty-one miles from New Tacoma, up at the head of Puyallup valley, discoveries were mule tome half down years ago of bituminous coal. These discoveries led lo the building by the Northern Pacific comjmny ol the road to Wilkt son and the coal measures. Here two mines were ojiened, one operated by the cfiiany and the other by Mr, F 8. Smith. Later, numerous vein were discovered oa Carbon river, three miles farther east In the high foothills ( the Cas cade range not far from the has of Mount Rainier, and after some trouble ami time espended, targe capital was emptied In opening the mine there. Tliis wasdone, coal was shipped, ami It astonished the market of San Francisco, ami the mine was sold lo the Central Pacific railroad magnates (u three-quarters of a million dollars, ami thry art now operating the property and roios lo ship 1,500 tons of coal per day, having to this end of il.' id four new large Iron steam colliers of the Int. 4 improved pattern and machinery, two of which are now on their way from the eal. To fa cilitate shipment In these colliers, the Northern Pacific railroad company is now building large and exprmlvtcoal bunkers, an engraving of which Is presented in this issue. In addition to the three mli mentioned, another has been opened at South I'rairle, some twenty miles p the lry. from "Men 't tipecterj heavy shipments wlj)