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About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 1, 1883)
o8 THE WEST SHORE. February, 1883, THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY. When completed, together with connections, this line will extend 2,850 nUes, from Montreal, Canada, to Port Moody, 00 the Georgian Gulf. The main line begins at Prince Arthur's Landing, oa Lake Smverint, i h Seti Hi't to V'lzzl peg, 435 miles. Westward, of 500 miles eon traded to be built, grading has been completed 4S0 miles. Iron has been laid to 1 point within sixty-one miles of the Saskatchewan river. A portion of the last sixty-fire miles has been graded, and redaeed crews hare been left at dif ferent points along the uncompleted sections, so that work has not altogether been suspended. The line is open for traffic west from Winnipeg 935 miles. On the Thunder Bay division, the road is operated from Winnipeg to Rat Portage, 13 miles east from Winnipeg. The remainder of the distance, about 325 miles, to Thunder bay, Is being operated by the Canadian goremment contractors, trains passing orer the entire road two times weekly. Contracts hare been let npon the Lake Superior section east from Prince Arthur's Landing, and work will be continued simultaneously along the whole section. This eastern line is near the shores of Lake Superior, making t more costly road, perhaps, than if the builders had Sought easier paths, but the facilities f" getting supplies from along the numerous firm which the road will cross so helps them in their coast ruction work that this route was con sidered the most feasible. On the west the pro posed point of crossing the Rocky mountains, as found by Engineer Rogers and settled npon by the company, is Kicking Horse paw, which is about I40 miles north of the boundary line be tween this country and the British potsewions, and nearly oo miles north of Pend d'Oreille. where the Northern Pacific enters the mountains from the west From Kicking Horse pass the Canadian Pacific road passes due west to Shuswan lake, and then turns almost due south and runs miles to I nompsoa nw, then bends to the west and strikes the Pacific coast at Port Moodr Ami ItV La.;.- I". .If ' wuw aatsB V7WIltl VIUi THE PACIFIC HEMLOCK SPRICE. Contrary to experience and observation relative . . . 1, . I 1 A to most other Umbers, me oiQ maiurra more perishable than the young and sappy poles and branches where they are exposed to the seasons, the latter being less shaky, and absorbing and retaining moisture less readily. For this eiicc the Leart-uoJ is almost solely used for in terior work, where it is little subjected to the ex tremes of outer temperature, as in the case of rude rafters, where, duly seasoned with the bark on, they are singularly lasting and very elastic. hh much of the snap and spring of the yew and cedar, combined with a due degree of strength. Only in the cold forests of California, contigu ous to rivers otold creek banks at the southern limit of its growth, is the Pacific hemlock spruce ever found much over two feet in diameter, and about sixty or eigh'yfeet high. Up to extreme age it preserves the perfect, symmetrical, spire form, and is altogether less marred by unsightly dead limbs, than its kindred of the East The lame observation applies to Alaska. If the tree were more exposed than in its native coast clime, might take on a somewhat broader conic style. In the young state, say from ten to fourteen feet high or more, the bark is relatively smooth and even, branches exactly level, thin, fan-like, long and slender, with cherry-brown bark. Great fomta of the Pacific hemlock swuee (Morton's) aitend along the coast from California to Alaska. It is one of the most beautiful and delicately-foliaged of evergreens and very spiry, 1 toej are even more V" 1 in eastern Canadian. These tall spi.-V. farther north, are clad in denser m of d ,ir green verdure, clothed fiom the st too to 0 feet upward, or more. The body is from tw . to tit feet, and occasionally eight fed ia diameter. Hut along the coat territory men tfoned the tree it only from utyi0 seventv.fiv. u In height, ami rarely over two feet through. The thickened lower bvanchesaKl in tempering the dime ia all traons,adtheU1aCe,nl.ke redwood, lod weir use, precipitates little moisture. It U note worthy how admirably this tree rallies tnd thV... la the lop.hc broken off by the tempett-which wen cases we Conceit out of its too ardent aspira. ' ' v '"""nv 1 rial 11 tears training to reasonable nt rat mr.,.;. ... ..... 1 ine orauing the Matter. It uim,J l . .. - - " .th toeuei trees known, wherever it will fWub. at all, whether fel the orchard, garden, yards, or for game of all una. the reservation limits, the country could not bt prwpeceu, uw onuu me leaos oe worked that have been discovered. Anwilin, - . . .s m ueeulon lately rendered by the Interior Department tw wuu uu uicu uuu, uanuu out and recorded Drior to the withdrawal for purpow can go to work now and develop them wlthnnt mere-wiion me utaij M Inought to havt lmDOsed. We have seen mm . . - nns specimens of quartz from the Okanagan. Marshall Dim u, jiw, npmwu uiu uiuera nave Interests In the mine of that section, and hv .. uau iut several years, but nothing has been done to ascer tain tneir wortn since tne Howard-Moses treaty. The Methow coantry prospects equally weU, and ir tne treaty restrictions were once removed, there Is but little doubt that it would be soot overrun with DrosDectors. and leads ha hw. ered that would yield large pay. These leads ap pear to be or tne same mineral that la found ia the Cascade mountains, or the head waters nf the Yakima. The same belt runs np north through Cariboo, and perhaps the leads in Alaska are all extensions of the same belt. Prospecting has been going on wttnin tne last year just over the line in the Okanagan country, and some valuable discoveries have been reported. FARMS FOR ALL. It makes little difference what branch nf farm. Inc one desires to follow, nor on hnw lnren scale, there is sufficient territory in Crook county .me souinern nairot Wasco) to meet the require ments of hundreds of men. Of course the anil and climate are not adapted to the cultivation of certain iruita ana grain, but all that Is to be pro- aucea in Mils latitude anywhere in the Cnited states, may be grown with a greater or less de gree of success here. There are thotuanri nr of land here, known as sage brush lands, that wan tmaii amount or labor may be converted Into profitable forma. The reaann that Ihl, l.nj has not been subjected to cultivation is owing to uw iaci inai an me first settlers of this section were stock men, and their whole time was occu pies in caring for their flocks and herd. n... as the natural rrnvth rr mc. 1. 1 - n unwnug less abundant, a different Industry must be followed, iuc rouniry is Being settled by farmers. The land that a few Tnn Jrri vast k..v. " "w tUUUKIll fit for cultivation has proved itself to be as liber al In Its returns, according to the amount of ""Fiweo, as any soli in the state. We are situated In the Interior, with no outlet except by teaming, and consequently producing on a large le doe. not pay. except In the cases of such ri, : '"""Ported, such as wool, beef.etc But there is a ..1. .. t. .' i.?!!' 75 the year " orth 11.15 per bushel . V mie. in rep y to those whn ' w KlTe ,ne bove as ablt of any of t'PPER COLUMBIA QUARTZ LANDS. hv. been $J?Zmhet of c'lm there unworkM bu J ,L Whleh lle u . . ou"e the eountrv u.tH ..um uie ruinea Tk . been Informed, rood led,- , .1 ' We nTC mlner.1 ,wl of e same kind r OUR SCENERY. The great Inlet of the North American conti nent, corresponding to the Mediterranean, It Puget Sound. When theages have compacted the settlement of this coast and crystallized its colon ization, the surrounding scenery will give to Its then old towns and cities a remarkable similitude to those on the European sea. Vesuvius affords a restful view to Naples; one of rugged grandeur which never wearies the eye. But Vesuvius It 1,000 feet in heighth, whilst Mount Ralner, Is 14, 441 feet above sea level. On days when the at mospheric conditions are favorable, Rainier Is seemingly distant from New Tacoma the distance of a gun-shot, while the actual distance, estima ted by the scale of a map, Is a little under flrty miles In an air line. To the eye of him not fa miliar with such scenes, the first view of this no ble mountain, as first seen from New Tacoma, must be entrancing. A long snow line stretches for many miles on either side of the mountain, and enhances the scenes for some parts of each year. From the upper part of the city may be. seen without the aid of a glass three of the noble passes which nature has cleft through the range and invited man to wrestle with her for a gate way to the world's commerce. GRAY'S HARBOR. This harbor gained celebrity by the long discus sion of Its availability as the terminus of the Northern Pacific railroad. There Is little douoi that the coantry in Its vicinity once settled, and proper means used for the drainage of the lanas, this harbor and Its surroundings would form one of the most desirable points for habitation, along the Pacific Coast. Some day no doubt a weaunj coantry and population will grow up along Its shores and on the small streams entering Its wa ters. Gray s harbor near the ocean Is, with IU estuary about fourteen miles wide, north and south and from Its ocean gate to the mouth of the Chehalis river, east and west some sixteen mil The water on the northern side of the harbor Is shallow, on the south side the water Is deeper; on this side Is the exit to the ocean, this gateway to perhaps one and a half miles wide. Once within this entrance shipping Is secure from ronB weather. The fall of snow throughout the Pacific nortn west, followed by the south winds, will pf0" very beneficial to all faU town wheat. Fro present appearances the promise of a large crop, particularly east of the Cascades, are exceeding1! bright.