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About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (June 1, 1883)
142 THE WEST SHORE. June, 1883. of lhat vast tract of unoccupied land in the eastern emi 01 the county, the Yakima Signal uy$: Flir m fliclnnr of tiklU mili l,.wn tUm Hn.lli -' w m ' n j 111 1 IV a uuffu II 1 1. 1111 1 1 II side of the Yakima river, lieginning at what it known at I'aiker bottom, or Konewock, and ex tending to Horseshoe lnd, there are thousands of acies of the very best sage brush and bunch prats land In l (nnA in tti t..r.:i. ... u:il ...:i i' niv iiiiuiuij) nim m tun varying from twenty-four to fifty-three feet in deith, at shown by actual tests that remain un settled simply for the reason that there are no living ttrrams of water, and all of this vast i'o main can lie reclaimed by a ditch earning water from the Yakima river. Such a ditch could le made at a comparatively small exiwnse, at the Soil it l-Hii!v -atfil.yl ik It, t. . - - ' - Mii-vj ami nine ! iiu rui.K lu interfere. A ditch twenty feel in width and three lirf.illv in .I.....I. ! .1 t .1 " in 1 11c opinion 01 ine writer, carried a distance of thirty miles, would irrigale from one hundred and fifty to two hundred thousand aitcs, and if extended to Horseshoe l-end would cover twice lhat acreage. There is scarcely a quarter section that would lie ltween such a ditch and the Yakima river but what could I reclaimed, and that would not pay a water rental sufficient to remunerate any party or parlies engaging in such an enterprise. The Konewock dili h company have built several miles of ditch, but it is loo small to reclaim any considerable Nxly of .,nd. The Moxee ditch company aie about beginning the construction of a ditch that, as at present coniemplated, will reclaim twenty five or thirty thousand acres and perhaps more, at an estimated cost of seveniy-five thousand dollars. The climate in the locality referred to, eecially on the lower river, i not excelled ony where in the territory. The winters are usually mild and of short duration, and all that it neccs ty to make this vast domain the gaiden tpot of the territory it water. Capitalists who are look ing M investments that will yield large returns would do well to give this their consideration. Inigaied lands do not depend iiKin the fitful caprices of the weather, and a good ditch is a guarantee of a crop such as in possessor can not f'l lo appreciate. There it a difference of opinion as to the necessity of irrigating these lands, lands east of the Columbia and apparently as diy, are now lieing cultivate.). Ik-side the sec tion mentioned there aie thousands of acre ol good land, some requiting irrigation ,m others not, valuable timlier lands in the mountains, pltndid ranges for stork and .he p, nnd undevel 0ed mineral resources if great value. If not tl eir, at least the next the ti.le of immigration ill el in towards Yakima, and we arc glad to e that slept are now being taken that will lead lo the Immediate conduction of . railroad Ihrough the heart of I hit vast region. Cam., prairie is the name of . fine dairy region in Kllrk,.,, county, lying ., ,he wl) f Mount Adam.. 1 Ihf rfnl , rneadow. covered with w.te, i ,,e ,inler (i but furnishing excellent parage and a fine crop of h.yn.uinmcr. On three .Ule. the ground r.. gradually , ,h. mountains, while on the east I, streiche. cm, in . ,,, (j A ditch would drain several thousand i dairy farming, and large qMnliliei ,,f . annual V .'-i.-H o The Iltlle, and other ,x,int, lu . limited are. h ,h. fr , J "." . .nd,h,.hrtyielde,Uell. The amo, of houch lhedayig busiueawill proUI,yntv w swpplanled. ' llon i, UMm l0 iaf (hf Unr(.(i rf .emof waterworU The !,,, S,.,i8 W. f , to. ,,. capital stock of,, ''.., ( a large spring to the city. 8 8 Hon. Philip Riti is fencing 7,000 acr:s of land npar P if Tvill This chnws his faith in the land that has formerly been condemned as "too dry." The Colville country is receiving many immi grants, and from all the reports that come from there we are forced to the conclusion that there is no place mote desirable or offering more attrac tions in the way of resources or climate. There is still room there for thousands. W. S. Smoot, of Oneida county, New York, recently purchased of the Oregon Improvement Co. 4,420 acres of land near Endifott, on Rebel flat, in Whitman county, for $31,190.70. A colony from Central New York will soon occupy the land, and the town of Endicott will receive a forward impulse. Land cultivated in that vicinity has always produced well. The new town on Four mile, Whitman county, is called Viola, and is acquiring quite a metropol itan air. A good general store and a planing mill are among its business interests. Harrington is the name of the town recently laid out in the Big Bend country, twenty-five miles north of Sprague and nineteen from Har rison, the nearest railroad station. It is located in the center of one of the finest agricultural regions in the Hig Bend, a tract four townships square and containing 976 square miles, or 624,640 acres, capable of supporting thousands of families. It it known as the Cold creek and Lord creek region and does not alarm the new comer with n stretch of country destitute for miles of spring, rivulet or any other form of water. Harrington stands upon high bottom land ( f black soil, on a gentle slope from the east toward a little creek which ripples ihrough the northwest corner of the town, just across which, and still within the town limits, bubbles up a cool, overflowing spring. It is into this region such a constant stream nf covered wagons is now pouring. The Big Bend divided into east and west halves by an immense canyon or lavine, called the Grand Coulee, and so far immigration has been confined chiefly to the eastern division, while west of the coulee but little exploring has been done. In tegard lo lhat I'tlle known region we clip the following from the From an inii-rvirw u ;k r..i t n . . ha, recentlv .,,, fJZ .. ..... i . w.h t"L .0 the Hi, Lend coiry g ihe Grand Coulee which trends in a northwester .rrction, and discovered between the od 'anj .he river a very fertile tract of land abo fhirt v Grand Coulee. X B & Mountain country, and Col. Nash reeard. it one of the choicest apot in Eastim w T he outlet , which wTl be to To "'"C'on. Columbia a. IVics Rapl TW J n 'he he found to be in advance J ,fipnn T0" month to six .k. .T. ? '"S !'eR,on bV y "'med " Incken fn' hon Chelan. fuliure and timlter purchase Tl- ' " hastnt onthre men w , h , ' l?h and -Prove hi, claimrVo hK r!t !" TKken have also taken claim! and w ,1 P "n the tround f,., . . ' m.s and wain Prominent. Nl.ny other. arV iT""'1 ' vicinity. 7 nm re locting in the WESTERN WASHINGTON. Oil has been discovered in Whatcom countyby prospectors representing the Standard Oil Co of Pennsylvania. They were led to sear;h fur it by the numerous oily springs seen in various por lions of the county. In case this proves to be permanent oil well, a new industry will spring np. The rush of immigrants to that county still con! tinues. Atlanta is the name of a new town laid out on Samish bay, three miles from Edison. It has a good harbor and is destined to become the seaport for Samish valley. Another town, called Bancroft, has been laid out on Fidalgo island. An addition has been made to the young town of Ferndale, on the Nooksack. Several colonies have recently settled in various portions of the county. According to the returns made by their assessors, King county has a population of 10,000; Clarke, 6,211, and Lewis 4,644. There is a great rush for timber lands in the Chehalis country. Tenino, Winlock, Chehalis and Centerville have each a fine new depot. The largest month's business ever transacted at the Olympia land office was lhat of May just past. 17,960 acres were sold for cash, 210 home stead filings were made, covering 31,548 acres, 311 pre-emption claims were entered to about 50,000 acres, and final homestead proof wa made on 2,720 acres. This is prool positive that the greater portion of the immigrants pouring into the Sound country retrain and take up land. There are in Snohomish county, unappropriated, from 150,000 to 200,000 acres of land suitable for farming purposes, and nearly if not quite as much more suitable for pastoral or grazing pur poses, for which the climate is peculiarly adapted, especially to wool growing. This land is,depending on the locality, either loam or peat (bottom) and sandy or gravelly (highland). The former it found along the rivers and is generally termed "vine and maple bottom." It is newly formed, being composed of basaltic sediment and organic matter, It is more sandv as it approaches the water courses, depending in this respect much upon ihe rapidity of the current of the stream, while further back the soil becomes more peaty. The river and tide marshes are mostly peat but have a considerable sediment. The bottom and tide land is remarkably productive and as a con sequence has beon mostly settled up j although on the Millaguamish river, in the northern part of the county, .there are still tracts unsettled ; and on the Snoqualmie, Skykomish and Toll rivers, southeast of Snohomish City, are many god ranches to be found on the river bottom. The land, however, that is most convenient it the high land which has been deemed less valuable than the bottom land j but which many now value as highly, and which is beinc taken ud rapidly- T o I 1 It is as productive, much warmer, has a good soil, with a clay sub-soil, and is not subject to oveiflow. It can be cleared nearlv if not ouiie a cheap as bottom land. It lack the basaltic character of the bottom, and the peat of the marshes, but is traversed by swales that have rich loamy soil, fully as productive, and equally a valuable as the bottom land. These wales con stitute about one-fifth of the high land suitable for farming. For grazing purpose the high land