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About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (July 1, 1883)
.66 THE WEST SHORE. The f illowing account of a prospecting trip through the Upper Nooksack portion of Whatcom county is ennden-ed from the Reveille. As they are the first known white explorers of that region, their report is especially interesting. From the east end of Whatcom lake they journeyed east' ward, and after crossing a low range ot hills, en tered a v.iiley three miles in width, through which several small streams were running. On investi gation these streams were found to head in the Nooksack valley, near the river, and flowed in a southerly direction. Whether they were tribu taries of tho- Skagit or Samish is not definitely known, but presumably the Samish. This valley, which is only four miles east of Lake Whatcom,' is pronounced by them to be the finest for ngiicullural purposes they have seen in the terri tory. The soil is a rich black loam, covered with vine maple and alder. Although the streams that How through the valley are but two Icet below the bottom laud, yet the valley is not swampy or marshy, except where occasional beaver dams occur, There arc occasional patches of bench land on which is found heavy lir timber. Kern land, with a few white pine, were also found in the valley. On the west side of the valley, and especially on the bench lands, no underbrush ex ists. Considerable biiclt was found in the valley, which is another indication of the superiority of the soil. On the cast side of the valley the land is covered with gravel, and for agricultural pur poses is entirely worthless. However, strong indications of c ul were found in this immediate section. At the north end of the valley, near the Nooksack, was found the finest body of lir and cedar timlier that grows in the territory. The excellence of the timliei may be inferred when it is staled that here the Indians procure the mate rial from which their best and largest canoes are made. Its proximity to the Nooksack river ren ders it valuable to loggers, as the timber can be cut on the banks and at high water rafted down the river and into Itellinghain bay. As yet the land is unsurveyed. Fifteen miles above the val ley, cast, me the foot-hills of the Ked mountains, southeast of Mount llaker. The foot-hills afford the finest summer grazing and pisture lands on the coast. There i plenty of grass and but very little timlier, Came, such as mule-deer, black and white-tailed deer, elk, bear, mountain shsep, whistling ermine and white grouse or ptarmig in, are here found in great abundance. These mead' ows aic above the timlier line, and beyond these are the tic Ms of perpetual snow. Although but very little proswciing was done, yet the party without any particular cfTon, found convincing evidences of the existence of gld in ptyinquan lilies. On the headwaters of the s mill foik of the Nooksack, coloi was found in two diff.Tem local ities. Another and better equipped expedition will soon continue the explorations. The lands about Wlutcom lake hive recently been surveyed, and the surveyor teiwrts that lo.ooo.uco feel of limlwr can lw felled and lund-locd inll) ,ne Ukr. while vast forests surround it fllr miles. The timber bor.le.ing on the lake is nearly all claimed by actual settlers. l:,lensive and valua able coal deposit, exist, the cropping h.aicalin -t quality intermediate between the New Castle and Carl dale. Tar agricultural land bordering the lake is limned, but far more extensive than a first view of the country would suggest. The soil u excellent. There are several very beautiful fer- tile little nooks among the hills, and a number of small lakes or ponds swarming with the finest mountain trout. Lake Whatcom is the most pic turesque lake of water on this coast. Dark and fathomless, with bold, rocky shores, the gray sand-stone sculptured and polished by the action ot the somefimes turbulent waters of the lake the fir-crowned summit of the mountains towering two thousand feet over the lake the bold, rocky points and promontories, and the little castle-like island, together make a picture worthy the pencil of a Bierstadt. The National Park Improvement Company will have sixty large tents set up in the Geyser basin, nicely floored, carpeted and furnished with hand. some bed-room sets. A large kitchen tent and another for fine liquors and cigars will make of me camp a complete hotel. The same accom modations will be uflbrded on the shore of the Yellowstone lake. The Upper West Gallatin and Boj;nun Canal Co., was incorporated nearly a vear am wirh n capital stock of $40,000. The object is to build Junjl twenty-live miles long and twenty-four feet wide, running from the West Gallatin riv.r and following such a course as to be able to irri gale the whole of Gallatin valley. It will pro bably cost $00,000 and will be of incalculable oeneiit to the valley and to, the city of Bozeman. Some time ago a company was onranitoit with a capital stock of $1,030,000, to construct a canal from Tongue river for the purpose of irrigating the dry lands in that region. The ditch i half completed and conducts water to a natural reservoir winch has a capacity of 11,000,000 gal lons. As it now stands the ditch will o.,! 400,000 acres of land from a worthless condition into extremely valuable farming land, valued at from $30 to $100 per acre. Montana with her irrigated larms will soon boast nf never-fading crops, notwithstanding the opinion of the poor numskull who recently wrote to a leading eastern paper that he "did not see a foot ui larmmg land in Montana." The amount of fine agricultural and grazing land locked up in the Indian reservations of Montana is simply enornuus. Much of the fine st lnd in the territory is withheld from settlement and is under the exclusive control of a few hundred Indira who make no earthly use of it and to whom it does no good whatever. A few acres near each agency are cultivated, and the remainder is seldom even visited by the luy proprietors. These vast area, would furnish thousands of homes to indiMiinuf and thrifty settler, who would be -nly too gh,l of an opportunity to go upon them vuh thetr families. The Crow reservation oc. eup.es many thousands of .quare mile, upon "h.ch are the rich farm, of the Big Horn, Liule . Ce'. Fork, Stillwater and many lcWr b""u- - Miles, who has examined it July, 1883. thoroughly, declares it to be the best . in the nolnoUZZ lands and minerals. The Piegan and Bl 2 reservation, to the north of the Missouri, occu " a vast expanse of the choicest of lands, the ik river portion of it being similar in topograph and in the richness of i soi, to Ule g River valley of the North. Its altitude I, low than the valleys to the south, snrf ;. . ..... , " "uwu seem that its crop products would be less subject 'to the blighting influences of frosts. The warm breath of the Japan current penetrates to a certain extent over us country, and as a result its winters are many degrees milder than r'"uuj 01 Dakota and Minnesota on the same latitude. The bottoms on this reservation are known to be very rich. The same may be said of the Fl.ui,..,! ... ervation, in the extreme northwest, with the addi lion that here the genial influences of the In current are more perceptibly felt, and apples, pears, p.ums ana other Jruits can be produced in great abundance. It would seem that k. bodies of land that should speedily be surrendered 10 me use and occupation of the incoming tide. It certainly will not be many years befnr tk. popular demand to have these enormous reservs- uons reduced or abolished will be heeded. At last an effort is beine made to utilize th vast water power of the Great Falls of the Mil souri. They have roared on in silence and wasted their gigantic force for ages, but mu,t now submit to the yoke and work for the good of mankind. From the Benton River Press we learn that 1 town site has been selected and will soon he sur veyed. The location is iust below the mouth ei Sun river, taking in the Black Eagle falls, some two miles below, and in one of the most delightful spots in Montana. Here is the most beautiful part ot the Sun river valley, a great, wide bottom stretching off to the northwest, while the valler of the Missouri partakes of the same character, the bad land bank, disappearing entirely from view. As far as situation is concerned, it would probably be difficult to find in any part of this great ter ritory a more delightful location for a town. The name of the coming metropolis is Great Falls, and a more appropriate one it would be difficult to find. The crentlemen inter.'Rted have secured title to about 6,000 acres on either side of the Missouri, from the mouth of Sun river down, at an expense of scarcely less than $100,000. The head and front of the enterprise is J. J. Hill, president and principal owner of the SI. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba road, and its -various important branches, and also president of the Canadian Pacific syndicate. The simole fact that Mr. Hill is the leading spirit in this en terprise, and has interest enough in it to come a thousand mile, to look the situation, over is ample assurance the city below the mouth of Sun river is to h fin fstnlilUtiArl fnrl with irriinrtpr OOSiibili tie, than any of u, may have conceived. The theory of the interested parlies is that there musi be somewhere in thi, great northwest a manufac turing center, and the magnificent water power of the falls of the M i:;niiri. which cannot be excelled in the world, clearly indicate, where that center is. Great Fall, will lie adjacent to the great com HictnVt 1 lint ituiA.. tit Kltccniirl tfl Belt creek; the Sand Coulee mine, are but four or five mile, distant, while the Deep creek coal, ac knowledged the best that has yet been found i0 if . 1 . . ls mnfln' luumana, u auiant out iweivc roues , n