THE WEST SHORE.
167
also, Seattle maintains her queenly position. There are
engaged in the inland traffio of Puget Sound seventy-four
steamers, with a registered capacity of 7,735 tons, the
majority of which make Seattle their headquarters, where,
in fact, about ono-half of thorn wore built, wuuy of the
remainder being brought from a distance. These steam
ers ply between Seattle and the various ports up and
down the Sound, each one of these routes being a feeder
to the business of the city. There are also many sailing
vessels engaged in the Sound trade or running to various
coast and foreign ports. The whole commerce of the
Sound has a direct influence upon the growth of the
metropolis, and as it is impossible to give separate statis
tics of the city, those of the Custom House at Port
Townsend are presented. From these it appears that
the foreign arrivals in 1883 consisted of 587 American
and 32 foreign vessels; departures, 587 American and 50
foreign. Including foreign and domestic trade it is esti
mated that 2,000 vessels passed through Admiralty Inlet
Foreign exports amounted to $1,601,147, the greater por
tion of which was lumber in its various forms. Coastwise
shipments are estimated at $8,500,000, an excess of
$800,000 over those of the previous year. Of these lum
ber and coal were the leading articles. Much freight is
received and forwarded by the steamers which ply
between the Sound ports and San Francisco, fully one
half of which belongs to Seattle, the other half being
divided between Blakeley,- Port Townsend, Tacomof
Olympia and other ports.
There is one factor, not now present, which must be
taken into consideration in estimating the future com
merce of the city, and that is the Asiatio trade. That
much of the trade of the Orient will soon be diverted
from San Francisco to Puget Sound is plainly evident
The great Northern Pacific desires the handling of this
traffic, as does the Union Pacific by its new route, the
Oregon Short Line, and they will take the necessary
steps to secure it Lines of large ocean steamers will
soon be placed on the route between the Sound and the
leading ports of Asia, and a new avenue of commerce
will be opened up. The benefits which will accrue to
the Queen City from this large through traffio will be
very great When to this are added the enormous ship
ments of grain, flour and other products of the Inland
Empire east of the mountains, only waiting for the com
pletion of the road across the Cascades, it will be seen
what gigantic proportions the oommerce of Seattle must
assume within a few years.
The agricultural resources of the country tributary to
Seattle are far more extensive than is generally supposed.
Little of this is seen by travelers who arrive by steamer
and depart in the same manner. The county of King
contains some 170,000 acres of ogricultural land in its
present stage of development the remainder being hilly
and mountainous and covered with dense forests of fir,
spruce, hemlock and cedar. In the future, no doubt
much more of this will be classed as agricultural land
than at present These cultivable lands consist of tide
marshes and the bottom lands of the Snoquolmie, Cedar,
Green and "White rivers and their tributaries. These
produce large crops of grain, hay, vegetables and fruit,
and are not surpassed for dairying purposes in the Terri
tory. Much attention has boon paid to hops, and large
quantities of thorn have been raisod on White and Oreon
rivers the past few years. This industry has boon so
extremely profitable, espocially in tho season of 1882,
that the past two years the acroage has boon more than
doubled. The largest hop farm in the Unitod States is
that of the Seattle Hop Growers' Association. This
company has 800 acres on Suoqualmie Prairie, of which
300 are now in hops. About fifty ooros will be planted,
annually until the whole tract is covorod with vinos.
There are also many tracts of agricultural land lying
along tho Sound for miles which are naturally tributary
to Seattle, and whose products reach tho city by some of
the hundred Bteamors and sailing craft that ply upon its
waters.
One of the greatest elomonts contributing to build
up the metropolis is tho groat coal field lying along the
western base of the Cascade Mountains, which find tlioir
natural shipping point at Seattle. It is estimated that
tho bituminous coal fields of Western Washington cover
an area of 1,500 square miles, besides which are vast
fields of lignite of a superior quality. A , railroad runs
from Seattle to Ronton and Newcastle, by which the out
put of the loading mines roaches the city for shipment
Immense coal bunkers have boon constructed on the
water front, whore tho coal is stored, and from which it
is loaded into tho stoam colliers employed in the trade
between the city and San Francisco. The great bulk ot
all the coal shipped from the Sound has come from those
mines back of Soattlo, and was shipped at the motropolk
In 1883 the Ronton Company producod 23,508 tons, and
the Seattle Company, at Newcastle, 189,901 toiiM, making
a total output of the mines tributary to Seattle 213,499
tons. Of the gross amount two-thirds were shipped to
San Francisco, the remaindor going to Astoria, Portland
and other local markets. Fully 20,000 tons found a sale
in the home market and at Olympia, Port Townsend and
other Sound ports, tho principal consumers boing the
numerous steamers plying between Soattle and various
points along the Sound From 1871, when coal ship
ments in quautity first bogan at Seattle, to tho beginning
of the present year, 1,240,405 tons have boon sent from
that port, ol which 130,000 come from the Renton mine
and 1,110,000 from those at Newcastle. This is fully
two-thirdB the entire shipment from the Sound up to that
date, the output of mines ot Bollinghom, Ptiyallup, Sootoo
and other points aggregating about 500,000 ton. Tha
estimated output of mines tributary to Soattlo during the
present yoor is 273,499 tons, allowing to the mins of
Ronton ond Newcastle the somo product M last year.
The increase is the estimated product of two new initios
the Black Diamond ond those of tho Oregon Improve
mont Company which will have railroad connection with
Seattle over the rood just constructed up Oroen River,
and connecting the city with the Northern Pocifie system
at Fuyallup. The cool mining industry in this region ia