170
THE WEST SHOEE.
almoHt reached it, lies Lnke Washington, a beautiful
sheet of clear, Bpnrkling water, twenty-five miles in length
and from two to five miles wide. Giant forests hem it
in aiul fringe it pebbly shores, while snow-topped peaks
look down uKin it from the summits of the neighboring
luuUuUiiirt. Thorn m not in the whole "West a more beau
tiful Hjxit nor one more attractive as a summer resort. A
few years later, when Seattle has expanded and grown in
strength and opulation, her wealthier citizens will seek
tho banks of this beautiful lake to build their palatial
hoiiies. Across tho lake, on the east side, many families
have settled upon fertile tracts of bottom lands, where
fruit, tarries and vegetables yield abundantly. Between
tho north end of the lake and the Sound lies Lake Union,
threo miles long and from one-fourth to one-half a mile
in width. A small stream connects the two lakes, and a
company has been formed to construct a ship canal from
tho Hound to Lake Washington by way of this smaller
lake and the connecting stream. This will not only give
access to the great lake to vessels of every class, with the
consequent advantages to the various marine industries,
but will drain a large body of marshy land and add that
much to the cultivable area tributary to the city. This
is one of the most important projocts now in contempla
tion, and is only delayed by the usual dilatory action of
Congress. Tho surveyed and platted limits of the city
already touch Itoth of these lakes.
The hotels of Keattlo are superior in all their accom
modations. This combines with the fact that tho city is
tho converging punt of all steamors plying on the Sound,
ami therefore tho natural and most convenient starting
plaro for any and all points along that great " Mediterra
nean of America," to render the Queen City the rendez
vous of travelers and all who desire to spend a few days
in ro joying tho beautiful scenery and invigorating
climate. 1Mb as a place of residence and a halting
place for UmriHts, Seattlo will increase rapidly in favor
imd in the future, as in the past, no one will have aught
&mmrlH of l,rniH0 BtMsnlL C the "Queen City of Puget
TOO MUCH LAND "CLAIMED."
WHERE can I find vacant land? is the first question
! "kfcy r immigrants. We have been asked the
hove qoHHUon. and we have len ashamed to be com
In. M to say that, although a largo part of the country is
Ml wild pra.no, somebody pretends to claim "everv
juht" Tho old settler, are a little L greedy"
n faring to hold so much land. It would be far better if
our law. we such that no one could hold ovwZ
lUhoy .hould be, and to elevate the condition o ou
CLARKE'S FOBK MINES.
THE effort to secuTe the right of way through the Na
tional Tark for a railroad to the Clarke's Fork mines,
in Montana, is attracting much notice to that region.
The Billings Herald contains the following letter frora
W. F. Stone, a gentleman thoroughly competent to ex
press an opinion: "Since my recent return from Cooke
City to Billings I have been asked a great many queB
tions in regard to Cooke, its advantages, location, etc.
and the country surrounding it In order to give a
general reply to these inquiries I enclose the following
brief sketch: The New World mining district is located
in the southeastern portion of Gallatin County, the Na
tional Park forming its southern boundary. The Clarke's
Fork and Stillwater rivers find their source near the
center of the district now developed. The minerals
found there, so far, are gold, silver, copper, lead and
molybdenite. There are some placer diggings, but they
have never been thoroughly prospected. The gold quartz
is almost universally free milling, and some is quite rich.
The silver, in which this district abounds, is mostly
galena, and it is found in large quantities. Some mines
with scarcely any work done, such as the Daisy, show a
vein of GO feet of ore, assaying- from 50 to 600 ounces in
silver, with traces of gold. Most of the galena ores are
smelting. The district abounds in lead and iron and
everything necessary for flux. A great many experts
think that concentrators will be used successfully, as we
have an abundanoe of. wood and water. The camp
(Cooke) last year numbered about fifteen shacks; now we
have over 200 buildings, some of which would be a credit
to any of our Western towns. There are two smelters in
operation, with a combined capacity of at least seventy
five tons per day, two sawmills, a planing mill, a bank, a
blacksmith shop, three general stores, a clothing store
and seven saloons. Between 300 and 400 people win
torod there. A good Bchool will be in operation by the
1st of June. The district has not been prospected ten
miles from Cooke, and not very thoroughly within that
distance, and for all those who are looking for a chance
to invest, I do not know of a more desirable locality in
the Northwest We are almost sure to have a railroad
by the beginning of next November. We have demon
strated beyond a doubt that the winter is the season in
which to mine, freight and perform all such labor in
fact, for everything but prospecting. It is difficult to
describe so rich and extensive a mining camp in one
letter, but I may condense the matter by saying that, in
my opinion, it bids fair to eclipse any mineral district in
the United States."
The assessed value of property in the new county of
Skagit Washington Territory, is $885,000. ' This county
was cutjoff from the southern end of Whatcom in Decem
ber lastj and it is indicative of the remarkable growth of
that refeiou that this valuation is $171,000 in excess of
that ofJthe whole county of Whatcom prior to the divi
sion. Some 250 land claims have been filed in Skagit
county this spring.