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About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (March 1, 1885)
THE WEST SHORE. 79 LEWIS COUNTY, W. T. THE County of Lewis ocoupies a central position in Western Washington, between Puget Sound and the CouikUd Elver, on the natural line of travel between those regions. To the north are Thurston and Tierce counties, bordering on the Sound.. On the east lie the Cascade Mountains. South are Clarke, Cowlitz and Wahkiakum counties, and on the west Pacifio and Che halis counties intervene between it and the raoifio Oooan. It is about ninety miles long from east to west and twenty eight miles wide, and has an area of 2,310 square miles of mountain, hill and valley land, the entire surfaoe being in its natural state covered with a dense growth of tim ber. Its watercourses are Cowlitz River and Chohalis River and its tributaries, the largOBt of whioh are the Newaukum and Skookum Chuck. The Cowlitz rises at the base of the giant snow peak, Mount Raiuior, or To coina, and flows across the eastern portion of Lewis into Cowlitz County, and thonoe south to the Columbia, Tlio Chehalis rises in the southwestern portion of Lewis County, on the northeastern slope of the Boisfort Moun tains, which lie to the west of Cowlitz Rivor, and Aowb eastward for thirty miles and then northwestward for forty miles, when it enters Chohalis Oouuty and continues on a westerly course to the ocean at Cray's Ilarlnm The Newaukum, in two branches, and Skookum Chuck flow down from the lower spurs of the Cascades and unite with the ChehaliB near the centre of Lewis County. A large portion of the county is composed of the most fertile valley land. The Chehalis Valloy, extending along both sides of the stream, is from five to fifteen milos in width, and what may be done with the thousands of unoo cupied acres is indicated by the splendid farms to be soon throughout the valloy. The Cowlitz Valloy is brood and contains some of the "best farms in Wostern Washington. The valley of the Newaukum is also wide and contains a large acreage of excellent agricultural land Tho Skoo kum Chuck, Tilton, Lincoln, Ilanaford, Silver, Doisfurt and other large tributaries of the Cowlitz and Chehalis, all have along thoir courses much exoollont bottom land Fully one-half the rioh bottom lands on Cowlitz River are yet unoccupied, and may be taken up under the Gov ernment laud laws or purchased of the Northern Pacific Railroad Company. Along the Chohalis there is also much bottom land yet open to settlement The soil of the river bottoms is a rich sandy loam, and produces a continuous succession of grain, grasses, vegetables and fruits. Fields of wheat may be soon averaging forty, and even fifty, bushols to the acre, oats that yield from fifty to one hundred bushels, peas from thirty to fifty bushels, and timothy and clover from three to four tons. All kinds of vegetables attain the largest sio. The farmers do not make a siccittlty of any one particular orop, but raise a gonoral diversity of products grain, grass, horses, cattle and hogs and muke considerable butter and cheese, all receiving due attention, and yielding thoir regular quota to the farmer's income. The throe large flouring mills in the county make a homo market at a fair price for all the wheat raised. , . , Hay is Bhippod to Portland and to different points on the Sound, and logging camps also consume largo quanti ties of hay, olmppod bnrloy nnd or.tu. Thoro aii bo excollout dairios in Chohalis Valley, and a first class article of ohoose is made at the Willoway Farm, flvo miles up the valley from Chohalis. Several hundred head of fat hogs are shipped from Chohalis during the season, and sovoral hundred more are put up at tho packing houso at that point Tho farmers generally raise fine work horses, woighing from 1,200 to 1,500 pounds, many of thorn Iwing ono-quartor to ouo-half Clydosdalo, and whioh are eagerly bought up by oity dealers for draying and other heavy work. Soverol teams havo boon Bold during tho past summer at prices ranging from t-150 to MOO. There are also plonty of good horses of all work, capable of doing good work on the farm and showing a fair rato of speed on the road. Sinoo tho general advance in tho price of boof, and tho increased demand for working oxeu in tho logging camps, cattle have received considerable atten tion. Tho grade is principally Short-horn, whioh inako' good work oxen and excellent beef, especially when stall foil Potatoes are raisod extensively as a field orop, and are shippod to all points betwoen Victoria and Han Frau oisoo. Tobacco is raised to a small extent, and thrives. Sovoral farmers have engaged iu hop culture recently, and have mot with tho highest success in getting their fields well skirted. Tho soil, climate, etc., are as favor able here as iu those jHirtions of tho Territory whero hop oulture has reached its highest development, and iu a few years this industry will no doubt bo one of tho most important and pnxluotivo in tho county. Tho settled portions of those valley lands cannot fail to create a favorable impression on tho visitor. Their neut and sub stantia farm bouses, largo barns, growing orchards, good stock and well tilled fields show a spirit of enterprise and thrift to be seen only whore the men own tho farms they cultivate. A majority of tho farmers havo taken them as homesteads, and gradually inmlo Improvements hewing down tho forest, clearing off a few acres each year, digging out tho stumps at ono time, making one small field and then another until now they have farms in which they feel an honest pride, and win me fertility ensures them comfort, iudo)ondouoo and leisuro to adorn their homes and beautify thoir surroundings. Although some parts of the county are settled up and well improved, more than half is yet ojion for new-comer. . As good land can bo taken np to-day as any of that which is now so suc cessfully cultivated, and cau bo brought into cultivation at much loss cost , Tho heavy growth of timlstr, which cost tho early settler so much toil and luW, and deterred many from the prairie States from attempting to make a home, cap now 1) made a source of profit by twilling the logs to tho saw mills. The uplands are not equal to Uie bottom lands in fertility, but produce good crojm of clovor and the different grosses and fair crm of grain, and are eiMHial)y adapted for orchards and dairying, and are now being settled in locutions near to market. The productive qualities of tho soil, which varies from stiff cjay to a due block loam, improve under cultivation, and