The west shore., June 01, 1889, Page 330, Image 38

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TIIE WEST SHORE.
U.I i. .ttlr iarr,MiCg. U e
bit Jf H en" J"'rwL Aral ' r,
,, fcUth.hor,,.nl though itunowm o
Columbia U IK H'-1 wilb ., , ,. ,
rUome bM bad a career very similar to that ol
WUU. In ftU th-y Ut been eWy identN
iLictf tint It wmi atrange tbat iney
j '
iloul.1 U eparate corporations.
The
ill hi II 01 IUU
IlOUl I rjff tip"""
rl ainea that were worked on Bellingham bay for
eral years were iunk Id Mom, so tint place was
cn.uil.lrrM the teat cf He coal mining latino of
that .lity. No tl't superior coal measures are
fuuii.1 a few tniU lo the interior, Behome will be the
LI..bg point for that very important article of com
raefr. Itrit)KUta am! Fairha.'n, to the aouth of Be.
torn, ar tVi inoooUtM with the apirit of progress
that baa aelanl the llrr Uy citiea. Fairbaven h&i
one of the Urgt aw milts on the bay in course of
cvibitrodioD, and the Bennett railway ii building
from there t the timber ami minerals of the Skagit
country, by way of the Hraiih lake, wbcro excellent
ligtiil coal Im Ito diioomed.
Thre are aewal imrUnt enterprises which can
rxl m Mini.lrrol aa Monging to any particular one
of the tow n, but concern them all qually. Chief of
lhei are the railroli that art- Wing bnilt in various
directions from the Uy. The IMliogham Day k
British Columbia r. ad la now under construction to
tneet the New Wrttminati-r A; lVuingham Bay rail
ay now building aouth from New Woittninster at
the International Kiunduy, and alio to form a junc
tion with the (nadian Pacific at or ner Fort Hope.
Connection ill I ruad with the Canadian Pacific at
New VelmiDiler by the lit of Auguit This line
will al Ittervt the Weal Cwut railway, building
B rlhward from Krttle( MJ t,ai secure tranaoonti-
nental outlets to the north and to the south, Thb
line enters Sehome near the Whatcom city limit and
extends along the water front of the former city.
Two other roads are in progress f rom the bay to tap
the rich resources of the interior. A water works
plant is now being arranged to furnish a supply of
pure water from Whatcom lake, a few miles east of
the city, for use in the bay cities. A reservoir will
be constructed at a point two hundred feet above the
point of service, and the natural pressure will besof.
ficient for all requirements. Three saw mills, each
having a capacity of over a hundred thousand feet per
day, will be constructed this season on the bay. En.
terprises of various kinds are developing daily that
will soon bring Bellingham bay to rank with the most
important ports of Puget sound.
Whatcom county is rich in timber, minerals and
agricultural resources. The farming lands of the
western part of the county and in the river valleyi
are unsurpassed. It is chiefly the western part of
the county that is suitable for cultivation for the or
dinary farmer, however, as the surface of the interior
is too rough (or successful tillage. But the land that
is under cultivation yielilHrprisingly of all kinds
of crops, including many semi-tropical fruits, The
soil is of an alluvial nature and its fertility is almost
exhaustlcss. The hills and mountains contain any
quantity of iron and coal, which are about to be de
veloped now that them are facilities for marketing
and handling the product There are some indica
tions of precious motals also. Some of the best build
ing stone on the Pacifio coast is found near Belling
ham bay, the stone from which the Portland postoffice
building was constructed having been quarried near
Fairhaven. Tho cities on Bellingham bay and the
surrounding country offer strong inducements for the
investment cf capital in secure and profitable enter
prises. That section is bound to develop rapidly not
that attention is turned in that direction, and the
natural advantages which it possesses are unsurpassed.