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About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 7, 1889)
SHORE. m WEST The council of Seattle, upon the report of a competent engi neer, decided to provide for supplying the city with water from Itock creek, a tributary to Cedar river, flowing into it about twenty-six miles northwest of the city. This involves an aque duct or conduit to conduct the water to reservoirs in the city, the discharge being obtained by gravity, pumps only be ing used fur such part of the city as may be too high to be thus supplied from the proposed source. Rock creek is to be relied upon as the principal source of supply, but instead of piping the water direct to the city it is recommended that it be con ducted Into Swan lake with such other water as may come in the way, and that this lake be used as a head or lmKunding reservoir for the city water works. At the head of Rock creek, and in the vicinity of the little lakes lying on the divide be tween the Cedar and the White and Green rivers, west of Rock creek, there will always be a rural population very few in num ber. The ground throughout this region is a glacial draft, of a gravelly nature, which readily absorbs water and watery sub stances. This combination of a sparse population, with a wooded country and a porous soil, is such as to reduce to a minimum the chances of contamination. Kock creek at the point It Is prooeed to drain it is 55t) feet above high tide in Seattle harbor. Swan luke i 475 feet high. By far the larger part of the city Is less than 200 feet above the harbor. From Swan I tke It Is proced to feed two reservoirs having different elevations located within the city limits. The plan of water works proposed for the city may therefore tie said to embrace a high service and a low service gravity system, each supplied through one conduit from Swan lake, and a high service pump ing system supplied from the upper reservoir for such portions of the city as can not lie reached by the high service gravity works. The supply being drawn mainly from Rock creek through Swan and intermediate lakes, will contribute the amount they are caMe of furnishing, the estimate being baaed on a supply of 25,000,000 gallons daily. Fall river valley Is, In many respects, the most desirable place for a home in California. It is the southernmost valley .of the Tit river system and is situated mostly In the northeast ern portion of Shasta county, a small portion being in I.assen county, at an altitude of 3,100 feet above the sea level. The valley lias daily stage communication with Redding, eighty five miles distant, and a tri-weekly stage and mail runs to Sis eon, sixty miles. The traveler by private conveyance has his choice of several routes from the railroad to the valley, both toll and public roads. To railroads are expected to soon start from the Southern Pacific for this valley one from Anderson and the other from some point near Sin-on. A telegraph line from Mott will soon be built through the valley t connect with the Alturas and Sunnvllle line. Fall river valley, with the mailer outlying valleys Immediately tributary to It, embraces about 200 square miles of till this soil. Though the valleys, Urge and smsll, are almost destitute of treei, yet the encircling mountains are slocked with an abundance of limber, princi pally pine (a portion of It being sugar pine), some fir, juniper, cedar and oak, plenty to supply the home demand for fuel and lumber. The climate of Fall river valley la by far Die mildest of any valley Id the Pit river system. Snow usually falls in the winter but remains only a few weeks, and It quite olten hapjens that plowing, seeding and general farm work goes on all winter. The rainfall Is abundant and continues until late In the srinf. The soil and climate art very favorable to the growth of all tin fruits and rewUblea peculiar to the temper ate sonee. Peara, apples, peaches, plums, cherries, grapes and treo the delicate apricot are grown In this valley with perfect success, and are of exceedingly fine flavor and quality. It U ! only lately that the people of the valley realized how well ft, i country is adapted to the production of fruits, and manym now turning their attention to the planting of fruit trees- Swasey Maxl. On the overland road east, twenty three miles from Boise and eight miles this Bide of 0. Corder's ranch, has been found i a remarkably rich ana extensive system of quartz ledges cu rying free gold. Corder's was once a stage station and the uni versal stopping place for freighters, stockmen, neighbonng ranchmen and the general traveling public. The country a diversified by rolling hills. The firxt discovery in the district was made by Mr. Neal, and it ia a ledge one hundred feet in width and carries free gold plainly visible to the unaided ej in almoBt every piece of rock examined. The cropping! of thii wonderful ledge have been traced by the fl mt for three milea, and where Mr. Neal made his location the rock pays on top and Increases In richness wherever uncovered. He is now crow cutting to ascertain its average assay value. There is i suffi cient quantity of $15 rock now in sight to keep a one-hundred-stamp mill running for months. In the immediate vicin ity is a system of smaller ledges that seem to lie feeders or lit erals of the greater or mot'ier ledge, all of which prospect well in free gold. The gold is unusually fine in quality and U worth $18 or $20 per ounce. O. Carder has run a tunnel seventy feet and struck the ledge eight feet in width. It carries the same character of gold as (lies the original discovery. The district also abounds in rich placers, which are being rapidly located. As usual in the majority of such discoveries thousands and thousands of men hud passed and repassed over it for yean with no thought of the wealth cropping out under their feet and hidden beneath j and its final discovery was by accident. Hoi (Idaho) Dtmocrat. In speaking of the timber resources of Alaska the Canadian LmUrman says: "The most common tree in Alaska is the Sitka spruce ; the most valuable, the yellow cedar. Both these trees grow to a large size, some of them reaching a height of 250 feet, with a diameter of six feet near the ground. Gener ally they are about four feet through at the butt. The Sitki spruce makes a good coarse lumber, much like the spruce and fir of California. The yellow cedar is, however, a much more valuable tree, having a close, fine grain and being remarkable for its strength and durability. It is also very fragrant, and taking readily a fine polish becomes a most desirable cabinet wood. Hemlock is also a common tree in Alaska, with willow and alder along the wator courses. The bark of the hemtoik will some day become valuable for tanning purposes. Intimit ing that the forests of Alaska are in some sense restricted, compared with the extent of that territory, is not to my that they will ever sutler extinction. Centuries hence, when the forests further south have all disappeared, the coming genera . tlon will lie able to draw their supplies from this vast timber reserve, with ita power of production and ita immunity from the ravages of fires, and it will prove practically InexhuitbW. Owing to the moisture of the climate and the thick coat of most that everywhere covers the ground, it is impossible for a firs to occur in the forests of Alaska." The people of the lower sound are now circulating petition asking that a congressional appropriation bs made for the pur pose of dredging the Swlnomisb. channel. At present all steamers enroute from Tacoma and Seattle to Whatcom and lower sound pointa are obliged, unless the tide serves JoJ right, either to wait for the tide or almost circumnavigate Fi dalgo island, going some fifteen or twenty milea out of a itraigM
