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