m
VOL. XIV.
Oregon and Washington Timber.
Tho following excellent article is from the
JfUt'ustppi Valley Lumberman, published at
Minneapolis, and bears good testimony to the
value of our forest resources:
It would scarcely be possible to exagerate
the extent and value of the forests of this re
gion. Ka3t ana west oi tbe tjascade moun
tains there are large tracts of timber lands,
which the lumbermen have not yet invaded.
Many such tracts will be brought within the
reach of markets on the completion of the
transportation lines now in course of i-ou-struction.
In the Blue mountains n'td on the
eastern slope of the Cascades the supply of
timber is more than sufficient to cover the
local demand. It will yield a large surplus
for shipment to the level timberless territor
ies lying eastward But west of the Cas
cade mountains, aud especially in Washing
ton Territory, the lumberman must look for
the material which will keep his mills at work
without fear of exhausting the supply. The
finest body of timber in the world is embraced
between tho Columbia river and British Co
lumbia and the Pacific ocean and tho Cas
cade. At a low estimate, one half the
growth of this Puget Sound district consists
of trees which will yield 20,000 feet of lum
ber to the acre. The approximate quantity
therefore, in this tract alone, tho area of
which is nearly as large as the State of Iowa,
is not less than 100,000,000,000 feet. During
the last 35 years the aggregata cut has been
perhapsnot moro than 2,500,000,000 feet.lcav.
inga supply of 157,500,000,000 feet from
which to draw. The principal grovths aro
fir, pine, spruce, cedar, larch and hemlock.
although white oak, maple, cot'onwood,
ash, alder and other vantics are found
in considerable quantities. Three kinds
of cedar, two of fir, and three of pine
are indigenous to the couulry. The tir, how
ever, exceeds in quantity -and value all the
other species combined, aud the cedar ranks
second in this respect. Trees attain an un
usual development, both with regard to
height and to symctry of form. Pcihapsno
whet o else aro they found so tall, straight
and gently tapenug as to tit them peculiarly
for ships' spars and masts. Hie yellow tir is
not in'reqtieiitly 250 feet in height; the true
120 to 1G(I feet; the silver hr 150 feet; white
cedar, 100 feet; white oak, 70 feet, and black,
spruce, 150 feet. Cedais have been found of
63 feet girth and 120 feet in heighth. The
sugar pine of Oregon is equal to the best ce
dar. Oldiniiry sized trees yield 0,000 to
,000 feet of lumber each, and many as much
of 15,000. Ut this are made railroad ties,
boards. deals, fencimr. laths, valine, rickets.
barrel staves and heads, household furniture
and ship timber. The product ot the saw
mills is shinned to San Francisco, the Sand
wich Islands, Mexico, the Pacific coast of
South America, Australia, and even to Eng
land and France. Chioa and Japan. The
first saw mill was built on Pnget Sound in
IBM. with a canaoitv of 1.000 feet daily.
In 1853 a steam saw mill was erected at
Seattle which could cut 8,000 to 10,000 feet
per day. The business has since greatly in
creased. The lareest saw mill of the fifteen
in operation on Puget Sound is that at Port
Ludlow with a capacity of 200,000 feet per
day. The other mills are situated at Port
Gamble, Port Madison, Port Blaktly, Port
Discovery, Seabeck, IJtsalady, Tacoma ana
New Tacoma, and the remainder at Seattle.
The aggregate daily cutting of these mills is
over 1,000,000 feet. Some of the logs sawed
are enormous in girth ai'd sometime 115 feet
in length. Planing mills are attached to
most ot these largo saw mills and dressed
building lumber is obtained as lequired. Each
mill is admirably situated, with a view to
economical production, ana ntany every one
of them comprises a town of itself, with
stores, shops, steam tugs, lumber vessels and
dwellings owoed by the companies. It is the
custom at these mills to wait for an order and
then to faw the lumber to fill it. Sometimes
a fleet of half a dozen large vessels may be
seen at the same time loading lumber just
cut by the saws of these great mills. Ship
building in connection with this business, is
airo an important ieatu.ru.
The export of lumber from Puget Sound
dnrinir 1881 amounted to 174,170,700 feet.
valued at $1,718,226. Of this, 41,760,700
feet valued at 3SH,UWJ. were snipped to
foreign ports and the remainder coastwise.
Owing to competition and to the great facil
ities of production, the price of lumber has
steadily fsllen in recent years in spite of the
fact that the demand has constantly increaied.
The average price in 1881 was $9 60 per
thousand feet.
The existing conditions of lumbering at
Pnget Sound could not be more favorable.
The foretts remain for the most part in vir
gin condition, except for a distance from the
streams aud estuaries; the shores are not to
abrupt as to prevent easy handling of tbe
timber; the harbors are numerous, deep and
.'and will sheltered: tho hardships, losses and
delayi incideut to eertji te-ssr mmown;
jops may be noate iu wn me liver wiinout
danger of a sudden e and the breaking of
"booms;" by clearing the river channels of
drift, logs and lumber may Le ran out for
loig distances, and rafts may be toned with
ease on the waters of the sound with oily the
ebb au I now of the t de to consider in mov
ing thtm to points of shipment. In this way
loggers bring logs from all the bodies of tim
ber along the shore lines to the mills and dis
pose f them at fair rates to the. owners.
This gives employment to hundreds of work
iogmrn. There are still very many decirabln
places for establishing not only siw mills but
factories for the manufacture of barrels, pails,
house trimmings, doors, saehes, blinds.
moldings, and every other article made oi
wood. These opportunities aro not confined
to Puget Sound They exist along the har
bors and bays oi the entire coast ol Washing
ton Territory and Oregon, and are only used
as yet to comp-iratively small extent. For
some purposes, and prrticularly in the manu
facture ot beautiful household furniture, the
ornamental woods of Oregon are unsurpassed,
Halibut.
Several years ago, says the Seattle Pott-In
telligencer, an attempt was made to pre cure
halibut off Cape Mattery by vessels fitted in
San Francisco and also belonging to Puget
Souud, but without success, and the enter
prise was abandoned.
In 1870 the schoouer Emily Stephens, of
Astoria, 08 80-100 tons burthen, Capt. Alex
ander A. Henderson, arrived at Neah bay on
the 16th day of July, from San Francisco,
aud sailed on the 18th on a cruise for halibut,
and returned on the 2uMi with 10,000 pounds
of halibut on ice. These fish were reported
to have been taken 10 miles off Cape Bealc, at
tho entrance to Barclay eouiul, in 35 or 40
fathoms of water. Capt. Henderson stated
that ho caught quite a numl.er of large hali
but, some of them measuring seven feet in
length and weighing 250 pounds.
These halibut weie sold in the Sin Fran
cisco market, and although good prices were
slid to have been realized, yet tho voyage
was an nncrofita'dc one and the vessel was
sold. Since that time no other vessel has
been engaged in fishing on tho banks of the
Strait of Fuca, except occasionally for pas
time. A tug boat will run off and tako a
few halibut and rock fish. Tho whole busi
ness on tho American side is therefore con
fine 1 to tho fisheries of the Malt ah Indians.
The halibut is a staple article of food for
these Indian", and has taken the place of the
dried salmon of the interior tribes. The sea
son commences in June, as sunn as the fur
seal fishing is ovrr, andcoi tinucs at intervals
till October, or, as lite as tho weather will
permit canoes to go to tho fishing grounds.
South of Flattery Kocks is the Quilleute
river, where a band of Indians of the same
name reside, 'these belong to the Makah
agency, and during the summer mouths some
ot them rcsir.e at the "warming houses'
for halibut fishing, addiug to tho num
ber of fishermen. But tho Quilleuto
tribe as a general thing do not depend so
much on the halibut for food as the Makahs
do. The Quilleutes take quantities of sit
mon in tho river aud dry Uais of sorf smelt,
which visit that locality in myriads during
the summer mouths.
The Makahs usually go to tho banks in
large sized canoes at the commencement of
the season. These are the regular whaling
canoes, and usually cjrry six Indians. As
tho season advances and ihe weather becomes
more settled, they go in smaller cano. s with
two or three men in each. '1 heir usual time
of starting is early iu the morning at the top
of high water. They then run out with the
ebb tide, and on reaching the bank they fish
until tho return of the tide, and as .soon as
the current runs too strong to enable them
to keep their lines on the bottom they start
tor home, and usually return late in the af
ternoon. During the usual run, common almost every
season, the tribe catch and cure enough hali
but not only for their own consumption, but
have large quantities to sell to the Indians of
other tribes. But as they cure their fish
without the addition of salt, they find no
sale among the whites.
The ancient method adopted by these In
dians for taking halibut, which is pretty gen
erally adhered to at present, is by fishing
lines made of the giant kelp, and by hooks
made of splints from hemiock knots steamed
and bent into, a shape like an ox bow, with a
barb of bone fastened on with a thong to the
under side of the bow, aud the line made
fast to tho upper side.
Over the Northern Pacific.
It is a little disheartening to tho newcomer
travelling along the line of the Northern Pa
cific in search of a new home to discover the
apparent desolation of the country he is
whirled over. This desolati' n is more ap
parent than real, for the soil possesses in the
greatest abundance all the elements of fertil
ity, and barbarism must, according to the
very nature of things, give way to the push
ing nervous civilization of the nineteenth cen
tury and fill up the now desert with thou
sands of happy homes. What tho country
now is all our western couutry has beeeu un
til peopled by a new and enterprising peo
ple. The sage-brush that token of demoli
tion is in itself a sign of the fatness of the
land, and is almost a household word in the
Western States and Territories that sage
brush will ii'it grow on a poor soil. Tbe fact
that trees have been set out along the line and
are thriving as w ell as the bountiful bunch
grass, is corroborate e of this undeniable fact.
"Wheat will grow wherever there is bunch
grass" is now a proverb, and for miles it
makes a perfect sward.
Pushing forward along the hoe, the futuie
metropolis and manufacturing center of the
northwest, the thriving city of Spokan Falls,
is reached, It is but little over two yeas
old qnd has reached its pi ewut growth by the
energy aud enterprise i.f a few far t.eing,
shrewd men, who, iu its immense, easily
handled and unlimited water power, foresaw
its msnifest destiny. Tl.e city and its ad
vantages cannot be properly described here,
PORTLAND, OREGON, FRIDAY, JULY
and its importance dcmanels a separate arti
cle winch will shortly lie gi en to the world
throu.h these columns.
From Cheney the lino runs through a coun
try timbered with line and containing many
lakes, which with the bunch grass makes it
the best stockraisingcountry now unoccupied
in Eastern Washington; on cither sido of the
line tlte purely agricultural country com
mences and here let us advise all newcomns
who may be hunting for homes not to bo dis
couraged by what lie merely sees whilo on
the road and for this reason: the railroad
must no essarily seek the easiest grade and
in order to attain this the dry beds of old
rivers and creeks have to be used as offering
elevation; as is the esse iu all the river vat
leys. In this pcc'.ion the land is rough, and
bmlered on either side by tho black basaltic
rock uf the count! y has had a depressing ef
fect on the new settler until he is taken in
hand and the character of the country ex
pi lined to him, That personal experience
will bear out tho statements of the generally
good quality of the land let the following fu
mes show. The sales of railroad land in tho
Cheney office for tho mouth of March, 1882,
amount to $23,472.03; sales of town lots for
the same month $4,605.00; and for tho cur
rent mouth of'Apnl up to tho 13th the land
sales jump to $21,091.61 or almost as much
in one-half of the timo as in tho preceding
month. In a little over two j ears tho sales ot
land and town lots here have aggregated
$1,362,500. Fast as tho land is being tdeen
up there is vacant practically unlimited acres
only waiting the advent of the industrious to
equal any other portion of the Unite I States.
Leaving SpoUuu Falls behind us the cars
run through a most beautifully timbered
prairie country very little ot which is appa
rently taken up and then wo et.t' r tho Lacus
tnuo country which extends fiom Washing
ton Territi ry through Itlaho up to and even
beyond tho Montana lino; lure the basaltic
lounation which has been such a character
istic c f the whole country from tho Cascades
gives out and granite slate and other forma
tions comes in.
The very bi ks cf the country suggest vast
mineral deposits anel if this were not evidence,
the numerous sp ciinens of ore to be seen in
every rough shanty, hotel and ialoon on tha
road w ould soon convert the mot sceptical.
The ores are moro of the argentiferous gdena
wi li copper silver glance containing 6Uipnur
ets and chcciful indications of chloride of sil
ver. We hero venture tho prediction that with
iu tho noxt decade thu country bordering on
and tributary to Lake Pen d'Oreille will be
come one of if not the principal silver pro
ducing countries of the woilil; what has been
iliic.ivered so far has been puiely by au acci
dent and no mm worthy of nainu of "pros
psetor"inthe Nevada, Arizona or Colorado
sei.se uf the word has yet been attracted to
tin's vast mineral field.
The parties who have stumbled over the
1 dges from which they have obtained their
specimens are actually itniorant of tho first
principles of prospecting, to say nothmg of
mining; they cannoi even tdl the enquirer
what the formation'is , granite, syenite, slate,
porphyry, or limestone; tl.cy will say "its
wriii nfmivu ' in 4li a tvvnof iniiiiid titsil AvnonAr
tllUUU bUUlO) 141 bllW UIVOV IS10 41IU lll VAHuvt
atinc manner.
To our mind the most valuable portion of
the princely land grant owned by the North
ern Pacific in this mountain country and when
men who are experienced in searching for
minerals have their attention directed toward
it they will find unheard of facilities for
working, a tithe ot which 111 the arid moun
tain deserts of Nevada or Arizona would en
hance their mining properties one hundred
fold. Timber aud water abound cverwhere
and while snow to a considerable extent falls
in the winter the weather is comparatively
mud.
Ledges of galena two or three feet in thick
ness have already been found and in one in
stance a gentleman hiuhly connected with the
company advanced one thousand dollais to
nave the ore shipped aud worked, but it ap
pears the Indians, on whose land the mine
was found, refused to let the men work aud
ordered them off An attempt will again be
made 1110 present summer to obtain the re
quired amount and will no doubt be success
ful, for the Indians are few and any attempt
011 tueir part to resist uie whites in their t-i-forts
to develop the country will result in
their own destruction. walla n alia tsuuu-
SEVERAL GOOD POINTS.
Hon. W. D. Hare owns a good farm in
Washington county, and having retired from
the Astoria Custom House, now devotes him
self to the farm. He has a magnificent Hoi
stein bull, and will have two heifers of the
same breed if they come safely from the Esst
He is satisfied that the Holsteins answer well
for dairy use, and excel all for cheese, and he
proposes to tost them fully. Having cleared
off and burned a wood lot, he has sown grass
seed in the ashes, aud now has a splendid
pasture. He keeps a band of sl.eep, and when
they were allowed to run out nights and win
ter begot 4J pounds of wool from each, and
ast season he tried housing his sheep, and
I this spring took 71 pounds of wool from each,
a id he had as many Iambi as lie hail ewes,
which shows well how it'payi to have good
pasture and shelter stock. We consider this
satisfactory proof that good farming p.ys; for
Mr. Hare plows to the beam and has winter
wheat that gives astonishing promise. We
commend his example in more t'tan one
respect to others.
Holsteins are popular with ''airyuuu at the
Eait, and grow In pouultrity here, Mr, J, 11,
Knapp has lately bought the Holsteiu bull of
It. C. fietr, who has bad it several years, fcr
his dairy herd down on the Columbia river.
PUQET SODND.
Fact and Fiction History and Romance
Correspondence Orcgonian.
Seattle, Juue 17, 18S2.
I spent fully two days in the Portland
Library rooms lately, trying to find out why
Puget Sound was so called, but without sue
cess. Wilkes, in his journal, maK-s no men
tion of it; the encyclopedias are silent; Van
couver's records could not be found, anil tho
lesser historic luminaries, from Swan to Vic
tor, cither didu't know or forgot to make
mention of the circumstance. Mr. Oxer was
also at a loss. I came very near giving up the
hunt in disgust. Fortunately, however, a
Sound man came along, and forthwith ex
patiated with 1 cal enthusiasm on the quali
ties ef Vancouver's dashing lieutenant, Puuct,
who had the honor to make the first survey of
this niaHniticeiit body of water, and was re
warded as a consequence with a sure and last
ing immortality. Great honor was novcr
purchased so cheaply, and, indeed, Piigct's
caso is an example of the inexplicable freaks
of fortui.e. His old camping ground is pointed
out to strangers from tho deck of the passing
steamers, and it does seem a pily tint it is not
marked with somo device that would attract
attention. Tho work he did iu 1702 when ho
nude the survey, will last for all time, and
perhaps the day is coining when it will bo con
sidered that his bones, w hich arc now moul
dering in some English churchyaid, should bo
laid at the head of the w liters w Inch ho was
tha first to explore, and that the great moun
tains which hu marked aud located in t 0
woild's history of tonography should be tho
sentinels that stall 1 guard over his gravo.
LiEsCllll'TlOS.
The Souud is a winding, tortuous body of
water of irregular width, and havinir on ex.
trenu length of 10 miles. It was first en-
teiedby Vancouver iu 1792, although Ken
diick. tho American, who, iu 1783 sailed up
and down Charlotte Strait, must have known
of its existence, and perhaps approached it.
It covers au area of 12,000 equaro miles, and
it was considered by thu first white navi
gators to be. the mouth of tho long sought-for
river which connected the Atlantic uud I'acilic
Oceans. Tho fabulous De Fuca, who sultd
many days inland, thought th-t ho had actu
ally entered that river, and, in tact, tho teim
"river" much moro justly dejcnbes the bound
than any other word. It is, iu truth, a Lroad
Danube, hemmed in by green, sloping banks,
dotted with islands, and receiving from either
side tho waters of a half-dozen tributary
arms, which in turu resemble smaller streams.
It has its iron gate at Steilacoom, and its
crags and lastnesscs everywhere. The moun
tains crowd so close on its waters that thero
is no room for great valleys and rolling plains,
but the ships which come to its bays need not
go away empty, as the hills are full of iron
and coal, and the slopes are covered with
cedar ami fir. Though Vancouver and Puget
may have been disappointed when they found
that none of the far-reaching arms of the
Sound clasped hands with the Atlantic, still
when they contemplated the grandeur of the
surroundings, tbe munificence of the harbor
and tho varied resources of the country, they
must have felt that they had discovered a new
El Dorado for the human race, and although
they sailed away without finding the much
sought-for passage Co the Indies through the
American continent, still they did the world
a service equal to it when they announced the
discovery of tho Sound,
TItAllITIO.NS.
Fish and game being plentiful, the original
inhabitants of this region were, of course,
likely to be numerous and powerful. The
tribes that occupied the immediate neighW-
hood of the Souud were rather stupid and
lazy, but not so those who dwelt along the
Skagit and other turbulent streams. These
people were warlike, and produced some fiue
specimens of Indian humanity. The Makah
tribe especially, who dwelt further dowu by
Cape Flattery, are said to have been, physi
cally and mentally, the finest race of Indians
known, and peihaps t'leir dangerous life
chasing the seal for a living may account for
this. The Sound Indians wero very super
stitious, and they have some traditions which
are w orthy to be reproduced here. Perhaps
the biblical smack of these legions maybe due
to the zeal of the pious Jesuits, who were on
the lower Saskatchewan as early as 1785, and
were in Northern California iu 1690, and who
could easily spread a religious story to these
points from those points. Hat bo that as it
may, the fact remains that the Indians have
11110 striking traditions, and I will give a few
of th in as they were rccouiutd to me. The
mo-t curious is that concerning the d luge
and the preservation of thu human race. It
goes on t say that for a long period theiarth
was visited by rain, and filially all the hights
were covered, and all living things were
destroyed save one person alone, who escaped
f
7, 1882.
to Mount Ranier. When thero he stood waist
deep in water and was about to bo swept into
tho flood, when his lower parts were changed
into stone, and he became rooted to the
ground. When tho waters subsided the Great
Spirit cast him into a deep sleep, and took a
rib from his body and created a woman, and
from them sprang tho human race. Another
relates to tho
SAVIOUR OK MANKIND,
Who sailed down tho Sound towards the
ocean in a canoe of copper, anil who called all
the tribes to tho beach aud taught them the
doctrine of the resurrection of tho body and
the immortality of the soul. Thcso doctrines
weic not acceptable to some warlike tribes in
the interior, and they waylaid tho Savior near
the in iuth of the Steilaguamish, and impaled
him 011 a tree. After his death ho roippcared
to numerous tribes, anil in this way prove.!
his theory to bo true. These two stories are
very religious, and some BU'pect that tho
fathers of tho S.vkatchowan missions imposed
them on the tribes; aud this could be easily
done, as comnuuiieition between the Fiascr
penplo and tho Saskatchewan folks was as
frequent as that between tho Sound and
tho Eraser river tribes, and, moreover tho
same traditions aro found iu these two regions.
Tho Sound Indians have also tho story of the
stealing of fire from heaven, just in thu
ancient Greeks had, with this difference, that
a coyote did thu job for them instead of a
Promcthus. They claim that at one time Urn
watcrsof the Souud rcachod to California, aud
tho present bounds wero tho result of nu up
heaval of tho earth's crust. The coming of the
salmon is likowiso wrapped iu tradition,
Thero is a splendid field here for tho anti
qmrian and tho lover of tr.iditioml history.
KNI1UAVINO ANI TATTOOINU.
Tho Puget Sound Indian was not an aichi-
tcct or a sculptor by any means. No remains
can be found of his handiwork 111 this diree
tion. Ho did not oven scratch suu-fucos on
tho r.cks as the Columbia Indians did, and ho
neither dug caves or built in. muds. The
Olympic mounds, it is true, have been tho
source of speculation to tho learned moss
backs, but us it was agreed by tho engineers
and scientific men years ago that thcso
mounds wero never tho result of ocean cur
rents aud whirlpools meeting, when that
prairie was under water, thoy might as well
bu dismissed. Though not a builder, thu
Sound Indian was a cunning engraver, and
some of his handiwork in this respect, now
possessed by collectors, is equal in finish and
design to that of our most intelligent gold
smiths. Silver bracelets, armlets and badges
have been shown mo which are chastely und
elegantly finished, and which contain evidence
of great tasto in the workman. It was as a
tattoocr, however, that the Sound Indian was
a success. Instead of a family badge or de
vice, each household had its own sign neatly
and deftly printed on tho arm and breast,
and some of them are most fearfully and
wonderfully made. I saw a dirty old chief at
Tacoma who had a seal, a salmon, a god, a
cross and a canoe on his atm and breast, and
he claimed that these symbols had bocn iu his
family for a thousand years.
A HAIL AIIMY I
It is all very well to study and read and
post yourself on the hiitory and resources of
Puget Sound to know just when the first
white man entered it, and when the first saw
mill was erected, and how many million feet
of lumber is cut along its shores in a year,
but this is v cry poor satisfaction compared to
the pleasures of a sail down its winding than
litis these hot days. Taking the boat ut
Olympia and running past the narrows, or
gato of the Sound, at Sttilacuom, thence to
Elliott's Bay and under Mount Ranier, and
thence to Seattle and round Point no Point
until Mount Brown comes iu sight is a ride
which, for genuine pleaure, cannot be equaled
The cool sea breeze is always bio wing, and
muequitoos and other pests are not known,
Everything tending to the comfort of the
traveler is supplied, and as charges are reuoii
able, there is no excuse why pleasure seekrri
should not come this way. Fine steamers,
graud scenery, pleasant people, cool winds,
great mountains and romantic traditinus,
should certainly make tho Sound trip thu
most popular summer journey that can be
taken, Try It and seo for yourself. II,
Thu country on Pataha City on all tides
down to Snake river, and to Alpowai landing
is all taken up and rapidly being placid 11
cultivation by a good clasi of citi ns. Alnow 1
ridgu, Pataha Mat and the Assotlh country,
which until the past year or so was 01 ly con
sidered as I elng fit for grazing pursues, turns
out to be the best kinds of wheat lindu, and
tho creeks aud gulches tributary to Si aku
river are iu demand for fruit raising purjosei,
as the absence of lato severe frosts aud the
warmth of the valleys bring fruit to an early
and splendid perfection.
Wenatcblo Matters.
eVrri-siiemlence Walla W.lla Union.
Wknatciiie, W. T., June 1, 1882.
Freer &. Miller havo a beautiful place here
located on both the Wcnatchio and Columbia
rivers, where former joins tho latter ulinost
at a right aug'o. The prairie hcio is almost
entirely treeless, is covered with sago brusk
and has a very go.itle slope facing to tho east.
It is a perfect paradiso for fruit, pirticularly
for grapes and peaches. The fruit trees ate
small as are also tho grape vinos. This prai
rie, propor, has about ten sections of land
and is about two miles iu width and extend
it g down the Columbia about ten or twelve
unit', the lower end being roclcy and gravely,
wiih occasional clumps of rocks rising,
in sumo instances to fifty or 11. ore feet.
Tho rocks here or') of a peculiar formation,
being a kind of soft saud stone. Tho disin
tegration of this rod; is vuy rapid and the
s-oit is more or less mixed with it Irrigation
is a necessity. It is tho most difficult of toils
forvvatei to penetrate, ns ,1 consequence, the
furrows have to bo madu voiy clooti 1 1 each
other. One notabli feature it possesses is the
fact hat tho locality is free fiom lato frosts
iu the spring and tarly frosts in the fall.
Hitherto there havo been no white families
iu this valley. Tins spring several families
havo couio In to make home, ami as soon as
th mountains cm bo crossed them will bo
f tir or five located hero. Water, for iriiga
tion, can bo taken from tho Wciiittchiu river
in abundance. Thu Wcu.ttchie mountains ex
tend to within a quarter of .1 mile of thu Co
lumbia, which gives tho piuiiiu anVcfg shipe,
tho sharp point being down thu livei. I tire
aiu bonus fur 20 ni' .10 families. '1 ho country
is not s.iivcyid, eou-cqitoully tho sottnisare
all cqtiatteis. Tins is u diavvbaok thoy hopo
will Iu soon r moved.
Theio is talk nuw of placing bouts 011 tho
Upper Columbia. It will tako at least two
boat to navigato tho river abovu Priest Hap
ids Thero aro several places whciu utiong
em rents will havu to bo overcome; thu most
lo unliable of which will bo mot nt llock.
Isl mil, somo 50 miles above Priost Jt pnln.
A little b'asting then will placo thu nvir in
navigable condition fiom I'liest l'apids to
Kottlo Falls; nt tint pi ice I! cro is n fall of
11. urly 70 teot. The steamer "49" us d to
run finm tho Little D lies to within 30 miles
of tho llig Bon.l gold mints At the upper
lauding there am sovoial miles of cvycados,
timilar to the Lower Oluuihiu cascades,
tliinvh nu a much smaller i-e.ile,
Thero ii a large dia riot of country opposite
this point that is fiiiccplildo of development
in thu li u of giam raisin.'; which is hound to
hu suttlid if tho clai of Aloes thereto is do
cl.it id void TliiSblniiild bodonoby nil moans,
as the tube of Muxes is so mihiMtuiy that thoy
ait, seldom found on it, either iu vv inter or
summer Moses stopped tne e long enough
to collect tue rents that Wadleigh eV Phclpa
gave lum to nllov, theircattlu to remain within
tha bounds of tho 1 enervation.
Grey's Harbor,
In au article on Chehalis valley, thu Seattle
Ctronicl? says, that which may properly be
termed a portion of tho Chehalis valley, as it
is the outlet of thu river thucto, in now at
tracting considoiablo a teutioii. It is a
miniature inland sea of salt water, connected
with the Pacific ocean by a deep channel fr m
ono-'.alf to three quarters of a mile iu width
and a mile long. Tho harbor is from thri 0 to
ten miles wide, and extends inland twenty
two miles. At low tide tl e channel is nine
teen feet deep in its shallow-tut place. Th" en
trance to thohaiborissiid to b.i ulearof rocks,
bars and icefs, and tho navies of the ontiin
wi rid could find safu anchorage therein, Tl.e
country immediately surrounding (Jray'n
haibor is an excellent stuck graaiug range unit
is especially ndap'ed to thedairyii g bnsiiir-s.
Except 011 the low lauds nud tide flats, tie
country is not, strictly speaking, odnpted to
agricultural pursuits.
An attractive and very prominent featurw
of thu Gray's harbor country is the fact that
tho ocean beach for miles and miles above and
bu'ow tho harbor tutianco is as smooth mill
level os a floor tlio hard sand being scarcely
siisceptiblo to tho imprint of a Iioiso'm hoof.
Thu famous drivei at 1)ug Hraucli or New
port cannot rival thu natural roadway that
extends from the e-hannej '25 miles lorth, anil
south 15 miles to Khoalwutor bay. This fuel,
coupled with the delightful summer clim-ite,
health giving propel ties uf tho ocan breeze,
thu scunio Ix-auty ami giaiideur of thu &ar
ruundiiigs, will make of (1 ay's harlwr 0110 of
tho most popular summer r-sorts on thu Pa
cific coast.
Only few hours' ri-lo hack into thu interior
will take the sportMuaii and tourist to tha
finest hunting grounds 111 tho Territory, whero
elk, dmr, bear and giniisu aiu too iiuiiivioum
to bo interesting it is In li. veil that theiearn
5, 0(H) elk ranging on th headwaters mist
streams and tributaries heading up in thu
Olvmpiu range, and putting into Giay's har
bor, I'ub, both salt and fie-sh water, are
abundant. It is simply n "paradieofoi sports
men, "
'1 Ms country is 1 ow being opt mil up by the
cnti-ti ii of Astoiiaus nid nun friiiu I aeills
cniiii y, W. 'J'., and vvdi uii-b-iil.tetlly receive
a large sharu of iiiimi ia 11.11 We r o i.i re
ceipt id a letter fri-tn Mr. litei 11 IVteiei , oi.n
of tnu oldest n-t' It-is 111 (.'lit hulls c nnt in
w leh hu says that a 1 nti eahN uti.ouutef t.l
migrant haVu already beuu to omm, and
that more arc expected. T ut ix.uutrj hu , idl
tho Ixjuiidlc-ss retoureis that mski up uu 111
pile, aud is deserving of thu uttei.ti 11 uf ill
who wish lo secure a home fur themselves ami
their children.