The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume], January 01, 1889, Image 1

About The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914

Image provided by: Washington State Library; Olympia, WA

                
THE SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER.
XEW YEAR NUMBER—PART I.
land of Big Trees, Farms
and Harbors,
i Fertile Soil Blend Iry a
Benip Climate.
Wleat Farms. Sawmills, Cattle
Barnes and Mines.
The Cwmflee of the Pacific Most
Ontor on Paget Sound.
for the Homeless, and Re
sources Inviting Capital.
Tlie Rapid Rising of a Young and
Mighty State.
The splendid advance made by the
territory of Washington from year to
year during the past was in nowise
lessened in 18s8. On the contrary a
grent. r and grander progress can be
placet to the credit of the twelve
months just gone than to any of the
years preceding.
Washington Territory has been a
long way from the great centers of
trade and population. L'ntilof late it
cost weeks and months of hard travel,
anil hundreds and thousands of dol
lars of money, to get here from those
centers Vast areas of desirable lands
Intervened in the region now covered
by tie great states of knti-aa, Ne
braska, Minnesota and Colorado, Da
kota and other territories. Their de
velopment necessarily preceded ours,
as hail Missouri, Illinois and other
Saltern State preceded them.
Even California and Oregon to
a certain extent interfered with
our growth. It was easier
and i heaper to get into those states
than u was to tret into this territory,
and they presented prospects so allur
ing that thousands of home-seekers
were stopped who otherwise would
have come among us Our markets
were few and far away, and we were
known in them chiefly a« producers of
lumber. The country *as not adver
tised. No railroads entered our do
main, no ocean steamers entered our
ports. In fact, 20 years aeo Washing
ton Territory was less known, was
more inaccessible, and was generally
considered les» desirable than is Alaska
to-day. When to these disadvantage*
are added the fear of trouble from
Indians, the absence of roads and
communications within our own bor
ders, necessitating long, roundabout
journeys to overcome short di tances,
and the lack of help of any kind from
abroad, it i* little short of marvelous
tl it any visible growth whatever was
in. de
K.tRMKR rROI.REss.
>e-piie these and ten thouaanu
other obstacles, however, the territory ,
did grow. Little bv little it was opened
up to the world. V settler here and
there look a quarter section of land; u
sawmill was built and logging camps j
est .Wished; the opening of coal'
mines « :l s begun; a new steamer was
occasionally put into trade; talk of
railroads, l>oth local aud national, was j
heard more frequently, and their talk ,
would once in a while lead to the or- j
ganuation of a company. Every year
a few hundred thousand dollars were
added to the territorial assessment ■
roll, and there was a corr«s|>onding
increase of voters at every election
This progress though infantile in the
beginning, gaitic I a* the years went _
by, and gained not only in actual
number* and amount*, but in propor
tion si o This i* ill it st rated by the
eeasti* returns, and In various other
ways. The I• rst censu*, that of l*>n.
gave eiidem •• 11,' >1 inhabitants in
the territoiv. tb< -e ortd census, thai
of I*7o, of 25.4 M); the third census,
that of I ssfi of 71,753. The gain in i
the number of inhabitants of the first
decaih? was 11, AMI, or about 199 per ■
cent.; the coin o: the second decade ;
was M.iSH tub I'oitant*. «»r per cent.
What the ex ;• t gain v>t the t iini iK
cade will ta i Ish) to it i v \et ini
po'n 1 !e to iv. t tit there is abundant
lease-: for 1 1 inn _• that it will be fnlly
M per cent >'. d a pr.dsabi ity oi
t* l ca--\iti.• the |HUui!at!on m nui. -
ker to JOO.tt" 0r37 !*»•
The great-. t development of t-ie ter
ritory has n -inee lv>« To the pio
#*er, the man wh.> came n the earlier
Kties. the changes of the la-t tight
year- have nlm.>-t WsiUeniii.'
He had be- i ,i.. . i-;. id to >uia !
Ikitigs, and though he thought and
t*lked of great oi.es he was but little
Ptepsred f«>r them. and now that they
*** come i- m.Me to fully realize
~* :t! A -ort of vague idea haunts
t*'tti that the* in ms come to tar;
®*t the town are overgrowing them
selves; th s t l'e railroad* are in ad
of the re uipcment* of the co ;n
•T .and that .i flattening out, ncc.im-
Pao.wi hy partial retrogression, is
to some upon us. That
jt fas, tut already come a t >n
him ..rui !-cats lc-* ■ tic '.at en
«fi hoilaw lt\.rihgtl • ti.i e the ter
y? I<»> made g fan lie «t ide« The
*Or!d has itch forced to take notice of
It has secu e i a p!» <» aniong the
£**t busine:-- communities <»f the
•toa It sud tra 'e< for ilwlf
longer through and by the help
* Orej ur! or California. The people
"**<■ their own railroad*, their owu
•rtoriev their own banks, their own
**^P*P* r •. the 'own ship- their own
J**". in fact everything that goes
tuake up a great ronucercial
*•'* The chief thing lacking, and
f thing neil to come, is
iUef. With political
•Jttauty, voice a wi!l in the affairs of
®* nation, wi-h all the advantages
s| *te government wul give.
Washington will take a start that
will keep her mov-.ng on more rapidly
dnring the coming decade than »he
has moved during the prevent It
will be disappointing if there are not
1 .MO 000 people in the Mate of Wash
ington bjr the cto-e of the nineteenth
century. What ha* brought about
the a*;ranc« of the past few yean,
and what i* to eaate a continuance of
thi* advance during the few coming
years? The primary cause a the
same here ax elsewhere in the I'nited
.•state'—in the re"tle'«ness of the poo
pie. and the de-ire to get into newer,
***** crowded field*. The over-crowd*!
million* of the Mi**i*«pj>; valley, of
the Atlantic coast. and of Kurope
look with intense yearning to the
country we*t of the Kocky
mountain*. To them ft ha»
heretofore been
* I*Tr*r»T!> i JttOlOS
But on* beyond their reach. It
took a iinutU fortune to 'get to
it. and hot a comparatively unit!!
number had the necessary money.
When reached, however, it* delight*
have been found no lea* than antici
pated. There wan land for all await
ing the taking; there tu work and at
wage* higher than were dreamed of in
the old r mntrtee: there was eiioMte
to suit every ta>te and a spirit of
freedom al*>Ve that even of the ea-tam
portion of our own country. The*e
desirable conditions were found to be
accompanied by the comfort" and
luiarie'of the land* they had left be
hind. Our railroad* and steamer*
were like those elsewhere; our towr*
were a* well built; there were daily
mail*, telegraph*, telephone*, gaa and
electric light*. 1 n*te*d of coming into
a country populated by savage In
dian*, white trappers and hunt
ers, with insignificant settlements,
as a great majority imagined,
the immigrants of the present decade
have found everything to their hand.
They have experienced non» of the
trials. «trugt;lei and hardships of the
pioneer, while they have *ecured the
of hi* privations, labors and
enterprises. Capital it alwayi watch
' ing the people with a view to .nireas
! ing itself by satisfying the popular de
mand*. When the people a dis
position to go to a new section, capital
j stand* ready to provide the nc<-e»*ary
means. Vessel* to carTv them will lie
| built and road* made, factories w|) )>e
• rected to furnish them employment,
and mines opened to supply Mieni
, with coal. So It has been here, i* low,
! and so it will lie. Itaiiroad men ciiue,
and they proceeded to lay their bind*
;of iron In every direction. Hi ymrs
. ago there wasbutone ontineital
railroad and that w.is 1000 mile* to "he
| south. Now there are th ee
j trading in Washington Teri
tory -the Northern, ( anadian aid
j I'nion Pacific— and there will soon he
i four, followed quickly by a lifth and i
siith.
TWKSTY TKAV AOO
There were five mile- of railroad
in Washington Territory, ami ten
yesr» ago. two hundred miles. |
There are now over fourteen 1
hundred mile*, and more mile' i
were built in 1 kAh than in any previ ■'
ous year. I'nriooi to 1575 no ocean
«teamer» were employed in our trade,
and during the succeeding *ix years
only two were engaged Now there
are a great many, aad the ship* are
larger, mora elegant, and fa-iter; as
rood ship* of their dimensions as are
to be seen anywhere. Our sawmills
have each increased its cut of Inm
f tar from 30,<)00 and 40.000 feet a day
20 years ago. to from 100,000 to 250,000
feet at present. The one coal mine of
ISO?, with yseld of SO tons a day, has
. lieen succeeded by a dozen mines,
with iicirregate average daily output
:of 3000 tons The railroads
brought competition in transportation
and cheaper rates. They 01-o exten
sively adverti ed the country. The
mills and mines ami a thousand other
mechanical enterprises, gave work to
the newcomers. With thc*e induce
ments they have come by thousands,
and the stream** of their migration
is constantly swelling. It is now
know'a that this is a land of great
possibilities. Its soil yields more po
tatoes. wheat, oat*, hops and other
agricultural products to the acre than
any other part of the world; its tim
i l>er is unsurpassed; its coal lieds are
practically incapable of exhaustion;
; its iron deposit* are among the finest
j in the world ; it" water* abound with
!ti«h; ami the life-sustaining elements
are abundant on every band. Wash
i ington Territory is fifty times greater
; in area than Khode Island, and can
i sustain as dense a population. Rhode
Island has 300,000 Inhabitants Wash
ington will have IVOOO.OOO when
peopled in like proportion, llenry
Villard, at a St. Paul banquet in hi*
honor last October, said "Within
20 years I believe there will l« 20,000,-
! 000 people living in the *tates of Ore
gon and Washington. There is every
reason to justify the statement. Not
one acre in twenty of tillable soii is in
use. No man can conceive the fu
' tare growth of the mineral resources.
Considering the marvelous develop
ment here on the banks of the Mts*-
issippi, what may we not expect for
the western country " I hope we may
all live to ee the development 1 have
| I redicled."
a sit ratios »r TIME.
Mr. Vdlard may have understated
; the time, but if he h.is done that, that
is all. It Is only a question of time
■0 at 40 years perhap*. instead of 20
when Oregon and Washington will be
peopled line Ohio, New York. Massa
chusetts England an 1 other pa-is of
the esrth. w hen their i ombined popn
tation may ex-en ex cel S)i>'lo.oUo.
The world is balaui in; its
human being*. It is found to be en-ier
U> support them by spreading tueui
nearly uni'ortnljr o*w the entire sur
face. and the effort t » d > this wili <mn
tinne until all hibl able parts are
densely settle I. TM» being true, wr
art- but in the infancy of 'Mir develop
ment, and our present few hundred
thousand will become million- before
we know it. Apprehen-:on« oi a re
lapse to the old spar-*ei\--e;t;ed ouUi
tion are only a littia more mistaken
than i« theidea that t >f measure of our
pa-t growth will he Ihp measure of our
future growtn
..aowru or rorvunos.
The territorial census is notoriously j
deiectirr. The work is poorlv pai l ,
for, and i- corre-pnidingiy slighted. ;
Names conveniently obtainesi are
taken, others are oui.tied. ll.iJ, how
ever. as the census ha* been, its «Jiow
inirs are all of progress. The last '
eight refv>rts are below given
IS- _ V>o*>
tics,. .sk^n;
1S?».. 57.7 M !
l!H«>
issi . 7o.rj»
1>&1 W. j0» ;
IJUMt i
ISS7,. H4.4«S>
An addition uf 30 per cent, to each :
of the foregoing n«tnl>ers would more
truthfally represent the population of ,
the territory the years named >o
adding, the inhat>itant» of I**7 won!d
l>e iucreased to about in nam
l>er. Since the taking of that cen-us
the immigratioti has been very heavy
and it may be aafeiy e<t•mated that
51 <W> people have been gained to the
torritory, bringiag oar people in num
ber np to 2»,{*» at thie time. In cor
roboration of this estimate we have
the vote taken at the ta«t ejection -
Multiplying this by 5, a figure
not eictntive for the purpose. and the
resnltof 231,740 is obtained
In further proof of the steady in
crease in the number of our territory's
nhibitant*. the table following.giving
the total vote each of the year* named.
it pat forward ,
Election years. Veto cant
{*• J.7W
I** iX?
I V .' 7«.
vm —. 19H7
12 • !i.6C7
WCi lS.Dfs
Sii? woman safftajpe, tUC
3JM (with woman suffrage j *7:jX
>** kJe
In the election« of and I**? wo
men participated. How many voteil
it i* impossible to say. ProbaHly »)
per cent. of the whole vote was cut by
women. Kedncing the figure* for IjOcj
and to corre»('on'l wish their esti
mate, ami the vote of HW will appear
to tw-aer advantage. Comparing the
l** vote with the vote of MB, the
hwt previous Section when men cniy
were electors, and the gain of the «ix
years Is found to be 2»!*V9 votea, or
about 110 per cent. The increase of
votes, the flr*t 10 year-*. vt< a little
less than 100 j> r cent.; the increase of
the second 10 yearn in almost 300
f-er cent.; the increase for the third 10
year* *a« nearly 300 per cent.
It wiU be found that multiplying
the number of men voter# by five will
give in each raw very nearly the
tigure* reported in the lensus table
for the same year, when the eenia*
figures are increased S) i>er cent, to
make good the known shortcoming* of
the census-taker*.
TERRITORIAL WEALTH.
The taxable wealth of the territory
has always shown up handsomely.
Compared with other states arid
territories the people of Washington,
a.s indicated by taxrolls, are among
the richest in the land. Their prop
erty has been rated by a<«e<sor* dur
ing the past is years a* below stated:
Years. Astessmeot.
I*7l. *U.lS.S.tt>s
1*7'.,. 14.T0.14
IS7S.. ri.159.07s
1877. 17.-JSI.IS2
IST* |S.#7*,4S7
1*79. LL.TM.KT;
!SK>. ;1.7<K,.157
iss! i.T'af.t:..
ISS'i 1K.5M.507
IS*T . U.107.V.7
lAM.. ->I,OIKI*4
ISJSS , '0.154 s .T
IS*,, M.ei.'.'.l
|Ss7,, «!,Wi7:>»
tsss. M,tt41,'41
Taxable property in the territory, it
will be seen, had a value six times
greater in I*>W than in is? 1, five times
greater than in 1 577. four times greater
than in H7O, more than three times
greater than in 1891, ami nearly twice
as great as in lSsst. In ISSI the rail
road tax law went into
and for n number of
•.ears demoralized the a-se-s
--. sent rolls. In some counties
nU roads anil railroad lands
were assessed, and in other counties
tl®y were not assessed. For this rt a
so» the retur» for these years will
tiffer be satisfactory to the statisti
cian as it will be impossible to tell ex-
or even approximately, the value
of fcsessable pr«i#rty. By the repeal
of Uis odious law, and the listing of
all poperty, more reliable figures were
! obtained last year, and the showing is
i acconingiy more creditable.
/ PROSPEKOI'S YKAK.
A RKVKW Or THE DEVELOPMENT or
WUUIISOToJi'a RESOURCE*.
The ftneral trade of the territory
never wa tatter than during the past
| twelve nonths. An expansion has
i taken pl.»e in every avenue. New
lines bave'ieen openeil. The impulse
j given has k-cn seen and felt by all.
i Map ma'se» have found it impossible
' to keep pa« with the development.
; Their publ-ations were not print
ied before sew railroads and new
towns we* built. IHre lories
were unsati«»ctory for like reasons.
The census, o the vote of one season
of the year, cald not be accepted as
1 indicative of »«■ local population the
! season followjg. Such a' tivity and
such progress never w ere witnes-ed
before. In thlsarticte but little mm
j tion can ta mat? of things in detail,
and but a few o. the more important
T ones have been sleeted.
roEEIUJ CO* V ERI E
In foreign coanerce a great ad
vance was made i.iss-t. Four ship*,
heavily loaded w >tf general merchan
dise. arrived in I'get Sound from
Liverpool: live *hi came in from
Japan with full cargo of tea, and a
large number of shij, more than in
all previous year- tmbined. sailed
for Europe freighted ;|Ui the gol.ien
wheat of Eastern Waungton. Lum
ber exports to South America, Aus
tralia. A*ia an I the -lands of the
Pacific, aggregated t0.000.000 feet,
requiring twn hundrcl api for their
transiHirtation. Tratle wish British
Columbia kept several ln-o and uiag
niticen! steamer* con. jnUy eu
pl veil, avcracitig ten tf,j a week,
the.r registereil tonuage -.-re t .t,:ig
weekly upwanis of ltj.OX*.
THE riSHERIKS.
The fisheries kept paresrith the
general progress. fhi- sal&m calt'b
on the t'o:umbia rs*er ii.intn:>, e V ear
55.1.0Q0 >•*».«. tiiirinj: the, rritory
credit (or one-haif, *e hare IJO,OT*>
o*»e<. Twenty-tire tbou suit ci-e*
were put up u:i Puget M inJ, (about
double the ben prerioo* year'* o:d.
A >ut 30.000 iw were pat .p at
Gray '» Harbor and other kee
f: e-e iijura* aggregate >»>, t) f
raJmou. The trade employ- ><? rsl
months each year at>o:;t 3>Xio men ht
cajHtal inve- ed beinsr ll.UO.Oft>, lv |
the pr ■ worth $ ,C»> 'XXI n d
wards. A few thousand barrel* .( ■.
-alinon are usually put up each yei I
and during the past year the bu-ines! i
inaugurated of -ending to Ea-terv
markets in refrigerator cars. Th* i
fisher.es were further eavnded la-t:
year. Three Urge scho®er< came
from the coast of Mn - au
which were employed in cathing hal
ibut an u preparing tbem fotthe mar
ket. Their operations extettUsi from ;
the mouth of the (\>lumbk river to j
Alaska, and they included nany car .
g#e« ot fine fish. The-« weretiartiailj
.iisih>*«-.I of in the territonal Barkel
ut the rreat b .!k was sell to the
Ea-t by rail. Much more in t s line
wvli be done in and the i%i will
not onSy !* -ent fre-h to the u»rket.
bat wi 1 be pre-erved by local ivtng
estabit-hni' tu- The fur 4iish
ery made advance* al-o'ia-t ■
year, and i# eipe«'led to sti I
advance during the coming Jar.
Something will. ;t is more than l:\Jy,
be done in thi? way of fishing for vi
and possibly ai*.> ;a whaimg. Therein
be no question that Paget Sound %i
the Oulf of tieorgia are m >st adws
able adapted tor the general f:i
eries. This fact is being seen aA
arknowled-exi more and more ea>-.
succeeding year, and it is a matter
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON TERRITORY, TUESDAY, JANUARY 1, 1889.
a short time only until our fisheries
wsl! rival in extent those of the New
Engisnd coast. Newfoundland or Nor
way.
rnun.
The grest resourc-? of Western
Washington in earlier day* was Inm
ber. This, for a king time, ex -ee-le-i
in vilue ail other products combined
No longer is this trae. In fart, it*
supremacy is disputed by coal and
oy other resource*. Be thi*
as it may, however, the s>n*i
nes* of making and marketing
lumber never was so great as in IOTK
Many new tawroills were built, old
mills were enlarged, logging raiirovls
were constructed, and a products* per
cent, greater than ever before was pat
upon tbe market. Tbe sawmills of
Washington Territory have a present
daily capacity of 4.M/HM feet, and
their product Last year wa* about 9W -
•m,m< feet. Probably DJOXXKt.OW feet
were rent by rail and ship out of tbe
Territory; the vajfeTetnainder beinc
re»|uir«d in the building of onr own
town* and cities, railroad*, farm
houses fences, cV .
tail
Coal comtnaiided exorbitant prices
in 11**, and the profits of its prod>: --
tion were enormous. Stimulated by i
an extraordinary deman-l. the oid
mine' were worked tu th-*ir utaio-t ca
pacity and new mines w»re opened,
the output for the year being IJOO.OW
lons, or aimo-t twice the product
of ISS7. The coal fields of the Terri
tory have been merely prospected, but
enough is known of them to a-sure
tbe reader tbat their exhaustion will
be impossible in ten thousand years
at the rate operation* in the past have
been conducted.
MrrmiTs.
it Washington is richer in one thing
than another, that thing is minerals.
Owing to its inaccessibility but little
has been done with iron, but it is
known that there are vast deposits
(mountains) of it in many places. The
only iron yet marketed is from log
ore in JeSfersOß county. Furnaces
were built several year* ago,and a con
stantly increasing oat-turn has been
the result. Five or sit thousand tons
of pi/r-iron are annually produced. Its
quality is first-class, and it commands
the highest rate* in the San Francisco
market. Vast quantities of magnetic
iron have been discovered at Sno
ijualmie in King county, and at Cle-
Kium in Kittitas county, and move
ments by capitalists are well forward
looking to their development. A
superior iron is found in Skagit
county, the marketing of which will
quickly follow that at Cle-Eiutn and
Snoqualruie. liog ore is found through
out Western Washington. Galena,
copper, silver, gold and other minerals
are abundant. On both slopes of the
Cascades men have been mining un
interruptedly for gold for l.'i years,
while other men have been working
the placers of the Snake, Columbia and
other rivers. Their doings have been
quiet and unaccompanied by excite
ment. They have made fair wages,
and the gold they have secured
has probably averaged *2OO, OIK)
a year. During the pa«t
two years considerable excitement
has been caused by discoveries in the
new county of Okanagon. The
precious metals have been found tlie'e
iu many places, and in quantities
warranting the .most lively anticipa
tion for the future. Fifteen hundred
quartz claims b.ive l>een recorded, sale*
of mines have been ma :e at high figures.
Concentrators and smelters are talked
of at many places and at some places
are being put in. These mines will be
thoroughly tested during the coming
year, and if they are what it is hoped
they are there will be a great rush into
that region, and Okanogan will in a
single twelvemonth- step into the
front rank of Washington counties,
and gold and silver mining will strive
with lumtier and coal for fir-t place
among our industries.
AOEIt tJLTESE.
The labors of the farmer have been
amply rewarded during the past year.
All that he has produced has been in
demand, and at prices that have made
this worthy class of producers quite
iu ependent, The wheat yield was
immense, exceeding per acre, accord
ing to government reports, the yield
ot Oregon, California, Dakota, and all
other parts of the American Union.
A common e-timate of the product of
tbe entire territory is i:> OOu.tfXt
bushels, or 450.000 tons, equivalent to
30.000 carloads, or cargoes for 300
large ships. Wheat can be raised in
Eastern Washington at 40 cents a
bushel without loss it brought dur
ing the past year as high as so cants,
and averaged upwards of 65 cents.
The ■ apaci y of the great Columbia
river basin, lying in tbe eastern half
of our territory, is 150,000,000 bushels
ot wheat per annum. Next to wheat
come bops as a territorial product for
export. The acreage of ls*6 was about
21100, and the product about 24.C00
bales; the acreage of 1 s-7 was about
mid the product 3>,000 bales;
tee acreage of IS-- was about 4'>*>,
and the product O.tuO.Oflo pounds, or
32,000 bales. Prices of hops
fluctuate more violently than
prices of any other farm
product, having range! in the last six
vsars frjm > cent a pound to *I.W.
ihe range during the pa-t fall was
iroui 10 to 22 era?, grower* in many
ra»e< hav.ng -oil portions of their
cniy prior to mat .nty at the 1 >wer
lit ire. The average price obtained
wa- Kot far from 1"> cents, at whioi
the whois product would amount to
the pr.'dti of the grower
being j.isi aiout one-balf. Other agri
cultural products, a* oati, hay, gar.ien
truck, fruit. >tock. etc., dsdq ite web
in lsvt, quantity, quality and price
being above the average.
Nr.w KAtiit An Liytt
Much r»iiroai building *i< ilone
daring ihe year ju-t past. and a vast
deal ot work wa* laid out for the fu
ture. Many new companies were
organised. the operations they hare
mipped out including the construc
tion of what in the will
number several thousand u. lie-,located
1 u almo-t every county in the territory,
fn Kv the railroad* o! the territory
.rgrrgateu Hki miles in ietigtb ; i:i I* 4 **
fl miles; in 18S7, 1061 mile?, at the
j toa* of lsS<, MIO miles. including
•ort sections in cour-e of constmc
t; i on si* different roads. O: this
tuieage the Northern Pacific and its
iw»che» have 71S miles; the Oregon
lU.ij, A N jri«a!:on Company J3l
mi e tlie reattle, I_ake r-hore A Ea-t
--ern iiiitvay 117 nitles; the Muoo
ut. l.gging roans 45 miles; the
Col .'<n; i A Puget Sound 41 miles; the
J Oregeci£ Washington 32 mile : the
■ Pu.-et t>(ind i-h re I.me '.I mile- the
Ol* uitna?t Chehalis \ .dlev 15 mili-s, the
XtiU ere* l'l mile-; the Behinglum
Bay A Brush Columbia 10 tr.iie-; the
Seattle A Northern 10 aisle-: the Ta
com i, Ortn„' A Southeastern 10 mile*:
ihe Van.-ot.ver, Klickitat A Yak in a 10
mile l : the ttan hard 6 mites, and the
Port Town tend Southern 5 miles
■ The itupul ethat has te n g Ten tt «
, p.piUiion aid business of U.i- tem
j tory by the con-tr .cuon of t_ree or
four L-ur.d'i-i miles of railroad during
'-be year, coupled with the reasonable
| prom ise of at least fire or six hundred
milea la IW>. ha* bees great. The ex
perd:t :re of many millions of dollars
of EssVrn money in contraction has
, Sees the cj-i»e at Itr expenditure o<
more ruiilion* that otherwise would
not have l*en expended, of local mon
e; in the <levefc>pment of our ianamer
fahie resource*. It's a poor town that
• annut. with much assurance, claim
. during the year to have increased by
I per cent, the number of its inhabi
tants. Stanv of the towns daim to
have gained SO per cent; while the
three leading cities of the territory are ,
not content with a lower claim than
j HO per cent, of gam.
VITTSAL IFi*MVISIt;S» A*B TBADC
rEjrnas.
Wa-tuugton is deatined to be like
New Yortt. a ttate with triapy cities.
In Uii* respect it I* far in the lead of
the other territories. I tah Is the only
territory tiiai has a town as populous
■ a* Seattle, while none of tbe territories
uave three towns as populous a* Seat
tle, Tacoma and Spokane. Walla
Walla. Oiympia. Port Townsend.
KHe:i*burg, Colfax, Vancouver, and
other towns that could be named,
j give p: >»ai-e of being large cities in
cool time. In fact, it will not be
K there are a dozen cities
of » b!habitMt* each in this state
by the clo*e of the present century.
This territor>- is naturally divided '
by the Cascade mountains into two
: -• reat parts, commonly known as ;
| Ka-tern and Western Washington.
These in turn are subdivide*! into"
le--er parts, known a.* 'countries."!
TbcM- include the Puget Sound coun
try, t'.;e Cbebalis country, the Lower
Columbia country, tbe Waila
country, the Paionse country, tbe liig
| Bend country, the Yakima country,
the i '»ai;a»,an country and the Spo
kane and Colville countries.
THE PUGET SOUND COUNTRY.
KK H LASt'W sktKTISO A UCSWXEIMt \R
BOBED SEA.
Of these countries the chief is the
Paget >ound. This includes all the
countie- bordering upon the body of
water itpni which it takes its name.
These counties vary somewhat in soil,
climate, resources, and interest, but
not in sc> marked a degree as to cause
alienation of feeling among them.
They are all timbered, all have fisher
ies, all hive minerals, and all hare
common highways to and from the
East, ar.d to and from the ocean. The
Sound it-e!f i* viewed by all «.ith inex
pressible affection, and is a bond of
union of the strongest character. It*
waters are wide anil deep and safe,
pos-es>ißg beautie- that arc indescriba
We, and enabling ships to move hither
ur.d thither at will. The storms are
few and far between that prevent the
navigation of the l'uget Sound waters
in their most exposed parts by even
the frailest and most un-eaworthv of
craft. The world jiossesses no finer
harbor or group of harbors than
I'uget Sound, nor does it posses* one
surrounded by vaster. more
enduring re o irecs. and which
in time u ill sustain a
population numbering many millions.
The resources ot this favered region
are bulky, requiring immense railroad
facilities and shipping for it- transpor
tation. Business here is still in its in
fancy, and yet upwards of tpOM large
hip . averaging 2009 tuns each, sailed
out of the-e waters in 1533, loaded
with lumber and coal alone. The ship
ment of wheat i- being entered upon
in earnest. Nine vessels, carrying
centals, or about '2bft. W tons,
took cargoes of wheat to Europe dur
ing the wheat year ending July 31,
ls,ss. At least 100,000 tons will be
ship;* i during the present wheat year,
and not le-s than 200,000 lons during
tbe following wheat year. A portion
of our surplus wheat goes East by rail,
but tbe greater part yet finds a market
through the outlet of the Co
lumbia river. One railroad is
only enough to inaugurate the
b isiness, thecomplelion of the second
and third roads will secure for I'uget
Sound a monopoly of the wheat trans
portation of Ea»tern Washington and
Northern Idaho at lea-t. Everything
seems to be tending at present towards
I'uget S>und.
EIOUT SEW UIUOAM
Are now heading out from the Sound,
i intended to bring to these
j travel and trade of British Columbia.
J Ea-tern Washington, Southern Waah
-1 uigtoii and Oregon. In addition to
hese several of the great lines of the
country, now operating in California,
Oregon, Montana. Wyoming an I Da-
I kota are lo6king this way for their ii
nai wes'ern terminuses Our towns
f are growing more rapidly than those
of any other part of the Pacific coast,
and yet the feeling is general that they
have only begun to grow. Our enter
prise are vaster each snc< eed
j ing year Our sawmills, with
their towns, ship-, steamers, lands,
; i-amps and railroads, are mammoth
concerns, the biggest of their kind in
j the world, v. th capital of hundreds of
thousand* of dollars inve.-ted, and in
at least two cases millions of dollars.
Iron will be the : ext j:reat industry to
I (ievel-p, and it, too, will require mil
u as of capital and thousands of men.
Tbe year IS 'J wiil show much progre*-
n the opening up of this future great
re-oarie. an i !*-!» wi.l probably wit
ae - the full establishment of at lea-t
one iron-making works among us equal
[to the mo-t extensive now in the
United States. In
At.ajcrvrraAL u*)D*c«•
Puijet fco.ir.d i- not lacking, nor is
their development l>ehind. Oats are
grown to the extent of 1 .OO'.OU)
bushels per annum. The yield varies
from 40 bushels an acre to
100 and over, averaging at
least S3 cushels. Tbe best oat
' the dyked swamp lands at
, the mouths oi the rivers. Fabulous
' -tore* are told of theproluct- f the e
places, whole field* yielc-in; 100 bush
els to the acre, and occasional yields
!ieing reported of 120 and even 150
iiu-d'.eis. Oats seldom bring less than
lis ,t ton. and quite as often bring tV>
1 be pro lit - of production can be easily
t .lated. I'pwarisof 3200 acre- are
;>!ar,ied in bops, the production being
| IfiOO pounds per acre, against HO
! pounds in the Eastern States. SCO
1 pounds in Europe, 101® pounds in
; Oresou and 1300 pound- in California.
So -.uch thin? a> a pe-t, blight or fail
i-e was ever known here, and tbeonly
thing that limits the production is the
■cant of pi ker- As it i«, fully 10,000
are iired three week" eath
j yaar to ga'hfr thecrop. Tbennraberof
I «r-on- available for this service will, of
course, increase wuh the peoplicg of
ne country, and it may be depended
■ upon the hop acreage will increase no
, !e--> rapidly. Puget Sound is unex
\ celled, if not ur.eqnaied. as a fruit re
cion. It pr>»iaees in Urge quantities
and to great perfection appie*, pears,
piutas, quince*, prunes, cherries.
• tra»derr.es, rl«ckbeme*. raspberries
ian i currants. Other berries and tree
' frc ts are al*o grown, as peaches,
i grape*, fig*, gooseberries, etc., bat not
yet in great quanufces, and sometime'
*»th diSc-Jty and lack of perfection
Time, ho#etrr. will being r.vore
; Urr knowledge as to tbe adaptation of
|»arti.-ular t-> th» an.!
with tfcat knowledge wiil rtute "a pro
! durtion that will giT* to Puget Sound
a great surplus of fruit, which, in both
fresh and preserved conditior. w-U
I Sad market far beyond oar t*w
. ders. Tbe climate, by provk!-
' :ng green pastures the greater
! part of the year and by
causing an enormous production of
hay. adapts the Puget Sound country
to the purposes of the dairy a, an
Milk, butter and cheese can be pro
, Juced to tbe utmost advantage. and
it will be astonishing if ten years hence
our products in this line are not, like
our hops, celebrated the world over.
Sites for manufacturing establish
ments can be secured for little or noth
ing Coal is cheaper than elsewhere
on the Pacific slope. Water-powers
are abundant. The climate permits
outdoor labor the year around. Ships
ana railroads here meet, Tbe world
is open to us. Coder such conditions
it may be asserted that this is destined
| to be the seat of immense future man
ufacturing interests. A great start
has already been made, and this start
will be followed by a con tin nous devel
opment that in time will place her in
lint with Patabo'S, Manchester, and
other great tnanufacturing centers of
the world. One of the latest marks of
progress is the entry upon wholesale
trade. Many new houses have beer,
opened during tbe past year in tbe
leading town-, whose operations are
confined to sales in bulk. They have
met with gratifying success, and their 1
number promises to continue increas
ing rapidly in future. These houses
are reaching out for trade in Idaho.
British Columbia and Alaska, in ad
dition to the occupancy of the terri
torial field. Nothing has been more
gratifying of late than the evident ]
progress made by those already en
gaged in the wholesale trade.
THIRST S eorsTY.
Thin county is at the extreme head. ,
or southern end, of Puget Sound. Its
area is about 000 -quare miles. Tim
tier and coal aitound. From the
Bucoda mine SO.OOO tons of coal were
shipped in lsv>. About 13,000,000 feet •
of lumber are manufactured annually,
but at least twice that quantity of tim
ber, in the shai>e of saw-logs, is sent
to the lower Sound mills. The Olym
pia A; Chekalis Valley railway is a
narrow-gauge road 15 miles long, that
extends from Olympia to Tenino.
where connection is made with the
Northern Pacific, of which latter road
miles are in Thurston cotusty.
There is much good land in Thurston j
county. Olympta, the county seat. .
and a town of 9800 inhabitants, is ;
the capital of the territory. It is
a home-like, attractive, delight- j
ful place. The population of '
Thurston county is about 7000; the
assessment for 19SH was $2,13*3,0t>3.
[lt ma> here as well be stated that tbe
population of each county will be eat!
mated, as bas been that of Thurston, by
multiplying tbe uumber of votes cut for
delegate to congress in November, 1 v*s. by
Ave, the nearest round number being
adapted J
MASOS COINTY
This county lies west of Thurston,
and in it head several of the largest
arms of the Sound. Notable among
these is Hood's Canal, sixty miles
long, one-half of which is within the
limits of Ma-bn county. Ma on
county has an area of fIOO square miles.
Its development heretofore lias !>een
slow, but a turn seems to have been
reached, an 1 the county is now mov
ing along with the best of them.
There is a gre.it deal of good agricul
tural land, but, owing to remoteness
from market, absence of towns in the
county, and to lieing a little oil" the old
lines of travel, it has not been much
availed of by home-seekers in tbe
past. Timber has lieen the absorbing in
terest.and i« yet, 130,000,000 feet being
cut in ISss, though other inter
ests are now rapidly coming
to the front. Railroads are build
ing in several directions. Among
these are the Coulter road, four mile*
long, running west from North bay;
the Union River, running south eight
miles from Hood's canal; the I'uget
Sound & C.ray's Harbor, 13 miles,
southwest from Little Skookum bay;
and the Satsop. 30 miles, nortliwe-t
from Shelton in Big Skookum. One
of the avowed purposes of tbe two
longer roads is to reach Chehalis river
and Orav's Harbor. These four roads
were all built primarily for lumbering,
but they are all well constructed,
well equipped, and intended to
be permanent, and with a
little more length and a
little more population along their
lines, will each have a lucrative gen
eral traffic. >helton, the county scat,
is a town only two years old, which
already has ICO) inhabitants. Mason
county has a population of 2-tfO and
its tax will foot up $715,233.
KiTsar COCSTV
Kitsap occupies the greater part of
the peninsula, bounded on the east by
Admiralty inlet and on the wen bv
Hood's canal. It is one of the smallest
counties, its area being only 400 square
uiiie«. Like Ma?on. Kiisap has here
tofore been given a holly to lumber
ing, but, unlike Mason, lumbering in
Kitsap has chiefly implied the manu
ufacture of boards, spar- etc.. from
sawiogs towed to its mills from tbe
camps in other counties. As the dis
tinctive feature, however, lumbering
is losing ground in Kitsap, as during
the pa-t three years several hundred
settlers have gone on to the rib lands
in tbe -outhern end of tbe county,
where they are making line farms,
building towns, and displacing the
wilderness *ith ail the attributes of
civilisation. The Blukeley sawmill is
the largest on tbe Pacific Coa-1 and
in the Puget Mill Company, with mills
at Gamble. Ludlow and I'tsalady, is
had the greatest lumbering concern in
the I'mtei States or the w orl-t ,se> on. led
clo-ely, though, by tbe IHakeley. I'ort
Mauison is tbe county «eat. Popula
tion of Kitsap county. ".750. Assess
ment. *1,032,730.
cocsrv
Within the limits of Jefferson are
UM square miles. The county i« 1'
shaped, its extreme north and south
line being 36 miles long and its east
and west line 72. It- population is
wholly in the «hurterarn> of the L.tbe
longer arm crossing the Coast range of
mountains and going down t<» the
ocean shore. In the eastern an i pojw
ula ted di-trict are to be found a for
ward condition of development. Three
of the large-t sawmills (Ludlow, Had
lock and Discovery) are here located.
At Irondale is the only iron smelt,tie
furnace in the territory, and at Tort
Town-en.i one of the mo-1 flourishing
and promi-ing towns. The Port
Town-end Soutbeni Railway Com
pany wa< organized last summer to
build a road to the Columbia river,
and a beginning of construction wu
made. Timber is to be found every
where. coal ui many places, an-i iron
and other minerals. There is also con
siderable good land in the county,
though but little of it has yet been
taken. Port Townsend. the county
*eat 1* a weC-bujlt town of W inhab
itants. the port of entry for the Paget
\ Sound customs district. Jefferson
county has ."-**> inhabitant*, and its
assessment will amoant to t1.235«>f».
. iulux conrrt.
Clallam has an area of l«0O -quare
mSaa. It lies wholly on the Maboanl.
having 80 miles frontage on the Str»it
of JaandePtKa and » mites on the
I Pacific ocean. Its harbors are Neah
bay. Port Artgeies and New I>ungervrv*
wiih a number of other lesser inlet*.
The southern part of the county is
occupied by the Coast mountain*,
from which numerous streams pour
th«*ir waters into the strait and ocean.
Valleys are to be found along all these
streams, with fertile soil, timber, coal
and other resources. Clallam has
sreat interest in the fisheries; her
people being extensively engagisi in
the capture of the f*r seal, the halii*ut
and other deep-water fi*h. An occa
sional whale is taken by them al*i.
Some fine tarnis are in Claliant county,
and a considerable surplus of airr ul
tural prodnee is grown. Tbe chief
town i* fort Angeles. wi;h ."WO inhabi
tant.*. IHtpulation of the '-ounty. 1700;
assessed rahie of property, MM.383.
« vs iraw conrrv.
This is tbe «m.-dlest county, having
only about 300 mile*. and it is one of
the two co.ntics >-on*i>t'i-.jr wholly ol
island*. San Juan. <»rt-as. Lo(<£,
lUakeiey. Decatar. Shaw. Wahlron.
.-Mart, ami a number of -mailer isl
and*. constitute the county. Roche
H.iYtior is the principal point. Friday
Harlior. and Bast Sound following
These island's differ somewhat from
other part* o{ the Sound country, r ou
sting largely of rock, with tine noil
over its surface. The climate i» al«o
drier and brighter. The timber it
-mail and inferior. The mineral chief
ly found is lime, and it is of excellent
quality, and is almost to the ex
clusion of other lime throughout
Western Oregon. Washington. British
Columbia and Ala-ka. Fruit grow*
finely, and no better country can t«
found for sheep. These islands po--
sess many attritions, and will one
day be popular places of abode. Popu
lation. 1(»*): asses-ment. >252,2"«
rol'TTY.
This i" the other county having no
held upon the mainland, and this i-.
next to San Juan, the smaller of
coanties. The islands of Whidbv and
Camaiio comprise the whole county
Whidby island is ."55 miles long and
from one to 10 miles wide, having a
total area of 115,000 acres. Camano
contains 30,000 acres. I'pon the latter
is the Ttsalady sawmill, having a cut
ting capacity of 100,000 feet of lumber
daily. Whidby i«land is very fair to
look upon. It- soil is generally good,
and it was settled by an industrious, ,
thrifty class of people. They have
made it bloom like the rose. Mixed
farming i« carried on. the products
comprising grain, fruit, vegetables,
poultry, butter, pork, horses, etc. ;
Coupcville is the county s-eat and
principal town. Population. 1400,
assessment. $100,419.
WHATCOM I'orSTY.
In Whatcom are l-OO square mile-.
The county fronts 34 miles on the < iulf
of Georgia or northern part of I'uget
Sound, and extends en-t to the summit
of the Cascade mountains, about 80
mile*. It has numerous tine bays,
Semiabmhoo and Bellingbam being
the chief, upou which are located a
number of ambitious, go-ahead towns.
There is no better soil than that of tiie
Nooksack valley and other parts ~f
Whatcom county, nor any finer tim
ber. Coal is found in many places,
and the first mine opened in the terri
tory was at Sehotne, on llellingham
bay. A number of railroad* are now
making business improvements in
Whatcom county. The Bellingham
Bay A Briti-h Columbia built and
equip)!ed a short section in 18ss, »nd
will make a further extension in
The Westminster, Beliinghnm A Seat
tle ha* now 27 miles of road grading,
reaching from tbe town of Westmin
ster south, and the projectors -ay
they will have the road to Bellingham
bay in MB and to Seattle in 1830. The
Seattle, Lake Shore A Eastern has
now 43 miles of it* road built from
Seattle north. It is intended to cross
Whatcom county, taking in promi
nent points on the way. Other road
are projected, but have not yet begun
construction. Tbe principal center is
a collect-on of towns, including What
com, Sehome, Fuirhaven an I ISelling
ham, all on Reliingbatu bay, ani all
really constituting one town, with 1:00
inhabitants. Population of Whatcom
county, MOO; assessed value of prop
erty. *1.124,725.
MtAOlt IOCSTT.
Another promising section is that
embraced within the limits of Skagit
county. This also fronts 24 miles on
the Sound, and, including Fidalgo.
Gucmes and Cypress islands, has an
east and west length of 00 mile*. The
river which gives the county its name, i
is the longest in We-tern Washington.
ri«ing in British Columbia and flowing
130 miles southwest through Wha'eom
and Skagit counties to it« outlet in
I'uget Sound. Steamboats navigate it
for miles. Us valley is one of the
finest description, the -oil being of
;rreat fertility, tbe timber heavy, and
! coal and iron abundant. Oats and hay
are the chief crops, though hops, fruit*
i and vegetables are grown in profusion
i and to perfection. A great future is
' before Skagit county, and ?cems now
j about to open. Capitalists are taking
j hold of its resources, and are making
[ movement* that must r**sult in very
1 speedy growib. The Seattle A North
ern Railway Company, hiving im
| men-e landed interest-at >hip Harbor,
(on Fidalgo island, have begun con
i struction of a first-class railroad from
, the harbor. buil linftea«t up the val-
I lev of the Skagit, tbe intention being
| to connect there with a road from tbe
I city of Seattle, and to continue on
| from tbe common point to Spokane
Falls. The Seatile. Lake shore A Ea-t
--!em baa its route located through the
county for the line to Vancouver,
B. C.. and the New Westminster A
lieilingharu Bay Railway Company
i are now locating their line
■ through tbe country from Wetrnin
ster to Seatile Both of «he-e cotupa
>nies promi-e to have their construc
tion work well in hand in Isi®. Other
1 road* are already j>rojected. but have
not vet turned the first sod. The
Blancbard. eight miies long, reaching
into ibe Sauiiah timber wintry. is the
only railroad yet built, not tactndißg
tbe ten miles of tbe Seattle A North
em ':pon which work i 1 now in pro
grass Mount Vernon is tbe county
seat. La Conner is tbe second town
lin population. A large town is ex
i f*cted to arise at Ship Harbor. The
population of Skagit county is if'J
■ Skagit and Whatcom, which were one
> county two yeais ago. bad 3156 mhab-
I itacts according to tb* een-us of !v
--' They number now fully 12,000. Their
asses-roent that year amounted to
in lwi to tbe
i tfkagtt assessment alone being *l,l<*,-
601.
ssoßoxisH oonrrt.
dnohouii h was an almost square
tract ot 36 by 45 mile* cat oS from
king county during the sixties. Sno
homish has varied resowtrs, as have
the counties of the So»i»d ctwintrv prn-
j eraHy. It* *nfl s* as pro) a* the liMt
Though th:* I* so. Is (tittle u-e ha*
hitherto been soeief i it. Now. how
ever. * rhanae b*. um. and Swv
I bomish farm* and - ns<hon,ish
prou-.ie* are S"eomlng quite
' i.otesi The valley* of th» Snoho
mish. >*-:!»mjiniish. >kykomt«h
ani are all rich.
Timber has been the great resource .a
the pa-t, and ha* dwarfed the impor
tance (4 every other branch of indus
: try. One hand re* 1 and ten million
:eet of timber were marketed in I{*W.
| and 1 OOO.MXMVO feet hare gone down
tbe !>nohoaush river a<one dnring the
S past »> years The several railroads
projected and building in King. Skagit
i and Whatcom ct,unties, contemplate
; lines into Snohomi-h also. One road,
! the .Seattle, l ake >hore A Kistern. Is
already there, having 1,4 mile* of track
laid withm the county limits. This
company will further extend it» line
t to the north during thecomlng season,
and in addition inteiuis to bnild
east, over the Cascade mountains,
probably deflecting from the present
line at some point tn Snohomish coun
ty. andgoinr thnv.ish skyk«mi*h l'ass.
Snohomish \ ity is the county sejt. It
. is a veil built, handsome to»n of I'JOi)
inhabitants. Stan wood. Florence.
MarysviHe. Mockilteo and
Kdmunds are other towns. The past
growth »f Snohomish county wiil be
illustrale<l by tbe figures following
Assessment I*7*, |SS2ja»; ljinJ. IKTf*,-
:7#>; ISN». Population I*7*.
IW2; ISBS. 2179; !vS$. tSS*.
xtxo oovjrvT
If there is anything in a turn? thi*
couty is well and properly named. In
alnio*t every respect it lead- all coun
ties in the territory. It ha* a greaser
population, cast* more votes, has a
larger assessment roll, a larger town,
more railroads and more railroad mile
age, more manufactures, more general
commerce, etc. Like Sn. homish, it
fronts .■«? miles on the Sound, and ex
tends ea*t to tbe summit of the Cas
cade moun'ains, about f>o mile*. It*
area I* about 1 suO square miles. In
this respect it i* exceeded by a num
berof counties in Eastern Washington.
The resource* of King county have re
ceived considerable development. Inc.-
ilent, of course to the tare* population
iiti.l the accumulation of wraith. It*
coal mines were openel among the
lir-t, ami their produ. t ha" greatly ex
ceeded that oC all other mines in the
territory combined, amountftig to 000,-
<*lo tons in IfWX, and .1,000,000 tons from
the beginning to the present time.
There are more sawmills in King than
in any other county, though none of
the half-dozen largest mills are within
her horder*. The king county mills
have a cutting capacity of .VlO.tW) feet
a day, and tliey are usually run to
the utmost. This vast quantity of
lumlier goes almost wholly (US per
cent, at least) into local improvements,
ami cuts but a tiny figure In the great
exjorts of the country. The atten
tion of farmers is given to mixed pro
ductions—milk, butter, poultry, fruit,
vegetables, hay, oats and stock for the
home market, and hops for the
East. Upwards of 1200 acres are
planted in hops, the an
nual product being about 2,000.00)
pounds, worth in average years
upwards of $.1'0,000. The Northern
Pacific has 56 miles ot railroad in
King county, the Puget Sound Shore
Line 24 miles, the Columbia A l'uget
.Sound 4« miies. and the Seattle. l.ake
Shore A Eastern 71 utiles, including
main lines and all branches—2oo miles
all told. The construction of this
road ha#- averaged a cost of $25,000 a
mile, or aggregated $.*>.000,000. Other
roads are projected N>th from the noitb
and the south, including the West
minster A ISetlinghaui lsay, from
Westminster to Whatcom and Seattle;
the Seattle A Northern, from Ship
Harbor, Skapit valley and Spokane to
Seattle; and the Seattle A Southern.
from Seattle to Portland. Present
appearances favor the early construc
tion of all the e roails. In addition to
coal, timber, and agriculture, King
county is blessed with vast iron depos
its, with lime, building-stone, and oth
er minerals, the development of which
is rapidly coming about. It is also pe
culiarly "blessed with waterway*, being
located on the Middle Sound, with
fine harbors, and having inland fresh
water navigation exceeding one hun
dred luiles in length. In tlies« re
spects it surpasses the other Jjound
counties. Its towns are Seattle, Ren
ton. Newcastle, Cedar Mountain, Hla> k
Diamond, Franklin. I>urt>am, Kent,
Slaughter. Hot Springs, Houghton,
Oilman and Falls City. The county
seat is Seattle, a city of 22.000 inhabi
tants. Except the northeast corner,
the trend of the whole of King
county Is to Sc'it le. Every lake
and stream in the other
parts of the county empties its waters
into the harbor of Seattle. This nat
ural course give* the city a hold upon
the county that never car. 1* -haken,
and ihut must be taken into account
bv all railroads operating hereabouts,
and by all engaged in trade The !i»h
eries of the Sound center and have
headquarter* at ."Seattle, owing to it
being the chief market, it- railroad fa
cilities and its trade conveniences.
King county had 388 inhabitant* ac
cording to the C. ffc census of IsfiO,
and 2104 in i<7d. Tw > years ago, ac
cording to the territorial census of
I*7S, Its inhabitants numbered sttS.
In 1838 the numtier had ri-en to KW.
Its amounted to $1,!107,C70
in ISW: to t7.5fi5.110 in IS#), and to
$15,016,795 ih I*B.
ntn COUSTY.
Thi-il* one of the thr-e Kreat eoon
tie« of tli* lemtory Hi« .V.WJ on<- <»?
«he olde-t. lta earlie- growth w*s»
flow, the first IS yean (!V»2 to
I->7O) securing it a population of only
Mil soak. The l*» I* years it ha*
done better; imlee I, ha* done remark
ably well, it* inhabitant* iiwresslnjr in
number to 21.0T). It* taxable prop
erty b-i- »ho«n aotemgain.im-rea-ing
from $1 in I*7- to »U.«1,M2 in
ltvH. Fierce county ha-> alio it the
-auie area at Knip lt« extreme
iefijnh U 73 mile* ami width 36; in
..vrrage width and length being Jl an. I
«»mile* re«pe»-ti»eljr, and it» surface
extent I**> wjuare mile*. It t* the
only county that cro-se* the hound,
about -*«> M|tiare mile# of Ldandi and
penitxolaj on the western *ide being
included within the limit*. Pierce
ha* one magnificent eailey- the
PuTail«p--Uie timber, coal and farm
produce of which ba*e l>een el in
calculable help in retaining and build
ing up the county in the pa.»l. The
building of the Northern Patiflc rail
road ha» been of iraruta* benefit •©
ISere* county, the compsnv locating
it* termlnu- within it* limit*, and do
ing ererrtbing pu*-ible to footer It.
The company ba.« 6C mi!«s of ro»J in
the county, and the Tarotua. Or'iß* A
Northwestern 10 u> U«*. Coal wi;ie
hare b*«n opened at Carton nk>,
Wiiketon and South P.-airfr. from
which 1 jot <Ol ton* of «*al bare toea
taken. Pietc# ha» al*o <i immenae
interest in lumbering. hairing
VOL. XV.—NO. 48
j three (the T«et;u, the St p*oi
A Taroma and the Pacific) of
th* !arg*«t aawsill* on th* eoost. b*.
a n umber nf small mill*. <(tti
to lumber and coai amoa( her pm
darts 1* UOJM. tbe Jtrrjrt. being l^tKL
ami th* yield pound* (>rr
:MI rum. Towns «r» T*ev»ma, Pnval-
J:ij>. Orting, South Prairta,
ll'irtmiMuloiinl SlriiMvm.
the county seat. has II «W inha >iia»l»l
It b handsomely laid out, is we.i tmilt,
j an J promise* in tint* to become a Urge
i city Br virtueof th* Kortbtni Pact ft#
it siready ha* a tar*e foreign trad*, re
ceiving tea IMB J SPAN AND SENDING
wheat to Crut Britain. Ita tra<l« in
lumber and coat i« cnormoo-. whiW ita
vwreral commerce filial and ever In
creasing.
THE (HKHAI.LS COUNTRY.
V.WT TITU o» ruim, TWUV >MT ADD
a caracint * i*nui.
, I'nder thi« head are moulded the
j I'gwttei of f.bebali* and Lewis, n -
! tending from the Pactric ocean in th*
west to tit* sutnwrito of the t tsradt
mountains on the cist, * length of tJO
mile*, with average width of V aulas,
and total ana of OW mites. It baa
■ >ne luAer lirjv's llarbor- a heart
-haped hay of aNtut !•> square nul«*
-ttrfao*. Into this hay eniptirs the
<"h*h*ii> river, as w.dt as a number of
smaller -treams. The Chehaii*. l*ing
■ the mj.ui tiver, has given its nam* to
;be country. It i< navigable to ocean
| gwng craft for 70 mile-. It liowa
i through land* of -nrpasMiig fertility,
producing prodigious crops of
J all firm product* grown in
. Wedkcrn Washington. In th«
; < liclVfl:- uintry i« included the
: largest unbroken body of agricultural
! land in the we-tern half of the territo
ry. Ila product* are chietly wheat,
oats, hay, vegetables, hops, fruit, but
ter and hog*, and it* market* are the
•iray'j Harbor settlement* and the
towns on Puget Sound. The country
Is heavily wooded with fir, hemlock,
Mmice. cedar, alder, a>h. maple and
look, and the getting of this limber
nto market has caused a vast Industry
| to spring into existence, second only
to that of I'uget So md. Twenty saw
. mill* have been -built varying each
: front SOW feet a day capacity to 100,-
0)0. The smaller lutlhi cut only for
local consumption, the larger one*
for shipment abroad. chiefly
to San Francisco. Coal ha*
l>een found in several place*,
and mine* are now being
opened. Several radroads are pushing
their length slowly toward* the river
and harbor from Puget Hound, and at
no distant day another and longer
rojd i* expected (root the K»«t. These
roadx will cause gre*i change, through
out that fair and lertile region, Cray'*
Harbor i* certain to be the seat of an
immense commerce on* of these day*.
Unlike the Atlantic, good harbors ure
few and far between on the Pacitic
coait. Puget Sound is the largest and
best, San Francisco the second, San
Diego third, Columbia river fourth,
and Cray* Har'sir tilth. By th* ex
penditure of a comparatively small
amount of money. Dray'* Harbor can
l>* wonderfully improved, and when
that is done a large city, with a larg*
and varied trade, «Ul there b* found.
IHIHAU4 C
Clichaiis, having bee
in the paat,
slow growth. It was fp
a population of
the paat
quickly doubled.
ruplrd, anil has rlotirl-iied to a degree
second to none of her filters. The
ien us-taker of I*-l found 051 in
habitanta; of ls»3, 1290; of 1.-Wfc 2*B;
and of I«J<7, 4242. The vote of Novem
ber. lass, null, ales 7WW inhabitants.
The tax roll of lsfti tooted up $1.083,•
Oil; of lsS7, ll.'<*»,«*>; ot Was. $1,8(0,.
Ttil. Th.- -« statements must be ex
t emely gratifying to the citixens.
They also point protnl-lngly to the
future. The towns of tJhehali* are:
Montesano. the comity real. Aber
deen, a town on Cray's harbor,
Huquiam, Kitua and Cosniopolie.
The two first named have about 1000
inhabitants each. Of the 2400 miles
area of Cbehalis county, 750, in the
northwest isjrner, are occupied by the
tjuineault Indian reservation
li.wis co»f<rv.
Lewis Is the only shut-in county in
Western Washington; that b, it ii
surrounded by other counties,and ha*
no access to the outer world except
through them, it has solid re-umrcea
in timber, coal and sod. farming and
lumbering are the principal line* of
trade. The Northern Pacific railroad
crosacs the county and fund die* it
transportation. The leading town*
are I'hehalis, the county seat, Oes
tralia, Newaukum, Kapavine, Witt
lock and Toledo. Population in IK7B,
1H36; 1 ">s, "«<». A ses-metr. ISJ3,
$1,007 «X) \ MM, $15 91.m.
IjOWER roU MRIA COINTRY.
m •R.ioa uc 11*10 ■* r«« hi« Hire*
WCtr of T.IB
In tim art* iueia t«.l all cowiiw
fronting on th« t'»iu«'iU rittr from
Itx I'a iucoctAD hi
| mitt*. Thaeauntry I* not «* entialljr
1 .1 liferent front tb at b«ntulvrt da
i-.-rtbed under lb* Pipt f-ooud end
t*beh*:i* b»l«. It >• itiuiwred. and
tin tiiuner li about tbe unt. 11 I*
well vjlerel, and iUc valley* in »«•
reedlngly ferl. e. fne lefuilog imliis
trtef aro (arming, lumhonn/f an.l ti-h
--mi? I'm* a-oi'jii it'.h-r* oil Uir Co*
lumbia amount* in an mtrragt
year to orcf
of whi'h It l« fair to
[k|a<« oiirhaJf to the rnJK of
: Washington Territory, Iht <->j -.tee
; lifhert on Hitotiwa «sf tMfltijn
: many "nail ta ar J ami 3» wen, ttw
catch amo :at .-1-,: to ever m
v . !••• i i •• nn| in i b MMfcfc. j
Fa- i »>»a;l
rbe chief roil-of travel i« ih<r*s:"»«3fi
*!. ' c ircl
herein, t< a br>ad an ! aouie
ond lit ii H. it L'amn
OowtiU r:V« -1 are tie t*o f
tribatarse • in tite north, '
tiavtj?able t»y ordinary J
land arid i!i are
rule ir -ft ie I<J«-r
ranrtc oowrrr. ,
Thi* c.ntnty fa>-<* on tk« t>r ®an lo
tbe weat ami on the rlvrr to the •oath.
■ln main front i» taken op *'**
Bhualwater bay, having • Imtrlh (4
J» mile*, and * wk.'tb eaota* ,rjm
fiva to eitfbt mile*. It ll nante indi
cate* lt« aa a barber. Hwafl
only find It •( a*a. Tbe Wll
lapa t» tbe }r;in.-jpal river Tb* town*
are <>y*!eryiil», Uie • ouuty »«at. &»utb
fiend. Ba* Cenfcf, KKW'"" • n *
Ilvaco. ll»aio and Oy-wrrilte are
m.ted tummrr ra ortv fHty inilliia
■ 'vet of lumber «i» ajinnaJly tut. Tbe
jrrate t ottUr bajaaol er*i «rry
,i,..r hv ion lb* coaat are b*«. Tit**«
! wt m. i ier .We **>*7 lan.l, ami much
~{ it i- cat vafc-d. Population. •£*&
«aßK;.t*t* O&CTTT. lt -X,
Thi* n another ot tbe laaßcvtflMK
having an aret <J* 'M I"**
mifc*. It* Iwbw rwa ar» aim >1 •*-