, 1853-06-25

and down the river as though they thought
evil spirits were after them. There are some
however who do not see so much of the
country as this One man, not long since,
came up the river for the purpose ofexplor-
ing the country. lie reached this place
Just as the bell at Clarkc's hotel rang for
dinner. lie fastened into the dinning room
hastily swallowed his muck-a-muck, >
by which time it was announced that a boat
was in readiness to start down the river,
when he suddenly came to the conclusion
that he had seen about all of the country
and might as well return, so jumping into
the boat and uileIing fearful imprecations
upon the whole land, he commenced his re-
turn That man no doubt can, and proba-
bly, has, given full and accurate description
Of the Puget Sound Country one that
can be relied upon, for he has been there
himself!
The fact is, Messrs Editors, those who
have merely Travelled the road from this place
to Puget Sound, know but very little about
this country-a large portion Of which has
never been explored. A few day0 ago
undertook short exploring tour, and hoping
it may be Of some use 10 some of your read
oTs, will give the result. Leaving this
place in company with some other gentle
men, we took q " trail bearing abou! north,
west which We followed distance of about
10 miles, all of the way through the wood,
some part Of which was heavily timbered,
while other parts had been burned over and
most Of the heavy timber consumed, and
might be cleared of at a triaing expense
At the distance above mentioned we came
into a most beautiful prairie, two or three
miles 10 length, and from one 10 two miles
in breadth, lyingon the east branch Of the
Chehalis. judging the quality of the soil
from the burden ofyegeIation here, / should
suppose il must 5e very rich. A very thick
coat Of green grass covered the whole prai-
rie full eighteen inches in height. Three or
four families have already settled here, and
there is room for more. Following down
the Chehalis, in about a mile we found an
other prairie perhaps mile or a mile and
half in breadth, part Of which had been
taken by Mr.. Hogue, who IS residing on
it with his family. From there on to the
forks of the Cheh4ls, distance Of four or
five miles, VIC passed some two or three
other prairies, the land being all ollhe way
rich bottom land, easily cleared, and will
soon be occupied by industrious settlers
At the Forks there il quite large prairie.
A gentleman has just taken q claim here
This think some day will be a prominent
point. II is considered the "head Of navi-
cation " on the Chehals.
Following down the river, with an ln-
dian for a guide, we passed over several
prairies and much rich bottom land covered
with a spiall growth of timber, till we
reached the residence Of Mr.. Davis, few
miles from Ford's on the Chehalis. Here
we were informed that a party the week
previous, had explored up the west branch
Of the Chehalis, some ten miles above the
Forks. The journey was made in a canoe,
and Of course they saw but little the coun-
try besides what lay Immediately on the
river. But they were highly delighted with
what they did seo-rich prairics, covered
with high grass Of most nutricious kind,
and burnt land with nothing left upon it,
with the exception Of here and there stub
Valuable mill sites, and a coal mine were
discovered. The latter pEotruded out Of the
bank Of the river, eight feet in depth, and
10 such an extent that several boat loads
could be broken OF directly into boat. 1t
is described as being Of an excellent quality.
They spoke confidently of their being an
opening here for a very large settlement
The distance from there to Shoalwater Bay
cannot exceed, think, four or five miles
on a straight line. Should any who are
seeking claims wish 10 visit this locality,
they would do well to enquire for Mr.. Davis
on the Chehalis, where they will have to
get canoe and ascend the river.
OBsERv