, 1857-11-06
LYMPIA WASHINGTON TERRITORY FRIDAY NOVEMBER 1857

curing their FISH
At Port Townsend there were but l0(
lndi2ns Of the Claim tribe. There are lI0t
in all, at that point aud DungeneSs, wher
gathered in. The Agent introduced III,
ipar'y TO the Great Chief, the "Duke o
York." who lives with his wives, "Queel
Victoria and Jenny Lind" in a wigwan
on the beach. The Duke was very drunk
and so were Jenny LiNl aud Queen Victo
ria--so much so, indeed, as to be iucapabl,
of holding II aed-,ra. Another visit wa'
made several days after, and the whole
family were drunk.
The vices of intoxication are rapid,
taking of the Sound Indians. In the crust
around the shores, whisky boats could n
seen at every point; but there seems to bl
no legal process by which the venders car
be punished, unless caught in the act, anC
then no jury will convict the offenders. Re
peated efforts have been made to enforce
the laws, but without /, fleet.
Next visited Bellingham Bay. Col
Fitzhugh is Indian Agent at this point, and
has control Of the Lummas, NortsackS, and
Sanish, numbering 1862. They are peace
able and well disposed, and gain n good
living by fishing, hunting, and gathering
berries. Colonel +. has been forced to re.
treat to blockhouse, for the preservation
Of himself and men from the Northern In
dians. The hands work the coal mines dur.
ing the day, but at night sleoep in the block
house. A short time since, these North
erners came down in large canoe, and
made reconnaissance Of the premises
Next day they sent word to Col. Fitzhugh
that they had carefully examined his de-
fences, and as he appeared to be Twe,
they intended to take the blockhouse and
his head, on their next visit. This is not at
all an improbable contingency, though Col.
f. has great faith in the support of his own
Indians, who are more afraid Of the Moth
erners than the whites
A picket fort, under the command Of Col.
Pickett, has been built a. o distance Of five
miles from WhAtkun, the town of Belling-
ham Bay The same Indians inspected this
fort. and notified Col Pickett that they
would soon take his head as, trophy,
which they much desired. Cei. 2. found
means to send them word, that he would be
happy to deliver to them any amount Of
grape and canister, but that his head.
piece was an Indispensable appendage, with
which it would be very inconvenieut for him
to part.
While at Bellingham Bay, Messrs
Spragne and Browne made Reconnaissance
of the coal mines, and were very favorably
impressed with the great extent and value
Of the veins, and the incalculable impor-
tance to the whole Pacific coast of this dis
covery. About 1000 tons have already
been dug out and sold of which 5000
found a market in San Francisco. None
Of the coal yet shipped, however, equals
that now in process of excavation. There
is one shaft sunk of I21 feet. The first
room is so feet from the entrance; the sec.
ond sc feet, just laid of, and ready to be
worked. In the latter, the coal is of the
very best quality-far superior to any yet
seen in San Francisco-aud the indications
are, that the bank of this quality of coal
is incxhaustible. A steam engine has been
erected, and other works are in progress,
but the force employed is altogether INSULT
cient. Instead of three miners aud three
cutters, there should be twenty Of each,
and as much outside labor as may be neces-
sary to develop the full resources of the
mines. Until this is done, the stockholders
may look in vain for profits No business
is profitable unless it is conducted with en-.
ergy, and this is especially the case with
coal mines.
Previous to this last excavation, DR.
Evans, the celebrated geologist, made an
analysis of inferior specimens of the coal,
and found the result to be as follows: