Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1864-08-20

he'd valley Il Snake river. The ground in
mo-, places i. formed principally Of sand
and where large BIDS Of bssalt are no, found.
Oh. ground is O. q dry. absorbing nature.
through which til. water siaks. At firn-s burst
inc OF, again. This seefisn is also no:ed fof
a crea, scarcity of timber. and the immsn>e
plains &c Wild sage, which is - abundant that
!, merits the name Of The sag desert of,h.
mountains II extends for many miles in
length and brradth. forming an immense ocean
OF rrairi- whose sam-ness j. only broken ty
the Three Bu.es' of the valley. which rise
Ike islands in the Sra in this broad and bar
son area. Its whole character might b. IL
cluied in the word strrili,y.'
The following brrf extract Is from sle mar
r,,ve Of L-wis and Clarke. under date OF
Nav Eth. 1905. They were then encamped
in the Kooskoosia valley. on the western slope
Of The Bitter Root mountains. They say:
1.-The country along the Rocky Mountains
for several hundred miles in length anu abou,
fifty wide is high, level plain. ~ all as Parfs
,r,rcmeir fcrtiie. aud in many places covered
with growth Of tall. long lcaved pine. This
plain is chiefly interrupted near the streams
Of water, where tn. hills are steep and lofty,
ba, the soil is gooi. being unencumbcr"d by
much stone AMI possesses more timber than
the level country. Under shelter Of the G
hills, the bottom lands skirt the margin Of tho
rivers, and though narrow and confined. are
fertile, and rarely inundated. Nearly the
whole Of this wide spread tract is covered with
profasion Of grass and plants. which are at
this time as high as the knees. Among these
arc a variety OF esculcnt roots. acquired with
out much difficulty and yielding not only
nutritious but very agreeable food. The
air is pure and dry. the climate quite as mild
If not milder than the same parallel OF latitude
in the Atlantic States, and must be equally
healthy, for all the disorders which We have
witnessed may fairly be imputed more to the
nature of the diet than to any incompetence
of climate"
1t seems settled conviction deduced from
the foregoing evidence, furnished in the re-
port. of tue scientific and Geographical ex-
plorers, and general travellers whose duty it
was to return reliable reports Of the existing
condition of the country, that with but little
exception the whole of that vast area through
which the Northern or Peoples Railroad must
necessarily pass, is well fitted for settlement
and occupation and must be settled and occu-
pied at an carly day. Taking IN view the
various settlements interspersed throughout
the interior country, we see that the husband
man is we'll repaid by plentiful harvest for
the labor bestowed upon Mother Earth. Gov.
Stevens says, "The crops that have been
raised about the Dalles, at Walla Walla, in
the Neg Perccs country, on the Spokane. at
Colville, in the Bitter Root Valley, on the
Jocko, on Sun river, at Fort Benton and at
Fort Union show that there is ample rain for
moisture to insure certain CROP"
Eminent and manifold advantages particu-
darby attend the Northern railroad. 1t passes
through fertile country, well adapted to sus-
tain dense population, creating way-busi'
ness for the road, which, of itself, will b.
source Of greatrevenue. The route is at short
intervals abundantly furnished with excellent
timber; navigable river communication con-
venicnt to the route for nearly three-qnarters
of the distance, and it is two-fifths shorter
than the Central road.
Other special advantages belong to the
Northern road, which design to make the
subject of future article, as this communica.
tion is already extended beyond the limits in
tended when commenced. S.