The Albany register. [volume] (Albany, Or.) 1868-18??, 1869-07-31
Letter From Olympia.

not intended for publication, contains 50
much information iu relation to Wash
ington Territory and other matters oil
interest, that we publish it in full
[ arrived here several days ago, and
have kept myself pretty busy in hunting
hole to jump in. 1t required but a
short time after my arrival here to learn
that Olympia would not do for me, there
being no life here except that which
whisky can produce. 1t Is the Terri
torial capital, and the center for the
arIstocracy. | have counted six build
lngs IN course OF erection, and about as
many men to do the work as it takes
shingles to cover them. Real lestate Is
held very high here, owing, I suppose,
to the expectation that the terminus .
will reach here sometime but when the
tide is out, vessel can't come within
two miles of the place-a high old ter
minus! L extended my travels by
| steamer to Steilacoom, distance Of
thirty miles down the Sound | found
this once very thriving town at the pres
ent time about gone In, owing, [ was
told, to the decline in the price of lum-
Der. There being no demand for assist
ance from outsiders, / once more en-
barked for more genial cline, and my
next stopping place was Seattle, thirty
miles still lower down the Sound This
mace has Il St foo,
the town looks very pretty There is
monster saw-mill, just completed, right
on the wharf, and two large vessels from
Frisco were taking in lumber | found
things lively here. | should judge that
there are not more than five hundred
liquor saloons here, and perhaps about
that number of squaws paradinc the
streets-some in gorgeous attire, while
others were not quite so particular.
| net at Seattle many old friends.
Among The number was Rogers, who
looked twenty years younger than when
we used to know him-I didn't notice
scarcely grey hair. He obtained work
on the saw-mill, aud when it was com
pleted, he started hotel, and if he told |
the truth, was doing we'll enough but |
getting tired of the tfung, he sold out /
and went off prospecting for ranch. and /
found it twelve miles away-a splendid !
thing.
[ saw all the Woodses. The old gen
tieman first got work on the big saw
mill, and when it was completed, he
went to padding his own canoe, and has
had work most Of the time. Biily
woods is head sawyer in the big saw
mill, and gets SO month and found.
The Doc is screw tender
also saw Jim Payne, who first OBJ
tanned work on the saw mill, and when
it was completed, started out on his own
hook, and has done quite we'll Tie told
me that in three weeks he would start
for Salem, for his family, and that he
intends making Seattle his home. There
Is a female Seminary here, aud Payne
has accepted the offer of large house,
free of rent, and boards the scholars at
53 50 each week
saw Denny, who gets $40 a month
md board, as engineer on wee bit of
steamer.
The price Of lumber regulates busi-
less here, like wheat at Albany and
when the foreign demand for lumber de-
,Hnes, as 1t has for the past two months,
here will be no demand for outside
mechanics. I'll bet there are FIVE !
hundred men on the Sound that are idle. {
The papers lie like - when they say
here is an outside demand for any kind t
# labor IN this Territory. There seems q
Q be work for the old settlers, but tt e {
lotels, stages and steamers are crowded
vith new ones ready to jump at anything
Seattle, like all others towns on the ,
sound, holds real estate very high on !
ccount of the expected terminus |
| spent part of two days trying to S
nd some one who knew where Tacoma !
7as. One said it was ten miles below
olympia. So I went to the stable to get Q
horse to ride down there, when the t
ostler informed me that the town was
ocated thirteen miles below Steilacoom. 7
hat information fattened me out !,
ont wish to see Tacoma. It must be t
ONE chuck hole where nobody goes.
he steamers do not stop there, neither {
, there post Office. !,
IF I had possessed $1,000, would