The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-08-10
NORTHERN PACIFIC RAILROAD.

OLYMPIA, WASHINGTON TER, July II, 1869.
The surveying party entrusted with an ex- |
ploration of the western section of the Northern
racine Railroad are now earnestly at work upon
their task.
On the morning of the 7th we left Port
land, Oregon, and took the steamer down the
Willamette river into the Columbia, and thence
into the Cowlitz river, another tributary of the
broad Columbia, landing at Monticello, three
miles above its mouth, about noon. We took stage
there, passed over very hily region, and
arrived at Olympia on the evening of the Sth.
We have devoted the intervening days to the
examination of the waters and harbors of
Puget Sound, and the whole upper portion of
the Strait of Fuca, in the steamer Wilson G.
Hunt, of the Oregon Steam Navigation Com
pany. This company, with most commendable
foresight and enterprise, not only run steamers
upon the Columbia river and its branches, but
have built railroads at the several portages and
constructed steamers for Pend d'Oreille and
other lakes. By their route, the gold and furs
reach the Pacific, and return supplies are
shipped to the miners.
In our trip on those waters, we saw TacOmah
about half way to Seattle, Seattle, Port Gamble
Port Ludlow, Port Townshend, and Bellingham
Bay. On our return we stopped at Victoria and
looked into the Bay of Port Discovery, and a
second time touched at Port Townshend as a
necessity, after clearing from the foreign port of
Victoria, thanks to the arbitrary astronomical
line of boundary between British Columbia and
the United States.
We paid flying visit to a coal mine some
miles back of Seattle, by the side of Lake Wash
ington-or more exactly, riding rowing, and
trudgng trip, and made hasty examination
This coal appears to be good for steamers, and
is solid enough to bear transportation, and there
arc other like veins in the neighborhood. The
coal mines at Bellingham Bay have been worked
for some time with a, force of sixty men. On
our visit theywere engaged in pumping and draw
ing out water, the mine having been flooded to
extinguish an accidental fire. The price of coal
here has been Sc per ton, and at Victoria 81
There is good reason to believe that bituminous
coal of fair quality exists in veins of five feet or
more an along the eastern shores of Puget
Sound for a long distance; but its fair develop
ment will not occur until the shrek of the loco
motive is heard by these far western shores, and
fleets of swift ships bear the cargoes of nations
into these waters. Beyond all question the coal
production, anthracite and bituminous, of the
region west of the Cascades, in Washington
Territory will be found ample for full supplies
OF ocean and other steamers and for all the
wants of the teeming population soon to be
settled upon the fine soil and grand waters of
this almost unknown district.
Like our party, every man who comes here
from the Atlantic seaboard, and steams for the
first time through these waters will be aston
ished at the vastness of the scale upon which
nature has created these harborages and be-
come aware how weak were his geographical
ideas of their magnitude and future importance.
The extent and value of the nayigable waters of
Puget Sound Admiralty Inlet, Hoods Canal,
Rosario's Straits Canal de Haro Gulf of Georgia,
and the main Straits of Juan de Fuca can only
be comprehended by an actual sail over their
broad waters.
All the channels and bays, with very little ex-
ception. are wide and Deep so deep. in fact, that
their depth is objectionable-not for sailing but
for anchoring. The harbOr of Olympia is cX-
ceptional, rs that town was originally laid out
not for a seaport but in view OF the canoe trade.
There is no navigation here at low tide; but at
high tide which ranges from twelve to eighteen
feet prettv large vessels can come up to the
piers. A mile-and-a-half below, the water is
deem enough for the largest vessels. The harbol
of Seattle (See-at-teD is deep enough for all YES
sells and so are the other harbors Puget Sound
evceptinp ''Useless Harbor,' so named on ac.
count of its shadows.
The Coast Survey measurements OF these
waters gives a slight idea OF their magnitude
The Straits of Juan de Fuca are l6l miles; Rosa
rio Straits Canal de Haro Gulf of Georgia, etc.
627 miles: Admiralty Inlet, 33i niles Puget
Sound. $50 miles; Hoods Canal, 1872 miles
making in all 1894 nautical miles, equivalent tC
1899 statute miles. The name Hoods Canal
conveys an erroneous idea. IL is a large body o
deep water, deep enough for the heaviest ship
In tbe world and nowhere less than severa
miles i'm width. The unmentioncd channels
that are shown on ordinary maps are usually
several miles wide mt the narrowest and lookins
ont into the Straits OF Fuca is just like lookins
ont on the ocean. These inland seas and th
fresh-water Lake Washington are seldom OBJ
structed by ice for any length OF time IN winter
owing TO the mildness of the winters and tn
great depth of the water These bays are I'm
nortont. even now, in connection with the heay
numbering business of this region. There ar
already ten sawmill establishments on the sound
and IL is safe to say that their daily product
over half a million feet. The markets are Sa
Francisco China, the Sandwich Islands, eJ'
sIumbering" must long remain the staple bus
moss and the amount OF timber easily acce'
sible 10 these waters is enormous. Inc Tree
are not only numerous, hut gigantic Man
of them are five feet ln diameter anu =.
feet bigh We measured some eighJ leeJ !
diameter. and have seen stunps more IMAM GG
feet ocross The fir Of this country l. aulhlrdol
adaptcd TO ship-building a number ol shll
have been built out-Und out OF TINS uhlpeI' 'u
ship-building must become q -Ie"I business
tbese water No country iu the world can nav
S-eater advantage i'm connection with this bus
ness. as labor from China VIII Roe lar the4pe,
this coast than the wages pala IN Tue Easter
States Indeed, with the exception OF Jhe uhl
sual depths of these inland -eas-lrom zen
fifty and more fathoms, preNehllhg eohEculo, i',
anchorage-the navigation among tmese lslul'
and neninsuIas OF Washington Territory