Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1869-08-07

Hints and Suggestions to those Oeslr-
GUS of Learning whether the Puget
Sound Country is Desirable Loca-
tion for Settlement.
Hint FirN.-Write to your Congress
man for the Annual Report 1868 OF lion.
j. Ross Browne on the resources OF the
territory west of the Rocky Mountains.
In that YOU will iiud an elaborate and de-
tailed account OF the infinite ard varied
resources OF the. Pacific Slope. and can
make vour own choice of a location.
hit ,Sec0nd.-To inform yourself of
the means Of travel to and through the Pa
fic States AMI Territories, the featnr's
! presented to Il casual and disintcres'cd OBJ
| server a view Of settlements as to location
and desirab,lity, our people as they appear
! to a stranger ana their arocations and inn
! provcments, the moral and social agencies
we have surrounded ourselves with to en-
| able us to establish communities adapted
as homes for women and children. all OF
which YOU would like to know before You
make up your mind, we advise you to
read the genial book Across the Conti-
nrnt," cmboayinS the views of Samuel
Bolles. Esq, the very able editor of tn"
Spring field Mass Rcpub1ira@. Another
book we heartily commend to your atten-
ton, West of the Mississippi" by ID.
Richardson, Esq, one OF the most gifted
Of the editorial corps of the n. \. Trib"ac.
! vet unSatisiicd,a Il wide fell of inturma
ton is still open to YOU in the Railroad
explorations, Land Ohicc and Coast Sur
vey Reports from year to year, and the
many interesting reports OF reconnosanccs
by Government officers. all rcplrie with
reliable data, " which 1t will not harm you
to know even though they should not in
vitc you "to the West.' From these, or
any of them, draw your own inierrnccs.
They arc not the statements OF parties in
tcrcstrd to promote settlements, build
up towns or to make property in certain
! localities advance in value. II convic-
ton hould cross your mind that misery
lowest company aud that such II feeling
nigh cplor tho statement of settler who
| had not the wlrrewith to return to former
home and friends, these books and official
reports are exempt from such il suspicion.
Upon them you may rely as being at least
an expression of honest opinion of the
writer's.
To these hints, useful to all seekers after
information, we now add such general
statements as we believe ,rnth will abund
antly justify.
Ids 10 Gcncfo} frat~rcs Of tie Terri
fofH West of tie CaScadc .NHHtains.
in a general way, II may be stated that
the area OF the district upproxinates to
Is, SEQ square miles, which may be regard.
cd as embracing the Puget Sound basin,
the basin of Gray,s IIarbor and the valley
of the Chehais, Shoalwatcr Bay and the
Willopah valley, Cowlitz valley and the
country drained by the lower Columbia
and its tributaries. Or we may divide it
by vertical lines into, lst, the section
broken by the foothills, spurs, and ascent
to the western summit of the Cascades !;
I'd, the region bordering on Puget Sound,
the upper Chelalis and Coast Ranges of
Mountains, with length north and south
of about go miles, and an average width
of thirty milrs, which makes abundant al
lowancc for water surface and occasional
mountain ridges, with an area of 1900
miles, or 4 500, 900 acres: Sd. west of the
Coast Range, the Chehals and Willopah
valleys, already settled to considerable en-
tent, and recent explorations indicate a
large body of excellent land in the north
west peninsula, between the Quillohuyte
river and the Straits of Juan de Fnca
Whilst it is true that the mountain spurs
are densely covered with gigantic timber,
yet along all the mountain streams arc ex-
| ~ ba i.I lam
intervals we find to the very submits
prairies varying in extent from one to ten
or fifteen square miles. In the second re-
gion, which may be regarded as continu,
alton of the Willamette valley of Oregon,
most Of the settlements have been made,
While the praires are generally occupied.
it is generally conceded that the best lands
arc found in the river bottoms, which are
covered with alder, COTTONWOOD and vine
maple and arc not expensive or difficult to
clear. The vast proportion of this cllarac-
ter Of lands remains unoccupied 1t is cs-
timated that at least third Of this is
open prairie. The Chehalis valley, about
seventy miles long and fifteen miles W de,
is probably the most extensive valley
west OF the Cascades. In the Wilopah
valley there are over 100000 acres of
good level land. EAcluding the basin of
the lower Columbia, there are nearly c.
100000 acres of level land west of the
Cascade Mountains. Thus il will be seen
that this portion of Washington Territory
has land enough to subsist large popula-
tion. The mistake. however must not be
made that the prairies of Washington are
like the prairies OF Illinois; the man who
comes here upon'that idea will be deceived.
But we do say, the Territory is we'll adapt
ed to tillage or grazing; that its climate
and soil adapt it for the homes Of men
that it is abundantly able to subsist a
large population /; that the abors of the hus.
! bandman and stock-raiser will be we'll and
auundantly rewarded. With the excep-
| ton of Indian corn all the cereals thrive