, 1881-07-29
WASHINGTON TERRITORY.

spreading popular intelligence re-
specring our commonwealth aud at
tracting hither a desirable popnia'
ton. In the Monmouth Inquirer, !"
of Freehold, N. J., under date of
June 3Oth, is long letter from the
Governor, descriptive of our soil,
climate, scenery, resources, etc.,
which we reproduce in part herein.
Want OF space forbids It's insertion
entire, so we give our readers the
benefit of it piecemeal. While we
regard it as overdrawn a little in
some respects, in the main it is thor.
oughly reliable and cannot fail to
prove valuable to intending settlers
among us. The extract herewith
reads:
Washington Territory borders on
British Columbia on the north, is
separated on the south from Oregon
by the Columbia river, and the forty
sixth parallel of latitude; is bound
ed by Idaho on the east, and the Pa
cific on the west; contains seventy
thousand square miles, making forty
five millions of acres-an area equal
in extent to the State of New York
and all the New England States, ex-
cepting Maine. AT a space two, fifths
eastward from the sea are the Cas-.
cade mountains, which run nearly
north and south, and divide the Ter.
ritory into Washington East and
Washington West, which regions
differ entirely from each other in
physical characteristics and china Q,
and largely in productions. The
West contains mountains, forests,
waters and minerals, alluvial bottoms
and rich, inexhaustible grazing and
agricultural lands. There must be
twelve or fifteen millions of acres OF
white, yellow and red frs, cedars,
maple, alders, spruce, pine and other
varieties OF forest trees, and much of
it such timber as is not 10 be found
elsewhere; the fir and cedars, espe-
cially, are of enormous extent and
growth. The average of the full
grown fir is perhaps four feet in di,
ameter, many Of them ten and twelve
and some of them are measured for
fourteen feet. A friend here informs
me that he has cut twenty two thous-
and feet of lumber from a single tree.
The cedars, also, are of stupendous
growth. / know of one specimen OF
solid wood which measures sixty
four feet four inches in oircumfer-
ence. Two hundred millions of feet
of lumber were shipped during the
last year to the markets of the world.
Coal deposits exist in large variety
and 10 absolutely inexhaustibie pro-
portions; nearly, If not quite all OF
the Paget Sound basin being undor.
laid with anthracite, bituminous and
coke making coal. Many Of the
mines border on the navigable wa
ters, are easily worked, and easily
transported to the markets of the
Pacific, and are readily available for
manufacturing purposes. These
mines are already oped by rail 70 the
Sound and the Columbia, and more
are soon to be developed. Iron, bog,
magnetic and hemalite, and of the
very best quality, is found in great
abundance, and several foundries
and other iron works are in success
ful operation. The iron is said to
be very we'll adapted to the naanufac-
ture of car wheels. Gold, silver,
copper, cinnabar, lead, plumbago
and tin are found in many OF the
mountains, and there is no doubt but
that the most valuable of these will,
in time, be largely developed. Mar
Bile, granite, sandstone. limestone,
and fine clays and sands are also
found all over the Sound country.
The waters of the Territory make up
a remarkable feature of its advant-
ages. The ocean shore contains all
the harbors and inlets Of the Pacific
coast of. the United States south
ward, excepting the hay of San
Francisco, sharing the Columbia
with Oregon. Puget Sound covers
an area of two thousand square
miles, all of which is tide water;
Penetrates the interior two hundred
miles, has two thousand miles of
shore line, has bold shores, is free
from rocks, shoals or bars, has
placid surface, is an hundred fathom
deep in many places, is navigable at
low water for any shipping, and is
studded with islands large aud small
which are covered with forest trees
or are of the highest agricultural fer.
tility. No fewer than fifty rivers
empty into the Sound aud sea. The
Columbia affords a thousand miles
of navigable waters, and drains with
ITS tributaries three hundred thous-
and square miles of territory. 9th
er large and navigab.e rivers, here
after to be greatly improved by re
moving distractions, empty into the
same great resesvoirs, giving besides
navigation an extent of water power
by occasional falls. of probably not
less than FIVE hundred running miles.
Gray's Harbor, an inland sea OH the
Pacific, into which empty the Che.
halls aud other rivers, affords even a
hetter inlet and harbor than the Col.
umbia, and the saae is true of Shoal.
water Bay. Fresh water lakes