Northwest enterprise. [volume] (Anacortes, Wash. Ter.) 1882-1887, 1882-03-25


sold WlIatcom to the fore again." ia
motto we suggest, as not untimely nor
inappropriate. The boundaries of oil
Whatcom county as it stood in 1860
embraced not only the present county of
Whatcom, but the county of San Juan,
with which it is closely allied IN interes is,
and also the counties of Island and Sno-
loMlsh, more nea rly allied to us than to
any other county or counties in the ter
rltory. These four counties form, in gen
eral terms, the inner end, and the main
land shore, of the Strait of Fuca; and they
are scenically and physically, and one
might say fundamentally different in
character from tho rest of the American
territory on Puget Sound, the underlying
rock and the soil being different. 1t is.a
fact not not generally known that ''oll
WhatcOm" in its historical sense is pre-
eminently an agricultural country. This.
it is well known, the upper Sound, aud
that portion of the Sound commonly seen
by tourists, are not. The older rocks
underlying this country, the topography
of the plains and deltas of the Skagit,
Silaguamish and Snohomsh, of the
Samisb, Nooksack and Fraser in part, all
trendng toward the Strait, give it
character of its own, in which the farm
ing interest is most prominent. Every
farmer can count upon having neighbors
all around him, in one nearly solid set
Element. After seeing the upper Sound,
down to the smouth OF Admiralty Inlet,
the tourist finds here conspicuously alb
sent the characteristic wall of fir clad
sandy and gravelly bluffs. of tertiary and
recent age. Our shores lie low, or beau.
tiiully sloping to the waters edge. Here
and there Is seen rising upheaval of all
old metamorphic rock, older than the
coal bearing rocks of the spurs and TANKS
OF the Cascade mountains. Maple, cot
tonwood, spruce and cedar abound over
the valleys and plains, while he invalu
able fir is abundantly represented on the
plains and mountains. Oak and yew are
common upon the islands, while the birch
puts in an appearance upon the
mainland northward, The lower Sound
mainland has boosted no populated towns
like those of the upper Souid, nearest to
Oregon, whence our immigration has
flown in the footsteps of the Olympia
pioneers; but there is steady currant to-
ward the Strait. While We are yet in an
uncivilized and barbarons state, touching
many of the comforts OF life,' we are we'll
enough satisfied, confident, and happy in
awaiting the work OF time.
We are net without thread OF history
to hang a tale by, on occasio2. for it was
in old Whatccm county where the first
coal veins were discovered, and worked
on the American Pacific coast; and it was
through the islands and aloug the shores
OF old WhaatcOm county that the argon-
auts OF '5S made their romantic voyages,
to us more interesting than those OF 40.
Here is tho old raiding ground of the
northern indians. Fl. Rellingham and
the San Juan war, of happy ending, have
their tales to tell. Our first pioneer set
tier, hale and worthy old Capt. Henry
Roeders voyage IN search of second
Tumwater; Joshua Clayton, the mining
engineers exploits of the early days OF
the coal discovery, these and other in
cidents Of the kind, form the introduce
ton to sufficiently remarkable history
dawning, let US hope, in the issue of the
first number Of the NORTHWEST ENTER
PRISE