, 1882-09-22

tie; but il has had its dull seasons and
its seasons of life and improvement, and
the latter have been the rule rather than
the exception during the last ten years.
When the writer first saw Port Town
send it was a poor place indeed Not a
single house then adorned the face Of
the hill, but the Pettygrove home was
over tue hill on the other side, where it
has ever since remained. On the beach
! below were three or four shanties front
| ing the water, devoted to trade with the
Indians and the sale of liquor. Nothing
like a wharf appeared. Goods and peo-
pie brought to the place We're landed in
ships boats or Indian canoes. A few
| beach combers were seen about besides
handful of actual residents, and large
population of Indians, varying from one
| to five hundred. New people came in,
and twenty-One years ago young
printer, named John +. Damon, started
small weekly paper there, which, dur
ing its continuance Of three years, was
the sharpest in the Territory.
The coming to the Territory OF Victor
Smith, as Collector of Customs, was a
hard blow to Port Townsend, for he i'm
mediately moved the Custom House to
Port Angeles, twenty miles further down
the Straits, and there it was kept until
after his death in 1868,
Port Townsend has a great deal appa
rently To sustain it, and 1t Is only won
der that under the circumstances the
town has not grown more rapidly. Not
only is it the port of entry, with all that
implies in commercial district like this
but it is the place of location of the U. S.
Marine Hospital, it is the headquarters
OF the lighthouse service hereabout, ana
also Of the revenue cutter; a military
force garrisons Fort Townsend on thI
bay Including all these from one t'
two hundred men derive their whole
sustenance from the Government of tn,
United States, which in itself is enough
to sustain a very considerable population
At the head OF the bay, and closely con
nected with the town, are the iron works
of which so much has been written.
where now fifty men are employed, and
where four hundred will be when in full
operation From the Discovery and
Ludlow mills, in the same county, and
only ten or twelve miles distant, much
trade is secured, as also from Clalam
and San Juan counties and the west
coast.
The harbor is handsome and most
excellent one. being quite accessible, and
having capacity and holding ground fol
an unlimited number OF ships. Several
vessels can be seen availing themselves
Of its advantages almost any day, while
sometimes the number at anchor, coming
in and going out gets up to dozen OF
fn,--s,,gAp1 hos n tNnnttln-
tion OF thousand persons, and that the
number will be two thousand within five
years we do not doubt.
The especial pride of the inhabitants is
now divided between the new sawmill,
built by company of citizens, and the
excellent store of G. G. Bartlett; the lat
ter being most substantial structure OF
stone, of 55xl00 feet. and three floors, in
which the enterprising owner does a
business OF one thousand dollars day.
The mill is not yet running, but will be
soon, when it is supposed its daily cut
of 25,OOO or 10000 feet of lumber will
all be used in the construction OF new
houses, the building of ships, wharves,
sidewalks etc, at home. We trust that
the expectations of the citizens are not
amiss in this particular, but that on the
contrary the capacity Of the mill will
have to be doubled and trebled to keep
pace with the increasing demands. The
double store of Charles Eisenbeis, di-
rectly opposite that of Mr. Bartlett, and
also OF stone, is creditable structure,
though the addition of another story
would vastly improve its appearance.
Central Hotel is most conspicuous
building, and quite showy one. Quite
a number of pretty cottages adorn the
residence portion OF town, while pretty
grounds are TO be seen everywhere.
Congress has recently appropriated
$4,000 for the purchase of the old hos
pital property, and the next move now is
to get an appropriation Of forty or fifty
thousand dollars for suitable building.
A Custom House is also badly needed
Mt the port of entry, but there can be lit
tie hope OF one until Washington be-
comes State. The building at present
in use, though, is decided improvement
on the dilapidated old warehouses used
in former years. So likewise is the fur
niture. Collector Bash is quite comfort
ably fixed, and takes pleasure in show
ing around and entertaining visitors.
Altogether Port Townsend looks well,
feels well, and with reason may hope long
TO continue doing well.