Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1882-08-10

FkDA SkAttiE ~ Nhsltoa- cso&c-
MISE. srKfLAGuAMrsn, sKAor AND
sooKsAcK COUNTRY.
On board the steamer Welcome. Bel
linQham Bay. Wash. Ter, July 9Th, 1882.
Taking the Mountain Queen from
Portland TO kalana. the y. p. Il. u. TO
Tacoma, thence to seattle by the .. II.
d n Co.'s fine steamer North Pacific,
Captain Bell, then. pleasant srip to
Port Biakely with Capt. Suaeot. on the
I'll sailed on the Welcome with Capt
Brannan for Sehome, BellinQham Bas.
Tacoms and Seattle ara advancing With
rapid strides. Marked Improvements
We been made during the brief inter
yal Of four months since my last visit,
and still more important are in progress.
At the Office Of S.ruve. Hsines and Lea
~, in the latter city, found group OF
her prominent citizens admirinG the
plans for the Leary block, about to be
Quilt Mt u cost Of $3OOO. The city has
also appropriated $1,000 for the cree
ton of a pebble school building. Inc
surveys for the extension of the North
eYn Pacific from Tacoma TO Seattle are
nearly completed and the work OF con-
strucsion will soon commence. An ex-
hibit Of the pos:ofIice shows business
increase of CO per cent. within the last
IL months. The Port Blakeiy Mills pre-
sents the most active scene OF lumber
manufacturing and shipment ever WIT
messed. They are now saving al tho
rata Of about four and a half million
feet month or fifty million feet year
and are snlarging their capacity for
manufacturing half inch lumber by the
introduction of Prescoti's steam feeding
resawer, the only machine Of the kind IN
Us. on the Northwest Coast. A fleet OF
nine vessels with an average carrying ca
pacity Of 10000 feet are now loading
{ Or home and foreign ports.
The company own 4C,OUO acres OF
choice timber lands, which furnishes
enormous specimens Of fir and cedar.
single tree sometimes scaling over l3,0o
feet of lumber. They filled an order for
two spars 10 feet in length, and sawed
from an extra after cutting OF seven
feet. n stick l2x1a Ia. fees. long. Pro-
cecding uorthward from Seattle, the lUo
miles of country lying between 1t ana
. the British possessions, IL richer III
timber, Agricultural. and mineral re-
sources than any other ct equsl extent
bordering the waters of Puget Sound. II
comprises the counties of SDOhOInlsh
and WhatcoD, the latter the extreme
northwestern in the United States. and
both extending eastward to the divide
Of the Cascade Range. Numerous
streams drain the western slope of these
mountains, within the section descrlb-
cd the s,noqualmie, Skykomish, Snoho-
,nish. Steilaguamish, Skagit. Samish.
Lunmi and Rooksack being the Toost
important. There are quite extensive
tracts Of rich tide and bcaverdam lends
bordering them. They ara expensive -
reclaim; bu. produce large crops OF
grasses. oats. hops. potatoes and other
vegetables. Above tide water there are
numerous comparatively lightly timber
sd valleys, available for agricultural pur-
poses, and especially in the Nooksack
region. many thousand acres of level
plat-an are still open for settlement.
ihe finish bodies OF FIR timber in the
Territory lie along the Ska2it and Sam
ish rivers and also promising coal, IRON
and gold fields.
AbOut % miles from Seattle, at the
white terraced bluffs of Skagit held-
the southeastern extremity of WILDLY
island-we enter Possession Sound, the
northern arm of Admiralty Inlet, which
leads to the straits of Juan de Fuc,
through Saratoga Passage and Dacep-
ton Pass. The shores of the mainland
and the islands are uniformly covered
with thick growth of tir, spruce, hem
Looks and pine, tho former prevailing.
There are occasional farm houses and
clearings in sight through the forest are
~ yet almost unbroken. Eight miles be-
vOnd at the entrance to Port Gardner
we land at MukilteO, a little village Of
Is buildings, mainly supported by the
business. There il large body
Of fine iir timber lying between the
Sound and tho Suohomish river, of
which the Ports Blakely and Gamble
Mill Co. are tho principal owners. The
firm Of Blackman and Howard are get
ting out here over 2.000,OOO feet of logs
annually for these mills. Salmon are
caught hero in considerable numbers
and taken to the Seattle cannery. Leav-
Ing MukilteO We pass to the right of
Gedney Island opposite the mouth of
the SnohOmish. Along the river and its |
tributaries there are prosperous farming |
settlements and extensive logging
camps. The Snoqualmie country will |
produce seven hundred tons of hay in |
addition to other crops this year, and |
send down before winter over 5000, 600 |
feet Of logs. Nine miles from Mukilteo
the GO or 20 buildings of the Tulalip In
dian Agency present an inviting appear.
anoe. Gen. OKane is agent Of the
Mucklsshoot, Old Man House, Tulalip,
SwinOmish and Lummi Reservations, |
altogether $500 Indians, 500 |
OF whom belong ON the Tulalip. The
Catholics maintain a mission school |
here. just as We leave, Sister Blandier,
in charge, arrives in large skiff, rowed |
by twelve well-dressed, comely Indian
girls.
Twenty miles further. through Sara
to0a Passage, past McIaean's, Eaton's
and Forests logging camps, and the
to Holmes BAY, between Ca
mano and WILDLY Islands, which co m. |
prise Island County, and We reach
couPEvn.LR,
Its principal town. a pleasant village
about 30 buildings. situated
on the latter, on the south side of, and
one.half mile from the head of Penn
Cove, At COveiand. This Is one OF the
numerous termini Of the Northern Paci-
nc Railroad, which lie all along the
Sound at short intervals from Olympia
to Bsllingham Bay. II my Judgment
vas considered valuable my scalp would
scacsly be safe after expressing an opi,- |
ion adverse ~ either Whatcom, Sehome,
Anacortes, Cleveland, Holmes BAY,
Mukiltso, Seattle, Freeport, Port Town
send or Tacomn winning the great prize,
and becoming the great city Of this re-
gion. l NEE: many who speak hopeful
~ OF several Of these points through the
prevailing opinion among disinterested
outsiders Ia that Seattle occupies the
most commanding position ON the Sound
and win control its chief trade in the
future. It has been proposed to utilize
the dne harbor Of Covsland a. q termi-
nal point by cutting q ship canal from
its head across WILDLY Island. only X
miles to the Sound opposite Port Town
SIND. On tho shores Of the cove and of
Oak Harbor, six miles to the north, are
many Of the best farms in Washington
WILDLY Island being one of the oldest
settled portions, and nov containing
population Of about 1000.
UrsALADI.