, 1883-03-03
SATURDAY. MARCH ?. 1883.
the FAR NORTHWEST.
WASHINGTON TERRITORY
ASKS ADMISSION AS A
STATE.
An Interesting Interview About
Country Little Known IN the
East-Its Inexhaustible Re
sources OF Timber and
Minerals.
GWashin.t0n Post.

Governor Newell, OF Washington Ter
ritory. who is here as a commissioner,
delegated by various municipalities cor
norafinns and prominent citizens, to urge
upon Congress the early admission oi
their Territory AS State, Was seen yes
terday by Post reporter, and asked what
claims. other than the one Of l25, 600 pop
ula,lon, he would urge.
Il cannot reply better than by stating
what our resources are, and thereby de-
monsrrst!ng our ability to sustain our
selves as State We consider
tba. We have the ability I" as
suuie the functions and bear The expense
incidental 10 statrship, and our people are
unanimous in the desire that We shall be
admitted to the Union during the present
session uf Congress.
"Nhat - the condition Of the matter
~ Congress now
Separate bills have been introduced
IN the House and Senate and reported Ia
vurably by the respective committees
One hlIl provides for the annexation OF
the three mCst n"rtherly counties Of
Idaho. lying north Of the sixth parable! II
latitude
"What are these natural resources up
on which you base your clam to be self
sustaining
Leaving out Alaska, Washington Ter
rjtory Is the extreme northwestern pos
session, and lies between the Pacific
ocean and Idaho, British Columbia and
the Columbia river. Ii contains 10000
suuare ulies, ag9regating JU,OCU,Ou0
acres. IL Is divided by the Cascade noun
tains, All extension Of the Sierra Nevadas,
which run nearly north and south INTO
( two separate regions, differing essentially
I IN their characteristics, and called respec-
I lively east and west Washington. The
/ latter occupies about two-ntths of the
/ Territory. and is known as the Puget
. Sound Basin. The surface Is hllly and
| III some portions mountainous. Four
( hfths Of this surface is covered with dense
/ forests, the trees being of great magnl-
/ tudc They consist uf white and yellow
[ fr. cedar, hemlock. spruce and pine,
/ with smaller qualities of ash, alder, oak,
( pine and maple. The fir tree especially
/ reaches. when full grown, an en"rmous
( si2., the average tree measuring four feet
/ with an altitude OK from 80 to 300 feet.
/ Many m0nstrOus specimens are found,
/ some fourteen feet thick. This variety Is
| found nowhere outside Of Vancouver 5
/ Island. Washington Territory, and East
/ ern Oregon IL is highly hl'uminous,
| tough, elastic and enduring, and especial
| ~ adapted TO the construction 1t naval
vessels in all theirpar;s.
Have you nothing hut trees. Gov
| ernor T.
ave have other II sources equal IN
value to the wood which | will tell you
/ about after | have told you about the
/ huge cedars We have. We have gold, sIl-
yer, copper, zinc, cinnabar, Tin, plumhag",
/ mica, suapstone, marble, granite, sand
stone and limestone all these are found
/ within our limits. To utilize our timber,
SAW mills of large capacity are operating
/ upon Puget Sound, the largest of which
/ is at Port Ludlow, a new structure, com
! plete, but not vet in operation, being i3G
/ feet long and 200 feet wide. 1t has u cut
ting capacity for 2lS feet logs. The
amount cut last year was 363, 900, 900 #,
/ This lsi. sent To the Pacific coss., Asia
Australia, France, England and the Nile.
/ There are twelve millions of acres of such
/ timber, worth hundreds Of millions of dol
lars There are cedars IN existence OF
| twenty one feet III diameter in all parts
/ Of the Territory. The bark Of the hr
/ trees is used mainly for fuel. The for
es:s are filled with elk, deer, bear, foxes,
/ rabbit. gtoGse, pheasants, ducks and 9TH
i er game
Have You any coal deposits p
/ ''ieneral McMicken, the surveyor G an
/ eral Of the Territory, Informed me IN a
recent interview that the entire Puget
/ sound BASIN Is undeTlaid with coal The
indications are apparent everywhere.
I The varieties are bItuminous, Ignite and
I anthracite Extensive mines have been
opened at Seattle, Tacoma, and along the
! hne Of the Northern Pacific. The mines
I At Seattle and Tacoma are extensively
! operated, each town having facilities for
I loading vessels at the rate of 900 tons a
/ day, the mines being located within one
/ hour Of rail communication from the
I hunSers, at which the vessels are laden.
/ Four steamships Of 3,000 tons capacity
are already established upon line which
supplies Oregon and California Five
more are 10 be added.
"What else have you r
"About seven millions Of acres Cf Puget
/ Sound Basin is easily convertible To the
/ hest agricultural ana grazing lands The
/ river bottoms, the beaver dam meadows.
/ and other alluvial deposits furnish a soil
! Of inexhaustable fertility. The Islands Of
{ the Sound are also highly productive. and
I indeed the entire surface of the cnan,r-.
l when denuded OF It's timber. if that day
I could arrive, is especially well adapted To
/ grazing and grain raising. White clover
seems 10 be indigenous 10 the soil and is
absolutely irrepressble in Its growth
wherever the sun shines upon it. But
the great agricultural and grazing portion
lies east OF the Cascades, the great plsteau
Of the Columbia Here are thirty millions
Of acres Q: lanG-prairie land-level. un
dulating and mountainous. mainly bare Of
vegetation, save. sage bush and bunch
grass. Nearly all OF this country is capa-
bic OF producing, under proper cultivation,
prodlglous amounts Of wheat, rye, barley.
eats. fax and cultivated grasses. The
census report indicates AN average wheat
crop OF twenty-seyen and one-half bushels
- the acre, the largest average yield men-
toned there have seen a field of 2 500
acres which yielded An average of thirty
five bushels Of these, / 600 scre. aver.
aged fifty bushels The season for SEEDING
extends nearly equally well from October
til May, and for harvesting, from july
70 December. The straw being firm and
strong stands, and the huh being firm pre-
vents the grain from ra,tling out. During
last season, I'D, 600 ton. Of surplus wheat
were sent out OF the Territory, and the
estimated production for the mex, three
years Is S9o,000 tons per year. No, one
acre IN hundred even then will be under
cultivation The grain is especially
adapted Tor export, not being injured by
transportation
What kinds Of fruits grow in your
would-be stsiel"
Fruits grow lu1arien,ly to crea, oer
lection and many native to WARM ATTITUDES.
such As prunes, grapes, etc, grow we'll