Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1883-03-09
The Chehalis Valley.

port as follows, under Ga:e OF Nov
18th. OF his examination of this in
teres,ing district of country. 1t POS
sesses an interest for the genera
reader as we'll as those who are seek
ing homes:
The Chchalis river rises on the
northeastern slope f the mountain
range which separates the western
extremity Of the Columbia River
Valley from the Puget Sound Basin
lowing eastward tor Thirty miles
;Lrn northwest for forty miles, then
westward thirty miles To its mouth
at the head of Gray's Harbor, fifteen
miles from the ocean.
Its principal tributaries are, in the
order OF their entrance into the main
stream, the Newaulum and the
Shoohumrhuck from the lower spurs
Of the Cascade Range, Black river
from the lake of the same name and
the Sltsop, Wynooche, and Hoqui-
am from the southern foothills of
the Olympic Range, "A lofty line of
SHOW peaks lying between Puget
Sound and the Pacific Ocean
Claquato, 20 miles above its mouth
and three miles above the entrance
of the Newaukum, Is the head of
navigation. The river here is 12O
feet wide the width gradually in
creasins to 100 feet at it's entrance
into Grays Harbor, and the current
has speed of from one to three
miles per hour. The banks are from
eight TO ten feet high at low water,
ana consist prir cipally of stiff loan,
not easily eroded. Consequently
the trough of the river changes very
little. The bottom lands extend
level with the banks for from half a
mile to two miles on each side, ter
minating at the foot of higher
bench more or less level, which
reaches the foothills of the mountain
range, from which at intervals of
several miles, long. low spurs extend
to the margin of the river.
The b Sill of the Chehalis lies
almost wholly below the line of
heavy snow. Its water is supplied
by the gentle and frequent winter
rains on the mountain ranges, where
the dense vegetation prevents its
reaching the river rapidly, and con-
seluently violent floods are un,
known. The height above low water
during the winter and spring ranges
from six to ten feet; the highest flood
on record rose fifteen feet above low
water.
The lowest stage occurs in August
and September. During seven or
eight months of the year, the Che
halls is navigable to steamboats,
drawing 3 feet from its mouth to
Claquato. Boats of this drausht
can ascend Black River l. miles to
Shotwell's farm, II miles from Olym-
pia, at the head of Puget Sound,
during ordinary winter stages. The
Lower Chehalis for % miles above
its mouth carries II feet through the
year, at ordinary hightide. Satsop
River has capacity for 4-foot craft
for 10 miles.
The Chehalis drains an area of
1000 square miles, about half of
which is good agricultural land level
enough to admit of easy cultivation.
The remainder, as yet unsurveyed, is
mountainous and generally with
timber with, however. strips of good
farming land along the small water
courses. On the river bottom the
timber is comparatively light, and
there are considerable tracts of
thicket and grassy prairie. The fer
tility of the soil is renewed yearly
by the deposit of the winter freshets,
and there are no winter floods. The
higher bench contains more sand
and gravel, and tracts, many miles
in extent, of grassy prairie. and is
generally better adapted to grazing
than farming. The best lands have
been surveyed and are open to entry
under the homestead and pre- emp
ton laws, or may be bought on very
reasonable terms from the Northern
Pacific Railroad Company.
Extensive tracts of fine timber,
principally fir, cedar and spruce,
with cottonwood and maple on the
low lands, are as yet virgin. Iron
is found in the Black Hills, coal on
the Satsop and Whishka, and copper
on the Wynooche, 80 miles from it's
mouth. The finest quarry Of sand
stone which I have seen on the
coast is cliff from $50 to 200 feet
his h and Is miles long, on the south
side of the Chehalis, 20 miles from
Gray's Harbor.
The population of the valley is
about 1000. The principal places
are Claquato, at the head of naviga-
ton; Centerville, Chehalis, and
Newaukum, stations on the Northern
Pacific Railroad; Elma on the north
side or the Chehalis, 80 miles from
its mouth; and Montesano, the
county seat, Is miles from the head
of Gray's Harbor. The two last
named are stations on the mail road
from Astoria to Olympia. There
are about 800 families in the valley
along the river.
The products are cereals, vege-
tables, fruit, cattle, sheep, dairy pro-
duce and lumber. There is n flour
mill on the Chehalis, twelve miles
above Montesano, a saw and planning
mill, operated by water, a short dis
lance below. Messrs. A. Nj. Simpson
& Co., of San Francisco, have pur-
chased several thousand acres of
timber lands on the Hoquiam and
have erected o steam lumber mill
there.
The run of salmon begins in the
fall, with the first rains, and contin-
! ues until January. The Messrs.
Hume, of Astoria, have a cannery at
the mouth of the Whishka.
The Weld of the soil is laroe.