Northwest enterprise. [volume] (Anacortes, Wash. Ter.) 1882-1887, 1883-07-28

In a late telegram 10 Gen. Miles
from Capt. Baldwin, who recently
went to Washington with Chief
Moses and other Indian chiefs, that
gentleman states "that Moses has
consented to surrender his reserva-
ton and move to the Colville Yeser>
walton. lie is to receive $1,000
year during his life, and other valu~
able considerations. The other In
dams are to be literally supplied
with farming implements and stock.
The treaty proved more successful
than was anticipated" THIS reser-
walton is located in the northern
part of Washington Territory, ads
joining the British line, and bounded
by the Okanakane river on the east,
the Cascade range on the west, and
the Columbia river, at it's junction
with the Okanakanc, on the south.
1t contains 1900 square miles, or
nearly three million acres of land.
Gen. Miles states "that all accounts
agree in describing the country en-
braced IN the Moses reservation as
rich in agricultural, pastoral and
mineral resources; in fact numerous
and we'll. authenticated reports state
that il contains the richest mineral
deposits of gold and silver Of any in
that region of country, rivaling the
Black Hills in the extent of its min
eral wealth. This vast area Of val
liable land was suddenly reserved
from the public domain by President
Hayes in 1879, for not over 300 In
dians, old and young, big and little,
who were supposed to be under the
leadership of willy, murdorous old
chicftain by the name of Moses, and
was concession made to that wor>
thy to induce him to keep the poacc.
At the time the reservation was
made a number of miners, cattle
raisers and farmers were living and
working in it's limits, and MS no pro-
vision was made to pay them for
their claims and improvements, they
remained. Recently. at the earnest
REQUEST of these settlers and miners,
n small portion of the reservation,
hardly one>twentieth of it's area, was
restored to the public domain. At
once Moses, who had never lived on
the reservation, set up a howl, and
tho air was filled with rumors OF
war. Finally the old fellow, with
four other chiefs, was taken to
Washington, and settlement of the
vexed question obtained"
This Moses reservation adjoins
Whatcom county on the cast side OF
the Cascade range, and is accessible
from the lower Sound through the
Skaget pass. The outlet of this
valuable region must be through
that pass, and therefore must be-
come tributary to Ship Harbor as
soon as it's immense resources are
developed. This magnificent region
alone will necessitate the building
of a railroad down the Skaget river
to Fidalgo Island in the near future
in order to afford an outlet for its
products. But lying, as it does
parallel with and straight west OF
the Pend d'Oreillo region, where the
Northern Pacific Railroad now
bends southwark toward Oregon
that road is morally certain to rass
through this region, as we'll as the
rich Colville reservation lying d.
rcctly east of it. as soon as Willard
gets ready to build the road across
the Cascades. This route is shorter
than any other that has yet beer
proposed for the great transconti-
mental railway; passes through the
rich prairie and wheat region O
Eastern Washington; meets with nc
serious distractions in building The
road; leads directly to an easy pass
across tho mountains and to 40 gooC
a harbor as the whole world affords
situated Immediately opposite thu
Straits Of Fuca. We can f0resee fol
this splendid tract of land, and it,
relations to Ship Harbor through
the Skaget pass, a future OF thu
greatest promise.