Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1883-08-07

out an exception the waters of all the
streams IN Western Washington abound
IN various kinds Of every paiatabse fish,
Among the small bodies of fresh water
in the Puget Sound country not already
mentioned can Be named Lakes Mason
American. GravelIy, Tacoma, Goodwin,
GaYnist. TerrilI and Whatcom. There
are numerous other handsome little
lakes scattered over that extensive re-
zion to which no names have been
Qiyen. The various streams euumer-
sted afford several hundred miles Of in
land navigation for steamers Of light
draught and for logging purposes The
valleys Of these streams have IN area OF
200 square miles Of alluvial lands.
water-power sites are quite abundant
and gold il found In paying quantities
in many Of the rivsr beds
HAYs AID HAxDon.
PuQet Sound, which 10 not inappro-
priatsly named the Mediterranean Of
America" il noted not only for it, M
nervous islands, but for the indentations
Of the shore line. There are . great
many bays, harbora, straits, and passa-
Res ia this vast water system. On the
northern coast. opposite Whatcom coua-
~, ID Bsllingham bay. while north are
Drsyton harbor, Birch and Lummi
bays. Coming south OF moving mp the
Sound, - pass Padilis bay, earstoes
passage, Port 6usan, Pors Gardner, and
Posscssion sound. Farther south are
Port Orchard; Dyer's inlst, opposite
island; the Earrows, Cars inlet and
Case's iulst, and as the extreme hsad Of
the Sound are Hudds', Totem, and Ed
inIsts. North of the entrance 20 Admi-
ralSy inlst u tbs bay Of PORT Townsend.
Following the ruaesd coast Inns along
the southern shore Of Juan d. Fuea, TO-
ward tbs Pacific, are Port Discovery,
SQuim bsy, Port Angeles, and Fresh
vstsr bay. 0ray's haSbo9 opens into
the ocean psas the southern end Of the
Territory, while 6hoalvstsr bay IL only
o few hours stssmina north
Of the mouth Of the Colum-
bis river and separating the various
hlands lying north and east Of Victoria
are many arms Of the ssa, prominent
among which are Canal de Haro, Md
die channsl, Rosario strait, Hale's pass,
Grifan bay. Douglas channel, BellinR-
ham channel, Lopez pass and numerous
other smaller ones. Everywhere the
waters Of the Sound are deep and free
from shoals. The shores Of it, haTbors
and bays are bold. Its anchorage 10
land looked and secure, aud offers every
facility which the necessities Of q great
commerce would demand. The most
commodious harborS are Nelh bay,
Port Discovery, Port Townsend, Port
Ludlow, Port Madison, Port Gamble,
Port Orchard, Port Blaksly, Duwamish
bay, Commencement bay, Budd's inlet,
Luialip, Psnn's cove, Utsalada and Bel
linQham. Al each Of these places towns
already exist. or extensive numbering
and mining enterprises are carried on.
AGRICULTURAL REsoURCKs.
Whatsvsr may have been written or
said to the contrary, Western Washing
ton IL not and never can become great
agricultural section. Some enthusiastic
writers and tourists have affirmed that
that portion of Washington Territory is
rich and productive in agricultural re-
sources. Such, In all truth and justice,
cannot be recorded. Western Washing
ton 10 principally covered with heavy
timber. There Ii little good land
found about the Sound not covered with
timber or under-fosest and much of the
land would be difficult 10 clear. Again,
large tracts on both sides Of the Sound
are strswn with rock or gravel; but
along every one of the numerous water
courses, large or small, that dow from
all directions into the great estuary,
there are sections of excellent land,
some of them of considerable magni-
tude. Along the narrow valleys border
ing the streams tbs land Ii OF phenom-
email neutrality-suspicious. grain. grasses
and vegetables in boanteous profusion.
Many places within few miles Of the
Sound can yet be found where good
land, not very difficult to clear. may be
obtained. Bus It 10 only truth to say
that the Puget Sound region IL not, as
whole, an agricultural country. Il
will be many years before one acre in
ten Ia brought under cultivation and q
clear the most of the timber land will
that will require generations to accom-
will not be 30 difficult and laborious, for
fire can easily and rapidly consume
them. Getting rid Of the stumps, and
roots will DO the work Of years.
These distractions cannot be
burned, and being of Q resinous
nature. will resist the progress Of
decay for q quarter of Q century--in
fact, never rot out. Digging out the
stumps II the only practical solution Of
the problem. Whether the return
would justify such an outlay Of time
and human labor, may be seriously
questioned. The soil, never Of Q very
fertile character, has been impoverished
for centuries drained 20 support the
heavy growth Of timber. When cleared
u would require several yean Of ex-
posure 70 the fsrtilizinQ influence Of
sun, rain, snow and rest 10 render IL
probably productive. The sections
drained By Oowlits and Chshalis rivsrs
are extensive and valuable, contain
much farming land and are being sst-
tied rapidly. Besides there 10 good
land on innumerable emall streams
which, enter the lower Columbia river or
Pacific ocean. Within twenty Ave
ysars there will b q heavy agricultural
population In Western Washinaton. Il
has been said that the Puget sound
country will never be great agricultu-
raj country. And yet the conditions are
oach that 70 thoee Who engage IN asfi-
cultural pursuits there will be excellent
profits realizsd-psofit all the batter
from the fact that the productive area
10 Of limited extent. Thale will b. other
industries which will support agricul-
tnrs and render Il highly proAtabls.
Where coal, iron and timber abound,
whore all OF them are Of easy aocoos,And
whore unequalled facilities fer shipping
bring them directly into the carrsnts OF
commerce, there great industries will
certainly b developed.
OLYMPIA,
Ths Territorial Capital. b located a
the head Of Puget Sound-at the very
sxtrsme southern arm. Il 10 one of the
oldest towns In the Territory. For
many yoars the place made very little
advanoement rather rstroRradine than
making progress. seattle and Taoema
have both far oatstripped the Capital In
| population and wealth. However, for
the past two ysars Olympia has made q
very noticeable improvement. This
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