Bismarck weekly tribune., 1884-09-19
Z 4 Bismarck Tribune.
IEFLUENCE OF THE WESTERN
UPON THE EA4TERN SLOPE.

deductions and conclusions forced upon
me by my new surroundings.
The first thing Of importance I noticed
was in the line OF ample proof Of what
has long been conceded by physical
geographers and philosophers. That in
this latitude the great atmospheric ocean
passed from west to east as counter
current to the great equatorial aerial
current passing from the east 10 the west
all round the globe in order to keep up
the aerial equilibrium, and that to this
fact. and it's wonderful influences, we of
the great golden Northwest are indebted,
either directly or indirectly for our fine,
healthful climate, the wonderful pro-
ductiveness of our lands, the general
prosperity of our people and the coming
ACKNOWLEDGMENT of land which but a
few years ago was characterized as the
most arid and worthless portion of the
Great American Desert. @--E. a
This atmospheric ocean causing the
great oceanic currents and travelling with
them and passing over the heated waters
originally of the equatorial regions where
they obtained their heat, partakes of the
oceanic and climatic heat and become
saturated with the vapor their high
temperature enables them to hold, so
that, when they strike the coast at
Puget Sound they are completely satura-
ted with the greatest amount of water in
state of vapor the air of it's acquired
temperature is capable of holding.
Along with this aerial or wind force,
thus saturated with vapor, comes stimuli
taneously the great oceanic current of
heated water forcing itself, aided by the
high and ever recurring tides, against
the shore and extending it's abrading and
| wearing influences far into the lowlands
and mouatain gorges of the western coast,
until they with the mountain streams
fed by the condensed vapor carried to
and condensed on the cool mountain
sides and running down in torrents, have
worn away the land, dissipated all the
| rocky barriers and left the most remark
able and valuable Sound on our conti-
nent. This sound teens all over with
evidences of it's origin as we'll. as of it's
great value to the world as contribu-
ton to local agriculture and to the
worlds commerce. Every observation of
this Sound and every issolated portion
of it evinces the truth of it's origin as 1
have stated it. The trees in the whole
| region about the sound, indicate by the
growth of their branches on the main
stalk, that the wind is mainly and strong
ly from the west to the east. The great
depth of the tide in the sound demon
strates the force of the waters. The
great amount of oceanic product driven
into this immense and far spreading
sound, with it's broad arms radiating in
all directions, resembling the legs of its
giant starfsh, extending far into the con-
tinent and furnishing numerous safe
and convenient harbors for the accommo-
dation of commerce and affording beau
tiful and desirable locations for future
great commercial cities. This product
| consists of all kinds of edible fish found
in the great body of the Pacific and all
other marine products excepting whales
and they have occasionally been driven
into this sea-like sound. All demonstrate
ing the wonderful struggle of the wind
| and the waters to force themselves east
ward. After the rugged, rocky shores of
the sound and its numerous bays and
harbors have checked it's mighty waters
in their natural course, their accompany
ing winds, finding but slight barriers
and little obstruction either in the rocky
shores or the denuded coast and cascade
ranges of mountains farther eastward
and beyond, pass onward over all bar
riers scattering their warmth and moist
ure over all the land eastward, destroy
ing all glaciers peculiar to the elevated
portions of this latitude and rendering
most of the country in lis broadcast
course and particularly Dakota, Mime
sofa and Iowa, the most fertile produc-
tive and pleasantly inhabitable portions
of the earth to say nothing of Washing
ton, Idaho and Montana territories with
much of our neighboring territory north
of our boundary which contains much
agricultural capability and the finest
grazing region in the whole world. There
are many enigmas in regard to this whole
country which require explanation in
order to be well understood. The first
one is; How Is it that this great sea of
warm and moist atmosphere carries it's
burden of heat and moisture over the
broad, elevated and sub-arid plains Of
East Washington territory and Idaho
and scales the great range of the rockies
without precipitating its water on the
west side of the watershed and dissirat-
ing it's heat long before reaching the
plains on the east slope of the noun
tains? This is the great stumbling block,
I