Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1888-10-09
FROM FAMED TACOMA.
The Romantic City Of Terraces.-What II
Is Like and Is

To theEditor Of the EAGLE:
| TACOMA, W. T., Sept. 19,-Left Port
land last Friday and arrived at Tacoma
the same night. Perhaps / should sa,
that Portland is by far the most beauti
full city on the coast as well as the wealth
lest and the largest north of San Francis
co. The city is shaded by the most beau
| tiful trees, the buildings are marvels OF
beauty, and the scenery is unexcelled
The town is not improving much of late
as saw comparatively few new build
ings. Indeed general depression seems
to have settled over the entire route by
which came until I reached Tacoma
We pass over very little agricultural
country on the route between Portland
and Tacoma. 1t is mostly mountain
Gus country, densely wooded, but some
times small clearing is seen containing
an acre or two of immense crops OF
grain which the owners are but now har-
vesting (oats). All kinds of fruits seem
to grow wherever tree can be planted,
and the quality is unexeelled.
Tacoma lies in the form of crescent,
on Puget Sound. 1t is bull. on the
side of the bluffs, which are several
hundred feet high and were densely
wooded. The timber has been sIashed-
that Is, cut down-falling in every di-
rection. When the leaves were dry fire
was applied, burning the smaller limbs
and leaving the stumps and trunks on
the ground charred and blackened. The
earth is composed of an ash colored clay,
gravel and boulders of gray granite.
This is hidden by a scanty growth of
laurel and evergreen brush. Of such are
the town lots. There are about six
streets lying parallel with the sound, ly-
ing in terraces, each about fifty feet
above the other. The streets are nicely
graded and are bordered by good class
of buildings. There is nothing small
about these people here as every tender
foot in pursuit of home is always in
vited up higher. The town claims &c, 900
population. l suppose half that num-
Der is about right. There is a hotel
at Tacoma called the Central. On
my arrival yours truly was so
unfortunate as to stop there. After a
most unclean supper asked to be
shown my room, certainly, / was shown
by the light of tallow dip down into
basement of doubtful odOrs and into a
room containing two beds and one of
them already contained snoozer. From
an adjoining room came the voice of
perhaps man, singing, cursing, and all
that. l said to my conductor, "Surely
you are not going to leave me in such a
place as this" His answer was, we are
full and this is all the bed we have. l
turned down the bed sheets; they were
vile, but | thought perhaps l can lie
down in my clothes and get little sleep.
| tried it. | soon became conscious that
something was stealing over me that was
not sleep. Hastily striking a light
found the place swarming with
feas. appeared again at the office and
accused the clerk of putting me in
lunatic asylum. He said he had no bet
ter room except very fine one reserved
for Col. So-and-so told him to fire the
colonel, name his price and show me the
trial l did not feel as if l owed the col
onel any apologies. am not stopping
there now.
Have called on j. NJ. Steele; found
him bright as ever and with him were
Mr.. Grattan and Hellar, Of Wichita.
They were all very enthusiastic over the
future of Tacoma. Steele relates the
story of man who last year bought ten
acres of ground set out to hops, for
which he paid $500 per acre, and the
first year, with the crop, paid for the
place and had handsome surplus left.
While in Wichita some one showed me
a picture of Tacoma. The town was
as lying on a gentle slope.
The streets were beautiful, the buildings
palatial and the harbor magnificent; in
it the ships of all nations rode at anchor,
their tall masts bearing the emblem of
their nationality, and they fiuttered in
an atmosphere bearing no fog. No I'M
slightly stumps marred the beauty of the
landscape; everything was lovely and
the goose hung high, etc.
On leaving the colonefs room On the
after my arrival | waited till 9
o'clock for the fog to clear away. Then,
alas, for the illusion. The water shown
in the illusion was only mud |
flats, entirely dry at low tide; the ships
were vanished, and even snipe would |
not visit the locality where they had |
been, while the tall evergreen trees on
the hill tops seemed about to drive the /
city into the same mud flats. Yet this |
same town contains more life and &C |
tivity and there are more buildings |
under way here than IN all the cities |
passed through on my way.
1t is said there is an agricultural coun-
try to the eastward, while this is the |
terminus Of the Northern Pacific rail-
road. Taken altogether / should say
Tacoma is the coming city Of this coast. |
would like to describe the place more
July but this letter is becoming lengthy
md therefore perhaps this is huff said.
Yours truly, etc., E. r. APPEBY.