Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1888-07-20

space to this subject because that in
terest is our chief resource. We pos
sess emphatically the great lumber re
serve of the world and will continue t.
do so for centuries. 1t behooves thu
people to cultivate and utilize the lant
as fast as it is denuded of timber, fol
that never reappears save in valueles'
and diminutive quality. 1t must b
burned over and sown thickly will
grass, preparing eventually for usua
agricultural productions to which pur
poses much of it is well adapted, sc
that posteri:y may not suffer from oul
neglect.
Well informed experts claim thai
the entire Puget Sound Basin ii
bedded with coal, some anthracite
mainly bituminous, Ignite and coke
making, with the unequalled advan
tage of being in close proximity to tide
waters or convenient to rail. Many
mines are developed, finding ample
market at home, in Oregon and Cali
fornia; ships of three thousand ton,
constantly await their supply at Seat
tie and Tacoma. Five millions Of ton.
have already been shipped, no mine
being in operation until within very
few years past.
Bog iron abounds upon nearly al
rivers; magnetic Of the highest type
of percentags-over ninety-in the
hills, mountains and sea shores; and
hematite in many localities. The sup
ply is sufficient to accommodate the
earth until the end of time.
Gold, silver. copper, zinc, marble
granite, sandstone, free-stone. pottery
clay. moulding sand and limestone
are all found, and some are most use
full for building and fertilizing, in in
exhaustable quantities.
The water system of Western Wash
ington, fresh and salt, is one of the
most remarkable features of this won
derful country. There are thousands
of lakes, large and small, some OF un
usual characteristics. Lake Whatcom
twelve miles long, six wide, many
fathoms deep, lies embedded in rocky
basin three hundred feet above the
level of the adjoining sea. Lakes
Union and Washington at Seattle
have a conjoint length Of sixty miles
their banks studded with beautiful
villas; they are also used for CONNER
cial purposes. 1t is probable that they
will be connected with the adjacent
harbor by canal and be utilized fol
fresh water anchorage if q navy yard
should be established there rs ! hope
is probable Of early accomplishment
The rivers make an aggregate lineal
measurement Of FIVE thousand miles,
have an unfailing supply from winter
rains and the perpetual melting Of the
SHOWS and glaciers OF Ave hundred
miles Of hill and mountain hight
they give navigation, and afford means
of shooting by their rapid swollen cur
rents. every stick Of timber in Western
Washington to the Sound and sea.
One of the great rivers Of the world
skirts our southern border, the Colum-
bia, which has origin in Utah, Idaho,
Montana and British Columbia, water
ing and draining an area OF 100000
square miles, navigable for ocean
steamers two hundred miles eastward.
and in sections for smaller vessels in
various tributaries thousands Of miles.
Every county borders upon tide water,
except Lewis county, which il bisected
by the Northern Pacific Railroad and
which is in point Of natural resources,
timber, coal, iron. gold and fertile
lands, the most favored Of all. But al
this system is of minor importance
when compared with the salt waters.
At and north Of the outlet of the Co
lumbia is the snug harbor Of Bakers
Bay, Gray's Hsrbor and Quinault,
which have conjoint area Of twelve
thousand acres Of huge inland seas,
with short and navigable ship chan
nels TO the ocean. The Pacific coast
covering two hundred miles Of sea-
board, with broad, hard, fat strands
running miles into the ocean, bor-
dered with an unbroken fringe of eligi-
ble and most beautiful seaside sum-
mer resorts, reaches to the Straits Of
San Juan do Fuca, which pene-
trates eastward . hundred miles,
twelve miles in width, Of ocean depth,
making confluence, at the end, with
the Gulf of Georgia, the outlet Of
northern inland seas rushing down q
thousand miles from the Arctic ocean,
all flowing into Puget Sound, which
has . shore line of two thousand miles,
an area of two thousand square miles,
three miles wide, thirty fathoms deep
with multitude plays, harbors, in.
lets,-Hood's Canal one hundred
miles, all free from rocks, shoals
rapids or any other impediments to
free navigation, At all times, tides and
seasons. Such is Puget Sound, oul
Mediterranean sea-beautiful to be-
hold, of which the traveller never tires
with its archipelagoes of island groups
and mountain shores covered with the
perennial verdure of primeval forests
Rising beyond and visible from al
points. the Black Hills, Of perpetual
darkness, and the Olympic range upon
the west, the Cascade and the Sierrs
Nevada range upon the east, all re
ceding far away in dim perspective
snow-capped and topped with glaciers
and rising far above their level, the
lextinct volcanoes Of Helen, Baker
Adams, Washington and Rainier fif
teen thousand feet above the sea. evel
impressing the beholder, as only such
scenes can impress the human mind
with the power of the Great Creator.