Jamestown weekly alert. [volume] (Jamestown, Stutsman County, D.T. [N.D.]) 1882-1925, 1889-07-04
Washington Territory.

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EDITOR ALEsT:-The so-called Big
Bend country acquires its name from
the big bend in the Columbia river, and
embraces nearly all Of Lincoln and
Douglas counties, next west OF Spokane
and north of the Northern Pacific rail-
road, in central Washington. The Seat
tie, Lake Shore & Eastern railroad, and
branch OF the Northern Pacific, are
both under construction from Spokane
Falls into this region, parallellng each
other to Davenport, to which village
both are practically completed. Proba-.
bly, owing to lack of railroad facilities,
the Big Bend country is as yet but little
settled, and no more has been done in
the way of farming than sufficient to
demonstrate the adaptability OF the
country to agriculture. The people one
meets tell the usual tale of large yields
and small prices, except one man one
hundred miles inland, who relates that
all their products in his vicinity are sold
to new comers at the rate of S25 per ton
for Lay, $3.50 per bushel for wheat, and
81 for potatoes-a snap for the few Old
settlers. The surface of the country is
generally quite rolling or billy, and while
I have no reason to doubt that crops are
grown exactly as represented. 1t would
be hard to apply the usual Dakota test
of native vegetation, as scarcely any
green thing is seen on the surface, which
is dry, brown and dusty everywhere.
There are frequent patches OF what the
natives call ''seab land" and pronounce
worthless; instead.of soil, the surface
being composed OF something having the
appearance of red boulders crashed and
broken by some action of nature-a ba-
saltic or volcanic formation OF rock.
Surface water is scarce, but good wells
are said to be common. Government
lands are said to be all taken for long
distance from the railroads, and wild
lands held at from IS to Sl5 per acre.
Pneumonia is said to prevail in danger
Gus form at Spokane and throughout
this region, while nalarial fevers, com
mon to all new and rapidly developing
regions, is common, but will doubtless
pass away after the new breaking, grad
ing, etc., is checked.
At Medical Lake I met Rev. David
Writ, the erstwhile Cleveland granger
and "all-round" gospel expounder. In
answer to my question, "What do these
people live on?' he said: Il have often
asked the same question, guess the in
tersst on their money" but as stand OF
to reply which if not derogatory to the
country, was to say the least capable OF
that construction, he Immediately told
me how over IN Oregon the farmers SOW
their wheat the first year, and harvest
fifty or sixty bushels-the second year
they SOW no new seed, but as volunteer
crop harvest thirty to forty bushels pei
acre, and the third year, again as vol
unteer crop. they harvest twenty tc
twenty-five bushels-though my inform
ant was clergyman-I did not dispute
the statement.
If Bibb, our Bibb, ever comes into Da
kota again you want to kill him: he Il
depenerated into the worst Washington
boomer you ever saw, and his profession
requires him to "go back" on Dakot'
sometimes. He says he's got some lane
and town lots here somewhere; If so,
hope the assessor Will have no mercy OF
his soul-but say, I got even with hin
once. He steered me up to Davenport, II
the Big Bend country, and warned M
on the way that I would have to hide m.
bundle of Land Journals when [ go
there or they would kill me. l hid tn
papers and sneaked them into the lead
ing "boom shop" in Davenport, and un
observed by the proprietor or Blbb,
laid the m out with the other boom mat
ter displayed, and on the bundle l pin
ned card. ''Take one, j. 1. B1bt
Agent" and Bibb is still wondering VIII
the rival house gets all the wheat a
Davenport. But Bibb does everything t
make it pleasant for any Dakotan, ant
has very warm corner in his heart 10
his old Dakota friends.
The Palouse valley lies south OF Spe
kane Falls, on the extreme easter
boundary of Washington, in fact firing
ing over into Idaho little. The Coue
d'Alene mountains make the east side
the valley, and the Snake river and tn
Oregon line the south end. The vale
is thirty to fifty miles wide, one hundre
long, and branch Of the Northern P
cifc from Spokane bisects the vale,
The north half of the valley
broken very much like the ives
end of Stutsman county. tt
southern portions more choppy and br'
ken. The appearance of the soil whel
cultivated, pleased me better than an
,oo, alcaubare This valley has bee