The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1889-02-02
RICH IN LANDS.
K0nden u The AOrth Iakina Land District
"A Climate Superior 10 That Oi
Southern California.
A Land Of Peace and Plenty, where
Everybody PrOsPera, and Not
one Pauper Among Them.

OAS eeRNH AANOuB AGMAe
In response 10 your request, will
endeavor to furnish you such facts
as will be Of general and particular
interest concerning the North Yakima
land district. In order to do this
fully and within the space Of q news
papers daily allowance on one topic, can
think Of no better way than to give, as
nearly as may be. the pith and substance
Of such letters as have from time to time
written to personal friends Of mine in the
various walks Of life. Such letters are free
from the booming tendency, and (pardon
the remark) free also from the newspapers
inky love for giving its own locality that
full, round tone Of importance that its
local gods so dearly lovetosee. One does
not write his friend with view Of get
ting him into trouble, nor yet does he
write him with view to keeping him
away from the country. The truth comes
more nearly from knowledge Il filtered
through the fine and even texture Of a
friendly letter to one who wants to come
and live close by US In Washington Ter
ritory.
To save space. and avoid vain and use
less repetition, let the reader take It for
granted that the subject matter replies to
questions in letter not produced in each
instance. Emerson says, "Give me friends
in conversation who take many smaller
matters for granted. that I may not weary
myself and them too by saying over what
we all ought to know"
FOR HIM WHO WANTS TO KNOW.
To the man who wants to know how
large the North Yakima land district Is
and how much Of II il taken:
1t is 2l0 miles long, north and south,
extending from near the Columbia river
where that stream flows past wallula to
the northern boundary Of the United
States, and it is ls0 miles wide, with the
summit Of the Cascade mountains for its
western boundary, reaching to the eastern
line Of Douglas county. Itincludes Yaki-
ma, Kittitas, Douglas and Okanogan coun-
ties, and lies in the very heart Of the great
territory Of Washington. What is now
Okanogan county was until about two
years ago the Columbia or "4Ioses" In
dian reservation. 1t was opened to set
tlement by an executive order, the condi-
ton being at the time made that settlers
could take the land only under the home
stead act. The Indians Of the reservation
who did not want to go upon the adjoin-
ing reservation, in Stevens county, were
permitted to select claims from the lands
Of their old home, and many Of them did
so. There is still one Indian reservation
in the land distriet-that Of the Yakima
Indians, which includes within its boun-
daries 800, 900 acres Of the best land in
the world. It ought TO be thrown open
to settlement, and why 1t Is not, God and
the sentimental statesmen are the only
ones who know. These thousands ol
acres are now given over 10 the uses OF
non-uses Of q comparatively few Indians
NOT one to each 1000 acres. Enough
Of them are prosperous ranchmen and
drovers to prove that they can do better
on a mans-size farm than to roam and
ioiter in town. while the rest are moi
worth 80 much more than an ordinary
cuss as to be given thousand acres
apiece. The opening up Of this reserva'
tion at an early day is one OF the things
that Is expected from an outfit ct wash
ington that is purely republican, from the
brass woman on the top Of the capitol to
the underpaid man who pulls out the
drawers Of the Indian bureau. At pres
ent the settler has no rights on the mag
nifcent hay land OF the reservation
though he gets there Just the same no"
and then.
FOR Tm sTAusncrAN.
To the man who wants statistics: Dur
ing the year 1888 2O7,S0O acres Of land
have been filed upon at the United States
land Office in North Yakima. This has
been taken under the various acts OF con
grssS giving away land, as follows; Pre-
emption, GA entries; homesteads, SO5
timber cultures, 200; desert land, 10; coal
pre-emptions, s; coal land purchases, 81
mineral land,2.
Besides this showing, there have beer
applications to enter under the desert
Iand act which ara noW hafore the aacra