, 1889-10-24
BEAUTIFUL SPOKANE
The City and It's Resources as
Viewed by an Eastern
Lady.
Mary Allen West Favorably I'm
pressed by What She Saw
While Here.
Following the Example of Chi
oago in Burning Down to
Grow Greater.

special Correspondence Chicago Inter
OCeun.l
SPOKANE FALLS, Wash, Oct. L.
Another fire devastated city that seems
not to know that II is hurt. If Wash
ington can stand the loss of millions of
dollars in It's four. great fires this year,
at Cheney, Ellensburg, Seattle and Spo-
kane, il IL the strongest evidence that its
rccupcrative powers have solid backing.
IL does seem to stand the loss, and actu-
ally thrivos under it. At Spokane, as at
Seattle, property is higher now than be.
fore the fire; this is accounted for by the
fact that Eastern capital, seeing an open
and promising field for investment, is
pouring In in quantities to more than re.
place that which went up in smoke.
Thus, while the tire proves the financial
ruin of some of the old business firms,
for insurance was very light here, the
city itself will in the end be benefited
by it.
My first view of the city was week or
two before its holocaust when from the
ear window | saw its blocks of business
houses. My next visit saw them in
ashes, my third showed them rising
ugain in more than their former proper
tions. The desolation of the fire i'm
presses one more in Spokane than in
Seattle, though the actual ravagos were
not so great. The conformation of its
situation compressed the Seattle fire
into comparatively narrow limits, and,
being on streets mostly built out into
the water does not make as great show
as at Spokane Falls.
rwENry-EIGHT BLOCKS WERE BURNED,
including the principal dopots, banks
ana stores oi the place. Fortunately its
great mills and factories were not burned,
and thus its industries are less intertered
with than are those of Seattle. Every
saloon and house fame was burned;
the latter have been kept from starting
again, but the saloons are in full blast,
any number OF them, all still in tents,
but doing ilourshing business. One
of them, "Dutch Juke's Beer Garden"
as its Haunting sign reads, extends an
entire block, and 1000 men have been
counted In there at once. A gentleman
informed me that he thought S200oa day
a fair estimate of its receipts. Ii has
wheel of fortune running day and night
seven days in the week and other worse
forms ot gambling with the usual acccs-
sories carried OH in opcn defiance of law,
Yet in spite of all the wickedness which
haunts itself in our faces, there is II
strong element of religion and temper
ance IN Spokane which is making a brave
tight and will some time got the upper
hand of the deviltry now going on there.
Spokane Is but ten years old, yet IL has
10000 inhabitants, does millions of dol
lars worth of business annually, has
stood the burning of So, 600, 900 without
hinChing, and sells its corner lots at over
$1,000 "a front foot. Can such prices hold,
and what Is the secret of its growth? At
first felt sure the prices could not hold
that they resulted largely from boom
ing, but further investigation shows that
spokane has had less booming than other
Western townsi its business men per
sistently lrowned down anything of the
kind. The more ] study into the reasons
of its growth, the more ! am convinced
that 1t is normal and healthy.
FIRST, THERE IL ITS WATER POWER,
the falls, which determine the position
and name of the town. The beautiful
Spokane river here breaks into Il success
sion of falls, which experienced United
States engineers say afford q water
power superior to that of st. Paul and
Minneapolis 1t Is also in shape Ia be
readily utilized, being spread over n
Urge extent, But traction of it is now
utilized, but il runs two great grist
mills, sawmills, the motor OF the city
cable cars, the electric plant by which
the city Is lighted, and will soon he run
ming the one propclling the electric
street cars, besides many smaller es-
tablishmcutS.
L H'il ilS SliNHtlpl II idNoIdblei DOill us
center OF supplies and as being remote
from competing cities. 1t has no real
rival within 400 miles, that being about
its distance from Helena on the east,
from Seattle, Tacoma and Portland on
the west 1t is the natural, the only dis
tributing center of u scmi-Circlc OF rich
mines. where from 5000 to 5000 miners
are constantly at work. These include
the famous Cmur d 'Alenc, Colvillc val
ley, Okanogan, the Dennie, tho koote-
mai, and other famous mines of silver
ana lead.
Nearer by is the lumber interest, tn ere
being twenty-five sawmills within as
many miles of the city; here is found
almost the only real pine forests | have
seen in either Washington or Oregon
Still nearer the city is encircled by five
real prairies small, to be sure, contain
ing only from five to twenty sections
each, but very fertile. These are about
the only tracts that seem to my Illinois
eyes worthy the name of prairicS, the
others being called by this name being
either sterile sand plains, as in tue region
of Centralia, or covered with brush or
scattered trees, as in the Sound country.
There ! tell them they call everything u
prairie which grows trees less thar. 100
feet high. Spokane is fast growing into
A RAILROAD CENTER.
1t is on the main line of the Northern
Pacific, which besides sends out from
this point several branches to tap the
great mining regions and agricultural
iields The Seattle, Lake Shore q Fast
ern also comes here, being the other end
of the road by which we reached Sno-
qualme Falls from Seattle; the Cascade
mountains still separate the completed
ends of this road, but it Is slowly max
ing its way over them. The Spokane d
Northern Is also another road that has
come in within year, and will furnish
u connection with the Canadian Pacitic
II is now completed to the great bend in
the Columbia across the border of Brit
ish possessions. The o. r.. n N. com
pany, which means the Oregon Railway
Il Navigation, will soon have their road
running into Spokane, with its many
branches tapping the immense wheat
fields to the south and west.
Between my first and second visit TO
Spokane ! spent twelve days exploring
these wheat regions, the "Palouse coln-
try" celebrated us the most productive
on earth, If we may believe what we
hear and see, the Snake river valley and
others tributary to 1t, The Oregon Rail
way Il Navigation runs numerous
branches from twenty to 100 miles long
up these valleys as feeders to its main
it is connected. At this season of the
year carrying wheat y the great business
Of these branches; piles of sacked wheat
are seen at every station, and four.horse
teams mark the roads that center there.
This wheat grows on the uplands, and
along The Snake river, whose banks are n
sharp incline TO these uplnnds. Chutes
convey the wheat down to boats In the
river. These chutcs average about two
miles in length, broken, ofcourse, in the
descent, but the velocity attained In the
descent is dangerous.
A week spent in traversing this great
wheat belt, by cars and by carriage only
intensifics my wonder. Judging, by, its