San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1889-10-31
From the State Of Washington.

[From aprivate letter from Seattle,
of tho 18th inst, we make tho follow
ing extrscts, believing they will be
found OF general interest-Ed.l
1 took q sail on the Sound to-day
with some other printers. Had an
iptere. ting trip. From the Sound
you get IN excellent view OF the city
which stands out boldly on the side
OF the bills, and also OF the grand
Olympic Mountain in the northwest
and the snow crowned Mount Rainier
in the South, while at times, you
can see between the bills on which
the city stands, glimpses Of the Cas-
cade range, east of the city, and Lake
Washington. Seattle, in fact is sur
rounded by towering mountains on
every hand, aud the beautiful scenery
ON Lake Washington and Lake
Union, is hard to surpass in the
world.
There is printer on the Post
Intelligence he is IN Englishman,
who came hore some six months
ago with $50 in his pocket and
three months ago he bought u
lot in the Rsnton addition, about q
mile from the business part Of town,
for 81, 200, paying $500 cash and is
to pay the remaining 5000 in one
year with ten per cent interest
Since he made the purchase q new
cable car line has begun work on the
street running by the property, and
he has been offered $500 Tor his
bargain but will not take it, l went
up to see his lot tho other day.
1t is beautifully situated on the top
OF the hill where there is probably
the grandest view in the neighbor-
hood OF Seattle. Right in front is
Mt. Rainier, and on one side you can
see Lake Washington and Cascade
range, and Mt Hood, and On the
other the Olympic range and the
waters of the Sound and q large part
of the city below. He already has
500 sure on the deferred payment,
and as he makes about $50 u week
and never puts on sub, flor which
he is heartily damned by the tramps,)
l think he will come out all right. l
have not the slightest doubt but that
in five years time he can get from
three to live thousand dollars for the
lot.
We are having exceedingly pleas
ant weather here now and 1t may
last week or two yet. but when the
rains set in they will last for tour or
five months. They say it don't RAIN
hard but keeps up steady drizzie,
with perhaps, u few hours lntermis-
sion once in while, for the whole
winter. This country Ii certainly
unhealthy in the winter, and many
people die with typhoid pneumonia,
etc. In the summer time however,
it must be delightful. ,
The tremendous energy displayed
in building here this season is won
derful in the extreme. Since l have
been here, four or five weeks, dozens
of brick business blocks have been
erected and the city is fast being
built up all over the burnt district In
much more substantial manner
than before. More large buildings
have been erected here since the fire
in June, than haye been built in the
whole of the great state OF Texas
during the entire year, millions OF
brick, millions of feet OF lumber and
hundreds of tons of rock have been
and are being consumed i'll the work
of reconstructing the business por-
ton of Seuttle.
The largest wooden hotel 1 ever
saw is standing Oh of the hills Of this
city, Hotel Rainier" II is an i'm
mense establishment. Six weeks
ago the spot on which it stands was
a bare plot of ground. Nearly a
thousand carpenters were working
on that building ut one time, and
the work went on night and day:
The way the walls of brick and
mortar and frames of timber 60 up
in this vicinity Immediately suggest
Aladdin and his wonderful lamp.
Hundreds of masons, corpenterF,
laporers, and people OF all kinds and
characters are here from everywhere.
The mechanics and laborers as a
rnle have work to do, but the wet
season will doubtless throw many OF
them out of employment. There are
four or five gambling dens in full
blast and they are reaping a great
harvest and get large share of the
hard-earned dollars of the working
men.
1 have bought rubber coat and a
pair of rubber boots and think l will
get me rubber hat, and then it can
rain. l will wear heavy flannel
underclothinO and ms IL never freezes