The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1890-08-15
OBSTRUCTION ISLAND.
Description of the Most Remote Scction
of thasUnitsdS stata<sz

Description Of the Most Remote section
of thesK;nttsdE stat.<>.
Sam c. Price, sof thessN Ilsoumine, at
Horseshoe. who ACKNOWLEDGMENT charge
Of that property, hassbeene1gagedf for sew
eral years IN what sIrisht 2bes serned the
''Farest FarsWest,' hzxing lived for
number of ysers4r 1heSemploysof the gov
eminent at Destrn-tio5asaand- There are
few, indeed, but Eho shaEe heard Of De
struction Island fhgtrAonsss sbut, few in
deed know Of theeoupcry 3mg adjacent TO
it. In fact, fheresis probably no more re-
mote or Iesss Of the United
States, eutsides OF Alaska. IAN that por-
ton of the new1stste,of Washington lying
between the Olympic range and the Pacific
ocean :
The section is known as the Quillayute
country, the. nearesS poAofaees TO Destruc-
ton Island being Tapash, atsthe mouth Of
the QuiIlaPute river, thirtydVe miles
south of Cape Flattery and eighteen miles
north of the island II is located on
small bay that IS partly sheltered by pro-
jecting reef rockaand Islands.
The Quillayutes river" Mr.. Price said,
formerly entered into the north side Of
the bay, near large rock islands, which pre-
vented the, forming OF bar across its
mouth. and small schooners could safely
enter the river About sixteen years ago,
during fseshet, the river made new out
let throughthe beach, one mi!esnorth, and
the old one Eass soon closed up. The pres
ent mouth is shifting and obstFucted by
sand bars. Thsfarmer outlSS was about
twelve feet deep az ,low tide, Of good width
and also permanent The expeaseof turn
ing the river into its ,pld outlet would be
comparatively small, the Improvement
wos.id restore muof needed haxbor for
small craft and uIs5eriall = assist in the de-
velopment of the country.
THE last year / was On Destruction
Island q great many new people went into
the Quiilayute valley, and al theopen land
and most of that alongths srWersand It's
branches had been taken up. Theirs are
large bodies of ,thedimher bands situated
near the rirer, and thatwucbs has been
surveyed Is being rapidly taken up. Near
" the whole.regtsn Is thickiy covered with
heavy, open praires, ecattered about like
GASES In desert. While Indlans nsvepTe-
domina.ed IL viii, no doabtsbe agrest sur
prise TO most people to know shat white
settlers have lived along this valley for up
ward of sixteen years.
Although shssoil is@ery good more at
tenson is paid TO raising cattle and sheep,
as they are moro marketable than vegeta-
BILE products. The ouly direct means OF
commu nicationpTRith she outside gIorld Is
over a rough wagon road to Pystx, ON the
Straits Of Fuccs, distance Of forty miles
AT Tapush is store with a, general
stock, the goods being brOugh around from
Seattle in a schooner and landed by means
OF canoes Tapush IS the principal village
of the Quillayute Indians although the
land was purchased from them 10y the gov
eminent many years ago and opened for
settlement. These Indians aremuch more
progressive than those found elsewhere.
They have had a good school for several
years, and have made considerable i'm
provement in ways Of living and general
conditions There are about three hun
bred of them. The msjorityrof them live
in modern frame houses, and have ALI the
comforts usually found IN a dwelling.
In the village Of Tapush there are very
few white settlers. The Indians make
their living principally by catching seal and
whale, and by the annual tripsto the Up
per Sound country to pick hops. The seal
ing season commences about April and
lasts several months They go out in their
canoes straight OF the coast fromifteen
TO twenty miles on bright, pleasant days,
and finding the seal floating around asleep
quietly spear them. The catch, amounts
to from eighE TO fifteen hundred in sea-
SON. Whales are secured by spearing them
with strong, barbed spears attached to
poles, which have fastened 20 them several
largo bladders or skins filed with air.
When enough of them are fastened TO
whale they prevent him from going below,
and ne Is easily captured, hauled on krhe
beach in the bay and cut up.
There are six Indian villages along the
coast between Gray's harbor and the
Straights of Fuoca, each of sseparate tribe (
and speaking different language. Nearly
all fish for living ''-Leadville Herald
Democrat