Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1890-06-04
PUGET SOUND.
4 FRESH GLIMPSE or NITURE'S
GIGANTIC WORK.

Huge Mountain Peaks of Primeval ORR
gin That Are still Emitting steam
General Alger's Timber Patch.
There must have been time in the re-
mote past when the Puget Sound basin
was covered with a growth which for
rank luxmiance would put to blush any
thing that grows here now. The old
mossbackers Of the present day, the adj
venturous spirits of the last three decades
who pushed their way through almost
impenetrable wilds to settle here, point
with pride to the giant frs, towering 800
feet high, and from TO 10 feet through
at the stumps, to the masses of ferns :
and feet high, to hop vines 40 feet in
length, to oats that yield l20 bushels per
acre, and ask what other country on
earth can show equal productiveness.
And vet this growth of to-day must be
as nothing compared with that which
grew here ages ago and formed the coal
fields which are now beginning to be
prospected.
These fields are of enormous extent
In the basin of the Cowlitz River, which
rises in Mount ST. Helens, which VIM
throp says was still an active volcano
when he was writing Canoe and Saddle"
there are over 10000 acres, so far un-
touched. In the Chehalis valley there
are vast deposits still unexplored. In
the Carbon River region there is one vast
bed underlying whole townships, one
vein which is a feet thick, and in it
seam, 81 feet thick, of perfectly pure
coal.
In the Raging River, Snoqualmie,
Skagit, Nooksac, and Wenatchie basins
there are other vast deposits-how vast
nobody yet knows. The railroad COM
pany now has IS men in the field pros
pec,ing these regions This work in
most cases is easy, as the beds crop out
along the river banks and in the walls of
gulches and canons in many places, and
in some instances can be traced for miles
.without a break
General Alger, of Michigan, and his
partners have tract of $4,000 acres of
timber i'll Skagit county, which there is
reason to believe is generally underlaid
with a G-foot vein of coal of fairly good
quality Thes, DEPOSITS extend on into
British Columbia, and are particularly
rich in Vancouver Island, a large part Of
which is underlaid by them.
Nature seems alV ays to have been at
her most wonderful work hereabouts.
Not many centuries ago she maintained
a row Of lighthouses on this coast the
equal of which was never seen elsewhere.
Their lights shine no more, however. and
they now stand solemn pinnaoles of ice
piercing the clouds. They are Mounts
Shasta Hood, St Helens, Adams, Tacoma,
Baker, and st. Elias. and range in height
from II 22j to 1850 feet. All of these
are true mountain peaks, rising abruptly
almost from the sea level.
Most of them still emit hot steam from
THEN summits, and some older residents
of the coast claim to have seen an occa-
sional Jet of flame from Mount Baker.
but most people believe that while all
were once active volcanoes they are now
practically extinct. They undoubtedly
made things lively when they were in
the full blaze of business.
The characteristics of Puget Sound in
dicate that it was created by earthquakes
or volcanic action. Its principal feature
is extreme depth. Its shores are very
abrupt Standing anywhere along the
shore the visitor may easily toss a pebble
into 100 fathoms of water. The immense
inlet, with its numerous arms, making
shore line of about / 900 miles. seems to
have been rent open by Titanic force
which only the Imagination Of Milton
might describe II Letter from Tacoma.