The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1890-06-13
The Olympic Peninsula.

There is perhaps no portion oF The
United States, pear thichly settled
center Of country, SO little known and
which is misunderstood to such an eX-
tent as the great Olympic peninsula
living between the waters OF Puget
Sound and The Pacific ocean, in west
ern Washington. This body OF land
is rectangular il shape, being ninety
miles wide at its northern extension
and about fifty miles in width at The
south. The total length Of the PENN
sula is about eighty miles, and the to-
tai area something like $500 square
miles (3,585,000 acres). OF the entire
1900 square miles of territory con
tanned in the peninsula, about 1880
square miles { 100000 acres } are
mountainous lands, not suitable, per
haps, to many purposes of agriculture.
In addition to the lands mentioned
above there are no less than 100 SO.
miles (290,000 acles) mostly surveyed,
on the north and east sides, along the
straits and Hoods canal; 900 square
miles, (575,000 acres mostly surveyed,
on the south side of the mountains
and north Of the Chehalis river and
Gray'S harbor, and drained by the Sat
sop, Nynoochie, Wishka, Hoquiam and
Humtuleps rivers, and 1850 square
miles (930,0c0 acres, G4,000 acres Of
which are surveyed, west OF the
mountains and lying on the waters
flowing directly into the Pacific. The
principal streams of this area are the
Osctte, the Quillyute and its four
branches, the Dicl1y, the Solduck, the
Killiwan and the Baachiel, the Hob,
the Queets, the Relt, Quinault and the
ChchaliS. Three Of these streams,
viz: the Solduck, the Hob and the
north fork Of the Quinault each drain
a part Of Mount Olympus, the last
fork Ct the Quinault heading in Mount
Constance. The Queets penetrates
the interior to considerable distance.
No one Of these streams is navigable
f0r~teamboats at the present writing,
although the four largest OF these
rivers could be made so for distances
varying from fifteen to twenty miles
from their mouths, at Il very moderate
cost fer improvement work. They
can ali be made navigable for small
boats, and driven with logs to within a
few miles Of their heads.
Along these streams are about 800
square miles, $4,000 acres of rich bot
tom lands. The soil between the
mountains and coasts good, and gen
orally adapted, when cleared, to farm
ing, grazing nd fruit raising. In the
mountain districts are many small
rich valleys, and great abundance Of
good grazing lands. The peninsula as
a whole is heavily timhered with fir,
cedar, spruce AID hemlUck, the latter
wood predominating Oh the western
slope, with cedar good second. The
prairies are small and far bctw en-.
The Quinault Indian reservation ex-
tends from the Moclipse to the Queets,
along the ocean and back to the Quin
ault river lake. Il contains about %
square miles, or I14,O00 acres. Ac
cording to II census taken last fall
there were then A53 Indians belonging
to The reservation. This number in
cluded quite ii number Of Indians al
the Hon and Queets along the beacl
south. Most of the Indians live OF
the beach, a few families only living
for distance Of four or five miles III
the stream. These seldom penetrate
into the interior. and then only for
few days at time i'll pursuit CT eli,
which they kill for their hides ant
horns-S. G. Gilman in Oregonian.