Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1890-06-07
PUGET SOUND.
4 FRESH GLIMPSE OF NATURES
GIGANTIC WORK

Huge Mountain Peaks Of Primeval ORR
gin That Are stil1 Emitting Steam-
General AIger'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 luxuriance would put to blush any
thing that grows here now. The old
mossbackers Of the present day, the ad-
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 300
feet high, and from 6 to 10 feet through
al the stumps, to the masses Of ferns
and feet high, to hop vines 10 feet in
length to oats that yield 1So bushels per
acre. and ask what other country on
earth can show equal productiveness.
And yet 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 Win
throp says was still an active volcano
whenh he was writing Canoe and Saddle"
there are over 40, 900 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 3 whole townships, one
vein which Is "a feet thick, and in it a
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 mon In the field pros
pee ing these regions. This work in
most eases 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 break.
General Alger, of Michigan, and his
partners have a tract of $4,000 acres of
timber in Skagit county. which there is
reason to believe is generally underlaid
with 6-foot vein of coal of fairly good
quality. These deposits extend on into
British Columbia, and are particularly
rich in Vancouver Island, large part of
which is underlaid by them.
Nature seems always to have been at
her most wonderful work hereabouts.
Not many centuries ago she maintained
row of lighthouses on this coast the
equal Of whichw never seen elsewhere.
Their lights shine no more, however, and
they now stand solemn pinnacles of ice
piercing the clouds. They are Mounts
Shasta. Hood, st. Helens, Adams, Tacoma,
Baker, and St Elias, and range in height
from IL ,2s5 TO IL, $50 feet. All of these
are true mountain peaks, rising abruptly
almost from the sea level.
Most Of them still emit hot steam from
their SUBMITS, 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 il was created by earthquakes
orvolcanic action. It's principal feature
Is extreme depth. Its shores are very
abrupt Standing anywhere along the
shore the visitor may easily toss pebble
into 100 fathoms of water. The immense
inlet, with It's numerous arms, making a
shore line of about / 900 miles. seems to
have been rent open by Titanic force
which only the imagination Of Milton
might describe-l Letter from Tacoma.