Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1891-07-02


Icame out here in the Spring of 1889
and We were 30 much pleased with Spo-
kane that We decided 70 cast anchor with.
in her limits and grow up with the town,
which has since been chartered a. a city.
In the following Angus. the entire busi.
ness portion Of the town. covering 60 acres
was destroyed by fire, and within twelve
months II rose from its ashes entirely re.
built and more beautiful than ever. In
1880 the place had about 500 inhabitants
consisting Of Indians, prospectors and set
leTs, and to-day, it is city of upwards OF
10000. This wonderful growth has made
fortunes for those who invested in proper.
~ before and just after the fire Spokane
rs destined TO be the Denver Of the North
west, for it is the centre Of one of the rich
est mineral countries in the United States.
II viii also be great milling and manu-
featuring point because Of the fertile agri-
cultural country south Of ii, the vast tracts
Of timber TO the north and its marvellous
yater-power which rivals that Of Mime
apolis. To give an idea of the productive.
/ ness Of the soil, one county last year yield.
ed 100000 bushels Of wheat
The chief attraction Of Spokane is her
falls, the beauty and grandeur of which
my feeble fancy cannot picture. Indus
tries are daily spTinging up around them
and number Of plants for mills and fac.
tories are projected At this time of the
year the river abounds in salmon and
trout, and II Is common thing To see the
angler capturing the "speckled beauties
within few yards OF the splash and whir
| Of the wheels Of commerce. Eastern PEG.
pie are astonished at the appearance of the
city. They are not prepared 10 find PEG.
pie with modern ideas and improvements
that are practically unknown 70 towns Of
much larger size back home. We have
/ electric light, cable and electric street cars
! handsome business blocks Of brick and
granite, schools, colleges and churches
several daily papers, a number of banks
an opera house that compares fayorably
"A1h N4N <ANAAGh4l VI III
and those two great arteries of trade, the
Northern and Union Pacific railways pass
through our gates, besides halt a dozen
short lines which connect Spokane with
the the outlying towns with which our
merchants do large and rapidly increas.
ing jobbing trade.
The rich men Of Spokane have built
beautiful homes for their families, upon
which they have lavished wealth and taste
and even the modest cottages of the man
with moderate meaBs, are surrounded with
pretty lawns and gardens and give evi.
dence Of those comforts which render home
life so agreeable.
We have all nationalities here and are
as cosmopolitan as New York or Paris
American life is represented by the Indian
the cowboy, the miner, the trapper and
the educated man Of the East, who mingle
freely in the affairs of everyday life
Washington is traversed by the Cascade
Mountains Spokane is the metropolis Of
the Eastern portion, and Seattle and Taco.
ma, the leading cities west of us, are situa-
ted on Puget Sound, which is looming up
as great shipping point and has room for
the navies Of the world.
The climate of Spokane is as delightful
as that of Maryland and Virginia, if not
more so; the winters are not any severer
on an average, the Spring is soft and brings
US copious rains, the Summer is ideal, just
warm enough at midday with invigorat-
ing mornings and cool nights, the Autumn
is one continued Indian Summer from Oc-
tober 10 December and reminds me of the
lovely weather that follows the harvest
days in dear old Maryland. believe that
this country has great future before it,
and offers as good, if not better induce
ments TO the young man just starting out
in life, as any State in the Union, whether
he proposes TO follow a profession, enter
business or become farmer
w. I. II.