The southern argus. [volume] (Baxter Springs, Cherokee County, Kan.) 1891-1???, 1891-07-16
FROM WASHINGTON STATE.
An Old Baxterite Tells of Its Wonderful
Mountains, Forests and Resources.

An Old BaXterIte Tells OF It's hOnuerIul
Mountains, Forests and Resources.
ANACoRTEs, WASH, June 80, 1891.
| EDITOR SOUTHERN ARGUS: When
one leaves one state TO settle in anoth-
er he generally has an idea that he
would like 10 tell his friends of the
advantages of his new home. Often
it is the case in writing that things
are greatly exaggerated and l write
this letter simply to deal in facts and a
plain, unvarnished statement. Prob
ably all the readers have ere this read
of the great things of this new state of
Washington. All the unfavorable
things are not mentioned. All the
large tales are told-the small ones are
not heard of. Washington today is
more talked about and written about
than any other state in the northwest.
Washington today is receiving more
free advertising than any other state.
If any one will take map of the Unit
ed States and look il over they will
perceive that Washington is in about
the same latitude as Maine and at a
| glance will suspect that this must be a
| cold and barren state, but before this
letter is ended they will easily sec that
their judgment is unsound so far as
western Washington or the Puget
| Sound country is concerned, for this
letter is confined to that part only.
Eastern Washington we know moth
ing about. Washington is a large
state, state Of large things and large
| immigration. Look at her mountains.
Mount Rainier towers l4.444 feet above
the surrounding country with snow
the year round. Think of looking up
nearly three miles and mile of that
in eternal snow and ice. Grand il is
and one never ceases to talk about the
| huge monster. Mount Baker, l1,0O0
feet high and 30 miles east of here,
on any clOudless day we can see as
| plainly as If ii were at our very door.
| To the east also is the Cascade range
which prevents the western blizzard
from penetrating this sound country.
| Then TO the west is the Olympian
range, also a wind protector in its
way. Washington has large noun
tains, but who has not heard of her
| large forests, of almost the largest trees
in the world from which the supply
! for future generations must come, and
which they will thank the state of
Washington for. Some writers argue
that the timber of Washington alone
will supply the world for 500 years,
but they are mostly real estate dealers
who have land to sell at enormous fig
ures. In Kansas City, in or about the
year 1888, Ex-Lieut. Gov. Furness of
Nebraska, who was sent with two
other parties by the government to in
spect the forest of Puget Sound, read a
paper before the American HOrticul-
tural society i'm which he stated that
there were 10000 square miles of for
est in the Puget Sound country alone,
but he never said that ii would supply
the world for 500 years, but that il
might supply the United States for
100 years. At the rapid destruction
of the forest now going on | have no
doubt that he was correct in his state
ment. Nobody here, il seems, has any
regard for the forests of this country.
| They are wasted in the most extrav-
agant manner. The best is put in
sawlogs, the rest is left to the mercy
of the flames. 1t is simply a crime
the way ii is destroyed How think
of treeless Kansas, suffering for the
want of it, while here they suffer be-
cause they have too much of it. Think
of quarter section of land with from
/ 10 to ID million feet of lumber on it
and am told of l60 acres of land
near here on which it is claimed there
is 100000 feet of lumber, and from
the forests / have seen / believe it to
be correct. Think of a log 3D. feet
long and 8 feet i'm diameter at The
smaller end and II feet al the larger
end / have seen in the citv of Seattle
the bottom of the first cut of log that
was II feet in diameter and according
TO the count Of the rings was 400 years
old when Columbus discovered Amer
lea. Not over ID miles from here is a
cedar stump on which y people were
able to stand aud which cost the
owners OF the land $50 10 have taken
out. could fill several columns with
the same kind of remarks about the for
ests of Washington. When these are
gone we will never see their like again
I may say this, however, that those
| who have never seen these monsters
will have an opportunity to see one at
the worlds fair in Chicago where |
understand they are to place fir tree
on exhibition that will stand 800 feet
high. The forests Of this state at the
present time supply most Of the bust
ness and labor and now that the de-
mand is not so great for lumber every
thing is dull, for upon lumber depends
everything else and il will so continue
for years TO come. When lumber IL
in brisk demand then things liTen up
in all other branches OF trade.
! But Washington has other advan-