Fairhaven herald. [volume] (Fairhaven, Wash.) 1890-????, 1892-05-06
A FRIEND OF FAIRHAVEN
A. B. Reid Tells An Eastern
Paper of Our Resources
and Prospects
An Entertaining Interview Pub
lished in the Pittsburg
Leader
Monthly Meeting of the Yacht
Club---Local News and
BreVities

The Pittsburg, Pa, Leader of April
28 has the following interesting inter
view with a gentleman who was for a
time one of the brightest members OF
the bar Of this city and who left here a
few weeks ago to accept a fine offer at
his former home in the east:
"A. b. Reid, Esq, has returned from
a trip through the northwest and is
very much struck with the beauties of
that country. In speaking Of his trip
to Leader reporter Mr.. Reid said;
"After a residence of almost year
in Fairhaven, Washington, | can speak
of the extreme northwest with some
knowledge of the facts. Whatcom
county, in which are New Whatcom,
the seat Of justice, and Fairhaven, is
the most nOrthwesterly county in the
Union. Its latitude is that of Moscow
and southern Labrador, yet last winter
| the pansies blossomed unharmed thro-
| ugh the frosts that occurred-the cold
est day being 20 degrees above zero, and
| that but once. Twice it fell to y de-
grees above. From September to Jan
uary rains Were frequent, but rarely
heavy, and never of our chilly, influ-
enza-producing variety. Cyclones are
unknown, but strong gales from the
land are experienced, but are not de-
structive, and the waters of Puget
Sound are, as a rule, calm and unruf-
fled as mill pond. The same is beau
tiful and no more attractive waterway
exists. The Washington people call it,
not without reason, the American Med
iterranean. 1t is traversed from Seat
tie to FairhaVen and Whatcom by the
steamers of several companies whose
boats both for speed and elegance com
pare favOrably with those of eastern
waters. The best-known of the larger
boats have been built on the Atlantic
coast and taken around "the Horn to
the Pacific, but the new boats are of
home production. Nothing can be
more delightful than the various trips
afforded the Sound people and tourists
during the beautiful summers of that
section. From July to the middle of
September last year was one long, bril-
liant summer day-no rain, no wind,
no extreme heat; once the mercury
reached So; rarely above 50. There are
no thunder storms in the Puget Sound
basin and no warm nights. You sleep
there with blanket the year around,
and after sundoWn will find a light
overcoat almost Indispensable out of
doors. In summer the last rays of the
sun have not entirely vanished at $50
p. M, and at you can yet see to
read. Occasionally the winters are
comparatively severe, snow lying on
the ground for three or four weeks.
Last winter it showed at Fairhaven but
three times, the entire fall not being
two inches. The year before there was
snow enough for good coasting, and the
entire population provided themselves
with sleds fearfully and wonderfully
made, and knocked off business to en-
joy the sport. From January to
March 20, when | left for the East the
weather was fine-no snow, scarcely
any rain, and the thermometer ranging
from 3S at night to 81 and 60 i'm the
afternoon. On the whole, / consider
the climate of Western Washington as
hard to equal. East of the Cascade
mountains the winters ara severe, being
much like those of Pennsylvania. East
ern Washington is ia wonderfully rich
agricultural and grazing country.
year II, 100000 bushels of grain, princi-
pally wheat. The Puget sound coun-
try is essentially the mineral and tim
Der section, interspersed with great
deal of agricultural and fruit lands.
Hops, prunes, apples and pears, straw
berries and other small fruits and all
vegetables grow there to perfection. On
the reclaimed marsh lands oats are pro-
duced i'm marvellous quantities. Were
/ to state the yield my veracity would
be questioned. But the crowning glory
of Western Washington is its timber
the forests of Douglas fir and of cedar
undoubtedly the finest in the world.
Less than ten years will witness its ex-
tensive use here and throughout the
! East. President Hill, of the Great
Northern railway, said at Fairhaven at
public meeting that his road would
put Washington lumber into the Buff
falo market at 4Oc per hundred weight,
and that the road will be completed to
Puget sound in one year. 1t is in its
railway communication that Washing
ton far surpasses Oregon and CaIifor-
mia. You can take an electric car at
Fairhaven and i'm twenty minutes
board Canadian Pacific car at New
| Whatcom, the American terminus of
that railway, and go through to Hall
fax, Toronto of Boston without change.
You can reach the Northern Pacific
within twenty miles, and in a few
months it will also be running into the
Bellingham bay cities (Fairhaven and
New Whatcom). The Great Northern
already operates its Sound line from
New Westminster TO Seattle, and in
one year, or little more, will be run
ming its through trains TO Fairhaven,
which will.in all probability be its ter
minus and the point Of departure for
its China steamers that are to rival
those of the Canadian Pacific, which
sail from Vancouver, forty miles dis