The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1893-07-28
rHE SEATTLE PosrNTELIGENCER FRIDAY, JULY q. 1888

r-INTELL1GENCEK, FRID.
remained in ST Louis, and identity him.
self uith the best interests Of the city.
The situation Of Seattle - supern.
though moro might b made OF 10 BY TAX.
Ing thought in time. Upon its several
hills. with the waters Of Lake washing
ton and Puget sound on one side ana ne
other. also the Olympic and the Cascade
mountains, with Mount Rainier iiating IT.
glorious cone far. far above the rest, .
more beautiful situation cannot b con-
ceived- And for us, on Saturday. May 3.
il pat on every grace that il can boast Ii
Was perfect dAv, most welcome after our
lost visions Of Mounts Shasta. Hood and
Adams; thrice welcome 70 our friends,
Who frankly made confession that their
glorious climate had conceded none 50 fine
for three months-''for SIX" insinuated
the more absolute candor of . chance
acquaintance. A finer could not
be. for sunshine. clouds and such
m Air that every breath Was fresh cxhii-
aration. We made the most of il. visiting
the beautiful lake. crossing the Sound to
West Seattle. seeing the Indians in their
smoke and dirt, and climbing Queen Anne
hill. The proverb too big for his
breeches" is made good by many West
ern situation. bat Seattle is too small for
hers. They are . giants. and shelf
may mix the Genders-is . 6ne. awkward
boy. With 1900 inhabitants. their houses
are sporadicaiiy massed and dotted over
IN area that will yet boast ten times As
many. The word boast" is used ad.
visedly. 1t could not be used Of Mount
Rainier, for it would be impossible for
any publication Of its beauty to exceed
the fact. For isolated grandeur. Switzer-
land has nothing TO compare with
IL; and. though its altitude. IA. "A feet. is
some go feet less than that of Mont
Blanc. its isolation gives il the effect Of
much sreater height; But it. height. and
even Its grandeur, like that OF Niagara, Is
nothing to its loneliness. It might have
been grander II We could have seen it from
Tncoma-the SeattIeites confessed %
much, with bleeding hearts-but lovelier
il could not have been. especially when .
band Of vapor made the foothills invisible.
SO that the mountain, for some 10000 feet
mountain in the skies. . hill Of heaven
the most enhancing spectacle Of which
our eyes had ever had their fill.
Sunday morning We left Seattle for Ia
coma. The distance between these rival
cities is about thirty-five miles. Nature
had "reiapsed to her ancient mood :" the
rain was coming down in torrents. At
Mr.. Samuel C0llyer, son of our big
Robert. Their hearts were in their boots
because We could not sec Mount Tacoma"
at all. when We had seen mount Rainier"
SO splendidiy the day before; also because
they wanted US to see their city shining in
the sun. But 1t was beautiful enough in
the soft rain that, in the course of the
morning. succeeded to the steady pour.
Ii its situation is less imposing than that
Of Seattle. 1t has the advantage of
more aggregation in its residential parts,
and of having been laid ont by
Mr.. Olmsted, the great landscape gar
dener, though some Of his suggestions have
been set aside. There are noble public
buildings. The courthouse is successfully
ambitious. the city hail has moro unique
and quiet beauty, the private houses rival
the best of other cities in their kind. aud
better than the costiiest was the multitude
in which men Of average condition can at
ford to live. The lawns and gardens made
continual gladness for our eyes. Tacoma
10 not merely wonderful city for its years.
1t is a rarely beautiful beginning, and is
leans, the Senttleites possibly excepted,
will take unfeigned delight. Without any
more extension than that of Chicago, Ia
coma and Seattle NAV yet come together
and be one great municipality. But under
which name? We would suggest a COM
promise-that in that day the mountain
be called Tacoma, and the double city
Seattle.
The rain did not prevent Mr.. Martins
pleasant church from being filled with one
Of the brightest-looking Congregations
have met anywhere on my round. Evil
IDENTITY the society. in calling itself the
Free Church Of Tacoma" has given up
nothing OF true reverence or religious feel
ing. and little. If anything. sympathetic or
cooperative with our Unitarian work.
could wish that more Of our churches
could take q new name, If that would
make them as much alive ~ the Tacoma
church appears to be.
In the afternoon we took the road again,
and went to Puyailup fer our evening SER
hospitality by Mr.. Meeker. the good genius
of the society. it 10 not financially strong.
and the burden of its support falls heavily
on Mr.. Meeker; not more heavily than
suits his generosity, If he Is not lettering
Others from what they might do. He has
added reading room to the church, which
furnishes seventy of the best magazines and
papers; and also a small library, which he
proposes to enlarge. making hall for that
and other purposes adjoining the church.
Mr.. Meekerss fine mansion il on his origi-
nal claim and we saw the modest ruins OF
his original habitation. He has. believe.
done more than any one else to develop
the hopraising industry in these parts. and
now has $40 acres under cultivation, while,
at the same time. he does great commits
sion business in hops with the London
market. / have found nothing more in
teresting than the stories of the pioneers
Of California. Oregon and Washington
from their own lips. God must have
great respect for such man. one friend
of mine once SAID of another. have often
thought of that remark, and applied it 20
one or another of the MANY who have
tanned the Western wilderness.
From Puyallup to spokane gave Us.
bressting rushing stream for many
peaceful hour in the long twilight. an ex-
pe-ience of great mountain beauty. So
curiousiy did We wind around the hills
that more than once we found ourselves
facing again the sunset We had left be-
hind. There were snow fields all about us
when We reached the top OF the divide.
Too soon the solemn night came down re-
morseessly upon the scene. The morning
found Us nearing our next destination,
Spokane. Washing;on's third city in point
of population (S0,OUl 1t is almost super
iiuous IN say that il Is beautiful for situa-
tion." What city of the Pacific states is
notY But the mountains round about il
are not so magnificent as st Denver and
Salt Lake and Portland and Tacoma
and Seattle. 1t has, however. in its
falls n natural feature which, II 1t had
not been subjected TO manufacturing pur-
poses. would be wonderfully beautiful.
Indeed. IL is so. in spite Of the subsection.
But l could imagine how John Ruskiu
would swear in his fine way over this
corruption of the best" if he could see
how misersbly bad IL is. / hope the time
will come when Spokane will get tired OF
manufacturing and give back her glorious
falls to Nature and to Beauty. TO whom
they belong. II that can never be. then l