The islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1891-1899, 1896-04-09
NORTHWESTBREVITIE

NUAl1 WEOl DAEvlllEN
Evidence OF Steady Growth
and Enterprise.
ITEMS OF GENERAL INTEREST
All the Cities and Towns of the Pacific
States and Territories
Washington.
Port Townsend is to have bicycle
track.
Diphtheria has entirely disappeared
from Ellensburg, and the schools were
re-opened.
Potatoes are very cheap this spring
at Ellensburg. A hunderd pound sack
can be bought for S5 cents.
The Pacific county papers are in.
formed that the surveys Of townships
1876 and 1876 have been accepted.
Lieutenant J. 81. Hetherington,
United States army, has taken charge
of the branch photographic Office at
Port Townsend.
The board of state land commission
ers has decided to accept Skamania
county bonds to the amount of So, 200,
subject to approval of the attorney
general.
One thousand acres of winter wheat
belonging to Miles G. Moore, at Eu-
reka Flat, Walla Walla county, was
killed by the cold spell, and the ground
is being reseeded.
Monday was squirrel day with the
Spokane county commissioners, and
the day netted total of 9,171 squirrel
tails, for which the county paid $91.71.
Just an even twenty persons brought
in this number.
The Pullman Palace Car Company
has paid the tax on its cars operated on
the o. R. & N. railway in Spokane
county. This was brought about
through the seizure of one of the sleep
ing-cars in use on the Northern Pa
cific.
Councilman Hill, of North Yakima,
is in favor of the appointment of an
Inspector of weights and measures.
He says that many of the scales used in
the city are not true, owing to the
springs losing their strength, and in
consequence full value is not received
by purchasers.
New York capitalists are negotiating
for the purchase of the Andrew Cham
bers prairie, near Rainier, with the in
tention of setting out the entire tract
in fruit. 1t is estimated that $4,000
trees, about seventy-fve per cent of
which will be prunes, will be put out
in the vicinity of Rainier this season
Robert Scott has 1000 peach and
apple trees, which he is setting out on
his Natchez ranch, twelve miles from
North Yakima - blowing up eight
acres of hops to accommodate the
orchard. For eight consecutive years
this ranch has had splendid peach
crop, and it's owner alleges that he has
never lost single bud or blossom in
all that time, from FROST
If the Whitman county board of
commissioners is contemplating the
appropriation of county funds toward
the destruction of the squirrel pests,
the Garfield Enterprise protests against
its being expended in scalp bounties
It declares that if any appropriations
are made it should be by way of assist
ing the actual wheat raisers to buy
poison.
A gentleman from Goldendale tells
Dalles paper that the mining excite
ment that was so high in Klickitat
county few weeks ago has subsidized,
and those who left their farms expect
ing to make their fortunes in the mines
have settled down to agricultural pur-
suits, satisfied with the slower but
surer way of accommodating wealth by
raising grain.
James O'Neill, deputy clerk of the
United States court at Spokane, re-
ceived request from the agent of the
secret service at San Francisco asking
him to pack up and send all the coun.
terfeit coins and implements used in
making such coins that have been used
as evidence in cases that have already
been disposed of. The collection is
rather an odd one, and will be used by
the secret service department. in other
cases of like kind.
At Orchard prairie, in Spokane
county, the farmers have formed an
anti-squirrel club of forty -four men,
bers. There are two captains, who
choose sides from the membership,
and with their respective bands, have
entered into active competition for the
destruction of the pests. At the end
of the squirrel season the two sides
will meet and count the squirrel tails.
The winning side is to have picnic
dinner furnished by the losers.
Two of the most prominent orchard
lists of Orcas island, George w. Meyer
and George Gibbs, have cut down and
uprooted their prune orchards this
spring, which were among the finest In
that county and just coming into bear.
ing. Mr.. Meyer is setting out pear
trees instead, in which he thinks there
is more money. His action in destroy
ing his prune trees just as they were
coming nicely into bearing has occa-
stoned considerable comment among
fruitgrowers, and will be likely to dis
courage many from going into prune-
raising extensively.