The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1898-03-17
THE REDWOOD GAZETTE.
BY AIKEN E. SCHMAHL.
THURSDAY, MARCH II, 1898.
AN INSPIRING PICTURE.
Is the Majestic Scenery Around
Seattle.

Is the Majestic Scenery Around
Seattle.
To THE ED1roR:-I have been asked,
since my return from the west, "what
sort of place is Seattle" and beg
your space to answer the question in
part, but will first say few words
about the great arm of the Ocean on
which it is situated.
puget Sound is unique body of
water. 1t is great inland sea; mar
row for it's length and its crooked
shore, mostly; high bluff is indent-
ed by numerous arms and bays, all
penetrating regions rich on natural re-
sources. It is connected with the Pa
cifc Ocean by the Straits of Juan de
Fuca, and has a depth and size more
than sufficient to accommodate all the
ships of the world"
1t is on this great arm of the sea,
100 miles from it's mouth, that Seattle
is situated. 1t has about 10000 peo-
pie and occupies an isthmus between
Elliott bay on the west and Lake
Washington on the east. The 18TH
mus, in it's narrowest part, is two miles
wide but widens out north and south
to four miles. The site is a series of
hills running parallel with the bay
and rising in places from 400 to 500
feet, the residence portion of the city
being built on the heights and slopes.
The business section is along the wa
ter front, the docks forming the base,
the avenues being graded in the sides
of the hills, each quite little higher
than the last, and all nearly level and
we'll adapted to the purposes of trade.
All cross streets, however, from the
water front toward Lake Washington
are steep and not we'll calculated for
business
The city has the distinction of hav-
ing been the seat of the anti-Chinese
riots of 1883 and most disastrous
fire in 1889, which destroyed all the
business section of the town and the
docks as we'll. The city, at the time
of the fire, was on the crest of great
real estate boom and displayed marked
courage and energy in rebuilding on
the most substantial basis, many
blocks being from five to seven stories,
the whole business district now COM
pairing favorably with any city of it's
size in the United. States. Two or
three of the business streets are paved
with vitrifed brick; all other paved
streets being planked. The water sup
ply is from Lake Washington, which
is fed by mountain streams, the pump
ing capacity being 100000 gallons a
day, distributed through LOG miles of
mains
There are 80 arc and GA mean
descent lamps and n miles of cable
and electric railway tracks, the cable
being used in all cases on the cross
streets owing to steep grades. The
assessed valuation for 1897 was
1871, 100000. Twenty school buildings
provide sittings for 400 pupils out of
school population of 10000, and the
amount paid for school expenses last
year was $4,000. The State Uni.
versity is at Seattle and has a new
building on the shore of Lake Wash
ington, with full staff of professors
and 260 students in attendance.
The churches are such buildings as
would be looked for in a place of so
much enterprise and are reported to
be we'll manned for their work.
There are six national and two State
banks, holding by their last report de-
posts aggregating $5,3OO,OOO. All
lines of trade are we'll represented, the
wholesale houses showing the ability
and capital necessary to handle with
success the phenomenal rush of trade
brought to them by the rush to Alaska.
The lumber business, one of the lead
ing factors in the development of
Puget Sound, has a stronghold here.
One firm at Port Blakely, across the
bay, turned out $l,O50,O0O worth of
lumber last year. At Ballard, sub
urb of Seattle, there are ID saw and
single mills and there are many