The Republican journal., 1899-11-16
Letter from Seattle.

SEATTLE, WASH, Nov. 13, 1899. For
months past minors have been rife that
President Hill, of the Great Northern
Railway, was negotiating for several large
steamships to ply between Puget Sound
and the Orient. For two years past
Japanese company has been operating
line of seamers, connected with the
Great Northern Railway at Seattle, with
a monthly service While the japanese
steamers are among the largest plying the
Pacific, the monthly service has been
inadequate, even for the freight supplied
by the Great Northern line alone. The
welcome tidings now come over the wires
that Mr.. Hill confirms the more recent
reports that he has passed orders for
two larger steamers than any now atloat, to
accommodate the growing trans Pacific
commerce, with Seattle and Puget Sound
for it's American port. These two levia-
thans of the deep are to be 700 feet in
length and will have a capacity of 20, 600
tons and speed Of IA knots. They will
be even larger than the giant Oceanic.
Regarding these steamers, Mr.. Hill says:
''They will be the nucleus of a great
Pacific fleet for the Oriental trade. Moth
ing to compare with these ships has ever
been seen in Pacific waters. The con-
struction of these two vessels is in charge
of one of the best marine engineers in the
world.' This announcement but emphas-
ICES the growing Importance of Oriental
commerce with Puget Sound ports, and
at once proclaims the Sound and its num-
erous harbors capable of accommodating
any ship which floats. Unlike most har
Puget Sound is unobstructed by any bar,
the entrance from the Pacific being at
least eight miles in width. With Hills
Great Northern Railway, terminating at
Seattle, on Puget Sound, joined with a
trans Pacific line of mammoth steamers
engaged in Oriental trade; with a route
manifestly several hundred miles shorter
and safer than the route from the Golden
Gate, it requires no prophet to foresee
the upbuilding of commercial relations
and gigantic enterprise about the Ameri-
can terminal of the trans. continental
trans oceanic routes.
An eastern visitor to the Pacific coast
becoming enraptured with the beautiful
scenery of Puget Sound-as is usually the
case-writes thus glowingly of impress
sions received on trip over those expaE
sive waters: "Here was a vision worthy
hundreds of fishing boats, dancing upon
the waves, at anchor by nets, or moving
gracefully and silently across the picture.
Many of the sails of the boats were color
ed red or yellow-for some of the fisher
men We're Japanese, and the japanese
love color-so that the animate scene was
splendor, in harmony with the beauty of
Nature, her snowy mountains and her
placid sea illumined by the ruddy sunset.
And as the sunset progressed, the surface
of the water took on a luminous, silver
glow, with patches and quivering streaks
of slate and pea green; and warmer light
played from sail to sail, in soft blending
of cream and orange, while the snowy
mountains, far away, shaded the dazzling
whteness of their SUBMITS through rose
and royal purple to deep violet at the
base. The cloudiess sky became crimson
almost russet-in the west, and like
ball of fire, blood-red, the sun approach
ell the burning sea. We could see its very
motion toward the blazing water; it seem
ed so near that one forgot it was the sun.
and expected to hear the hiss and sputter
of the ultimate plunge, but just before
the collision came, a tiny island swung
before it to hide the glorious sight"
Six Alaskan steamers arrived at Seattle
on the first two days of November, with
between | 900 and 1000 returning arge-
lauts who have come out for the winter,
many of them to return in the spring.
The amount of gold brought to Seattle
ana San francisco during lHe last week OF
November will crowd the three million
mark One steamer brought 11O passen-
gers and as many thousands in gold dust
but it was not as equally divided. This
contingent was from the interior, or
klondike and Atlin region. 1t is prob
able that these late shipments will con-
clude the bulk of the returning Alaskan
travel for the season, though the travel
via White Pass and Skagway will con-
tinue in smaller way throughout the
winter. A consignment of S73, 900 arriv-
ed from the Atlin district Nov. Sd.
A. E. Claflin and brother, Clarence A,
were we'll to- do Alaska argonauts, doing
business at Nome city. On a trip out to
Seattle, before locating at Nome, they
took in with them two metallic caskets.
The latter committed suicide and has
been brought back in one of the caskets,
while the other brother is dying at Nome
of typhoid fever, said to be raging there
at an alarming rate.
Although the winter months are ap-
preaching, Seattle is still building at a
1NI