The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1900-03-08
The State OF Washington.

SEATTLE, WAsHlNGToN, Feb. % 1900
Washington State is looked upon by many
people of tie East and South as COM
paratively rev State, and as matter Of
tuu1se many are looking to that remote
corner of Uncle Sans domain for the
fruam of American homesteads, timber
claims, and other like free gifts of their
"CDole. True, Washington has been a
state matter Of ten or eleven years, but
j., Was territory long before that, and
during al! these passing years the hardy
I'll ueer bias been gathering in the best of
1tI natural domain, and what they haven
attained individuals the railroads have
taken as land grants-and there you
a1e'
Tie reports of the United States land
offices are misleading, to put ii but mildly.
For instance, the reports give the State of
Washington at the present Tine as pos
sessed of inappropriate and unreserved
government land amounting to ). $50, $40
acres Of surveyed lands and ), 900, 6+5 acres
unsurveyed. The report also shows
Is. AGA 80 acres 'reserved.'' Western
Washngton-th he timbered portion of the
State-has of the half million acres of sur
veyed land of the State a total of 525, 80
acres, so the report says, and the county
OF klng-Seattle being the county seats
credited with 40, 6l4 acres surveyed and
470, str unsuvey ed.
Very few people, apparently, take into
account tie fact that these general figures
of tie government include all ands-good,
bad and indit1eIent-ahd also include
lakes, rivers, mountains, etc.
While King county is credited with 80
4Sl acles of unappropriated lands. it
remains fact. which cap hardly be dis
puteo even by the land office itself, that
;hole AIc vely few desirable ac,es owned
10y the government in this county subject
10 entry. The NIijef has a personal let
TEL from an aItache OF the land office, who
says: we have nG means Of knowing
whether piece of land selected as appear
ING open for entry is a rock heap, gold
mine or Agricultural land" The chances
are, however, that after some poor devil
has worn out his soles and patience in
locating ''homestead,' he will find it
tilted up on edge OF the surface of a lake,
OF in other ways wholly undesirable
which stands to reason, after experienced
woodmen have spent years in cruising for
tie best there is. Our advice to pros
pective homestead seekers, in western
Washington, at least, is the same as Mark
Twain celebrated advice to people about
To marry: Don t. And as o unsuIyeyed
lands, they are practically remote from
civilization.
The Puget Sound country has such an
equable climate that the matter of build
ing cheap home is a bagatelle as COM
pared with the requirements of colder
clinles. Here many comfortable but I'M
p1etentious homes are built simply by
erecting one thickness of common boards
standing erect and battened on the out
side. On the inside the process of finish
- CElitN tiotH ana paper. "A ulHSy
cloth is tackled upon the inside of the
rough boards and Oh this the wall paper
is pasted as il would be upon the ordinary
plaster walls 1t is the usual practice
also to paper the ceiling, and when com
pleted, except for the working of the pa
per by the circulation of air, the effect is
the same as in the better constructed
house. These cheaply constructed homes
are easily made comfortable in our worst
weather, as fuel is always plentiful and
cheap. A terra Gotta pipe or chimney is
generally used in the cheaper homes, and
in this way it requires but small sum of
money to improvise an attractive home
and also comfortable one, all in few
days time-if one is in hurry to ''move
in
SO in the matter of clothing in this
moderate climate. While the average
citizen wears woollen underclothes the
year through, he seldom is found heavily
dressed. A curious sight, occasionally
seen on the streets of Seattle these Klon-
dixie days, is man clothed in furs from
head to foot-undoubtedly "fresh'' from
the East Ladies affect furs from force
of habit-after having been subject to
them in the East, and they are occasional
ly seen in the theatre or at church, un-
doubtedly suffering from warmth for the