The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1904-10-06

The Undeveloped
u X y West.
no little advantage has been taken
of the natural resources Of the
~ country, that the undeveloped
West may be said to consist of
all that territory west of the Mississip.
pi. will speak, however, only Of that
portion of the West with which I am
most fsmiliar,-the three Pacific Coast
states, California, Oregon and Wash
ington.
OF the three states named, Califor-
mia is by far the oldest settlement, but
it does not, therefore, follow that the
Golden State is less open to develop
ment than her smaller neighbors. On
the contrary, she is, perhaps, the least
developed. If we except farming,
practically no advancement has been
made in California for years until very
recently. The mining industry has
Ianguished. With the exception of
the lately discovered oil fields. there is
very little systematic mining in the
state. The vast lumber region is al
most untouched. But fet me enter in
to particulars. First let me say that
the natural farm lands, that is, those
lands which are easily irrigated, free
from timber, and comparatively level
are all taken. Mining and numbering
are the two undevsiopsd industries Of
California.
The two mountain ranges Of the
state enclose valley some 400 miles
In length. Neither Of these ranges has
1 been property prospected The Goas,
Range has not been prospected at all
the Sierra Nevada, only partially. I,
is well known that both systems con
i tain gold, silver, lead, copper and othel
minerals in vast quantities, but thu
people do not seem to have the energy
to exploit the riches. The northern
half of the Sierras is pretty we'll pros
pected and even worked in desul
tory way; the southern half is not ev
; en- explored. The source of Kings Riv
! or, an important stream in Contra
, California, is unknown, and probabl,
Mt. Whitney, the highest mountain
in the United States, has not been Wis
tied by fifty people in twenty years
, And this in range of mountain
} which earned the state its title, Gold
} en- State.
The mineral resources of the 'Coas
/, Range are unknown, no one havin
taken the trouble to explore and pros
pect it. There are fortunes awaitin
the men who look for wealth In eithe
4 range. It will be other persons tina
] 'native sons" who will find the treas
I ure.
The lumber industry is even NOR
undeveloped than mining. 1t is pra,
tically untouched. Two or three CON
panies are engaged in numbering in th
Sierras, and perhaps half dozen i
the Coast Range; but their work
: hardly visible. For 400 miles in th
Sierras extends one vast forest of pin
fir, cedar and redwood, with occasion,
forests of Sequoias. Some of tn
It wood has been filed on as specul'
9 tion, but very little of the timber hs
q been cut. The same is true of tt
9 Coast Range. From Fort Bragg
y Crescent City, distance of 200 mile
q untouched by q railroad, one pass,
t through continual growth of gial
q redwood, ,-the second largest tree
8, the world. This strip Of forest is fro
i fifty to 100 luiles wide. It contain
n redwood, cedar, Oregon pine, fir, viii
r, and yellow pine, and many other val
It able woods. Passing into Oregon ar
q still following the coast. the same fo
% est reaches 100 miles to Coos Bay al
u 200 more to the Columbia.
= None Of this territory has been su
= veyed. It is an unknown region, wi
? and unpopulated. You must remel
!. Der, too, that this is a mountaino
= country, rich in minerals and yet wi
= hardly mine. / was passing over t
range from Crescent City to Gran
Pass in 1899, and Travelled by NJ
road just finished, the first ro
O. through that country. At one pla
he the grade opened up an eight foot ct
q. vein, and the owner OF the land secur