The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1904-01-13
Letter From Washington .

ORIN, Stevens Co., Wash. Dec. 2S, 1908.
DEAR FRIENDS:
AS l had promised to write to you and
let you know what kind of a place the
West is l have been here since March and
find it one of the finest countries. We
are having lovely weather here now,
about a foot of snow and you can work
all day without a coat on. That beats
Penna., now | tell you.
About the lumber woods: There is fine
timber here and lots of it. 1 have taken
up a timber claim aud a homestead of 100
acres of land heavily timbered. 1t is a
good farming country and finer fruit is
raised thar / ever saw back East and
there is plenty of it. We haye nice ripe
apples all summer. Potatoes are 60 cents
per 100 lbs, apples SOC for a box holding
about a bushel you don't buy by the
bushel here, everything by the pound
groceries and dry goods are about the
same here as back there, but anything
raised here is cheap. Horses are very
~cheap-ponies from S. 10 $25. Cows are
high. have a fine saddle pony for $25.
They ride mostly on horseback here.
As to game, there are lots of deer and
bear and birds. 1 went out n day and
killed two deer in three hours. Birds are
very plenty. They hunt deer all summe
here. There are plenty of fish of all
kinds. The river is about five rods from
my house and l can go down and get a
big mess of the finest kind of trout in an
hour or so. Not the little brook trout
like you rave there, but large fish. There
are some wild animals. Coyotes are
plenty and it would make your hair
stand on end to hear them bowling at
night. Cougars are plenty. This a fine
hunting country and a very healthy
place.
Now comes its draw backs as we'll as
its good qualities. We have no fuel here
except wood. All the cities use wood.
We have no gas or oil wells here. Coll
willie City is three miles from here. 1t
has about 1900 inhabitants and only two
doctors. We need good eastern doctors
to locate out here. 1t would surprise you
folks if you knew now the doctors charge
here. an eastern doctor would do well
here, and also a dentist. We pay 81 to
get a tooth extracted and only by a trav-
cling dentist. And we are in need of a
grist mill and saw mills; there are no
Single mills here, and some very fine
timber for shingle mills. They don't
have corn nor buck wheat here and in the
spring, potatoes are so plenty they just
give them away instead of shipping. This
part of the West is far better for farming
or timber, than Pennsylvania.
All laboring people get good wages.
Carpenters arc scarce and get big pay,
and working girls get s. a week. / made
S. and So a day all summer.
The Journey out is just grand. o
see some OF the %grandest sights and seem
ery and crossing the Rocky Mountains is
the grandest sight / ever Jaw. And then,
what is one of the best things for a Forest
county man to enjoy is, no punkies, no
such a thing as mad dogs.
| nearly forgot to tell you about the
town I live in. 1t is a large place, rail
road goes through here and the river runs
through here, and a large band mill man
ufactures about 80, 600 feet of lumber a day
and it is not in the woods. They run the
logs by water about ten miles. The river
is not frozen over yet, so you know we
have some fine weather.
WEBSTER N. UNDERWOOD.