The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1906-06-03
and Its Famous
nous Or
chards.
By Frank G. Carpenter.

i Dispatch.)
HENATcHEE.
Tor the past week / have been moving
about through different parts or the In
land empire. entered 1t from British
Columbia by the Great Northern Rail-
way going first TO Spokane. From there
! Travelled both east and west; and am
now here on the Columbia River, IN the
Big Bend country, at Wcnatchce, IN the
Wcnatchce Valley.
Our Inland Empire.
! despair OF giving you an ADEQUATE
conception OF this part OF the United
States. The inland empire was 10 large
extent n desert until a few years ago;
now 1t is only In the northwest hat the
! people have begun to appreciate It's value.
The Formation is 30 curious that ono
should Sc. It for himself TO properly
know It. In brief. It includes the vast
region lying between the Bitter Hoot
and Cascade mountains, which rs orhlEeo
a by the Columbia River and It's tributaries.
1t comprises most Of Idaho ana a iarkc
part OF eastern Washington ana oregon.
Il EQUALS In extent all OF the New Eng
lard states. together with New York.
New Jersey, pennsylvania and Mary
land. and It has millions o: acres which
are yet to be settled
This territory was once vast sea, al
most one fourth the size OF the Onllea
States proper. 1t Is more than seven nun 1,,
dred miles wide and O thousand mi,es
long. 1t was penncd In by the MOI n,ain MS,
and it's waters rose until they hnhiiy
broke out through the canyons Wh'ch
now form parts OF the Snake and Column
hin River valleys. They cut their way
down to a depth OF 2,coo feet, and draineo
the sea, leaving an immense plain OF
alluyial soil 1900 feet above the Level OF
the ocean.
Lava and Volcanic Ash.
This SOIL OF the inland empire Is made
OF the dropping OF slit washed down from from
the mountains. and in addition vas.
amount OF volcanic ash. Ashes are one OF
tile best fertilizers known. Those mace
from Canada hardwood are now selling
TO farmers for SO a ton. They are used
largely for orchards and grain raising.
and they form n food for the land which
Will sat for many years. The inland en-
rjre has the same constituents IN Its soll;
but i,s ashes come from the volcanoes.
In crossing the Big Ben country saw
lava everywhere. In some places Inc
plains are covered with It and IN others
II & rises into bluffs and broken frag-
ments streaked with sulphur. Along the
columbia river there are streams OF lava
which look as though the molten mass
had hardened as II rusnes against t ne
wind In other places It had turned 70!
gravel. and again it has split up into
angular shaped rocks OF even size. look
Ing for all the world ns though IT haa
been run through stone crus her 70
make paving material
1T is hard II imIg!ne more desolale'
thirsty land than this. when undeveloPeu
There are no trees, no green bushes ana
all is bleako and bare. II is oeselt
and no one would imagine that II Wonla
raise enough to feed a jack rnpoit. s1!i!
right in the midst Of such territory Vast
wheat fields are now TO be seen There
are patches OF green eyery"he'e; , arms
have grown up In the midst OF bieakness
and the desert itself Is yielding forty
md more bushels OF wheat TO the acre.
AZ 7 passed through on the railroad q
saw many ragged little sta atoms OF wood
en- one-story buildings. The only large
structures In them were wheat sheds
and elevators, with here and there q hour
mill These sheds are filled with grain
at the time of harvest they VIII NOT
hold the crop and the overflow IS stacked
up in bags outside. The inland empire
is now producing something IKE ooueV',D
bushels Of wheat in one year, and still
the Big Zen country has been hardly
touched The State Of Washington alone
nrod,,ced 80. 900, 600 bushels last year, and
: the prospect is that 1t Will do letter
this.
The New Lands Of the West.
have been writing considerable about
Canada and its wheat belt. The canucks
have an empire yet to develop. and they
think that Uncle Sam has reached the
maximum OF his farming possibilities
There was never q greater mistake. We
are discovering new lands every year.
and some OF the best parts OF our coun-
try arc yet to be reclaimed.
a great deal OF the Big Bend region can
be farmcd without irrigation. and there
are reclamation projects on hand which
Will redeem millions or acres This very
land through which have been riding
could have been bought about decade
ago for five or ten cents an acre. The
Northern Pacific Railroad Company owned
a vast quantity Of It, consisting OF al
ternate sections for fifty mills along its
track, It had the lands examined by
scientific experts and on the basis OF
their representation great deal OF the
concession went for a song The same
lands are now worth twenty dollars and
upward per acre. They are producing
wheat and 1t Is believed they will con-