The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1909-09-08
THE VALLEY OF THE FRASER.
Railroad Rivalry to Possess the Land
A Dairymen's Paradise.
Sumas, Wash, Aug. %, 1909

Two weeks residence Is hardlA
time enough to find out all about /;
country so entirely different from
southwest Minnesota as is the Paci
fic coast country near the Canadian
boundary. | shall only attempt tt
tell of some Of my experiences anc
observations here.
Sumas owes most of its importance
to the fact that it is an entry point
between British Columbia and the
United States. Here the Canadian
Pacific and 500 trains tarry long
enough for formal inspection of ex-
press, baggage and merchandise in
the search for dutiable articles, and
90 on to Seattle over the tracks of
the Northern Pacific. The valley of
the Fraser river has already become
fighting ground for rival railroad
companies who do not take it for
granted that the &C. P. r." as the
natives call the great corporation
which now seeks control of the traf-
fic of this region, shall have the en-
tire carrying trade, without dividing
with other lines. The Hill system
(the Great Northern) already has
line Of railroad completed on the
south side of the Fraser valley as
far east as Sumas, but is not yet
running trains that far. AS sort
of checkmate. an electric line is
under construction out of Vancouver
on the south side of the Fraser river
through Sumas, and eastward to con-
meet with the Canadian Pacific, on
the north side of the Fraser about
forty miles east of Sumas. at Chilu-
wakyuk. The mere fact that three
different transportation lines are al
ready paralelling the rather narrow
valley of the Fraser, with a fourth
line running out of Bellingham and
now constructed as far east as Mt
Baker, which is in the same county
as Sumas, is evidence of the import
ance of the traffic through this par
ticular gateway to the Pacific.
numbering is the great leading in
dustry and every shipping station
has from one to dozen single mills
while most of the logs go to the
saw mills along the coast. Less
than ten per cent of the big county
of Whatcom, extending about
eighty miles east and west, is looked
upon as agricultural land Most of
this has a splendid soil for grass
crops especially. and the gilt-edge
prices paid for dairy products and
hay make fodder crops the leading
features. Apples, cherries, plums
and pears are easily grown here, as
we'll as small fruits, but as yet not |
much attention has been given to
fruit growing for the markets. But
the money that a good cow brings
to its owner here is surprising. One
hundred dollars year per COW is
not unusual, and the head of a dairy
firm milking fifty cows told me that
their sales last year averaged ninety
four dollars per cow for the herd.
Last Sunday my cousin took me
for a ride about seven miles north
of Sumas to look over new dairy
farm called the HYGIENE Dairy.
The drive over the mountain road
through the woods of tall fir, cedar
and hemlock trees. with their taper
lug columns running 200 feet or
more skyward. was a delight. Con-
trary to expectation, the mountain
roads were better than those in the
valley. There was no annoying dust
or nerve-racking "puncheon" or
corduroy stretches here, but for the
best part of the drive, the forest
primeyal. desecrated only in occa-
sional stretches by the ak of the log
ger. The HYGIENE dairy farm is
controlled by a Vancouver corpora
ton, which is putting in an equip
ment that is likely to cost 100000,
counting in the $4,000 paid for a
section of fine valley land. Here
the foreman showed us the build
ings already completed, including
the main officers and storage rooms,
equipped with powerful steam en-
gines for running large creamery
plant, ice machine, dynamo for cleo
trio lighting and power transmission,