Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1910-07-07
MORE ABOUT WASHINGTON.
BY A. DECKER


Editor Reporter" Dear Sir: Last
week We travelled along the month
bank of the Columbia river from the
ocean for 250 miles. From Contra
liza east We made an automobile trip,
travelling 80 miles, more than half
the way over a good plank road Just
wide enough for the automobile to
pass between the large trees. There
send ito b no end to the vast amount
OF timber. 1t would average about
70 trees to the acre and from 5000
20 5000 feet to the tree This forest
was so dense that there was little
growth of shrub or grass. The still
ness seemed almost oppressive There
seems to- he no birds or animals in
much of this dense forest. But lit
the of this country was settled and
the few farms that We found were
dairy farms, each well provided with
nice lot of fruit. We took in the
Rose Carnival at Portland. The eIec
tr1c parade was the finest | ever saw
anywhere.
| am now writing up this country
around Grays Harbor and it is, the
most interesting part of Washing
ton that / have yet found. There
is about $4,000 people living in these
two or three little cities and along
the Harbor and there is not five per
cent of the food consumed raised here
yet this is one of the very best poina
| ever saw in my life for small truck
farming, poultry and dairy industry.
Eggs have brought 35c per dozen all
The season, and often go to SOC But
ter is 45c a pound and milk TIC a
quart. There is a carload of con
densed milk shipped in here about
once a week and a carload of eggs
comes from Omaha nearly every
week.
There are q thousand vessels en-
terlng this harbor every year and of
this number 3S are regular coast trad
ers. They bring in vegetables and
provisions of all kinds and take out
lumber. | never saw any soil that
would produce hay, vegetables and
small fruits better than this 1t
is mostly clay soil and just as good
VS. the. top of the hills as in the
valley.
Any man with little capital and
a good supply of. common sense can
take five acres of this land that can
be purchased for from $50 to $50 an
acre and if he has capital enough TO
buy 100 hens and four good cows he
is quite sure of not only good
living but a good bank account in a
few years. The great drawback to
this country lis the rainy season and
just how far that extends into the
summer I am unable to state. 1t
has rained about every other day,
more or less, for the past two or
three weeks and there is much cloud
weather. We have had or have
needed at least, heat in our room
nearly every day this month. Here
ON Grays Harbor We have steam in
the room not only morning and night
but during the day. 1t takes some
little time to get accustomed to
this climate and for the first three
or six months here one is quite apt
to feel the cold more than in Wiscon-
sin. In looking over the Government
weather report l find that they had
here 26s4 inches of rain in the month
of November and about Is or Is in.
month in December, January and
February, but in spite of all of that
it is one of the most prosperous
countries 1 ever visited and one hold
ing out the best opportunities to
the poor man to get a start in the
WOl OOluI1HluH w cSoSho CliS TA'OO pC1
day and carpenters get from 81 to
$3.50 for eight hours. Anyone, man
or woman, young or old, can find
employment here. Fuel is cheap, 81.
for a large load of 16 inch wood.
House rent about the same as Grand
Rapids Potatoes are worth 81 a hun
dred pounds. Meat lis rather expen-
sive, there is little produced here.
Have seen many cows and they
are universally in fine condition and
of high grade. The draught horses
are the best I have seen anywhere
accept i'm Northwestern Canada. This
section lis settled quite largely by
people from the lumber regions of
Michigan and Wisconsin. There is
$16,50O paid in wages every working
day of the year to the men in the
mills of this one city of Aberdeen.
The fishing industry lis quite an item
here. Over million dollars has bee
paid out in the past few years to the
fisherman alone, and a modern can
merry is quite a sight.
The people one meets here in this
Pacific Coast country especially the
business men and the people in of
fices and stores are above the aver
age for push and progress. The Com
mercial Club of this little city spent
$50 900 last year in advertising this
city and its surroundings. This Club
took Mrs. Decker and myself on a
nice automobile ride yesterday along
the bay. We go to Hoquiam this af-
ternoon and there take an automobile
and go out in the heavy timber to
learn something about their methods
of logging, and if l find anything of
special interest will report it to you.
DECK KEyP