Year: 1879

L
cisco Chronicle, who passed over the
Sound country not long since. concludes
a lengthy article on Tacoma, its advsn-
tages, possible future, &c. as follows ::


The charter Of the Northern Pacific
Railroad Company provides for two
routes from the Eastern border OF the
Territory to Puget Sound. one being
substantially along the north bank of
the Columbia river until the western
side Of the Cascade Mountains is reach
ed and thence north: and the other in .
northwes,erly direction through some
feasible pass to tue Sound. They have
built AMI are now operating q portion
Of the first described line, namely.
from X K.lama on the Coiumbis river
10 miles below Portland, north 105
miles 20 Tacoma Another piece Of road
81 In les III leag,h, was built two years
ago from thi, place eastward up the
Puyallup Valley in the direction OF Nj.
Rainier The engine. house aud machine
shops for operating the roads are loca-
ted at the chosen terminus. Then there
are costly wharves. large warehouse or
freight depot, the hotel aforementioned,
q very substantial aud elaborate coal
wharf for loading vessels from the cars.
built upon copper'covered piles. and
pronounced the best on the Pacific
coast, and many minor evidences Of the
use of railroad money. The general
Offices Of the company for the Pacific
Division are located here. High up IN
the town stands large building erect
ed for the use Of the compaDy's Land
Commissioner. The railroad owns al
most the entire water front OF the Ia
coma side of the bay several miles in
extent, and also holds u controlling an
teres. in the Tacoma Land Company.
The land company was organized for
dealing in town lots and in lands con-
tiguous to the town, aud tends to
prospective business of many millions
HoLce, in the matter OF real estate
alone, no town on the Sound could otter
inducements of value at oil approaching
the interests of the railroad at this
point. The stock Of this land company.
other than the 81 per mt held 10y the
railr6a rs Il corporation, Is owned by
member. Of TIE railroad company lnhi
vidu.l!y. and it does not seem likely
therefore. that the terminal business OF
the road will be diverted to some other
point. But if they have in the past
been at liberty to shift about tor pur-
pose of land speculation. nature seems
t. have pronounced her fiat against it
for the future through the discovery Of
immense deposits Of bituminous coal on
the projected line eastward across the
mountains and only about thirty miles
distant from Tacoma. As bearing upon
the future prosperity Of this coast. 1t Is
not extravagant to say that no body OF
mineral, no. excepting the accursed
Comstock lode, has ever been discov-
cred equal in importance to these coal
measures The Pacific coast. and
chiefly California. now sends snnually
to the East for its iron ten millions OF
dollars. The opening Of these coal
mines will shortly stop that immense
drain, because from this coal may be
produced coke equal to the best Eng
lish coke, which sells in the market OF
San Francisco for about Sl4 per ton by
the cargo, and superior even to the
Pennsylvania coke. which is brought
by rail as far west as Eureka. New,
at a cost of S35 per ton for smelling
ores. Coke. it seems not to be gener-
ally known. is raiidly supplAStng an.
thracite coal for


SMELLING PURPOSES,


There being a saving over anthracite Of
81 on the ton of iron and the product
also being Of q better quality when
made by coke. The Importance OF this
discovery to California would seem to
Justify the use of little space in de-
scribing the location and in showing,
by com mparison with other mines. the
most remarkable veins of coal as we'll il
quality - size that have ever been de-
veloped either in England or America.
To fix approximately in the mind. with
out consulting your map. the position
of this field in relation to Tacoma, you
may imagine Puget Sonnd, or rather
the portion of it known as Admiralty
Inlet, to be = long narrow sheet Of wa.
ter having q general direction north and
south parallel to the mountain range on
the east and the ocean on the west. 90
that in regarding it from the south your
line Of vision may be imagined to
travel its entire length northward.
Commencement Bay is small arm OF
the inlet making southeastward. on the
southern shore Of which is;Tacoma. As
you stand on the water front Of Taco
ma facing the northeast there looms up
TO the right like . great sugar loaf at .
distance Of fifty miles the monster spec
trail presence Of Mount Ranier. de-
scribed by


AN ELOQUENT LOCAL STATESMAN


As clothed in a verdure OF perpetual
snow" the top Of whose highest peak
is nearly three miles abose the level of
the sea, and whose frozen sides are bur-
dened with fourteen living glaciers,
some of which are ten miles in length,
from two to four miles in width and
thousands Of feet in depth. From the
direction Of this mountain to Tacoma
flows Puyallup river, through the rich
valley and ludian Reservation Of that
name. Some sixteen miles up from
Tacoma it receives the waters OF Its
main tributary, named Carbon river.
flowing directly from and fed by gls-
cier upon the mountain. In this region
il was. TO the north and west OF the
mountain and within an hour by rail Of
Tacoma. that the upbeaval o: the Cas-.
cade range laid bare the groupings OF