A Report on Washington Territory

TOPOGRAPHY OF WASHINGTON TERRITORY.

Washington Territory will make one of the largest States of the Union. It is larger than England and Wales combined, as will be seen by the following table:

The shape of the Territory is regular, having the general form of a parallelogram, with its longer axis running east and west. Its relief is simple. Along the Pacific coast runs the Coast Range of mountains from the mouth of the Columbia River to the Straits of Juan de Fuca. In this range there is only one practicable opening from the interior, which is the trough of the Chehalis River, which terminates in Gray's Harbor. The bar here, as at the mouth of Columbia River, forms a serious obstruction to the entrance of vessels drawing more than twenty feet of water.

Sixty miles east of the Coast Range, and parallel to it, runs the Cascade Range, which divides the Territory by a north and south line. It is a lofty range, presenting a serrated outline, whose lower depressions are 3,000 to 4,000 feet above tide, while summits of 5,000 to 8,000 feet are common; and at intervals still higher peaks raise their snow-covered heads from 8,000 to 14,500 feet.

Between the Cascade Mountains and the Coast Range lies Puget Sound, with its outlet through the Strait of Fuca. South of this sound, and on each side, are wide spaces of flat and rolling country, with numerous and somewhat disconnected mountains of comparatively small size, though some of them rise as high as 1,500 feet. These mountains show many natural terraces, which may be the result of land-slides.

Puget Sound.The Puget Sound basin is exceedingly well supplied with streams and lakes; whilst the Sound itself, with its sheltered position, its deep water, and indented shore-line, is one of the most interesting and valuable inland bodies of water in the world. It has a broad outlet to the ocean. Lake WashingtonLake Washington. is a beautiful and navigable sheet of water. There are numerous other lakes scattered over the Territory, enlivening its scenery and often affording convenient waterways. Quite a number of the rivers emptying into Puget Sound are partially navigable for small steamers. The rivers and creeks generally have bottom-lands, which are sometimes narrow, and sometimes wide. Cowlitz River flows south into the Columbia River. It has fine bottom-lands, and its valley may be regarded as a prolongation and complement of the Willamette Valley, Oregon.

West Washington and East Washington.All the country lying west of the crest-line of the Cascade Mountains is known as West Washington, and is quite different in topography, as in many other respects, from the country known as East Washington, which name applies to all of the Territory lying east of the Cascade axis.

East Washington is a rectangular plateau, set in a frame of mountains, and drained by the Columbia River and its tributaries. The Cascade Range being the west side of the frame, the north side is formed by irregular spurs which run out at right angles from the Cascade Mountains along the Canada border, and connect with the Cabinet Mountains. The east side of the frame is in Idaho, and consists chiefly of the Cœur d'Alene Mountains. On the south lie the Blue Mountains, which are partly in Washington Territory, but chiefly in Oregon. The mountains on the north have a few peaks 5,000 to 9,000 feet high, and many of the dividing ridges are high, steep and rugged. Much of the region is described, however, as high plateau country, dotted over with small, conical mountains. It abounds in streams of water, generally small. A strip of arable land runs on the east side of the Columbia River from the mouth of the Spokane River to the mouth of the Colville River and the valleys of Colville and the Little Spokane River are highly spoken of as agricultural regions. The elevation of these river valleys is from 1,200 to 1,600 feet above tide-water.

Passing to the east side, we find the plateau country at its north corner extending to the Idaho line where the foot-hills of the Rocky Mountains begin, and soon rise into the Cœur d'Alene Mountains.Cœur d'Alene Mountains, which—being the local name for part of the Bitter Root Range—is a part of the western branch of the Rocky Mountains. The Cœur d'Alene River and Lake belong to the Columbia River basin, and are so naturally connected in mining and trading interests with Washington Territory, that in another connection I shall have much to say of the Cœur d'Alene country, as also of the Colville country, and other parts of the mountain rim. South of the Cœur d'Alene Lake the plateau country extends far into Idaho, and gives to that State its best farming lands.

The Blue Mountains which mark the southern limit of the plateau in Washington Territory do not extend more than half-way across the plain, leaving a long projection of the plateau to extend southward into Oregon.

The Great Plateau.The shape of the plateau in Washington Territory is an irregular square with a diameter each way of about 150 miles. Followed into Idaho and Oregon, the diameters would reach 200 miles. Its surface is generally smooth, but there are frequent patches of rock, and sometimes large areas are roughened by rocky outcrops. The plateau is elevated and rolling, rising from 1,000 to 3,000 feet above the surface of Columbia River. Its elevations usually are mere swells, except along the precipitous edges of coulées. I know of only one mountain upon it, and that is quite a small one; but it served as a refuge for Lieutenant Steptoe and his handful of soldiers when attacked by the Indians; and hence is called Steptoe Butte. The surface of the plain is scarred in a number of places with couléesCoulées., or dry river-beds, which are cut down twenty to one hundred feet, and sometimes more, and their sides are usually marked by bluffs, often of rock. These coulées are an advantage, or a disadvantage, in road-making, according to whether the road goes with, or across, the coulée. The Northern Pacific Railroad found it convenient to use one of them for a long distance. The deepest cuts in the plateau are made by its rivers. Of these the Columbia is chief. This river, as already intimated, has cut a channel for itself along the north and west edge of the plain from 1,000 to 2,000 feet below the general level. The Snake River, which is the largest affluent of the Columbia, has numerous branches, all cut deep into the basalt which underlies the plain.

Columbia and Snake Rivers.The Columbia and Snake are both steamboat rivers, but navigation is interrupted by rocky rapids, which prevent through lines of steamers. The Columbia is one of the largest rivers in the world, and has abundant water for steamboats from its mouth to a point in Canada, north of Farwell, where it is crossed by the Canadian Pacific Railway, and steamboats run at intervals to the most northerly point; and there are navigable stretches not yet used for boats which will have steamers in connection with future railroads. The steamers on Snake River are very useful, and run to Lewiston, in Idaho, and perhaps further.

This plateau, or Great Plain of the Columbia, as it is called sometimes, is a most interesting and important region, concerning which I shall have much to say under subsequent heads.

ALTITUDES IN WASHINGTON TERRITORY.

CLIMATE.

The Climate of Washington Territory.Climate is a matter of temperature, moisture and atmospheric dynamics. The general law of temperature is that the farther north the colder the weather; and yet currents of water and prevailing winds may give to the country a climate geographically belonging to quite a different latitude. We know how this is with England, which, judged by latitude, ought to be colder than Maine, but which, in fact, has one of the mildest and most equable climates in the world. England is farther north than Washington Territory, which latter is in the latitude of France; but it is also in the latitude of Montana, Dakota and Maine, States remarkable for sudden changes and for terrible cold. But it is well known that our Pacific States, at least on their western borders, have a temperature free from extremes in both summer and winter. Taking July and January as the hottest and coldest months, it will be found that the average temperature at San Francisco and Puget Sound is from 7° to 14° cooler than it is in the Rocky Mountains and in New England during the same months. And on the other hand, taking January as the coldest month, we find that Bismarck, Denver, New England, etc., are 30° to 40° colder than the points on the Pacific. In other words, that the range of the thermometer between extremes averages near 50° more in the East than it does in the West in the localities named; a very great difference when we consider comfort, health, cost of living, and opportunity to labor in the open air.

Mild and equable.This greater mildness and equability of temperature on the Pacific Coast is to be ascribed to the winds and currents of the great ocean. During the summer the winds come from the northwest, and during the winter from the southwest and south. Much influence in tempering the cold of winter is ascribed also to the Japan Current, mentioned under a former head. It does for the Pacific Coast what the Gulf Stream does for England.

The same causes regulate also the rainfall on the Pacific Coast. In one respect there is the same peculiarity along the whole coast, namely, dry summers and, comparatively, wet winters. There is, however, a gradual increase in the amount of rainfall northward from San Diego to Sitka; so that when we reach Washington Territory we do not find the excessive dryness which characterizes the summer climate of California.

The figures of different authorities do not agree exactly as toRainfall. the precipitation on the Pacific Coast: for example, in the older volume on Rain Tables, published by the Smithsonian Institution, the annual rainfall and melted snow on Puget Sound, measured at Steilacoom, near Olympia, from 1849 to 1867, amounted to 43.98 inches. Governor Semple, however, gives from Sergeant McGovern, in charge of the station, a total of 53.89 inches annually, measured at Olympia from 1878 to 1886. But I find in the report of the chief signal officer to the War Department for 1884, that the average from July 1, 1877, to December, 1883, for Olympia, was 62.81 inches. This difference of nine inches is partly accounted for by the fact that the precipitation in the subsequent years not included in the report of the Signal Service Bureau, namely, 1884, 1885 and 1886, averaged only 41.88 inches, which would, in great measure, relieve the discrepancy. It will probably turn out on further observation that 53 inches is about the total annual rainfall for Puget Sound. But according to the report of the chief signal officer for 1884, we have the following annual totals: San Diego, 9.40; San Francisco, 23.32; Portland, Oregon, 54.16; Puget Sound, 62.81; Sitka, Alaska, 97.28 inches.

Comparing these with points farther east, we have Bismarck, Dakota, 21.35; Denver, 14.97; Sandusky, Ohio, 41.43; New Haven, Connecticut, 51.55; Norfolk, Virginia, 52.14 inches.

The value of rainfall depends more on its distribution among the months than on its annual aggregate. England has but 25 inches rain per annum, but it comes at such times as makes it most effective. The rains on the Pacific Coast are not distributed in the most favorable way for agriculture—the summers being too dry. At San Diego there is less than one-third of an inch in the three summer months, and still less at San Francisco. On Puget Sound, for that time, the fall is 2.57. In Washington Territory the spring rains are as abundant as in the Atlantic States, and the summer breezes seem laden with moisture.

No blizzards or cyclones.In respect to cold waves, winds and storms, Washington Territory is singularly favored. There is nothing to correspond with the blizzards, northers, hurricanes and cyclones which trouble some other States. Even ordinary thunder-storms are rare. The climate of East WashingtonDifferences between East and West Washington. is different from that of West Washington, and yet, when compared with that of Montana and Dakota, it will be seen that it is really transitional and intermediate between the climates on each side. The range of thermometer from the heat of July to the cold of January is, at Bismarck, 65°; at Spokane Falls, 45°, and on Puget Sound, 22°. And, in like manner, the amount of rain is intermediate between the heavy rainfall of the Sound and the lighter rains of the Rocky Mountain country. The explanation of this is, that while the Cascade Range, like all high mountains, condenses the moisture of the air on the windward side and changes its temperature, yet this range is not sufficiently high and cold to have the effect of the Himalayas or the Andes in depriving the leeward lands of rain.

The mountain rim of the plateau country has not the moisture which distinguishes the west side of the Cascade, and it varies in its amount at different places.

Some statements have already been made in reference to the dryness and summer heat of the Yakima Valley on the east flank of the main mountain. The mountains running along the Canada line have probably a better summer climate than the east side of the main mountain. I do not know how it is with the Cœur d'Alene and Blue Mountains, but the climate of the plateau has no unusual character in the matter of temperature. Half of the States of the Union have as great or greater extremes; but the plateau has less than half the precipitation of Puget Sound, as shown in the tables given on pages 56 and 57. And the rainfall in the summer is so scant that one would not, a priori, expect any form of vegetation to progress at all. These meteorological phenomena render almost unaccountable the facts of agriculture, which will be given hereafter.

Chinook wind.The Chinook wind, which springs up in winter and melts the snow on the plateau, and to some extent in the mountains, is simply a southerly wind, such as is common in the Mississippi Valley and even on the Atlantic seaboard. In the Pacific States it does not, from the descriptions, appear to differ from the breezes of the coast, except in its greater strength and steadiness. I heard an intelligent gentleman, residing in Spokane Falls, say that he thought the Chinook was a disadvantage in winter, as it caused a disagreeable thaw, and so relaxed the human system as to render it more sensitive to cold; but generally the Chinook is enjoyed in East Washington.

SOILS.

Soils all fertile.The arable soils of Washington Territory, so far as I could see, or otherwise learn, may be classified as follows, to wit: a. Humus; b. Alluvium; c. Drift; d. Loam; e. Basalt.

a. Humus. In West Washington the whole country is top-dressed with vegetable mould, derived obviously from the heavy growth which has covered the surface for ages. Of course there are bare spots, and where the growth has been light, the top-dressing is thin; but the mountain sides, the hills, and notably the low grounds, are overlaid from one to ten inches, and often much more, with this vegetable mould.

TABLE SHOWING THE MEANS OF THE DAILY MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM TEMPERATURES IN DEGREES FAHRENHEIT.

The Means are obtained by dividing the sum of the daily readings of the Maximum and Minimum Self-registering Thermometers by the number of days in the month.

TABLE SHOWING THE AVERAGE PRECIPITATION AT STATIONS OF THE SIGNAL SERVICE,

Computed from the Commencement of Observations at each, to and including December, 1883.

TAKEN FROM THE REPORT OF THE CHIEF SIGNAL OFFICER TO THE WAR DEPARTMENT FOR 1884.

b. Alluvium. This includes the transported matter of the bottom-lands, the swales, and the tidal flats. Here we have humus, not only as a top-dressing, but also intermixed, and sometimes constituting a large proportion of the soil for a considerable depth. No land could be richer than this, and its relative proportion to the whole is larger than would be inferred even from the great number of streams, for it includes the lowlands about Puget Sound and the lakes. The mountain streams have, with some exceptions, but little alluvial land. There are areas of swale, or wet bottom-lands, which may be drained to advantage. The tidal flats along the Sound are peculiarly fertile, because enriched by both vegetable and animal matter, including calcareous shells and fish bones. Owing to this great fertility, and the ease with which large areas are reclaimed by dykes, their convenience to transportation, and, it may be added, the labor of clearing the forest lands, the work of dyking these flats has been commenced, especially in Snohomish and Skagit counties, and it is thought that two hundred thousand acres may thus be redeemed from the water. Alluvial lands constitute but a small feature in East Washington.

c. Drift. The origin of these gravel soils is given hereafter, under the head of Geology. They constitute the hill lands, as distinguished from the bottom lands and Sound flats on the one hand, and the mountain lands on the other. They are composed of sand, clay, gravel, and some large boulders. Rarely the gravel predominates so as to render the land unfit for cultivation. Sometimes there are only clay and sand, and sometimes chiefly clay. This soil, though not equal to the alluvium, or to the basaltic land, is much better than glacial precipitate usually is. It gave all the indications of a fertile soil, resembling the best hay lands of Massachusetts, which have the same glacial origin. Its natural growth is luxuriant, and when cleared it inclines to clothe itself in white clover and the grasses. It is said to be specially adapted to fruits and vegetables.

d. Loam. I mean by this a clay soil containing fine-grained sand enough to make it friable. This is the soil made by the slates and sandstones of the coal measures, and is generally found on the highlands above the drift. It is a medium land as to quality, but valuable for the tendency to grass, which characterizes all the lands of West Washington. Much of it will make good cropping land. There is a great deal of it. It is found high on the cretaceous hills and mountains, often extending to the top.

e.A remarkable soil. Basalt. This is the magic soil of the Great Plain (or plateau) of the Columbia. And it is found also in large areas on the Cascade Mountains. It has an ashy look and texture; sometimes black, but generally of ashen hue. Rarely it is compact and clayey. There are perhaps twenty thousand square miles of this basaltic land; enough of itself to make a medium-sized State. Of course there are inequalities in the productiveness of this land. The basaltic rock in many places crops out, as mentioned under the head of Topography, and there are coulées and galled spots. I cannot say what proportion of the surface is rendered valueless by these irregularities. The outcropping basalt does not destroy the value of the land; for the soil spaces between the rocks may be greater than the rock spaces, and whilst unfit for the plough, they may be suited to trees, or cattle range. But, judging by all that I saw and heard, I should think that the smooth land considerably predominates over the rough. Certainly there is more smooth, comparatively level, fertile, productive, and easily cultivated land here in proportion to the whole area than I have ever seen elsewhere. The great plain of East Colorado is a vast and beautiful stretch of country, but it is unproductive without irrigation. Taking everything into consideration, the plateau of East Washington seems to me to be unequaled in combined extent and productiveness.

This subject of soils will be incidentally continued in connection with the next two heads.

NATURAL VEGETATION.

Vast vegetation.Here the two sides of the Cascade Mountains must again, as under other heads, be considered separately. The natural vegetation of the west side is vast rather than varied. Wherever the sun touches the ground, one may expect to see grass; chiefly white clover and green sward, which seem to be indigenous to the country. There are, of course, many herbs and shrubs which need not be mentioned in a report like this. The ferns of the Snoqualmie bottoms, for size, remind one of the tree ferns of the carboniferous period, though, of course, not so large. Many of them were seven feet high, which is five feet higher than I ever saw elsewhere. The Sal-al is a low shrub, almost herbaceous, and semi-procumbent, of brown foliage, bearing a berry and belonging to the wintergreen family, though much larger than the wintergreen of the Alleghenies. The Sal-al abounds on the little prairie which bears its name. The mosses are most abundant and luxuriant in the deep, moist shades of the evergreen forests, and I noticed that the Cayuse ponies fed upon them as eagerly as reindeer upon the Iceland mosses.

Deciduous trees.Deciduous trees are rare, but not wholly wanting. The cottonwood grows to rather extra size. The alder, which is only a large bush in the Alleghenies, here becomes a tree, perhaps thirty feet high. I saw some small maples. It is said that there are groves of oak and maple of sufficient size to cut for lumber.

Larch.The Larch (tamarack) is interspersed among the evergreens on the Cascade Mountains, and attains good size. The American larch is rather more slender in habit than the European variety, but it has a heavy, close-grained wood, and is regarded as specially suited for railroad ties—an important point in this country. It is also reported to make durable fence-posts and ground sills. In Europe its bark is valued for tanning next to oak bark, and the two are used together. The Venice turpentine comes from the resinous sap of the larch. The older trees are better than the younger ones for durability. But with regard to this class of trees, results depend much on incidental circumstances. Larch is one of the woods used in Europe for making gas. These are the only deciduous trees I know of in Washington Territory, except fruit trees.

Extraordinary evergreen forests.Evergreens constitute the bulk of the great forests, and I shall name these in the order of their importance: Douglas (or red) fir, white cedar, hemlock spruce, white pine, balsam (or white) fir and yew.

Douglas fir, or Oregon pine.The Douglas Fir constitutes the greater part of the forests, but not so large a proportion as seven-eighths, as stated in the Census report, but more than one-third, which is the proportion given in Hough's Forestry Report. The wood of this tree is yellow when young, and hence some persons make two varieties out of the same tree. When older, it becomes an orange color, but not red like the heart of the sweet gum and red cedar. It is, however, usually called the red fir. The tree yields a clear yellow resin, which is not at present collected. Its timber is of the best quality, greatly superior to that of the fir tribe generally, probably superior to that of any other fir-tree in the world. The firs shade into each other by an almost insensible gradation, and are much modified by soil and climate, and names have been multiplied unnecessarily. The fir, like the larch, must be studied in each locality in order to determine its value. The firs of Sweden and Norway make good masts and spars, and soft, light boards; but the boards are apt to split and are not strong enough for ship-work. But the timber of the Douglas fir is heavy, strong and firm, and well suited toThe best of ship timber. ship-building, as has been abundantly demonstrated on Puget Sound. For all ordinary building purposes this timber has a world-wide reputation. It is often called the "Oregon Pine." Its growth as a tree is luxuriant on good soil, and often gigantic. I saw many single specimens which I estimated at 300 feet in height and 10 to 12 feet in diameter. When disconnected, they have the usual conical shape of the firs, with limbs branching from the ground, but it is rare to see such specimens in Washington Territory, as the forests are so dense there is no room for limbs, except near the top. The trunks stand as straight and regular as posts set with a plumb-line. This crowding often prevents the full development of the trunk also, except on the most moist and fertile lands. The absence of lower branches insures a great length of lumber free from knots.

White cedar.The White Cedar is a variety of the well-known arbor vitæ of the Eastern States, but there is a wonderful difference in the size and habits of the tree on the two sides of the Continent. On the Atlantic side it may, under very favorable circumstances, reach fifty feet in height, but usually it is dwarfish and crooked. But in Washington Territory the white cedar is the peer of the Douglas fir,Beautiful house lumber. and its largest specimens perhaps exceed the latter somewhat in diameter. It is also next in abundance and value. Its wood is soft, light and cream-colored. It splits with remarkable ease and regularity, so that the pioneer with axe and frow can prepare all the timbers needed for his house. For shingles it is fully equal to its congener, the cypress; and for house-facings and some kinds of furniture it is the favorite wood.

Hemlock spruce.Hemlock Spruce is not so abundant, but it constitutes a noticeable element in the Snoqualmie Valley forests. It seems to be exactly the same tree which so abounds in our Eastern and Northern Lake States, and is common in the moist valleys all along the Appalachian Mountains. It is called hemlock in the Northern States, and spruce in the Southern. Its wood, though unsuited for many purposes, is largely used in the North for the frames of cheapTanners wanted. buildings and also for fencing-plank, and its bark is in great demand for tanning, especially for making the red sole leather. It is also used for tanning upper leather and calf-skins, though its light leather is not so good as that made from the oak barks. The hemlock bark has not been considered quite equal to the chestnut-oak (or rock oak) bark for any tanning purposes, but in Virginia the price is usually the same. It certainly makes good sole leather. The logger in Washington Territory neglects this tree, and there are no tanneries yet to call for it, but this will soon be changed, and the hemlock will take its position, not only as the most beautiful of the evergreens, but as among the most useful. This tree does not attain as great size as the two above mentioned, but I observed many specimens ranging from four to five feet in diameter.

White pine.The general character of the White Pine is well known. I saw but a few of them, and they not specially good. I doubt whether this tree forms an important feature in these forests.

Balsam fir.The Balsam (or White) Fir abounds on the higher slopes of the Cascade Mountains, and it is so balsamic that it will receive attention from the collectors of "Canada Balsam," which is becoming increasingly popular for many purposes,Large supply of Canada Balsam. especially in mounting specimens for the microscope. Such forests as lie near the Snoqualmie Pass will not long remain unnoticed. The wood is white and easily worked, but the trees do not rank in size or value with those previously mentioned.

The yew.The Yew is found sparingly on the mountain heights; but, though interesting, it seems to have no economic value.

As to the extent of these evergreen forests, they may be said to cover West Washington with almost unbroken continuity, though they vary in density and the size of the trees, some tracts containing little or no mill-timber. In my The superior timber of Snoqualmie Valley. travels, which were, of course, quite limited, I saw no forests which answered the usual unqualified descriptions, except in the Snoqualmie Valley, and here they far exceeded my expectation, as will be shown in the detailed description, given hereafter, of the country lying along the line of the Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern Railway. The finest forests lie between Puget Sound and the crest of the Cascade Mountains, though even in this area there are variations. And after all the chopping and sawing—of which more will be told later—the forests as yet show but little diminution.

East of the Cascade Range the forests are smaller, and confined to the mountain sides. There are some narrow belts of pine along the northern edge of the Great Plain of the Columbia, which furnish a little lumber for local uses; but these will soon be worked out. The mountain rim lying along the Canada line is said to be covered with forest, some of it heavy. The Douglas Fir, the Yellow Pine, the White Pine, and the Larch are all to be found there. There are also skirts of the same timber along the Spokane River. And, at wide intervals, there are strips and bunches of scrubby yellow pine on the Great Plain, which is, however, generally treeless.

The spurs and ridges of the Blue Mountains are thinly covered with small pines and larches. There are some areas of mill-timber on the east and southeast flanks of the Cascade Mountains.

The flora of the great plateau presents a strange appearance to the traveler. The vegetation is short and scanty, the chief growth being the "sage-brush," a dwarfish, dead-looking shrub, with a hard, crooked stem, of no value as forage, but which is sometimes used for fuel when nothing else is to be had. There are said to be some medicinal, and also some edible, plants; but the only thing of any value is the dry, thin, short, bunch grass which furnishes a fattening food for horses and cattle; though many acres are required to support an animal,Range for horses and cattle. and close grazing is rapidly destroying this resource. Indeed, the tract is so barren and desert-like in appearance that in the geographies of my boyhood it was put down as a part of the Great American Desert. And yet, as will be seen hereafter, this is probably the most productive upland in America.

LUMBERING.

Lumbering was the first industry of Washington Territory. Even food was imported for a time. Logging began on Puget Sound, and went up such streams as afforded transportation and water-power. Steam-power soon became the chief reliance for sawing, but water-power will be largely used when the railroads penetrate inland.

Logging and sawing are separate branches of business, which may or may not be carried on by the same parties. And so with transportation to the mill and to market. Large concerns carry on all the branches, even to the building and owning of ships.

Magnitude of the lumber business.Governor Semple gives the capacity of the Washington Territory saw-mills in 1887 as 645,500,000 feet of lumber per annum, of which the Puget Sound mills produce 344,500,000 feet. Of this, they (Puget Sound mills) sent 200,000,000 feet to California; 2,600,000 to Boston, Mass.; 500,000 feet to other Atlantic ports, and over 100,000,000 feet to foreign ports. Among foreign ports, London received 551,500 feet, and the rest went to Mexico, South America, China, Australia, and other Pacific Islands.

Mr. Cyrus Walker, of the Puget Mill Company, Port Ludlow, in a letter which I have from him, says:

Vast extent of the lumber market."It is safe to say that the lumber market of the Sound may be considered all countries and ports on the Pacific Ocean."

But it may make a more vivid impression of the Pacific market for me to give a list of the ports to which shipments have been actually made in the last year by the lumber dealers of Puget Sound. This list I get not only from public documents, but directly from the millers and port officials:

• Melbourne,
• Callao,
• Sydney,
• Guaymas,
• Iquique,
• Taku,
• Hilo, H. I.,
• San Francisco,
• Townsville,
• West Coast,
• Brisbane,
• Sandwich Islands,
• New Caledonia,
• Mollendo,
• Montevideo,
• Honolulu,
• Valpa,
• Suava, Feejee Is.,
• Kahalui,
• Cadera, Chili,
• San Diego,
• San Pedro,
• Hong Kong,
• Enseneda, Mex.,
• Falmouth,
• Shanghai,
• Autofogasta,
• Rio de Janeiro,
• Broken Bay,
• Adelaide,
• Coquimbo.

This is not a complete list of all the ports visited by the lumber ships of Puget Sound, and by no means represents the business of the future, which will increase as fast as the mills can be built to furnish the lumber.

No one without seeing it can have an adequate idea of the magnitude of the operations of one of the great saw-mills of Puget Sound.The great saw-mills. The Puget Mill Company, for the first ten months of last year, sawed on an average 290,000 feet every day of ten working hours. I visited the Port Blakely Mills, just across the Sound from Seattle. There I found a fleet of ships in the harbor, owned chiefly by the company; also, ships building on the stocks; railroads going out to the logging camps; a basin for receiving the logs, and a mill, with four separate tracks, bringing the logs in at one end, and carrying out the lumber at the other. A high iron trestle carried off the slabs to an enormous fire which never ceased to burn, where all this waste was consumed.

Around the mill was quite a town, in which a large number of races and nationalities were represented. This mill cut about 59,000,000 feet in 1887. Up to the 10th of November it had shipped as follows: To California, 32,464,763 feet; to South America, 6,847,427 feet; to Sandwich Islands, 1,799,891 feet; to Australia, 6,681,668 feet; to Feejee Islands, 511,815 feet; and used at home for ship-building, railroads, etc., 2,312,000 feet.

The Tacoma Mill Company and the Washington Mill Company produced the following lumber, etc., during 1886 and the first ten months of 1887: