A Report On Washington Territory Part 4

Coal, bituminous.

Cocoa, Coffee.

Confectionery.

Copper, and Manufactures of.

Corsets.

Cotton, Manufactures of.

Cotton, unmanufactured.

Dairy Products.

Diamonds, uncut.

Earthen, Stone, and China Ware.

Eggs.

Fancy Articles.

Farinaceous Substances, and preparations of.

Fish, a few.

Flax, Hemp, Jute, etc., and Manufactures of.

Fruits and Nuts, some.

Furs and Fur-skins, undressed.

Furs, dressed, and Manufactures of.

Gla.s.s and Gla.s.sware.

Household and Personal Effects, Clothing, Tools, etc., of persons arriving from foreign countries.

Hair, Hats and Bonnets, etc.

India-rubber and Gutta-percha.

Iron, Steel, and Manufactures of.

Jewelry, Manufactures of Gold, Silver, and Precious Stones.

Lead, and Manufactures of.

Leather, and Manufactures of.

Malt Liquors.

Marble and Stone, Manufactures of.

Meats, prepared, of all kinds, and Extracts, etc.

Metals, some.

Musical Instruments, and parts of.

Oil, animal and vegetable.

Opium, and other Medicines.

Paints and Colors.

Paper, and Manufactures of.

Paper Stock, crude.

Plaster-of-Paris, unground.

Rice.

Salt.

Seeds.

Silk, Manufactures of.

Silk, unmanufactured.

Soap.

Some Breadstuffs.

Spices, ground.

Spices, unground.

Spirits, Distilled and Spirituous.

Sponges.

Sugar and Mola.s.ses.

Tea.

Tin (bars, blocks, etc.).

Tobacco, and Manufactures of.

Vegetables, some, in natural state, in brine, preserved, etc.

Wines.

Wood, and Manufactures of.

Wood, unmanufactured.

Wools, Hair of the Alpaca goat, etc., and Manufactures of.

Zinc, Spelter or Tutenegue, and Manufactures of.

APPROXIMATE POPULATION IN THE YEAR 1887 OF

The World 1,500,000,000 j.a.pan, Siberia, Chinese Empire, Anam, Siam, Oceanica, India 792,500,000 Mexico, Central America 11,800,000 U. S. of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chili, Patagonia 11,700,000 Canada 4,500,000 ----------- TOTAL 820,000,000

TOPOGRAPHY OF WAs.h.i.+NGTON TERRITORY.

Was.h.i.+ngton 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:

Was.h.i.+ngton Territory 66,880 square miles.

New York 47,620 " "

Virginia 40,125 " "

England and Wales 58,320 " "

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 s.p.a.ces 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.

[Sidenote: Puget Sound.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: LAKE WAs.h.i.+NGTON--SHOWING MOUNT RANIER IN THE DISTANCE--ON LINE OF SEATTLE, LAKE Sh.o.r.e AND EASTERN RAILWAY.]

[Sidenote: Lake Was.h.i.+ngton.]

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 sh.o.r.e-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 Was.h.i.+ngton 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.

[Sidenote: West Was.h.i.+ngton and East Was.h.i.+ngton.]

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

East Was.h.i.+ngton 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 Coeur d'Alene Mountains. On the south lie the Blue Mountains, which are partly in Was.h.i.+ngton 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.

[Sidenote: Coeur d'Alene Mountains.]

Pa.s.sing 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 Coeur 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 Coeur d'Alene River and Lake belong to the Columbia River basin, and are so naturally connected in mining and trading interests with Was.h.i.+ngton Territory, that in another connection I shall have much to say of the Coeur d'Alene country, as also of the Colville country, and other parts of the mountain rim. South of the Coeur d'Alene Lake the plateau country extends far into Idaho, and gives to that State its best farming lands.