Chapter I: M. Howell (2)

The wage earner who comes to this state sufficiently fortified to maintain himself and family for a period may usually expect to find satisfactory employment at good wages. Washington has never been exploited as a poor man's paradise, but there is a tremendous development in progress throughout the state in every line of industry and there is a steady demand for mechanics and laborers of all classes.

The foregoing is intended to present in brief form an outline of the opportunities that await the enterprising newcomer in this state. Success is being achieved in all of the various lines touched upon, by thousands who have located here in the past few years, and as yet the resources of the state have scarcely been touched. The future of Washington is big with promise, based upon results already achieved, and in that future the newcomer may expect to participate in proportion to the effort he expends.

[Page 32] WASHINGTON'S EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM.

The importance of a complete and well rounded public educational system has not been overlooked at any stage in the growth and development of this commonwealth. From kindergarten to university no link is wanting to supply the ambitious boy or girl with the very best training that modern educational experts have evolved.

The common school system of the state is based upon the theory that every child must be educated, and that the state must provide the facilities for the accomplishment of this purpose. This theory has been carried out so thoroughly and intelligently that there is scarcely a child in the state of school age who does not live within easy reach of a school house. Moreover, attendance is compulsory and no child is excused unless satisfactory reasons are presented to the proper authorities.

EDUCATIONAL ENDOWMENT.

Upon admission of Washington to statehood a land endowment was granted to the state by the federal government for common school purposes which in round numbers totals nearly two and one-half millions of acres. This land is offered for sale or lease by the state, through the office of the state land commissioner, and the proceeds constitute a permanent and irreducible fund to be invested for educational purposes.

In addition to the foregoing lands, the state university has an endowment of 100,000 acres; the agricultural college, 90,000 acres; the scientific school, 100,000 acres, and the state normal schools, 100,000 acres. As yet only a small portion of these lands has been disposed of. The expense of maintaining our schools, therefore, is met almost entirely by taxation.

HIGHER INSTITUTIONS.

The University of Washington occupies a campus of 350 acres, located entirely within the limits of the city of Seattle. [Page 33] The buildings of the university consist of the administration building, science hall, chemistry building, engineering building, power house, dormitories for men and women, and other smaller buildings. In addition to the foregoing, the university will come into the possession of a number of commodious structures at the conclusion of the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition. For the current year, the enrollment of students at the university is 1,838. The faculty consists of 115 members and for the ensuing biennial period the legislature appropriated the sum of $673,000 for the support of the institution.

The State College of Washington is located at Pullman, in Whitman county. This institution emphasizes technical and scientific education and in its agricultural departments has accomplished remarkable results. It is annually giving the state a number of highly trained experts in modern agricultural science, and the farming interests of the state have been greatly assisted by the work of the college. Instruction is given in civil engineering, mechanical and electrical engineering, geology, botany, chemistry, zoology, economic science and history, modern languages, domestic economy, besides the practical operation of a dairy farm and other branches of agricultural industry. The institution, in addition to its land endowment, receives annual assistance from the federal government and a biennial appropriation from the state legislature.

The state also maintains three normal schools, located respectively in the cities of Bellingham, Ellensburg and Cheney. These institutions have a combined attendance of about 850 and are the recruiting ground for securing instructors in the public schools.

At Vancouver is the State School for the Deaf and Blind. The defective youth of the state are cared for in a well equipped institution located at Medical Lake, in Spokane county, and at Chehalis is the state training school for incorrigibles.

[Page 34] LOGGED-OFF LANDS.

The problem of making a home and providing a competency for old age upon the lands in western Washington is somewhat different and more difficult than doing the same upon the prairie lands of the east. As they come to the hands of the would-be tiller of the soil, they present a forbidding and disagreeable aspect. The loggers have left them with considerable standing timber, with the tops of the giants of the forests lying where they fell, scattered over the land and covering it with an almost impenetrable mass of great limbs and brush and dead logs. If seen in the summer, there is added the view of a mass of green vegetation, rank and to a large extent covering up the mass of dead stuff left by the loggers with the huge stumps sticking up through it all, mute monuments of the lost wealth of the forest. In some instances this is somewhat relieved by the fact that, either by accident or design, the fire has been there and swept through it all, leaving nothing but blackened and smouldering emblems of its prior greatness. In this case, however, only the lighter part of the refuse has been destroyed. The great stumps of fir and cedar are there still, blackened and perhaps with their dead hearts burned out. Great and small decaying logs are there, some too wet to burn, some with the bark alone burned off, and some with the dead centers burned out, scattered about or piled in crisscross masses as they had fallen during the ages of the forest's growth. In either case it looks different from the smooth surface of the sagebrush plains about to be converted into irrigated farms or the clean face of the prairie lands covered with grass and ready and longing for the plow. But with all their forbidding aspects, black with a portentous cloud of hard labor and long waiting, their known hidden wealth lures on the hardy pioneer to the task. He throws off his coat, rolls up his sleeves, gathers together his tools, and with the indomitable courage of the Anglo-Saxon [Page 35] tackles the problem, works and fights and rests by turns till within a few years he finds himself triumphant. Eventually, beneath his own orchard trees laden with fruit, and in the comfort and delight of his big home fireplace, he contemplates the rewards of his struggle, as he sees his cows complacently chewing their cuds in his green pastures and listens to the neigh of his fat horses, and at his table, laden with all the bounty of his rich lands, thanks his Maker for the successful completion of a hard struggle and the enjoyment it has brought to him and his family.

MODERN METHODS.

Having thus presented the picture in perspective, we will now work out some of the details which help to rob it of its difficulty and add to its attractiveness. If the lands have not been burned off, and in many instances where this has been done, the rancher will find a lot of cedar logs, perhaps partially burned, and possibly long black stubs that it will be wise to save. Cut into proper lengths and put into piles for preservation, they will make his raw material for fencing, barns, etc. The cedar is straight-grained, splits easy, and true, and to the rancher is very valuable, taking the place of sawed lumber for a great many farm purposes. Having carefully saved the cedar, the rancher will fire his clearing, thus getting rid of a large share of the logger's waste with practically no labor. To the task of disposing of the remaining logs and stumps he will bring modern tools and methods into action. The axe and shovel and hand lever have given place to gunpowder, the donkey engine, derrick and winch. Stump powder puts all the big stumps into pieces easily. The modern stump-puller lifts out the smaller stumps with ease. The donkey engine and derrick pull together and pile the stumps and logs into great heaps, and once more the friendly fire helps out; and while the dusky woodlands are lighted up with passing glory the rancher sleeps to wake up and find his fields almost ready for his plow, nor has the task had half the hard labor nor consumed half the time that years ago would have been expended in clearing the same amount of oak and maple and hickory land in the valley [Page 36] of the Mississippi. It should be said, however, that what is gained in time and saved in labor costs money. The expense of clearing the logged-off land by these modern methods and tools will run from $40 to $150 per acre, dependent upon various conditions, number and size of stumps, etc.

There are in western Washington thousands of acres which are being pastured and tilled, from which the large stumps have not been removed. In these instances the same methods can be used, handling all the small logs and stumps and litter, and after the first burning, carefully repiling and burning the refuse and then seeding to grass. In the ashes and loose soil, grass seed readily starts, and a single season will suffice to provide fairly good pasturage, which will annually grow better.

COST OF LABOR AND MATERIAL.

The following table, taken from the report of a government inspector, will give an idea of the cost of the different materials and labor used in clearing logged-off land:

Cost of removing stumps from 1 foot to 4 feet in diameter from 120 acres of land in 1907:

========================================================================== | | | | | Labor. MONTH. | Powder,| Fuse, | Caps, | Stumps, |-------------------- | lbs. | ft. | No. | No. | Hours. | Dollars. -----------------|--------|--------|-------|---------|--------|----------- June | 13,700 | 10,100 | 2,400 | 2,135 | 2,380 | $650.00 July | 1,750 | 2,050 | 400 | 239 | 260 | 87.00 August | 2,750 | 2,700 | 700 | 445 | 324 | 114.90 September | 1,950 | 2,160 | 500 | 383 | 324 | 126.37 October | 1,250 | 1,000 | 300 | 237 | 198 | 77.53 November | 2,350 | 3,100 | 800 | 378 | 283 | 114.97 |--------|--------|-------|---------|--------|----------- Total | 23,750 | 21,100 | 5,100 | 3,818 | 3,709 | $1,170.77 Av. pr. Stump | 6.22 | 5.52 | 1.33 | | 0.987 | 0.3006 Av. Cost, cents | 19.76 | 2.37 | .87 | | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The average cost of the removal of each stump is shown below:

_Cents._
Powder 49.76
Fuse 2.37
Caps .87
Labor 30.66
-----
Total 83.06

The average cost of the materials used was as follows: Powder, per pound, 8 cents; fuse, per 100 feet, 43 cents; caps, per 100, 65 cents.

[Page 37] There are probably two and one-third million acres of logged-off lands in the state, of which only half a million are under tillage or pasturage. The same report shows the distribution of these lands as follows:

=========================================================================== | Acreage | Acreage | Acreage in | Total | Per cent. COUNTY. |merchantable| logged |cultivation.| acreage. | suitable for | timber. | off. | | | agriculture. -----------|------------|-----------|------------|-----------|------------- Chehalis | 583,200 | 112,748 | 11,216 | 807,432 | 90 Clallam | 296,611 | 195,933 | 11,784 | 504,329 | 75 Clarke | 190,000 | 108,661 | 51,570 | 350,231 | Cowlitz | 500,000 | 25,000 | 20,000 | 704,000 | 75 Island | 8,013 | 99,866 | 9,317 | 117,196 | 75 Jefferson | 186,647 | 59,427 | 4,657 | 254,385 | 50 King | 640,000 | 110,000 | 74,857 | 1,243,000 | Kitsap | 45,429 | 171,364 | 7,978 | 224,771 | Lewis | 543,995 | 160,425 | 47,059 | 884,050 | 65 Mason | 240,211 | 150,430 | 7,540 | 398,181 | Pacific | 367,827 | 62,720 | 23,042 | 453,139 | Pierce | 413,044 | 150,000 | 27,915 | 658,052 | 75 San Juan | 10,000 | 80,000 | 4,000 | 95,684 | Skagit | 306,759 | 149,923 | 45,605 | 502,287 | 25 Snohomish | 258,005 | 270,422 | 20,908 | 558,336 | Thurston | 291,200 | 120,000 | 13,680 | 428,005 | Wahkiakum | 74,564 | 67,337 | 3,642 | 145,544 | 50 Whatcom | 78,405 | 258,302 | 35,059 | 371,766 | -----------|------------|-----------|------------|-----------|------------- Total | 5,033,911 | 2,352,109 | 428,829 | 8,700,388 | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

There are a great many acres of these lands that can be slicked up and burned over and prepared for seeding, not disturbing the stumps, at an expense of about $10 per acre. Thus treated, good pasturage can be secured cheaply. In time some of the stumps will rot out and be easily removed. When the stumps are not too thick, the lands can be successfully prepared and planted to orchards without removing the stumps, and their unsightly appearance can be turned into a thing of beauty and great profit by planting evergreen blackberries and loganberries about them, using the stumps for trellises. These berries in the climate of western Washington are wonderfully prolific and find a greedy market.

COMPENSATIONS.

There are several facts about making farms out of logged-off lands which should not be lost sight of, because they largely compensate for the labor spent in the undertaking. One of these is that the problem of fuel is solved for a lifetime and for the coming generation. Five acres can be left untouched as a reserve and in a remarkably few years it will re-forest itself. [Page 38] The growth of trees under the humid atmosphere of western Washington is astonishing, and a very few years will suffice to provide one with a wood lot to last a generation. Meanwhile some of the fir logs and alder and maple trees will be preserved from the fire and piled up to provide fuel for the years until the wood lot furnishes a fresh green supply.

Then, too, as has already been suggested, the fence question, no small item in a prairie country, is satisfactorily answered with no expenditure but for labor. The cedar logs, splitting with ease, can be turned into rails or boards or posts--preferably the former--and the rails put on top of each other between two posts fastened together at the top make as good a hog-tight and cattle-proof fence as can be desired, and these rails will last in the fence for a century. For the house, doubtless more satisfaction can be had by patronizing the nearest saw-mill, although many houses made out of split cedar timbers and boards are in the state, proofs at once of the usefulness of this timber and the hardihood and ingenuity of the rancher. But for the barn and stable, pig-stye, hennery, chicken-coop and fruit boxes, and a great many other things, the rancher patronizes his reserve log pile instead of the lumber yard, and saves time and labor in so doing. Another fact which compensates the rancher in western Washington in the struggle for a home which will provide a safe and generous support in his old age is that during all the labor and waiting he is enjoying a delightful climate, in which no blizzard drives him from his work. No cyclone endangers his life and fortune. No snakes lurk in the underbrush. No clouds of dust blind his eyes. No sultry summer suns make him gasp for breath, and no intense cold freezes his face or feet. He can work if he wishes as many days as there are in the year, and know that every stroke of his axe or mattock is a part of his capital safely invested that will pay back an annual dividend for a lifetime. No soil will respond to his energy more quickly or more generously.

There is one more possible compensation. Fir logs and stumps and roots and bark are all full of pitch. Factories are now in operation that are turning this wood into charcoal and [Page 39] saving and refining all the by-products, particularly turpentine, wood alcohol, pitch and tar. These factories are successful and paying dividends, but are on a large scale and permanently located. It is probable that some genius will soon evolve a movable plant, capable of serving the same purpose, which can go from one ranch to another. When this is done, it will be found that the refuse left by the logger is worth several times more than the cost of getting it off the land with powder and fire, and, instead of being a burden upon the land of $100 per acre, will become a matter of merchandise to be sold for much more and removed from the land with no expense to the owner.

As a final word, it should be remembered that, after these lands are put under good tillage, every acre can be made to return more than the cost of clearing annually. Western Washington has never been able to produce enough to feed its wonderfully increasing population. Meats, vegetables, fruits, poultry, eggs, etc., are all constantly coming in from outside to supply the markets. This condition keeps prices high. It has been so for twenty years, and will be for twenty years to come. From $100 to $500 per acre per year can be had from fruits and vegetables. The same can be realized from poultry, nor will the dairy fall far behind when the scrub cow is abandoned and a choice thoroughbred animal takes its place and the soil is intensely tilled and fertilized.

The logged-off lands when first looked at are black and big labor and difficulties. When the problem is intelligently understood--undertaken with comprehension and some capital and plenty of grit--the solution is easy and the rewards ample and gratifying.

[Page 40] IRRIGATION IN WASHINGTON.

The lands which require irrigation in the state are chiefly the lower lands in the valleys of the rivers east of the Cascade mountains.

The winds from the Pacific, though heavily laden with moisture, are forced to surrender the greater portion to western Washington, as they meet the cold heights of the mountain ranges. The mountains themselves receive a very heavy fall of snow in winter, which fills the lakes and sources of the rivers on the eastern side, providing a large amount of water available for irrigation purposes, for lands not too far distant. Within fifty miles from the mountain peaks there is a drop of about 4,000 feet. The sides of the valleys in the main are gradual slopes. These conditions make irrigation very feasible. Its wonderful results have been seen and the process of irrigation has found a wide field within the past few years.

THE IRRIGATION AREA.

Not only the Yakima valley, where this method of farming had its beginning in the state, but many other places, are now being made productive which were once thought wholly worthless on account of their aridity. Among these are the Wenatchee valley, the Entiat, the Methow, the Chelan, and the Okanogan--all on the slope of the Cascades. The immediate low lands of the Columbia and Snake rivers and considerable of the narrow valleys of the small streams emptying into them have in many instances been irrigated.

WORK OF THE GOVERNMENT.

The work of reclaiming the arid lands has been wonderfully accelerated and widened in scope by the national government. The projects of the reclamation service now include practically all of the available waters of the Yakima valley for irrigating the lands therein. In Yakima county alone there are probably [Page 41] 260,000 acres now under ditch, and probably 50,000 more will be reclaimed this season. This is probably not more than half the lands in the county capable of irrigation. The fact that the general government is in control of these projects insures as wide and just a distribution of the available waters as possible. The cost of irrigation, which is from $50 to $60 per acre, is paid by the owners of the land in ten annual payments. There is also an annual charge for maintaining the canals from $1.25 to $1.50 per acre. These projects of the government cover the lands in Benton and Kittitas counties also--both of these counties being in the Yakima valley. The government is also engaged in managing an extensive project in the southern part of Okanogan county, where probably 50,000 acres will be reclaimed.

There is a large acreage in Franklin and Walla Walla counties, about the junctions of the Snake and Columbia rivers, to which Pasco is central, which is arid. The government has once turned this project down, but is now reconsidering it, and it is reported that these lands will soon be put under ditch by the joint action of the government and the Northern Pacific railway, which owns a large portion of the lands.

Meanwhile private enterprises are reclaiming extensive tracts in Klickitat county, and in fact nearly all the counties bordering on the Columbia and Snake rivers in eastern Washington. It is probable that there are more lands capable of irrigation in the state than can be irrigated with available waters. This fact adds to the importance of the question of what to do with arid lands when no water can be put upon them.

METHODS OF IRRIGATION.

There are three methods in use in supplying water to the arid lands. The first and the one most generally adopted for obvious reasons is the gravity system. The waters are impounded in lakes or artificial reservoirs and carried thence in large main canals, winding about the hills so as to secure a low uniform grade. Once established, no other force is needed but the usual flow of the water.

[Page 42] Another method resorted to when the gravity system is impossible is to pump the water from the big rivers into smaller reservoirs leading to the canals, the pumps being kept busy only during the months in which the water is needed. This method is quite successful, but requires a somewhat larger annual expenditure. It is being used in some extensive projects, the water being taken out of the Columbia river.

The third method is in securing the water by means of artesian wells. This method is naturally limited to small areas, the projects being undertaken by individual private owners. Several spots have been found in the arid belt where this method is successful.

SOILS.

The soils over the entire areas of eastern Washington on the arid lands is a volcanic ash mixed with disintegrated basaltic rocks and some humus, varying in depth and in the amount of sand it contains. The low lands are usually more sandy and warmer and earlier in season. The depth of this soil is in some places 80 feet and generally so deep as to insure great permanency to its fertility. It readily absorbs and holds moisture, and is admirably adapted to artificial watering. In some spots there is an injurious surplus of alkali. It is generally covered with sagebrush and has the appearance of sterility, but upon cultivation under irrigation, produces wonderful results in quantity and quality of grains and grasses and fruits and vegetables.

GRAINS.

Wheat, oats and corn are successfully grown, but not in large acreage, because larger profits can be realized from other crops.

HOPS AND POTATOES.

Hops, for example, which can be produced at a cost of 7-1/2 cents per pound, yield from 1,500 to 2,000 pounds per acre, and potatoes, yielding from 300 to 500 bushels per acre, and receiving the highest market price, are both more profitable than wheat or oats.

[Page 43] ALFALFA.

Alfalfa, yielding from eight to ten tons per acre, and commanding from $6.00 to $12.00 per ton, is a very profitable crop. Much wheat and oats are cut when in the milk and sold for hay, and yield better returns than when matured and threshed.

FRUITS.

The smaller fruits are very profitable under irrigation, yielding from $300 to $500 net per acre, while apples, pears, peaches, grapes, etc., often far exceed these figures, sometimes yielding as much as $1,000 per acre net.

DAIRYING.

Dairying is extensively followed on the irrigated lands, particularly in Kittitas county, where the cool atmosphere is very favorable, and the farmers find that turning timothy and clover, alfalfa and grain hay into butter fat is more profitable than wheat-raising.

PREPARATION OF LAND.

There is a good deal of this arid land which will have to be freed from the sagebrush and smoothed over before it will be fit for irrigation. This expense, together with building headgates and lateral ditches, building flumes and seeding to alfalfa, will cost from $15.00 to $20.00 per acre, depending upon the character of the surface, the size of the sagebrush, and amount of flumes, etc. Some, however, very smooth lands can be prepared for seeding at less expense.

DISPOSITION OF CROPS.

The hay crops are in large part sold on the ground and fed to cattle and sheep which have summered in the mountain ranges and are carried through the winters on the farms in the valleys. What is left after supplying this demand is baled and shipped by rail to the markets on Puget sound, Portland or Spokane. The Sound country is also the chief purchaser of the fruits, although many winter apples, on account of their superior quality, are shipped to eastern markets.

[Page 44] Potatoes and other vegetables usually go west, although an occasional season finds the eastern market depleted, and then the shipments go to the best market.

Hops are sold to be delivered at railroad stations and go east, many even to Europe.

VALUE OF LANDS.

The irrigated lands are yearly appreciating in value, mindless of the large acreage annually added to the supply. This is largely due to the fact that they are bought up and held for speculative purposes. However, there are still many farms in the hands of first purchasers from the government, and others still to be had directly from the government and others from the Northern Pacific company, not yet under ditches, which may ultimately be reclaimed. These latter can be had from $7.00 to $25.00 per acre. The lands already under ditch, or which will soon be irrigated certainly, are held from $50 to $100 raw and from $125 to $200 with water rights paid for. Much land is on the market, already planted or to be planted to orchards, and cared for, for a term of years until the orchards are in bearing, which can be purchased on easy terms, ranging in price from $200 to $500 per acre.

TRANSPORTATION.

Nearness to transportation is a valuable factor in determining the price of lands--whether under irrigation or otherwise. The lands being irrigated in eastern Washington are, for the most part, adjacent to competing railways and water craft on both the Columbia and Snake rivers. Projects are in contemplation by the government and state to remove all obstructions from the Columbia river and give a great navigable stream from Kettle Falls to the mouth of the river. This will add to the shipping facilities by increasing the number of boats which will ply the river and be of great help to all farmers holding lands adjacent. Numerous trolley lines are already running in many directions--and more are projected--among the irrigated farms connecting with the cities of Spokane, North Yakima, [Page 45] and Walla Walla. These add greatly to the facility and cheapness of transportation.

CLIMATE.

The character of the climate is well suggested by the crops which can be harvested. They include peaches, apricots, grapes, figs, tomatoes, peanuts, sweet potatoes, and other things which require a warm summer and warm soil. Very little moisture comes upon the land in the summer. The winters are moderately cold, with some snow, which is joyfully hailed by the farmers, for all moisture is quickly absorbed by the soil and held for summer's use. The spring season is two or three weeks earlier than in the Puget sound basin. Moderate winds prevail during the summer months, coming from the east and west by turns, and prevent excessive sultry weather.

OCCUPATIONS.

Aside from the ordinary agricultural pursuits suggested by the foregoing, which includes grain-growing, horticulture, dairying and truck gardening, should be mentioned stock-raising, particularly of sheep, many thousands of which are yearly wintered in the valleys and summered on the ranges. Bee culture and poultry-raising are also both becoming important.

In closing, it should be said that the activity of the government and private investors together has given a great impetus to the settlement of these arid lands, and the population is rapidly increasing, being made up of a miscellaneous assortment of Uncle Sam's energetic, wideawake, industrious citizens, building homes and making fortunes more rapidly, probably, than in any other part of irrigated regions in his domain.

The doors are open, too, for the newcomers, for ten times the population now there can well be made prosperous.

[Page 46] THE COUNTIES AND MORE IMPORTANT CITIES AND TOWNS OF WASHINGTON

ADAMS COUNTY

LOCATION.

Adams county is in the center of southeastern Washington, cut out of the once great desert plateau, covered with sage brush. It has developed into one of the most important food-producing counties of the state. It has a population of about 13,000 and covers 1,908 square miles of territory.

CLIMATE.

Its climate is not different from that of the balance of the district in which it is situated, and, although some days in winter are severely cold and some in summer hot, its dry atmosphere softens the asperity of its cold, and its generous crop yields are full compensation for the heat of the summer's sun. Its mean temperature ranges from 30 degrees to 40 degrees in winter and from 50 to 74 degrees in summer. Its usual coldest days are 20 degrees to 25 degrees and its hottest ranging above 100 degrees. Its rain and snow give about 12 inches of water. It has one small stream, a tributary of the Palouse river.

TRANSPORTATION.

The Northern Pacific railway cutting the county diagonally from northeast to southwest and the Oregon Railroad & Navigation railway across its southeast corner and near its south and west borders furnish good facilities for handling its generous wheat crops. To these are soon to be added the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul, the Portland & Seattle, and the North Coast roads, giving the county very superior railroad facilities.

INDUSTRIES.

Wheat is its great staple crop, and the last year out of a crop acreage of 275,000 gave to the world nearly 6,000,000 bushels, an average of upwards of 20 bushels to the acre. When this average is compared with that of the wheat fields of the Mississippi valley, it is no wonder that the value of its realty has increased for the purposes of taxation more than 300 per cent. in the past six years. Horses, cattle, hogs and sheep are to a limited extent raised on the farms, and are important adjuncts to its prosperity.

[Page 47] PRINCIPAL CITIES AND TOWNS.

RITZVILLE is the county seat, and has a city hall, electric lights and water system, flour and feed mills, and is the chief distributing center of the county.

LIND will be one of the important points on the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railway, now building across the county.

WASHTUCNA also is to have another outlet for its wheat over the Portland & Seattle railway, projected and building. All these towns have good schools, churches, warehouses, mercantile establishments, and all enjoy an abundance of prosperity from the marketing of the crops.

ASOTIN COUNTY

LOCATION.

Asotin county occupies the extreme southeastern corner of the state, being separated from Idaho on the east by the Snake river and from Oregon on the south by the state boundary. Its population is about 7,500, its area 640 square miles.

It takes in a portion of the Blue mountains, from which numerous small streams furnish abundant water for all domestic farm purposes and for irrigating quite a large area of lands, which makes the county ideal for the stock-raiser and fruit-grower.

INDUSTRIES.

The irrigation of the low lands has had a wonderful effect in stimulating the fruit industry, and resulted in a great advance in land values, particularly about Clarkston and Cloverland, while the cool water of the mountain streams and their grassy slopes make the dairy business especially profitable. General farming, however, is still the standby of the bulk of the population. At Clarkston the lands irrigated and planted to orchards have reached in many instances a value of $1,000 per acre, the waters being taken out of Asotin creek. About Cloverland, waters from George creek have wrought almost an equal increase in values. Cloverland is on a plateau about 2,500 feet above sea level, and the lands irrigated and planted to winter apples are paying handsome dividends to their fortunate owners. On ordinary farm lands wheat yields 25 to 50 bushels per acre and barley from 40 to 60 bushels per acre.

TRANSPORTATION.

The transportation is limited to the power of steamboats on the Snake river and the Oregon Railroad & Navigation railway, which is reached at Lewiston, across the river from Clarkston.

PRINCIPAL CITIES AND TOWNS.

ASOTIN, the county seat, situated about seven miles south of Clarkston, on the Snake river, has about 1,500 people within its borders. It [Page 48] has a flour mill, warehouses, churches, schools, public library, light and water systems, and is a prosperous, thriving town.

CLARKSTON, an important commercial center, is situated on the flats of the Snake river, in the northeast part of the county. Its population somewhat exceeds that of Asotin. It has all the business institutions of a thriving town, is the main distributing point for a large area, and is rapidly growing.

CLOVERLAND, CRAIGIE AND ANATONE are thriving smaller towns.

BENTON COUNTY

Benton county is bounded north, east and south by the Columbia river and west by Yakima and Klickitat counties. It has an area of 1,600 square miles and a population of about 9,000 people.

TOPOGRAPHY.

The Yakima river traverses the center of the county in a very crooked course, through the valley of which the Northern Pacific railroad winds its way to the top of the Cascades. Both north and south of the valley of the Yakima are extensive hill and plateau lands, which are being rapidly utilized for general farming. The valley lands are arid and useless without irrigating water.

IRRIGATION.

Extensive irrigation projects are in successful operation and projected to bring a very large portion of the valley lands into successful use, for these lands, when irrigated, are of unsurpassed fertility. Lands capable of irrigation have rapidly risen in value during the past few years because of the immense yields of all crops under irrigation.

TRANSPORTATION.

The Northern Pacific railway through its center, the Portland & Seattle around its southern and eastern border and the North Coast coming into the Yakima valley from the northeast and the southeast, together with the shipping on the Columbia river, give abundant means of marketing its products, while several local electric roads are projected to connect its towns and help to open up the newly developed portions of the county.

IMPORTANT INDUSTRIES.

General farming on the uplands, truck-gardening and fruit-raising on the irrigated lower lands are the chief occupations. On account of the great fertility of the volcanic soils and the early springs, Benton county is able to supply the large towns with fruits and vegetables some two weeks earlier than most other sections, giving it quite an advantage in prices. The county is rapidly growing in population and prosperity.

[Page 49] PRINCIPAL CITIES AND TOWNS.

PROSSER, its chief town and county seat, is on the Yakima river and Northern Pacific railway in the western central part of the county, and has about 2,000 population. It is the chief distributing center of the county. It has three weekly newspapers, six churches, good water supply, banks, stores, warehouses, lumber yards, etc.

KENNEWICK, at the easterly center of the county, on the Northern Pacific and Portland & Seattle railroads and on the Columbia river, is a town of much importance, having about 1,500 people. It is noted for the remarkable earliness of its fruits and vegetables. It has the usual business, church and school establishments, including an ice and cold storage plant.

KIONA, on the Yakima river, midway between Prosser and Kennewick, CARLEY AND PETERSON, in the southern portion of the county, on the Columbia river, are all growing and prospering smaller towns.

CHEHALIS COUNTY

Chehalis county is central among the counties bordering on the Pacific, the towns about Grays Harbor being its seaports. It has an area of 2,600 square miles and a population of 35,000.

RESOURCES.

Its industries arise out of its vast timber belts, its fertile low lands, and its fisheries. It is said to have 800,000 acres of magnificent timber lands, the great bulk of it unmarketed. Logging and the manufacture of wood products make up its chief occupation, though general farming and fruit-raising is rapidly gaining. The lands of the county when reclaimed from the forests are fertile and respond generously to the labor of the husbandman. In 1906, 15,000 apple trees were planted in the county. The fishing industry, including the canning of salmon, sardines, clams and oysters, is a thriving industry and destined to develop into much larger proportions.

TRANSPORTATION.

Grays Harbor is open to the ocean, but is splendidly protected and has safe anchorage. It is the largest lumber shipping port in the state. The Humptulips and Chehalis rivers empty their waters into the bay, and are both navigable for some distance.

In addition, the Northern Pacific railroad skirts both sides of the bay and a logging railroad from Shelton, in Mason county, has nearly reached the ocean, going through the county from east to west. Other railroads have surveying parties in the field, and a conflict is on to share the vast lumber-carrying trade of the county with the Northern Pacific, which has till now monopolized it.

Chehalis county is one of the most important counties in the state, and offers an abundant opportunity for Yankee energy to exercise itself [Page 50] in almost every avenue of business. Its opportunities and resources are numerous and vast. The newcomer may look long and find no better place for his talents.

PRINCIPAL CITIES AND TOWNS.

MONTESANO is the county seat, located at the head of navigation on the Chehalis river, and on the Northern Pacific railway. It has a population of about 3,500. It has sawmills, sash and door factories, and is surrounded by a prosperous farming community, dairying being very remunerative.

ABERDEEN is the commercial metropolis of the county. Nearly $15,000 is daily paid out to wage-earners. Much commerce from the ocean is centering here, 736 vessels clearing from Grays Harbor in 1907. Seven hundred and seventy-seven thousand dollars has been appropriated by congress for the improvement of the harbor. The city has terminal rail rates, and the Northern Pacific and Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railroads are hustling after its trade. The business portion of the city is built of stone, brick or cement. It has eleven large sawmills, many shingle mills and various other factories for utilizing the products of its timber, besides fish and clam canneries and other factories. Its population, now about 15,000, is rapidly growing.

HOQUIAM, Aberdeen's nearby neighbor, has a population crowding 11,000, and is a hustling manufacturing and commercial center, not different in its general business from Aberdeen.

ELMA, twelve miles east of Montesano, is a town of 2,700.

COSMOPOLIS, south of the river from Aberdeen, has about 1,200, and is a sawmill town.

OAKVILLE, MAKRHAM and SATSOP are small growing towns on the Northern Pacific railway. Many other embryo towns will in time grow into prosperous business centers.

CHELAN COUNTY

Chelan county is one of picturesque beauty and abundance of both developed and undeveloped wealth. It faces the Columbia river eastward, while its back rests against the peaks of the Cascades, 5,000 to 6,000 feet above the sea. Lake Chelan is the largest fresh water body in the state, fifty miles long and one to four wide, and lies 400 feet higher than the Columbia river.

Chelan county has 2,000 square miles, much of it mountainous and full of minerals. Its population is at present about 14,000.

RESOURCES.

Horticulture, agriculture, lumbering, stock-raising, mining and dairying all flourish on the bountiful natural fitness of the county for these occupations. The climate is attractive. It is a sunshiny county.

[Page 51] TRANSPORTATION.

Steamers ply up and down the Columbia river. The Great Northern railway crosses the county through the valley of the Wenatchee river and the Washington & Great Northern railway is projected along the western boundary of the Columbia river.

PRODUCTS.

All kinds of temperate zone fruits mature here in wonderful perfection and abundance. The valleys run with water from the mountains to irrigate the lands, and furnish vast power, much of it undeveloped. Hills in the western part of the county are timbered and all the vacant lands are grass covered. Over 1,000,000 fruit trees have been planted in the last three years in the county.

The mountain foothills are full of mineral veins of copper, gold, silver, lead and molybdonite. Some have been producing for twenty years. Trout in the streams and game on the hills add to its attractiveness.

PRINCIPAL CITIES AND TOWNS.

WENATCHEE is the county seat and largest town, having about 3,500 people. It is located on the Columbia river near where the Great Northern railway crosses it. It is the chief distributing center for the county and much other territory, chiefly north of it.

LEAVENWORTH, westward of Wenatchee, and also on the railroad, has a population of 1,200 and is a division point.

CHELAN, at the foot of Lake Chelan, has about 700 people.

CASHMERE, on the railroad, is of about equal size.

LAKESIDE, PESHASTIN and ENTIAT are smaller towns, all thriving and growing.

CLALLAM COUNTY

Clallam county occupies 2,000 square miles of the northwestern part of the Olympic peninsula, having 35 miles of shore land on the Pacific and 90 miles on the straits. The Olympic mountains and foothills cover the southern half mostly, while the northern half is made up of lower hills and valleys. Several large lakes nestle among the mountains; one of them, Lake Crescent, is a famous summer resort. Lake Crescent is known as the home of the celebrated Beardslee trout. The eastern and southern parts have a rainfall sometimes nearing 100 inches annually, while in the eastern northerly part it is about 20 to 25 inches only.

An important section of the county is that known as Sequim Prairie This is a level district of about 5,000 acres, located three miles back from Port Williams. Most of it is under irrigation, and the soil thus treated produces marvelous crops.

[Page 52] RESOURCES.

Lumber, fish, agricultural products and coal comprise its chief resources. The timber of the county is very vast and very little exploited. Its proximity to the ocean makes it very advantageous for all fishing industries. Its valleys are noted for the fertility of their soils, and many a farmer has grown wealthy from their cultivation.

TRANSPORTATION.

Facilities for getting about are limited to boats and wagons. A splendid boat service is maintained with Seattle and other Sound ports, and a system of public roads is now in process of construction that will be unexcelled in the state. Several surveying parties are now in the woods and it is believed that Grays Harbor and the Straits of Juan de Fuca will be soon united with railroad iron and Clallam county will come to its own.

PRINCIPAL TOWNS AND VILLAGES.

PORT ANGELES, located about 60 miles from the ocean on the Straits of Fuca, is the largest town and county seat. It has a splendid harbor, with fine anchorage, furnishing a safe refuge for ships when the storms rage outside.

DUNGENESS and SEQUIM, three miles from PORT WILLIAMS, are important farming centers, both noted for their dairy products, and contribute largely to make Clallam the second county in the state in the value of its dairy products.

QUILLAYUTE, FORKS, BEAVER, BLYN and GETTYSBURG are other small settlements waiting for the railroads to open up the country and render their natural resources available for the good of the world.

CLARKE COUNTY

Clarke county lies on the north shore of the Columbia river, opposite Portland, Oregon. It has 600 square miles of territory. It was one of the earliest settled parts of the state, and its timber as yet uncut is large. It is extremely well watered. The Columbia and Lewis rivers border it on three sides with navigable waters. It has a mild climate, very fertile soil, and splendid markets at its doors, abundant rainfall, and agriculture is successfully carried on without irrigation.

TRANSPORTATION.

The Northern Pacific railway connects its various towns with both Portland and Seattle, and the North Bank and Oregon & Washington railroad, paralleling the Northern Pacific, will add greatly to the facility and cheapness of its transportation. From Vancouver northeasterly a road is in operation nearly across the county, headed for North Yakima and the East.

[Page 53] INDUSTRIES.

Much of the southern part of the county is devoted to fruit-raising, prunes being a very prominent factor in the county's output. General agriculture, with dairying, are very profitable, and to these are to be added fishing, lumbering and mining.

PRINCIPAL CITIES AND TOWNS.

VANCOUVER has a population of about 8,000, and is rapidly growing. It is the county seat, and is connected with Portland, Oregon, by a trolley line. The Northern Pacific, Union Pacific, Oregon Railroad & Navigation and North Bank railroads all compete for its traffic. It is the central distributing point of the county, and is the United States military headquarters for Washington, Oregon and Alaska. It is well represented in business establishments, including barrel factory, fruit cannery, ship yard, iron foundry, shoe factory, and others.

LA CENTER, ETNA, NACOLT, AMBOY and BRUSH PRAIRIE are smaller towns, all holding out an inviting hand to the newcomer, and offering desirable opportunities for new business in both merchandising and agriculture, as well as in lumbering and its kindred industries. Clarke county is one well worth investigating by intending settlers, both on account of its latent possibilities and because of its peculiarly desirable climatic conditions, and its abundant competing transportation facilities, both by rail and water.

COLUMBIA COUNTY

Columbia county is one of the four counties in southeastern Washington, lying on the Oregon state line and south of the Snake river. A forest reserve in the Blue mountains covers much of the southern portion of the county, which is heavily timbered. The Northern part of the county is made up of rolling prairie lands, of great fertility on account of the large proportion of clay added to the volcanic ash, which composes most of the soils of eastern Washington. Irrigation is here unnecessary, and abundant crops reward the agriculturist. The climate is mild, healthful and vigorous, inclining to much outdoor life the year around.

PRODUCTS.

Columbia county is essentially an agricultural county, but of late years is branching out into fruit-raising and dairying with marked success. Apples and pears predominate among the fruits, though all others do well. Wheat is, however, still its great product, and both the Northern Pacific and Oregon Railroad & Navigation railroads are in operation through the northern part of the county to carry away its rich grain harvests.

The citizens of Columbia county are among the most prosperous of the state, its average of per capita wealth being exceeded by only three other counties.

[Page 54] PRINCIPAL TOWNS.

DAYTON, the county seat, has a population of about 3,500 people, is situated about in the center of the county, and is the chief town for the county's exports, as well as the distributor of its merchandise. It is a substantially built city, with flour and feed mills, and general mercantile establishments of importance. All the public interests, including schools and churches, are generously provided for. Its chief exports are grain, fruit, livestock and wool.

STARBUCK, in the northern part of the county, is a shipping point of no mean importance on the Oregon Railroad & Navigation railway.

COWLITZ COUNTY

Cowlitz county lies immediately north of Clarke county, bordering about 40 miles on the Columbia river. It has about 1,100 square miles of territory, and about 13,000 people. The southwestern portion is largely composed of level valley lands, while its northeastern part is occupied by the foothills of Mount St. Helens. The drainage is all westerly and southerly into the Columbia river. Cowlitz river is navigable as far as Castle Rock, and is an important factor in the transportation problem.

RESOURCES.

Timber is the great source of industry at present, the county having about two-thirds of its area heavily covered and unexploited. About 40 saw and shingle mills are engaged in disposing of its logs. Agriculture follows close on the heels of the lumberman everywhere in western Washington, and nowhere are better results in general farming and dairying obtained than in Cowlitz county.

Cowlitz coal fields have not yet been largely utilized, but will be extensively developed in time.

TRANSPORTATION.

Aside from the river navigation, this county is well supplied with transportation facilities by rail. The valley of the Cowlitz river affords the natural highway for roads between the Columbia river and Puget sound, and is already traversed by the Northern Pacific, while the Union Pacific systems and the North Coast road are projected over practically parallel lines through the county. From Kalama all three systems extend south to Portland and Vancouver.

PRINCIPAL CITIES AND TOWNS.

KALAMA, on the bank of the Columbia river at the ferry crossing of the Northern Pacific railway, is the chief town and county seat. There are here extensive electric power plants and a gravity water system. The chief industries grow out of the lumbering and fishing interests. It has about 1,250 people, but is just now rapidly growing, owing to its superb transportation facilities by both rail and water.

[Page 55] KELSO and CASTLE ROCK are both important towns on the railroads and Cowlitz river, each having about 1,500 people. At Kelso, which is near the Columbia river, considerable fish are caught and packed, yet the timber furnishes the chief industry. Fruit and dairying and general agriculture provide a large part of the support for the town merchants.

OSTRANDER, CARROLTON, CATLIN, ARIEL and LEXINGTON are smaller towns, all prospering and being built up into substantial business centers by the steadily increasing development of the latent resources of the county.

This county offers many opportunities for business to the newcomer in either merchandising, manufacturing or farming.

DOUGLAS COUNTY

Douglas county occupies the big bend of the Columbia river, having about 1,800 square miles of territory. Formerly there were 4,500 square miles. The last legislature carved the county in two, giving Grant county the southeastern part, about 2,700 square miles of territory, and leaving 1,800 to the northeastern part, with the old name. The bend of the Columbia on the northeast and Grant county on the southeast, compose its boundary. This division boundary follows the northeastern bank of the Grand coulee, and following its general direction meets the Columbia river where the Great Northern railroad touches its valley, thus putting all of that railroad in this new county, excepting only a few miles of the railroad along the banks of the river in the southeastern corner of Douglas county. Douglas county is essentially a high plateau, some of it 1,500 feet above the main bank. Waterville is the county seat, and considerable land along the valley of the Columbia is being irrigated and proving to be of great value for fruit and grain growing.

In the southeastern part of the county are some lands covered with black basaltic rocks, but the great bulk of the lands are rich in a volcanic ash soil, and produce large crops of grain without irrigation. A wrong view of the county can easily be impressed upon the traveler by rail; he will see so many of the basaltic rocks from the car windows but once up out of the canyon which the railroad follows, he will find himself in view of an expanse of wheat fields so vast and rich as to astonish him.

RESOURCES.

As already indicated, this county is essentially a grain producer. Wheat and oats are marketed in large quantities. Fruit-growing and stock-raising are important adjuncts to the county's wealth. It is comparatively new, and lands can be had at very reasonable prices.

TRANSPORTATION.

As now constituted, Douglas county will rely wholly upon the steamboat crafts on the river to get its grain to market. Its trade, however, [Page 56] is too vast to be passed by, and already two lines of railroad, the Washington & Great Northern and North Coast, are projecting into the very center of its vast wheat fields. With these roads completed as projected, Douglas county will have easy access to both water and rail transportation, and renewed importance will be given to its farming industries.

CITIES AND TOWNS.