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University of Michigan
PrHcated by
!in^.; lv,c^J^^A/v\ oWvv _ | ^^H
Spokane C
POKANE BOUNTY
AS IT IS. ^^'
2. 7 '<? «• 'i
•^•Solid+FaGts+and+Actual+Results.-^
"^^^ THE INFORMATION OF IMMMANTg
And Others.
By C. B. CARLISLE, JorKXAi.isr.
secON EDITIOK.
P()KII-A\I), ORK'JON:
SihAM I'KKSSI-S OK HlMKS TIIK T*KINTI.K.
INTRODUCTION.
VERY steamship and railway train coming to the North-
west, brings scores of immigrants from all parts of the
j^ world, and it is more than likely that this influx of people
j^ will continue for years to come and, notwithstanding the
avalanche of newspaper correspondence, pamphlets, etc., which
has been showered upon the people of the east, north and south,
for the past year or two, to the majority of these, Spokane
county or country is still a terra incognita^ and thousand of these
are athirst for every scrap of reliable information concerning it.
The great results so far accomplished ; the unprecedented pro-
duction of the soil ; the rapid, permanent and profitable growth
of the country in a general or special sense ; the superior climatic
surroundings with other features peculiar to the Spokane coun-
try, when written or spoken of, seem to be a presentation that
should be taken with a considerable degree of allowance, inter-
mingled with doubt as to liow far the information is to be credited.
It is not to be denied that many writers have been enthusiastic in
their descriptions, and while stating naught that is actually un-
true, exceptional cases, items or objects, have been largely treated
upon, and the idea conveyed that it was general and not special
results that were alluded to. Ideas like these have brought here
a great many people who expect to grow suddenly rich, and
these have been astonished and disappointed when they came to
realize that expenditure of brain, labor and money were neces-
sary to success here, as anywhere else in the world, and have
gone to the other extreme, and denounce all that was said of this
section, as untrue.
The success of many, the rapid I3" increasing prosperity of the
territory, the immense bulk of wealth of many kinds within the
scope of this county alone, have awakened an intense desire upon
the part of strangers for real information, and it is the desire of
the author to furnish that which can be readily substantiated.
We are hj)nest in the opinion that, taken as a whole, the north-
west is richer in natural resources than almost any other part of
tbe United States of the same area; and this is said, too, while
the industries are comparatively unde^veloped, when the country
is in a transition state, passing from the frontier existence, pros-
pecting excitement and temporary prosperity of railway build-
ing — all this, to a settled and definite condition, in which agri-
culture and manufacturing form the basis — while the capability
of expansion of these is really unkown. Under the rapid rail-
way development of this section by the O. R. & N. Co. and the
Northern Pacific, the expansion of our resources has been com-
pelled, and under this a new era has dawned for this country.
This railway spirit has opened up connection with other parts of
the world, provided markets and penetrated all the ramifications
of trade and commerce, and as a result, prosperity is seen in every
city, town and hamlet — really, in every face one meets.
My position as a journalist has given me superior advantages
for the collection and compilation of solid facts and results, and
these, rather than elo(j[uent language or beautiful embellishment,
will be found in this work. It is designed for use and informa-
tion, in the absence of what the wise men of our legislature
should have done for this country. Immigrants need to be in-
formed about this country, and this we have furnished here.
C. B. CARLISLE.
Spokane Falls, July, 1883.
SPOKANE COUNTY.
[ERHAPS the capabilities, resources and the probable
future developments of Spokane county have been less
intelligently written about and described than most of
those comprising this territorj\ Until July, 1881, there
was no communication by rail with adjoining counties, or the
outside world, and the traveler by stage followed roadways giving
him no glimpses of our valleys, or our broad fertile plains. Spo-
kane county is next to the largest in the territory, having an
area of 10,000 square miles, and lying east and south of the Co-
lumbia river. This area embraces all the vast and fertile region
lying within the Big Bend of the above named river, and which
is known as Spokane Plains in the northwest. And it is well
enough to say here, that the term " Spokane Plains " is not used
as it is in Eastern Nevada or Utah : there meaning an arid region,
for no part of the territory is within the so-called arid country.
The country joins the Pan-Handle of Idaho on the east, Stevens
county on the north, Whitman south and the Columbia on the
west. It is all within what is known as the great wheat belt of
Eastern Washington, and offers an inmiense region, much of
it as yet untouched, of the best of agricultural land.
CJjIMATE.
In the inquiry made about a new country, the climate is the
chief burden. It is made this l)y those of sound bodily health,
as well as those not in good health ; by those whose pursuits are
materially affected by climatic changes, as well as those who
follow mechanical industries.
The general belief among people in the outside world is that
our climate is an exceedingly cold one. This is an error, and
6
taken advantage of, too, by people in California, jealous of the
tide of immigration coming this way. Being so far north it
would be cold here, but for the fact that we are not subject to the
natural influences of climate — that is, not located with reference
to the zones. In the three months called winter, we have the
cUme of Maryland, Washington City, and Jefferson City, Mis-
souri. In the winter we have the influence of the soft, warm
winds from the China and Japan seas, and in summer these winds
are cooled by the high range of mountains lying to the west,
north and east of the Spokane country. According to the signal
service record, the average temperature for 1882 was 47.7°. Here
in the Falls, last winter, there were but seven days when car-
penters could not do outdoor work, and not more than two weeks
between November and January when it was not common to
see painters doing outside work. During the year, there were 21
davs when the maximum thermometer was below 32°, and six
days when it exceeded 75°. Rainfall, 20.18 inches. When we
have hot weather, the heat is not at all oppressive; everybody
laboring without any inconvenience. The nights are always
cool and refreshing, making light blankets a necessary part of
the bed clothing. Nothing could be more thoroughly delightful
than the spring and fall months.
Some seasons, snow may lie a month or six weeks on the ground.
Usually, however, it disappears within a few days. The speedy
melting of the snow is due, at times, to a somewhat remarkable
phenomenon. A periodical warm wind blows up the channel of
the Columbia from the southwest throughout the year. This is
called the *' Chinook." It penetrates the gaps and passes of the
mountain ranges of Montana. Before it the snow melts so
rapidly that often in the course of a few hours no vestige remains
where it lay a foot in depth a day before. The "Chinook"
wind is a great benetlt to the country. Its warm, moist atmos-
phere is doubtless the result of its passage across the great ther-
mal ocean stream, known as the Japan current, which operates
so powerfully to mitigate the climate of the entire northwest
coast, that otherwise would be cold and rigorous in the extreme.
Further, when it is very cold, there are no razor-like winds, as in
Nevada, Utah and Nebraska.
Spring begins in February with warm, pleasant weather, and
laste until the middle of May. At this season rain falls in suffici-
ent quantity to give life to vegetation and insure good crops.
Through the kindness of Dennis Moore, of the signal service
and government telegraph office here, we have been placed in
possession of the following data, as part of his annual meteoro-
logical summary for the year ending December, 1882. As the
the office was not in operation until February, the report covers
eleven months. The report is very elaborate in detail, but we
have only space for the following. For the eleven months a^s
stated, we have the following as the mean temperature:
degrees, degreea.
February 29.5 August 61.9
March 41.4 September 53.5
April 48.9 October 42.9
May 53.6 November 33.0
June 59.3 * December 31.3
July 65.6
These figures show the annual mean temperature to be 47.4°
Those who have been inquiring by letter, from time to time, about
the weather here, during the different months of the year, can
now see at a glance, what we have to offer in this respect, and
making comparisons with what the signal service furnishes in
different parts of the country, determine as to the most desirable
place to live, in this respect.
Another interesting feature of the report from which we glean,
is the number of clear days in the eleven months. The record is
as follows :
dear days. , clear days,
February 4 August lo
March 9 September 11
April 8 October 4
May 4 | November 1
June 3 , December 1
July 12
The following table presents the days of the year wherein the
maximum thermometer was below 32°, the minimum, and when
it exceeded 90° :
8
Max, below 32°. Minimum. Ex. 90°
February 7 16
March 16
April 2
May
June
July 4
August 2
September 1
October 6 8
November 20
December 7 27
Below we have the record of rainfall :
Inehes.
February 3.85
March 1.07
April ^1.20
May 50
June 1.23
July 2.25
August 45
September 2.55
October 1.42
November 2.23
December 2.44
Total for the 11 months 20.18
Between the middle of April and September the hours of the
day, after three o'clock, are deUghtful; the cooling breezes from the
mountain ranges and the ahnost frigid waters of the rivers, join in
making a most delicious temperature — one that leaves the inhabi-
tant or tourist nothing to wish for in that direction. The twilight
lasts so long, at this season, that even those with poor sight can
read a book as late as halt-past nine o'clock, without any other
light than that furnished by nature.
If one has a desire to revel in a season of dolce far tiientey we
know of no other place on the continent that is preferable to this
charming spot, Spokane Falls.
THE SOIL.
About Spokane Falls, Cheney, Sprague, Farinington, Ritzville,
in Peone Prairie, Moran Prairie, White Bluffs, Deep Creek Falls,
Medical Lake, Crab Creek, Rock ford. Hangman Creek and Rock
Creek — all localities tributary in a greater or less degree to
Spokane Falls, and best reached by the immigrant from this city,
and localities, too, where those wishing can procure land in
plenty, and at such rates as are within reach of every man hav-
ing brain, muscle and energy — the soil is a dark loam of great
depth, composed of alluvial deposits and decomposed lava overly-
ing a clay sub-soil. The constituents of this soil adapt the land
peculiarly to the production of wheat. All the mineral salts
which are necessary to the perfect growth of this cereal are
abundant, reproducing themselves constantly as the processes of
gradual decomposition in this soil of volcanic origin proceed. The
clods are easily broken by the plow, and the ground quickly
crumbles on exposure to the atmosphere. Although a dry season
may continue for months, this light, porous land retains and ab-
sorbs enough moisture from the atmosphere, after its particles have
been partially disintegrated, to insure perfect growths and full
harvests.
This assertion is so at variance with common experience that it
might well be questioned. Happily, it is susceptible of explana-
tion. In spite of the fact that there are comparatively few show-
ers between May and the following October, and that the average
rainfall for the year does not exceed 20 inches, there is always the
requisite moisture for maturing the crops. Paradoxical as it may
seem, if the rain were greatly in excess of this low average,
damage would certainly ensue, and it is equally sure, if successful
farming depended upon the limited rainfall, there would be poor
harvests. The clouds supply only in part the moisture which is
needed. The warm air currents, surcharged with vapor, which
sweep inland from the ocean, up the Columbia river, prevent
drought. The effect of these atmospheric currents in tempering
the climate has already been described. Their influence upon the
vegetation is no less vital. The moisture with which they are
laden is held in suspension during the day, diffused over the face
of the country. At night it is condensed by the cooler tempera-
ture and precipitated in the form of a fine mist on every exposed
Spokane C
POKANE BOUNTY
AS IT 18. '^'
2 7 "^ i 'I
■^•Solid+Facts+and+AGtual+Results.-^
FOR THE INFORMATION OF IMMMANTg
And Others.
By (". B. CARIilSLK, Joiknaltst.
SECOK C BDITIOK.
POKTLAM), OREliO.V:
SiKAM PRRSSF.S UK lIlMES THK PkINTKK.
iSS.i.
12
\
Board and room per week 5 50 to 6 50
Day board in private family 4 00
Board and room in private family 5 00
For transients the hotel charges are from $1.50 to $2.50 per
day, with free transportation to and from the house.
A house of from 2 to 8 rooms can be rented for from $10 to $15
per month ; wood ready for the stove costs about $1.75 per rick — 8
feet long, 4 feet high, and stove length.
Timber is plentiful and lumber at the mills can be had for from
$12 to $18 per M.
Flour in sacks, $2 per 100 lbs. At the bakers you get 14 bread
tickets for $1.
Lamp-oil, $3 to $3.50 per five gallon can.
Clothing, ready made, is not more than 10 per cent, higher than
in the east.
Dress goods are ten per cent, higher than in the east.
Milk, delivered by the month, $3 for one quart per day.
Out in the country, the prices of food, that is such articles as are
produced there, are at least 10 per cent, cheaper than those given
above.
Spokane Falls Market Beport, April:
Apples, dried, per lb 16
20
20
8
4
H
4
40
25
12
8
8
Peaches,
per lb
Plums,
Beans,
Onions,
Potatoes,
Cabbage,
Butter,
Cheese,
Beef,
Mutton,
Pork,
Corn Beef, *' 7
Corn Meal, '* 7J
t(
((
U
2
20
15
18
Oats, per lb
Barley,
Ham,
Shoulder'*
Bacon, **
Chickens, per doz $3 00
Eggs, per doz 25
Syrup, per gal 1 00
Honey, *"' 2 00
Apples, per box 2 50
Lard, 10 lb. can 2 00
Brown sugar, 6 lbs. for... 1 00
Coffee, 4 lbs. for 1 00
Canned goods, about 25
Oat Meal,
((
7h
13
And while upon the question of finances, it is well enough to
say, that the territory is not a dollar in debt, but has a large bal-
ance on hand. The county of Spol^ane owes nothing, all the
different funds showing healthy balances of casli on hand, especi-
ally that set apart for school purposes ; and taxable property for
this year will aggregate fully $3,500,000. The county tax is 15
mills on the dollar. Our county sheriff makes the estimate, that
the increase of grain acerage in the county this year, will be
40 per cent., or about 70,000 acres.
One of the very best evidences of this probable increase in
acreage, and that our farmers do not propose to work with rude
and slovenly makeshifts, but that this section of country is rapidly
settling down to what must become the basis of all future pros-
perity here, is the large sales of the best of agricultural imple-
ments. There are four firms in Spokane Falls dealing in these
implements, and from these gentlemen we have their sales for
April, 1882, given in the following order : $4,600, $2,a50, $2,900,
and $2,150; a total of $12,200. These implements are of the very
best manufactured, the most expensive, and possessed of all the
modern improvements. When it is remembered that all the sales
of these implements, for all the seasons from the first settlement
of the county, or this part of it, would not aggregate $5,000, the
record above given carries with it a weight of evidence not real-
ized in any other way.
CROP REPORTS.
While we have said, in a general way, that the yield of wheat,
oats and barley will average so much, the proof of the pudding is
the eating thereof, and we take it, that the man who thinks of
coming out here to engage in agriculture will be pleased to have
something to detail, so we have concluded to give the following
report of Mr. C. Bartlet, who threshed the grain in Peone Prairie
—twelve miles from here — last season :
The wheat of Leonard Dill, of Peone plateau, yielded 35 bushels
to the acre. At one time during the season he thought it would
not pay to take the grain to the sack.
The result of the threshing at T. J. Doak^s was: wheat, 29
bushels to the acre; barley, 51 bushels, and oats, 62 bushels. The
wheat stood very thin, and Mr. Doak at one time intended to cut
it for hay.
14
James^ Fran7.en's nats yieldfii fiT bushels (o the a<?re, after cattle
had pastured Id it time and again during the eeaeos. Properly
pared for, the result wnuld have probably been 75 or 80 hushels.
As an evident* iif the fertility of the soil in this section of
country, we have the testimony of Dr. J. J. Piper, that he sowed
exactly 150 p<mndti of oats, and from that, the threahera testily
they gave him 175 hushelB of the grain.
From Hi atres of land, H. Dart took 10.5 buBhela of oats.
From S acres of wheat, Chas. Hone took ;j5a buahela of grain,
machine measure. HIh wheat and oats, as a crop, yielded over ai
httahcls to the 'acre.' He flnds sale for hia wheat, for seed, at a
cent and a quarter.
And it is a further evidence In this direction that apecimene of
the grain grown in the fields In the immediate vicinity of Spokane
Falls, put on exhibition at the Mechanics' Fair in Portland, last
meneon, took the diploma.
Ah tbr vegetablcB of all kinde, potatoes, turuipB, pawnipH,
i.'ubbage, beets, onions, and alniost every thing coming under the
head of "garden truck," what is grown here, in of the largest
kind, ftill in yield, of excellent flavor and quality. The potatoes
raised here are very large. The same is true of cabbage, onions
and turnips. Berries dnd small bruits are plentiful.
It has been UAil abroad that we can not raise fruit in this section
of country, that we are too far north. Ab a contradiction Ui this,
we state, that within twelve miles of this city there are a doiien
orchards, all thrifty and bearing. We can give the names of more
than flftj' farmers who this year have bought young trees with
which to start orchards. Mr. H. N, Muzzy, a mile from town,
north, hoM this season set out I,0()0 apple and ^K) other trees.
The best contradiction to the assertion that we are too far norl h ,
is in the fact that John Rickey, who lives eighty inilen north of
Bpokane Falls, has a targe orchard, and last season produced ii
lat^e quantity of splendid fruit. And still ftirther, there are here
on exhibition a few apples forwarded by Judge Lulirle, from the
15
700 trees' orchard of F. B. Smith, who lives "within a mile of the
49th parallel, and near Okanagan lake, a long journey to the north
and west of Spokane Falls. These apples are not only very large
and sound, but of excellent flavor, equal to any fruit produced in
Indiana, Ohio or New York. Mr. Smith had plenty of peaches,
plums, pears and melons, during last season.
R. G. Williamson, who came from Kansas five years ago, has
operated a farm five miles east of this place, taking land that was
supposed to be almost worthless, has been marketing gooseberries
for four years, has cherry trees two years old, bearing fruit, and
peach trees in bloom the second year from the planting of the pit.
He has prunes, plums, apples and currants, and has been more
fortunate with these fruits here than he was in Kansas. He gives
us the names of half a dozen neighbors who have been equally
fortunate in this respect.
Mr. Havermale, of Moran Prairie, has had the same experience
with fruit as that detailed by Mr. Williamson.
INFORMATION IN PORTLAND.
Emigrantrt en route by steamer are met at Astoria by an au-
thorized agent from tlie Northern Pacific Land Department and
Immigration Bureau, who, during the journey by steamship from
that point to Portland, will furnish them with all desired informa-
tion relative to their needs while in the last named place, and
their journey to other points in the northwest.
Once in Portland, the emigrant in search of farming lands or
town lots in the various outlying localities in Oregon or Wash-
ington Territory, is directed to the Northern Pacific Land Office,
which is convenient to all hotels and steamship landings, where
he will find Mr. Paul Schulze, general agent of the western district,
and a fiill and eflOicient corps of assistants, to aid him in making a
satisfactory selection of a new home in the northwest. Here the
stranger is furnished with practical and reliable information con-
cerning this great region of country. The emigrant has only to
be frank and straightfon;\^ard himself in order to obtain what he
requires. If he will be guided by these gentlemen he need not
make a mistake of any kind.
WHO SHOULD COME.
No one should think of emigrating without sufficient means for
self-support for at least a short time after reaching his destination;
16
for HUitable employiiieiit immediately after arrival can not always
Ih: relied on, and there is nothing more diseoura^ng to the new
er>mer than to become a subject of public or private charity. This
caution applies particularly to heads of families, who would be
cruelly derelei-t in their duty to expose those depending on them
t^> the risk of destitution on arrival. Families who contemplate
s«*ttling on lands will require, after providing for all traveling ex-
I)enses, from $300 to |oOO with which to meet the cost of putting
up a house, for live stock, seed, farming implements, provisions,
etc.
(jrood health is the first requisite of a person who proposes to
emigrate to a new country, with a view to impro^'ing his con-
dition in life. Although the climate of the Pacific Northwest is
HO favorable as to insure exemption from many diseases which
prevail in other states, and to promise relief in certain ailment**,
the chances are that immigration will prove a mistake in the case
of confirmed invalids who are w)mpelled to work for a living.
Generally speaking, persons accustomed to ordinary and me-
chanical labor, and who unite frugal habits with persevering
industry, will run the least risk in emigrating; but indi\iduals
unwilling to work, or accustomed to live by their wits, are not
wanted. Idlers will only go from bad to worse, and adventurers
will not prosper. It requires health, labor, courage and persist-
ence to succeed here as elsewhere, and emigrants must expect to
endure the privations of life in a new country, holding before
them the certainty of future comfort and prosperity. Capitalists
could not make a mistake by investing their money here in the
purchase of tj iber, mineral or agricultural lands, and by estab-
lishing manutactories for the production of all goods made of
wool, iron or wood. Such opportunities for making great wealth
do not exist elsewhere. In this region money don't grow on
trees, and most honest people get it only by the sweat of the
brow, still there t. enough filthy lucre in these parts to supply a
moderate amount of it to every industrious, energetic person who
is rightly anxious to work without being too particular as to tlie
kind of work.
Wages here are above the average over the Union. All over
this section are opportunities for the right kind of men to make
a good living and good homes. But idlers, spendthrifts, intem-
perate men, slow-going, sleepy-headed customers, may as well
17
stay where they are, for neither the people nor the country will
welcome them, or fling fortunes into. their laps. If you are wide
awake and full of go-ahead, come along and reap your share of
the prosperity which is just in the future in this section. If you
have always been left in the lurch, or had your eyes almost cheated
out of you wherever you have lived, don^t come here to experi-
ment, for the result would likely be the same.
Rents are reasonable. In this city dwellings range from $8 per
month to $20 — $10 and $15 being about the average. There is a
wider range for places of business. Eligible ofllces rate at from
$8 to $10 for a single room, and from $10 to $20 for a suite, depend-
ing upon location and character of building. The smaller class
of shops can be had at $12 to $25, and good store rooms at from
$30 to $80 per month. This city is the largest and best in this
part of the Territory. Business centers here, and is undergoing
an expansion of the most gratifying character. No place on the
Pacific coast has better prospects than Spokane Falls.
The whole Territory is now infused with a new life, and pos-
sessed of an activity in excess of anything of the like heretofore
seen. Its population is being rapidly augmented, and its resources
are being developed in a more than corresponding manner. For
all that is produced there is a demand, and more is produced here
per capita than by any other equal population of the United
States.
. Our markets are good, and growing larger every year, so that
those who till the soil need have no fear of not disposing of all
they produc^. Of course there are always some drr /backs, as in
all new countries, and we do not claim this as a Paradise, but we
believe it to be one of the best, where a man of limited means
can, in a short time, make himself a home and a competency.
For those who have capital, no country in the world offers better
chances than that of the Spokane country, i i the next few
years fortunes will be made by those who take time by the fore-
lock. Our resources offer an unbounded field for enterprise, and
the attention which they deserve is being attracted this way.
The completion of railroads connecting us with the East will
send to our shores a vast population, and will turn our wilder-
ness into one of the most wealthy and prosperous states.
The most prudent and practical men in our midst do not enter-
tain the shadow of a doubt in regard to the capacity of Spokane
18
county to support twenty times the population now within its
limits.
Taken for granted all that may be claimed for the future of this
section, the question that must be uppermost in each immigrant's
mind has sole reference to immediate employment. The mass of
them arrive with no greater capital than muscle and brave hearts.
These are the class of people who will be gladly welcomed to our
midst. The pilgrim who came by the train last night has but to
look about him at the signs of thrifty business to see the pros-
perity of men who, in a large majority of instances, were poorer
than the average of those coming in to-day. To be sure, the
opportunities for accumulation were greater in the early settle-
ment of the country than they are at the present time ; just as ,
this region is now a more favorable field for operation than the
crowded communities where every avenue for employment is
filled and every inviting field for profitable investment fully
occupied.
A TEMPORARY HOME FOR IMMIGRANTS.
At a meeting of the citizens of Spokane Falls, held in March
of 1883, Mr. Paul Schulze, Chief of the N. P. Land Department
and Immigration Bureau, in speaking of the immigration to this
point and the necessity for some action on the part of citizens. in -
behalf of new-comers, said : ^
At this place the infiowing immigration will strike the fi.
point from which the home seeker can go out in search u
land. The Little Spokane and Colville region is within easy
reach to the north, the Cottonwood and Big Bend countries to
the west, and towards the south extends a broad stretch of the
most productive land, on both sides of the boundary line of
Washington and Idaho all the way to Snake river. Now then,
if you take steps to care for and assist the immigrants when they
reach town, if you provide a place where the women and
children can remain while the men are out looking for land or
work, the immigrants will make Spokane Falls their starting
point, and you will f\ecure a large and lucrative trade. Caring for
and assisting the immigrant means business for every one of your
merchants and bankers ; it means the building up of varied in-
dustries, of mills and factories ; it means prosperity to all. Treat
the immigrant well, assist him to the utmost in the hard task of
providing a home in a strange country, and you will tie the
settler to you and your town. • So go to work and erect a large .
building, an immigrant house, in which the new. comers can find
shelter and places to cook their food, free of charge. Do this at
once, and put the management of the building m charge of a
committee of your citizens. The immigrant with ample means
19
will not need such assistance ; but many will come with but
small means, and many will have but little more capital than
their muscle and energy. What little money they may have
they can not afford to spend in hotel bills ; they need it for their
outfit. It is for th^se that I suggest to you to provide shelter. If
you do that, the men will leave their families here while they are
In search of land, and they will come back for their families and
purchase their outfit here. They will become acquainted with
you and you with them, and it will be an easy matter for you to
keep their trade. If you take no steps to assist and help the new
comers by doing, as I have suggested, the immigration will pass
by and with it prosperity and wealth. Other towns will do what
r now advise you to do. They will grow in size and prosperity ;
they will build up industries, although their advantages may not
be ecjual to yours, while you will sit on the banks of the Spokane
with nothing to do but to admire your fine site and magnificent
water power. Rely upon nothing but your own thrift and
energy, or else what should be a great help will become a curse to
you. It is, after all, the people, and not the location that makes
a city. The Lord helps those that help themselves.
The citizens of Spokane Falls have been prompt to act upon
the suggestion of Mr. Schulze, and have already erected and
properly furnished a building for the free use of immigrants.
WRONG ESTIMATES.
In view of the almost inevitable result from the rapid increase
of population, producing an unnatural disturbance in the social
and economical conditions of the business community, it is not
only possible, but extremely probable, that'a great many will form
their estimate of the whole Territory from the phenomenal con-
dition of things they find at this threshold of the country. Any
such estimate will be unreasonable and unjust to the person form-
ing it. Let the same number of people be suddenly set down in
the heart of any of our more prosperous Western States, and the
result would be no less disastrous. In fact there is far more elas-
ticity to the commercial relations of a new country and more op-
portunities for expansion in the line of her limited industries.
Our new friends should not wait for something to turn up, but go
to work and create opportunities for themselves.
RAILWAY BUILDING.
The Northern Pacific main line is complete. The western ter-
minus of the inlarnd portion of the road is at Wallula, situated on
the Columbia river, twelve miles below the mouth of Snake river.
The road here forms a connection with the Oregon Railway and
Navigation Company's line through to Portland. From the
20
latter point the line is down the west side of the Columbia river
to a point opposite Kalama. There is good reason to believe that
within two months this section will be completed, and then the
Territories of Idaho, Montana and Washington will have unin-
terrupted conmiunication.
The road from Snake river eastward, follows a line well adapted
for railways. It nearly divides by a diagonal northeasterly line.
Eastern Washington Territory, and drains a country as capable
of raising Vheat as the famous Walla Walla region.
There is no doubt — since Mr. Villard has said it — that a branch
of this road will be constructed to Rockford, lying in the midst of
one of the most fertile grain belts in the upper country. The
town of Rockford is about twenty-eight miles to the southeast, —
a busy, thriving place. Other branches will probably radiate
from Spokane Falls, and will include about 12,000 square miles of
rich farming land, located as follows : The east half of Whitman
county, three-quarters of Spokane, and one-third of Stevens
counties, in Washington Territory, and one-fourth of North
Idaho. One-third of the above, or nearly 4,000 square miles,
would be tapped by the south branch, via the easy grade of Hang-
man creek to Famiington, Moscow and farther east. A second
branch to the west from Spokane Falls to near Lake Chelan,
would tap an additional one-third, or 4,000 square miles. A third
branch, from Spokane .Falls north to the Columbia river, near
Kettle falls, would tap nearly 2,000 square miles ; while the partly
finished branch, to be extended from a point on the Northern
Pacific line, forty miles east of Ains worth, to Cplfax, would tap
probably over 2,000 square miles. Here is an empire in itself,
two-thirds of it lying in two compact bodies to the west and south
of this point. Considerable of the land upon the south branch
has been settled upon and cultivated from one to five years past,
with the grand result of a total average yield for a series of years,
or since its first cultivation, of over thirty bushels of wheat per
acre, while the country west from Spokane Falls, extending over
130 miles, to near Lake Chelan, and south of the great bend of
the Columbia, an average of over thirty miles in width, is a
c()mi)act body of as fine farming land as exists upon this con-
tinent. The surface is less broken than the land to the south of
the Falls, consisting of great easy swells. The soil is even richer
than that of the average of the Palouse section, while the general
21
westerly inclination of this country towards the Columbia insures
for it a much higher average prevailing temperature. This great
fertile tract comprises an area equal in extent to that of the Walla
Walla and Yakima valleys combined. The grade for a railway
from Spokane Falls, furnished by a long, level ridge, which ex-
tends from this point for a distance of over seventy miles to the
Grand Coulee, is exceptionally easy and economical of construc-
tion, while from thence on, nearly to Lake Chelan, the principal
engineering difficulty encountered is the crossing of the Grand
Coulee, over which a feasible route, or at least one no more diflSlcult
or expensive than the crossing of Hangman creek, has recently
been discovered. This will eventually be the most inaportant of
the Northern Pacifiers axial branches, as this section has of late
been the favorite one for immigrants, who have located there in
large niunbers. Only as far west as the Great Bend the popula-
tion now numbers over 2,500. Hence, ^tis evident the next great
wave of immigration, which will be immeasurably larger than
the two preceding ones to the Walla Walla and Palouse sections,
will roll towards what is now known as the Big Bend country.
The proposed branch road, eighty miles in length north to the
Columbia river, near Kettle falls, or at the mouth of the Nehola-
pilkwa river, will also have exceptionally light grades, and is in
every respect an easy and economical road to construct. At the
above point of junction the road will tap 320 miles of continuous
river navigation northwardly into British Columbia, tapping the
Canadian Pacific and a rich mineral field several thousand square
miles in extent, besides affording an outlet to the Little Spokane
and Colville valleys, as well as large tracts of the finest quality of
cedar and white pine upon the eastern slope of the Cascades.
The branch of the Northern Pacific railroad from Palouse
Junction to the towns of Colfax, Moscow and Farmington, is be-
ing constructed and will be in full operation by the end of the
present year.
In New York, recently, Mr. Villard stated to an officer in the
army, that he would construct a railway from Spokane Falls to
the Columbia north of Colville, using the incorporation articles
and franchise granted an organized company in this city last year.
Doubtless he has been infiuenced by the fact that the Canadian
syndicate has succeeded in getting Parliament to adopt a more
southerly route, called the Kicking Horse Pass, chosen by Major
22
Rogers, chief engineer of the mountain district of the Canadian
Pacific, and which will bring the line to cross the Columbia
twice, within 200 miles of Colville, and to which, and beyond,
from the latter place, or Kettle Falls, there is a splendid river for
the larger boats. For a long time supplies for the Canadian people
must come through this city and the Colville valley. In all
ways — geographically, topographically, the condition of Spokane
river, as that relates to its crossing, its relation to other localities
in Eastern Washington and to the Northern Pacific, as well as its
commercial status, — Spokane Falls is the natural connecting point
between San Francisco, Portland, the country south of us, and
the great up-country.
There can be no doubt that the building and completion of the
Grand Trunk Canada Pacific to the north of us, even through
the Selkirk range, would have benefited this section and that
lying between this point and the 49th parallel — benefitted it in a
great degree — but that benefit is immeasurably increased now
that the railway route has been changed to a southern, or the
Columbia river route, and its building and completion comes not
only directly in our neighborhood, but makes this part of Eastern
Washington the basis of supplies. In all this there is something
real solid and hopeful, not only as to the immediate, but to the
more distant future. We do not assert that the great domain
lying to the north of us, partly in British Columbia and partly in
our own country, and pierced by the Canada Pacific, as an Arca-
dia, but we think it has always been undervalued by those who
know little of it, and that it is full of great possibilities.
Capital is always seeking investment of this kind, and that a
railway line between the Northern Pacific at this point and Col-
ville, operating in conjunction with an Upper Columbia line of
steamers, will be a matter of fact in the near future, there can be
little if any doubt.
Track laying was commenced at Ainsworth, August,* 1880, and
the force worked in all 132 days — distance 149 miles. The follow-
ing are some of the elevations on the main line : Spokane Falls,
1,907 ; Marshall, 2,115; Cheney, 2,342; Clifton, 1,989; Westwood,
2,219; 202d mile, 2,461 ; Prescott Lake, 2,215 ; Cocolala, 2,240 ; Sand
Point, 2,056 ; Pack River, 2,056; Lightning Creek, 2,066; Cannon^s,
2,086 ; Blue Creek, 2,100 ; Crossing, 295th mile, 2,215 ; and Martinis,
2,225.
23
MINERAL.
Up to the present writing, comparatively little has been done in
this section, in the way of developing— what we certainly have —
great mineral resources. We suppose that if the few ledges,
worked in the country north of Spokane, or in the Pend d' Oreille
country, were away off in Arizona, or in some bleak, inhospit-
able and rugged region, the rush of capital and labor would be a
marvel of the mining age ; but it is all within easy railway and
steamer ride of Portland and '"Frisco," it all lies awaiting the
open-sesame of some far-seeing operator, to reveal and rifle the
Aladdin-like caves of wealth. We fully believe that within live
years, or less, there will be developed in this section quartz, gravel
and placer diggings, which will equal in extent and productive-
ness any that have ever been developed in the same area in Cali-
fornia, Nevada, or Utah. This prediction is based upon the re-
sults that have been reached from the smallest and most super-
ficial labor, and the specimens constantly shown.
WESTERN DISTRICT LANDS.
The great bulk of the agricultural lands in Washington Terri-
tory are owned and conveyable only by the Northern Pacific
Bailroad Company, and it is pertinent to advert here to the policy
of the managers in the disposal of such property. Prior to Sept.,
1883, these lands were sold at the minimum price of $2.60 per acre.
Under the present system these farming lands are graded, and
such prices afllxed as shall be warranted by the quality of the
soil, nature of surface, nearness to market, and such other consid-
erations as naturally establish values. Exceptionally good lands
are worth from three to five dollars per acre.
The emigrant can buy for cash or on time, as he may elect, the
company making no discrimination in price. One-fifth of the
purchase price must be paid upon delivery of the land. At the
end of the year the purchaser pays the interest of seven per cent,
for that twelve month. Each year thereafter the buyer pays one-
fifth and interest to date, until the land is his own.
The conditions of the company, made to check the purchase of
lands by speculators, are, to cultivate one-sixth of the land within
two years of purchase. This cultivation means farming, in the
general application of the word.
24
Towards actual settlers, the attitude of the company is one of
exceptional liberality, and the rapid settling up of this territory
is the bctet proof of the wisdom of such a policy.
HOW TO GET HERE.
Emigrants come by speedy and comfortable conveyance. The
long and tedious journey by wagon roads, with its train of hard-
ships and dangers, is numbered with past events, and a rich and
smiling country, so long hidden in solitude, is now revealed to
the world, and invites to occupation. The valuable part of our
broad domain is now brought into direct intercourse with the
eastern states by means of the Northern Pacific Railroad.
At San Francisco the traveler finds every three days a steam-
ship ready to carry him to Portland, for $20 in the cabin and $10
in the steerage. At the latter city he can buy a ticket for Spokane
Falls for $21.70. The actual expense from San Francisco to this
point — first class is $45.00; second class, $35.00. He can leave
Portland every morning, except Sunday, at seven o'clock; mak-
ing the journey between Portland and this city in twenty-four
hours. The Union and Central Pacific roads have greatly re-
duced their second and third-class rates, and a man who is willing
to travel cheap, and Uve a good deal in the lunch-basket style, can
make the journey from New York, or any of the eastern cities,
to Spokane Falls for one hundred dollars, or even less.
WHAT A HOME HEBE COSTS.
The question is often asked: What does it cost to secure a home
in Eastern Washington ? That will depend very much on the
kind of a home one wishes to get. The new beginner can be
made comfortable on a very little, if satisfied to go slowly. A
farmer, who has a pleasant looking place, gives us the following
figures :
Fees for entering claim $14 (X)
Expenses visiting land ofiOice 2 00
Material for house, 16x18 45 00
Cooking-stove, crockeryware, half doz. chairs, table, two
bedsteads 80 00
One yoke of cattle 125 00
Plow 23 00
Wagon 75 00
25
Flour (four persons, six months) 30 00
Groceries '. 15 00
Cow 25 00
Fuel 30 00
Hogs, hoes, rakes, shovels, scythe, etc 40 00
Total $504 00
The first year he broke his land and grew sufficient wheat,
potatoes and vegetables for his own use. He also worked for his
neighbors to the amount of $150, his time not being required on
his own ranch. The second year he bought seed and a harrow
for $75, and that year paid for help to harvest his grain, $75. He
also worked out this year to the amount of $100. At the end of the
second year, his r^nch stood him in at $614, and he sold his crop
for $1,000, leaving him a balance of $386, not counting his earn-
ings from neighbors, $250. In other words, this man, after pay-
ing for his farm in two years and securing a comfortable home,
had a surplus of $639 with which to build better buildings, clothe
and educate his family.
UNITED STATF:S LAND LAWS.
The liberal provisions which have been made by the United
States Government for acquiring public lands are to be found in
the following summary of the acts of Congress relating to the
subject :
Under the provisions of the "Homestead Law," every head of
a family, male or female, or single man over twenty-one years of
age, a citizen of the United States, or having declared his inten-
tion to become such, can enter, on payment of the registry fees,
which range from $5.50 to $22, one hundred and sixty acres of
government land, excepting lands bearing gold, silver, cinnabar
or copper. After five years' continuous residence upon and im-
provement of the land, the government will give the claimant a
perfect title.
Under the Pre-emption Law, persons who are qualified to take
up land under the conditions applying to the homestead law, and
who are not already in possession of three hundred and twenty
acres in any of the States or Territories of the United States, may
26
"enter" and establish a pre-emption right, at the government
land office of the district, on payment of a fee of $3. In other
words, any such person has the right to purchase a tract of one
hundred and sixty acres, either within or without the limits of a
railroad grant, at $2.50 per acre in the former, and at $1.25 per
acre in the latter case. Where the tract is offered for sale by the
government, the land must be paid for within thirteen months
from the date of settlement, otherwise within thirty-three months.
The United States land office for this section is located here. The
immigrant will find local land agents of the Northern Pacific
Railroad Company also in this city.
HOW TO VISIT OUTLYING PLACES.
Once here and desiring to visit the outlying country, the trav-
eler has the choice of excellent private conveyance from three or
four livery stables, or by stage and railway. He can go to West-
wood by rail, 28 miles east ; by the same conveyance to Cheney,
16 miles southwest ; Sprague, 40 miles in the same direction ; Col-
ville, 75 miles north, by stage, six times each week ; to Deep
Creek Falls, half a day's journey west by stage ; Cottonwood, a
day's journey by the same conveyance ; Spangle, half a day's
journey to the southwest, taking in Rockford during the trip ; go
to Medical Lake by stage, eleven miles north of Cheney. Peone
Prairie, Moran Prairie, White Bluff's, Hangman, and other excel-
lent farming localities hard by, are only reached by private con-
veyance, at a very reasonable cost.
DRESS.
And just here let me insert a thought as to dress for this climate.
In every part of this section everybody wears woolen undercloth-
ing all the year round. Now and .then, in the middle of the day
in summer, people dress themselves in light overclothing, but
every careful person resumes heavier dress, and the men light
overcoats, in the evening.
Spokane Falls, Past and Present.
PAST.
lEN or twelve years ago, a cabin or two, and a squatter'.'
claini, represented Spokane Falls. The great river div-
ided itself into half a dozen branches, and in almost every
form of beauty rippled down the cascades, and went
plunging over precipices ; but out from its banks, then, there was
scarcely a footprint of civilization, and it was long, weary miles
to where the white man had gained a foothold. Two squatters,
Se£h R. Scranton and J. J. Downing, who, if we are correctly
informed, carried on a horse-flesh business, hardly in keeping
with good morals in trade, claimed ownership of the plateau, on
which most of the town is now built. It was hypothetical, but
in those days it was good, and when, on the 11th of May, 1878,
James N. Glover, who, prompted by a spirit of adventure and
frontierism, had journeyed from Oregon, rode into the camp by
the Spokane, felt that this was a "promised land," and here he
would raise his Ebenezer. The squatters declined to get up and
dust, except upon the payment of
TWO HUNDRKD TWENTY-DOLLAR GOLD PIECES.
That was a good deal of money in those days ; a very great sum
when hard earned. Besides, the Northern Pacific had been pro-
jected, and Mr. Olover had to take the risk of the plateau falling
upon a railway section. Not only this, but he stood a show of
having his hair lifted by the vagabond Indians, then quite plenty
about the falls. But Mr. Glover watched the grand flow of water
from a utilitarian stand-point, he had a vision of a bright, thrifty,
busy city upon the banks of the river, a completed railway, and
for himself a conipetence for later years, and the shining gold
28
slipped into the saddle bags of the squatters, and they rode away,
leaving him in quiet possession. Then came days of hardship,
and nights of anxiety on account of the savages ; but by showing
a determined mein to these vagabonds, an evident intention of
protecting his rights, the days passed on without any conflict,
until other white men found their way to this locality and joined
hands to wrest from nature the promised opportunities and re-
sources for homes, comfort and wealth. A Mr. Sheets this year
surveyed the sections and mapped off the townships, and while
Mr. Glover had opportunity to become possessed of the land lying
chiefly in what is Havermale's addition, he chose that west of
this, including the lower water-power sites.
In May, 1875, these pioneers were joined by Rev. S. G. Haver-
male, who emigrated from Illinois to Walla Walla, where he was
pastor of the M. E. Church. He was made a presiding elder here,
he pre-empted 160 acres which embraced what is now his addition
to the city. His claim was in the form of a Z, the west line pass-
ing in a northwest direction from where he now resides to the
river, crossing to the small island through the west end of what
is now the lower mill dam. Mr. Havermale brought his family
with him, with the exception of the daughter, now Mrs. Dr.
Burch, of Walla Walla. His sons located at Moran Prairie,
where they now reside. Mr. Havermale^ s coming was the pioneer
effort of Methodism in this country. He preached to the few
gathered here, and traveled a circuit which took in a very large
scope of country, but in which few people resided.
Btirring times occurred here in 1877, the period of the Nez
Perces war. Spokane Falls was not in the war path, but was
crowded with savages, of different tribes, who were impudent
and saucy, and jostled the few whites, at every opportunity. On
the 13th of June, of that year, the Indian scare reached its height,
and the settlers of the surrounding country came to town, with the
people here, camping on the large island for a few days, when the
anticipated danger passed, and the usual affairs of the town were
resumed. In 1878, A. M. Cannon, then in mercantile business in
Portland, and J. J. Browne, at one time superintendent of schools,
in the same city, visited this country. They came as much in
search of health in a recreative visit, as to spy out the land, but
were so impressed with the beauty of the place and climate, and
the outlook in a business point of view , that they at once struck
29
a bargain with J. N. Glover, purchasing one-half of his landed
interest.
THE CITY NOW.
Spokane Falls is a very bright and busy city of ten or twelve
hundred people, delightfully situated just where Spokane river
divides itself into a half dozen or more branches and in every im-
aginable form of rounded beauty, swings around islands, ripples
down cascades, plunges over precipices, and finally, after reunit-
ing all its branches, makes a jubilant leap of sixty-five feet into
the chasm below. We have seen Niagara and many other cele-
brated falls and cascades, but Spokane has forms and blendings of
beauty we have never seen elsewhere. When it is studied from a
utilitarian stand-point it is evidently the finest water-power on
the continent.
The governor signed the bill incorporating the city, November
29, 1881, with the following city government : Mayor, Robert W.
Forrest. Councilmen — A. M. Cannon, F. R. Moore, L. H. White-
house, W. G. Gray, S. G. Havermale, L. W. Rima, G. A. Davis.
J. N. Glover is the present mayor.
The city has had a very marked growth during the past twenty
months, and its importance as a commercial and educational
centre is more thoroughly established than was ever anticipated
by the most sanguine early settlers. It is already the distributing
point for supplies for quite all the Spokane region, much of the
Northern Idaho country, and for the Colville section.
East of this on the line of the Northern Pacific, there is no town
of much importance till Missoula is reached, so that this city is
likely to remain the chief place in this part of Eastern Wash-
ington. Like the American modern town, it is regularly laid out
with broad streets running north and south, east and west, inter-
secting each other at right angles. When Mr. Villard, during his
visit in October last, said, **This is the handsomest town-site I
have met with since leaving the east," he stated what every
stranger repeats who visits the place. The town-site is a gravelly
plateau a mile long and a half mile wide, with an easy ascent from
the river edge to the high wooded blufl* south of the city, and a
natural drainage from east to west, with the run of the river.
For the most part, the inhabitants are eastern people of means,
mostly, foU of enterprise, energy and thrift, and a stranger in-
30
vited to one, of the social gatherings, and judging by the manners,
the sentiments expressed, or by the dress of ladies and gentlemen,
could not distinguish any difference between this and the best
society of eastern and western cities.
Spokane Falls never segregated that class generally found in
isolated western settlements, and to-day can boast of havipg a
society e(iual to almost any town or city of its size in the east. At
the beginning of 1882 the people found themselves over the hurry
of the frontier effort, with leisure, means and disposition at hand
for the embellishment of their homes and grounds, and the»ex-
ception is to find a citizen not engaged in planting trees and
shrubbery, cultivating flowers, re-arranging the box-housfes into
tasty modern cottages, or converting them into really fine and
handsome residences. Fences have been placed about most of
the lots, lawns laid out, and every advantage taken of the natural
surroundings to beautify. Within all these homes, those modem
civilizers, music, books, pictures, newspapers, etc., are found in
profusion. Spokane Falls has five churches and congregations:
Methodist, Congregational, Baptist, Episcopalian and Catholic.
All the denominations have churches. The Methodist Confer-
ence has located a college at this point, and it is the intention of
the society to build up here an institution of learning to accom-
modate the Northwest. The Catholic people have also located a
college or university here, which is to be a companion institution
to the one at San Jose, California. One of the largest and best
conducted public schools in Eastern Washington is thoroughly
established here. It is also the location of the Rodney Morris
school, Episcopalian, and the deservedly special pride of that de-
nomination. It will be enlarged still more the coming season.
An excellent public library is one of the agreeable features of the
city. Two weekly newspapers, the Heiriew and the Chronicle,
are published here. The Masons have a strong lodge, also a
Royal Arch Chapter, and there are lodges of the I. O. O. F., A.
O. U. W., and I. O. C. F. The improvements are substantial, the
business appearance striking, the residences neat, and some of
them city-like in dimensions and style, and everything betokens
a feeling and purpose of permanence. Unlike most of the towns
in the Northwest, everything here is of a permanent character.
The buildings are substantial; there is a fixed and settled senti-
ment among the business men, and better still, no department of
31
trade or commerce is overdone in this city. While other towns
along the line of the Northern Pacific are over-crowded, and from
five to ten years beyond the growth and needs of the adjacent
country, Spokane Falls has simply kept even, and progressed
with the growth and development of the surrounding country.
There are wholesale and retail houses here doing an immense
trade with the outer country; several of these merchants carrying
stocks valued at from $30,000 to $70,000. Spokane Falls is the com-
mercial center of all this part of the Territory, and nothing can
take from her this supremacy but a short-sighted policy of her
people, which they ar^ not likely to adopt. The liberality of the
citizens is proverbial. Less than one hundred of these citizens
have given during the past year $5,575 for a bridge across the
river here; $8,700 for the Catholic college; $4,000 for the Methodist
college, and several thoui^ands of dollars for churches, schools and
other public enterprises. There are six good hotels in Spokane
Falls. Another large flouring mill will be completed this year.
There is one in operation, also a large saw mill, a shingle mill,
turning lathe, and machine shop.
And so the days of newness and isolation, during which a
country's entire produce is required for home needs, have passed
away for this part of the world, and our exports begin to amount
to something. And with this newness have passed away all the
inconveniences of the early days, and our people are living in the
enjoyment of most of the luxuries of life.
WHAT THE TOURIST WILL FIND.
In locating town-sites, nature as engineer and architect per-
formed perfect work at Spokane Falls — a labor of love. In the
background she reared a wooded hill, and in the rock formations
left many fantastic illustrations of her most frolicsome art. To
the east she spread a magnificent valley, and trimmed it with the
famous Coeur d'Alene range of mountains, rich in all the novel
and imposing forms of architecture she has left to mark her his-
tory. To the west she built the Palisades of the Hangman, and
so close are they that, in summer, one can distinguish the tower-
ing, tapering pines with their garb of green, here and there a
dingle of white-blossomed cornel, canyons narrow and rugged,
with high, perpendicular rocks, picturesque openings, and clear
running streams. At the north boundary line of the city runs
39
e Bpokane river, as fine a, stream of water as ever man laid
I upon ; a clear, deep, running stream, fully :i6(> yards wide at
L point witliiu a mile of town, with a Huct-e^ion of fall^, the last
k single leap of sixty-three feet.
The river rlsea in the Cceur d'Alene moHntains aud courses
t down rapidJy through a broad prairie trough, in a aink in the
plain ao far below the level, that at a little distance it« course
would be hidden if it were not for the tall pine trees that lift their
heads aliove the tdge^ of the natui'al wall, as if watching for ex-
peeteti foe«. The beauty of Ladore, the poesy of Minnehaha and
Mithe mojeety of Niagara are mingled in thi^ falls of the Bpnki
Las, breaking abruptly away from the level upland, they bound
" forward iiver a nteep int'llne, ami are divided into several distinct
eataractfl by promontories of basaltie rock, around which
Huds-white waters rush with buny pertinacity, tlielr speed ai
ment«d by the luipuise of the near-by muuutalns that
I strong within them as they surge, swell, rush, roai', sing, leap,
1 dance, and ilo everything else but tarry, in their wild endeavors
f to meet the waters of the t.'olumbia, and move on with them
ward the distant ocean. Electricity may superswie the waterfiiUs
of tbe Pacific Northwest as a motive power, but nothing else will
preserve this subliuiest of nature's beauties from the rapacity of
I enterprise, or retain its pristine glory in unobstructed
. grandeur for the visual delectation of multitudes unborn.
This is a paradise for those who love the B[>ort of roti aud gun.
I The river swarms with delicious, gamey trout, and to cat<!h them
[ does not require more of a journey than five hundred yards Irom
t the principal hotel in town. In season, the river and lakes near
[ by, aflord rare sport for the duck hunter, while deer, prairie
\ chickens, pheasants and grouse abound in the plains and wooded
I bills close by.
o exaggeration to say that Eastern Washington presents
. the combined landscapes of Switzerland and Italy, the highlands
I of Scotland and the English lake region, the whole forming a
I panorama capable of expressing every type and emotion of scenic
beauty. No region can excel it in variety and grandeur; its un-
dulating surface displaying the rolling prairie and the elevated
plal«an, the picturesque dingle and the dense forest, the brooklet
and the mighty river, the ribbon-like (all and the seething
I cade, the sloping, motion-giving hilt and the toweriug
lUnd
in ct /^
M
eap^^H
I to- ■
83
whose creHt is enwreathed in garlands of perpetual snow. There
is no end to the anomalies of nature in this grand stretch of coun-
try, of which Spokane Falls is alike the threshold, the gem, and
a sub-specimen; and the tourist, to whom the fashionable haunts
of the Atlantic states and the (diarming scenery of Euro])e are
familiar, and who presumes from this fact that he has enjoyed all
the scenic beauties of nature worth beholding, will readily learn
how fallaciously he has reasoned, should his footsteps ever guide
him to this ])art of the great Northwest.
Those who travel in tjuest of pleasure or health, will find here
an area wliich, in serenity of climate, richness of color, variety of
])astoral scenery, luxuriance of mountain shrubbery, extent of
forests, nobleness of rivers {»nd grandeur of snow-shrouded
mountains, will compare with any in the world. Add to these a
flora new and strange, and growing in alnu)st tropical profusion,
and there arc i)resented all the attractions that can lure the inva-
lid, artist, scientist, away from his chamber, studio or lalK)ni-
tory.
At Spokane Falls there is every element of agreeable and in-
spiring scenery. In the west is the region of the Palisades, to the
east the Cceur d'Alenes, and down and out to the north, where the
Colville country spreads a broad seventy miles, and beyond the
eye cat(^lies a fine view of the Columbia peaks, whose snowy
crests comj)ete with heavy masses of fleecy cunmlous clouds for
supremacy. Surely, with the wooded islands in the river, the
broad open lands fringed with hills, the swift-running stream,
and the mountain peaks in the distance, there is all that can be
desired. This grand scene, illumed by Uie mellow light of the
evening sun, produces a picture which can not be excelled in
color, breadth or motion. It ]>resents, at a vou^) d^cciJ, c(mtrasts
of light and shade, tranquility and energy, action and rei)()se; yet
all blend harmoniously together.
The journey from the East to Puget Sound is one of the most
attractive (m the continent, if not in the world. From the mo-
ment the traveler leaves Chicago he experiences a constant
change of the great natural featin'cs of the country. He i)asses
through the Vellowstcme country, with its famous Mount Wash-
burn, from which is presented one of the grandest panoramas in
the world; its wonderful Mammoth Springs, and beautiful stretch
34
of river and valley, on the summlf of the Rockies; iB wMrled
through the magnificent gorge of the famous Pend d'Oreille
region; enters upon the Spokane country; climbs the Cascade
Bange, and paeaefl out to the Pacific ocean— from ocean to ocean—
a successlon.of feasts for the eyes, a season of rare enjoyment for
the mind and heart of all mankind.
OUTLYING LOCALITIES.
COLVILLE.
|E have made a thorough examination of the country
between Spokane Falls and Colville, and up the river
to the little Dalles, and the valley far exceeds antici-
pations, and it has certainly been undervalued in the
past. The valley is beautiful, large and fertile, and when * a
thrifty and enterprising population gets there, the area of avail-
able land will be doubled.
There are a number of other very pretty valleys about, and
room for thousands of people, and in time this will be a choice
spot, and is bound to prosper. The wagon road, built by Capt.
Hunter, is excellent^ but requires some work to make it perfect.
In the ('olville valley they can raise almost everything. We
never saw trees bearing more fruit than we saw there, and the
flour of the valley is very celebrated for its excellent quality.
The thing that has kept the valley back so long, is the fact
that the lands have not all been surveyed, and no titles could be
obtained.
Northwest of Moses Coulee there are three or four townships of
good agricultural land, though water is scarce. Several living
springs, however, have been found. The country is composed of
light, rolling hills, covered with a luxuriant growth of bunch
grass, with occasional patches of rye grass and white sage. West
of the Coulees, distant four or five miles, there is abundance of
timber suitable for log houses, fire wood and rails ; while further
off, on the Columbia, there is timber suitable for lumber. The
banks of the Columbia are generally high, rocky and precipitous,
with only a few places suitable for roads to the river. North-
west of the north end of the Grand Coulee there is an extensive
36
region suitable for grazing purposes, but it is too rocky and spot-
ted for farming purposes. The rocks are granite and basaltic in
their formation. There is a good country for wheat raising around
Wild Goose Bill's location, which is between C^amp Spokane on
the east, and the Grand Coulee on the west. 'J'liere is plenty of
scrub pine in that region, with occasional bodies of fir, and
patches of cotton wood. The pine and cotton wood make good
fuel, and the fir can be converted into lumber and rails.
We heard that we had not been misinformed in reference to
the fine timber up the Columbia. The mines bid fair to become
famous. We can see no reason against, and every reason for
putting a railroad up into this section of the country. It will
certainly develop in such a manner that in a few years it will
pay good dividends.
It is about eighty-five miles from Spokane Falls to Fort Col-
ville, and (m this road, and scattered throughout the valley, there
are about 250 families. Chawelah lies between the two points,
nearest to (Jolville, and is the home of Major Simms, one of the
oldest and most efficient Indian agents in this country. Just
now. Major Simms and Hon. Jas. O'Neil are developing a mine
within five miles of Chawelah, which promises very profitable
result*;. There is little doubt that the mapped-out and incor])or-
ated railway between Spokane Falls and Cofville, or Kettle Falls,
will be constructed within a year or two of this date. The road
will open up the great Okanagan country lying west and north
of the Columbia, embracing a region vast, an empire in itself,
and rich as an agricultural, mineral and timber section. It is
here that the Similkameen river mines are located, and which
have been developed sufficiently to warrant the assertion that
they are exceedingly rich.
The Moses' Reservati(m, 7,000 stiuare miles of territory, lying
west of the north bend of the Columbia, has been opened up
to white settlement. In this region, lying north of Spokane
Falls, and south of the 49th parallel, there are homes for tens
of thousands of people.
SPANGl.E.
Twenty odd houses makes the start of this town, located about
half a day's travel to the southwest, and in the nudst of a splen-
did tract of agricultural country, and in time there will be built
37
here a large and thriving place. It requires health and weight,
courage and persistence, to succeed here as elsewhere, and immi-
grants must expect to be deprived of some of the luxuries of life,
but before them is the certainty of future comfort and prosperity.
The climate and resources are of the best, and Spangle will heart-
ily welcome the stranger who comes to labor and join his mental
and physical forces with those now there. There is less timber
there than in this section, but the marked peculiarity of that is,
that the higher lands are of equal if not greater fertility than the
valleys, and as susceptible of easy cultivation. Upon these higher
lands water for stock and household purposes is obtainable at an
easy depth. Irrigation is wholly uncalled for, and never resorted
to. The soil is composed of a rich, alluvial deposit, combined
with basaltic ash of great depth, overlying a clay subsoil. The
great productiveness of the soil here has given it 'an excellent
reputation abroad.
CHENY
The county seat of Spokane, is located on the Northern Pacific
about sixteen miles southwest of this city. The real boom
in Cheney commenced . in the fall of 1880, and the town has
grown very rapidly since, now having a resident population of
about 1,000. Cheney is characterized by the hang-together, go-
aheaditiveness of the people, and to this spirit is attributable the
present enterprise of the place. The last legislature made it a
county seat, and it is the location of the District and UYiited
States courts. Hon. Benjamin Chaney, of Boston, after whom
the town was named, gave $10,000, with which to erect and put
into operation the ** (xheney Academy," making of this place an
educational center for the surrounding and tributary country.
The Northern Pacific have built here a very large and handsome
depot, in which is now established the local land office of the
company, in charge of Mr. Newberry. The Congregational
society have erected and finished a $2,000 church building, of
which Father Eells is pastor. The Methodist people have a
chapel and a large congregation. The Bai)tistH also have a church.
Last year there was built at Cheney a large flouring mill, oper-
ated by steam power. The store buildings are large, permanent
edifices ; the residence good ; hotel buildings commensurate, and
the general appearance of the little city inviting. On the south
the good farming land does not come up close to the town, but
38
after a belt of rocky country the farmer will find all the good
land he may want, and still be within fair market distance.
Stretching away to the north and northwest, their lies a body of
tributary soil equal, in an agricultural sense, to any in this region
of country ; good homes for thousands of thrifty, enterprising
farming people. This land is part railway and part government,
and all the knowledge necessary to locating it can be had in
Cheney.
MEDICAL LAKE.
In the midst of the line scope of country north of Cheney and
west of Spokane Falls, is situated the town of Medical Lake.
Medical Lake is not the only health resort in this Territory, but
it is the only one in this immediate section, and the curative
powers of the waters are already famed. The lake here has an
excellent temperature for a thermal spring, and is doubtless good
for rheumatic, cutaneous and kindred diseases. Besides, a double
cure may be effectM, for if the invalid be not immediately cured
by the waters of the spring or lake, let him still remain, and he
surely will be by the subtle influences of the Eastern Washington
climate. The town is growing rapidly and is the trading point
for a large area of rich farming land.
SPRAGUE.
The new city of Sprague is on the line of the Northern Pacific,
about forty miles southwest of here and three or four hours' run
from Ainsworth. A year ago, anybody could have bought the
town-site of Sprague for $500 ; to-day ordinary size lots bring that
sum. The reason for this rapid rise and the up-building of the
town is, that the company shops and headquarter buildings are
located at this point. These buildings are about as extensive as
as those of the Central Pacific at Sacramento, California, and
employ between two and three hundred men, the salaries paid
aggregating a large sum annually, and creating a permanent
money circulation. The headquarters, or general office building,
is the finest owned by the company in the Northwest, and m oc-
cupied by the officials in all the departments. And it is possible
that a branch into the Big Bend and Crab Creek region may go
out from Sprague. There are seven large general merchandise
stores, and other features of business. Handsome residences are
going up in all directions. Immigrants are arriving daily, and
39
the country is at present settling up very fast, and there is
plenty of room for more, all the way over to the Big Bend of the
Columbia river, a country which for wheat can not be surpassed.
Sprague is the natural outlet for all the Big Bend and Crab
Creek country, lying north. This region is attracting the atten-
tion of immigrants, as along that large district of rich wheat and
grass lands there is sufficient timber for farm purposes. Some of
it is a little remote from market, but that will soon be remedied.
This district contains 80,000 acres of as fertile farming land as
there is to be found anywhere in this Territory. It abounds with
pure living streams, and the black pine is not far distant in
abundance. But little of this land has as yet been taken, hence
thousands of settlers can find room. Part of the land is railroad
and the balance government. The Indians have raised good corn
here, as the locality is exempt from frosts. In all of these large
districts harvest machinery can work well. The meats and wool
of these districts, are superior. Bunch-grass beef and mutton is
proverbially good. Inmaense numbers of horses and mules are
raised here, and they are of strong body, hardy, and supply
Western Oregon and Washington Territory with many valuable
work and riding horses.
At Sprague the inmiigrant will find good accommodations at
reasonable rates ; ascertain reliable information as to the farming
country to the north and south ; find conveyance to all neighbor-
ing points, and be gladly welcomed — if he intends to help — by
the people. Idlers and bummers, who hang to the skirts of
decent people, and who live by their wits, had better give Sprague
a wide berth. Both Methodist and Episcopal denominations
have churches at Sprague. A good school is established here.
WEST WOOD.
The town of Westwood is in Idaho, but being only twenty-
eight miles away, it is tributary to Spokane Falls, and we have
been in the habit of considering it a part and parcel of the
Spokane country.
When a town is passing through the dis^^e of infancy, one
of the symptoms is self-conceit ; but Westwood is an exception to
this, as a rule. The citizens are proud of their town, now the
county seat of Kootenai, Idaho, but it is a conservative and a
very just pride. The location is an admirable one, and the out-
40
look for its future prosperity and rapid growth exceedingly good.
The town is situated at the southern base of a range of wooded
mountains, and upon an elevated bench, overlooking a stretch of
prairie land fifteen miles long by eight miles wide, rich bunch-
grass land, black loam and light gravel. At the base of the
mountain, and along the northern boundary of the prairie land,
water is plenty. Half a dozen miles east lies Eight-mile prairie.
Ten miles to the southeast is Coeur d'Alene, the finest military
post in the United States, and the head waters of the Spokane
river. Lake Pend d'Oreille is ^within a four hour journey.
With the exception of a few scattered farms located adjacent to
Westwood, all this fine farming land is in the possession of the
railway company or government, and may be had at the usual
low rates. For the farmer, few localities, either in Washington
or Idaho, present a more promising outlook than that about
Westwood. The town is fairly under way, and judging by the
enterprise and energy so far exhibited by the citizens, it will soon
be winning its way to the front rank among busy, thrifty places
in this region.
Westwood is within twenty-four hours of Portland, and in the
possession of daily mail and express service. One of the largest
breweries in the Northwest has been established here, and already
the beer made is famous throughout the country. Altogether,
Westwood is one of the most promising settlements in the upper
country, and will attract much of the immigration to this section,
during the coming season.
The county of Kootenai was organized last year, and financial-
ly speaking, is in excellent condition. It is probable that when
Washington is admitted as a state Northern Idaho will be an-
nexed.
ROCKFOKl).
Southwest of this city, about twenty-eiglit miles by a good
wagon road, and which will probably be supplanted by a branch
of the Northern t^acific, lies Rockford, a thriving, bustling little
town, in the very heart of one of the best grain growing and grain
producing belts in Eastern Washington. The crop results in this
section, last season, were something wonderful; almost marvel-
ous. Wheat, 35 and 40 bushels to the acre ; oats, 85 to 95 bushels;
4i
barley, 35 to 40; timothy growing five feet seven inelies. No sec-
tion in Eastern Washington is settling up more rapidly than this
at Rock ford. And, what is still better, the class of people coming,
and already there, are such as add moral, social, and financial
strength to a comnmnity. Last year a large number of people
from the Ea«t, some from Delaware county, New York, have
settled about Rockford, Spokane county. These people express
themselves an entirely satisfied, and are inducing oth€»rs to come.
With or without railroad connection, Rockford will so(m become
one of the most important localities in Eastern Washington.
There are saw and grist mills there, general merchandise and
farming implement store, shops, hotels, and other (H)mmercial
features. There are excellent schools, a number of religious
societies, and secret orders in and about Rockford.
, INDIANS.
As we want to say a word here about the Indians generally. It
is opportune to write that the Coeur d' Alenes, who inhabit a res-
ervation near Rockford, are giving the finishing touches to the
handsomest church and residence for the Fathers in this section
of the country. In the building of the church and residence
they have used about 300,(K)() feet of lumber. A 900 pound bell of
fine tone has been scoured for the church* The Secretary of the
Interior having declined to make an appropriation to rebuild the
school-house, burned last winter^ Chief Saltise and his people
intend to do it out of their own funds.
The Coeur d'Alenes are model and extensive farmers, and are
just now i)utting in a very large crop of spring grain. Their
increase of acreage this year over last will be fully sixty per cent.
They are in possession of the most improved implements, and are
industrious workers.
Among a certain class of people in the East, there i)revails an
idea that Indians are plenty in these parts, and that there is more
or less danger in their company. To settle this matter, we will
say, that so far as their savage (jualities tire concerned, or their
ability to do harm to the whites, our Spokanes, and other tribes
near here, are on a par with tlie supe-Indians playing in the east-
ern theaters. Their peculiarities, and their lounging laziness,
add a picturesqueness to our city on summer evenings. They
furnish our Isaac Waltons with fish-bait, now and then offer
42
trout for sale, but an a general thing are too lazy for even this
slight labor.
OTHER LOCALITIES.
Besides the localities already given, we invite the immigrant to
Deep Creek Falls and Cottonwood, both in the immediate vicin-
ity of Spokane FaUs, and surrounded by an exceedingly rich
agricultural country. At the first-named place there is a mill,
store and other commercial features, and at the latter a store and
postoflftce. A great many California people have recently settled
at ('ottonwood, and are thoroughly satisfied with their change.
Peone Prairie, within twelve miles of Bpokane Falls, northeast,
is one of the finest farming sections hereabouts. We have already
given grain results there, and these tell the story. This locality
is rapidly settling up, though there are some fine farms yet to be
had.
Moran Prairie is about five miles southeast from this city, and
the land there in productiveness will compare favorably with any
section in this part of the Territory. In another part of this
book we have mentioned the fruit growth out there. The same
remarks will apply to White BluflT, Hangman Creek and Rock
Creek localities.
And to sum up, it may be safely stated that Eastern Washing-
ton Territory contains 20,000,000 acres of grain, prairie, bunch-
grass and timber lands, which can be taken by settlers. The
great plateau of the Columbia is purely an agricultural region,
exceedingly productive, and aflEbrding also vast range for cattle,
sheep and horses, and to those who come in to labor this part of
it offers more inducement, present and prospective, than any
other region in the great northwest. There are, indeed, wonder-
ful fortunes, and honorable ones, too, lying within the reach of
those who are willing to trust the promise of this vast domain.
Young men, or those with families, who are in cities, are over-
crowded and overburdened, willing to work hard and deny them-
selves many of the luxuries attainable in the cities east, for five
years, can secure for themselves a home as fair and valuable as
any that charms the eyes of travelers through the old-settled and
far-famed valleys of Ohio and New York. And it is a good place
to make a home ; the speculative mania in stocks does not pene-
43
«
trate here; the encounterings teach men discipline; individuality
is regained ; tact and talent is appreciated outside your own fam-
ily circle; you are identified closely with the best interests of the
locality; boys and girls who grow up here will be brave, self-
reliant, modest, loyal and industrious, such as mature into true
and patriotic men and women. And so this countrj^, and espe-
cially this locality, will impress all visitors deeply in many ways.
Life is very new, yet in some respects very old ; good and steady
habits of life and business from the old settlements, grafted to a
new and vigorous one; civilization tlioroughly organized, ready
to wrest from nature every beneficial result ; somewhat cosmopol-
itan, yet supremely American, in which the flavor of the older
states can be tasted above all other local elements. And so we
find these people, and especially the leading men and women,
busy with that fiexibility and adaptability of the race, not more
in looking after their individual interests than in seeking ways
and means for the advancement of the general welfare. While
they cordially greet men of capital and muscle, they invest and
reinvest their own as though no help was to ever come from the
outside world, and there is much in the present prosperity and
the rich promises of the near future that is gratifying to them and
those who are interested in the upbuilding of the northwest.
THE TERRITORY AS A WHOLE.
Washington Territory is 350 miles long, east and west, and 200
miles wide, north and south. It extends from the Pacific ocean
to Idaho, and from British Columbia to Oregon. It contains
69,994 square miles, ^or 44,795,000 acres of land. Its surface is
diversified by mountain, valley and plain, more than two-thirds
being sufficiently level for settlement and cultivation. Of its
lands, 35,000,000 acres can be farmed, of which 20,000,000 acres are
timber lands ; 5,000,000 acres rich alluvial bottom lands ; 10,000,-
000 prairie and plains, and 9,796,000 covered with water.
The exports by ship of the past twelve months have been about
100,000 tons agricultural produce, 200,000 tons coal and 500,000
tons of lumber, or an average of eight tons for every man, wv)man
and child of our 100,000 inhabitants. All this, besides oysters,
salmon, furniture, barrel material, furs and skins, animals, etc.,
aggregating in value at least one million dollars. This is a peo-
ple of producers, and their products go direct to the consumers in
California, Mexico, South America, Hawaii, Australia, China,
(ireat Britain, the Atlantic states, etc., though too often under the
guise ol* produce of Oregon.
It is hardly possible for one conning here to miss it. A thou-
sand chances are open. Trade is nowhere better. The times are
good, and money plenty and cheap. Wages are high, and land
can be had for the asking. Lumbermen, coal miners, bricklayers,
c-arpenters, painters, mechanics and laborers of all kinds are
wanted, as well as men of business, brains and money. There
are at present but 140,000 of us, while there is room for 10,000,000.
Of course, it does not need to be said that the settling up of new
districts, and the construction of additional railroad lines, create
openings for trade continually. This retail trade is now supplied
from wholesale houses in Portland and San Francisco. The oppor-
tunity for business enterprise includes the establishment of whole-
sale houses at suitable points, down to the opening of retail stores
in the remote districts of a country that possesses more territory
than the six New England States and New York and Pennsyl-
vania all combined. There is no portion of our continent that
to-day offers greater rewards for investment of business capital.
Public sentiment has turned the tide of immigration this way,
and the stronger argument of example encourages to this end.
Where a few have gone and been made content, more will follow.
It is safe to say that every innnigrant that finds his way to the
Spokane country, is certain to have some other or others upon
whom his influence will be exercised until that other, or the
others, join him here. This alone will bring thousands.
And without any reservation, without any qualification of any
kind, we believe these thousands and tens of thousands should
(^ome, since we know that the change from the over-crowded dis-
tricts of the P]ast, or the states we have named, will be beneficial
to them. To the farmer we can present the three essential con-
ditions — a climate just warm enough to ripen crops, and secure
the comfort of man and beast ; a soil of more than the average
fertility, and the moisture to make that soil productive.
45
To the capitalist, we offer hundreds of avenues for the invest-
ment of his money, avenues that are safer and more profitable
than any he can command auywhere in the East.
To the mechanic, we present that source of all good luck, labor,
plenty of it and reasonable wages, as he will see in another por-
tion of this pamphlet. The same good prospect awaits the la-
borer, and for the professional man, there are opportunities* for
position and honor.
To all people who expect to labor ; who expect to begin with
energy and to keep it up, until a competence is gained ; who will
add moral, social, industrial and financial strength to the com-
munity, those now here extend a bearty welcome. Wit-living
individuals had better give this country a wide berth.
xVnd it is a good country to come to, because it is one of not
only great possibilities but probabilities. There is about it some-
thing real, solid, hopeful. To those in Eastern States, unused to
the bustle of frontier life and ignorant of the ctmses at work to
produce these effects, our pen pictures may seem flashy and high-
ly tinted, but if they should come to the Spokane country and
see for themselves, to study the topography of the country and
observe tbe busy life of the average valleyite for one summer, it
will not only seem possible, but the probable result will be that
their imagination will be exhausted and their mind wearied with
its contemplation. During the next quarter of a century, here
will be the theater of the most stupendous public and private
enterprise, which ever the world saw. Fortunes will be made,
and the children of another generation will enjoy the luxuries of
limitless wealth. Careful investments now, while the oppor-
tunities are presented, can not fail to be profitable. Cities yet
unborn will be built and populated where now the prairie is un-
broken. The history of the development of the states of Ohio,
Indiana, Illinois and others, will be repeated here. It must be
so, and the events of the next ten years will convince the doubt-
ing of the truth. There is no other country as the Spokane, so
near to market and so fertile, where the land can be had for the
asking. There is, in fact» no other prairie country in the great
northwest that is not already cultivated, and in the light of this
fact, what argument is there against its rapid settlement ? Time
will show to men where they might have made fortunes here,
46
and where they could have secured a competency for their declin-
ing years. It is now time to look at the matter without hesita-
tion. The doubtful i)eriod is past. Others have gone through
the period of anxiety, and the thorns of pioneering are removed.
There is nothing now but to come in and occupy the land, rejoice
in its prosperity and watch its career so well begun.
We are prosperous now. A country always prospers where the
demand for labor, at good prices, is equal to the supply. Just
now there is not, so far as we know, an able-bodied man in this
country, who wants work and cannot find it; unskilled and
mechanical labor is in demand, not only along the line of the
railway, but among our own citizens. ' The merchants here and
at points in the adjacent country, tell us that business is un-
precedentedly good ; their cash sales being almost phenomenal.
Here, every one may not have an abundance of money, but you
find every one with an amount which enables him to pay as he
goes, and provide for the future. The exception is to meet a man,
entitled to the credit of being known as an enterprising citizen,
who does not take a hopeful view of the prospect. There is no
reason for doubting a continuance of this prosperity for years to
come. With a country great in its extent and natural resources,
local railways to be constructed, and the incoming enterprises
where capital will be invested, there is really no prospect that
the labor market will be overstocked here for many years to
come. The most hopeful fact to go on record to-day is, that all
our industrial enterprises are paying, and paying well. It would
be difficult to find a single exception.
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