University of Oklahoma College of Law University of Oklahoma College of Law Digital Commons American Indian and Alaskan Native Documents in the Congressional Serial Set: 1817-1899 11-10-1884 Report of the Governor of Washington Territory, 1884 Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.law.ou.edu/indianserialset Part of the Indian and Aboriginal Law Commons Recommended Citation H.R. Exec. Doc No. 1, 48th Cong., 2nd Sess. (1884) This House Executive Document is brought to you for free and open access by University of Oklahoma College of Law Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in American Indian and Alaskan Native Documents in the Congressional Serial Set: 1817-1899 by an authorized administrator of University of Oklahoma College of Law Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. REPORT 01•' THE GOVERNOR OF WASHINGTON TERRITORY. EXECU'.l'IVE Ol!'FICE, OL YMPI.A., W .A.SH. TER., November 10, 1884.. Srn: Iuasmuca as no reports of this cbaractel' from this Territol'J addressed to your office have been published since the year 1879, and the only annual reports previously published were, though valuable, yet somewhat brief in extent, I bav-e thought best to make to you as full a presentation as possible, in the brief time allowed me, of all the more important facts connected with the "resources and development" of Washington Territory, as requested by you. For this purpose I have diligently corresponded with the auditors and asRessors of all the coun­ ties of the Territory, furnislling them printed blanks to be returned, and ,yith all the. managers of its various educational and buRiness in­ stitutions. Besides drawing upon my own knowledge of the Territory, gleane<l during a resi(lence here during the past ti ve or six years, I have gathered and compiled a variety of important facts from leading specialists in reference to the geographical, geologic, and climatic char­ acteristics, the coal and iron mining, horticultural, agricultural, and manufacturing interests, the fisheries, and the flora and fauna of the Territory. Tlle data thus offered, together with the summary reports of our charital>le an<l. penal institutious, and an exhibit of the financial con­ dition of the Territory, if published, will not only be of great service in e.ncouraging and stimula,ting our people, but will furnish reliable information to tbe intending immigraut, and will indicate to Congress the rightful basis of our claim for early admission into the union of States. WASHINGTON TERRI'.l'ORY. Washington Territory is bounded on the north by British Columbia, on the enst by Idaho, on tile south by Oregon, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean, or, according to the notes from the Surveyor-General's Office, as follows: Beginning at the mouth of the Columbia River near the one hun­ dre<l. and twenty-fourth <l. egree west longitude, thence up the middle cbann 1 of the Uolumbia to tlle fntersectiou of the forty-sixth degree of north latitude, thence along said forty-sixth parallel to the middle chan­ nel of tlle Snake River, thence down said river to the mouth of the Clearwater River, thence north along the one hundred and seventeenth degree we t longitude to tbe forty-ninth degree of north latitude, thence we ·t aloug the forty-ninth parallel to the main channel of Canal de Haro, we t of one hundred and twenty-third degree west longitude, thence 6088 VOL 2-37 578 REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR. southerly and easterly along the middle channel of de Haro and the straits of Juan de Fuca to the Pacific Ocean, thence along the eastern shore of the Pacific to the place of beginning; thus comprising an area of 69,994 square miles, of which 3,114 are water, leaving 66,880 square miles of land surface; of which it is estimated that about 20,000,000 acres are in timber lands, 5,000,000 acres rich alluvial bottom lauds, and 10,000,000 acres are prairies and plains. The Cascade rauge of mountains extenrls across tbe entire 1'erritor,y north to south, dividing the Territory into two sections (of which the east,ernmost is much the larger), and renders direct comnrnnication between tlle two sectio11s in the middle and northern portions of the Territory impracticable except during the summer season, when the Snoqualmie and other passes are frequently traveled by herdsmen driving their cattle to the sound. Ordinary communication is carried on by way of the Columbia River and the ra,ilwa.y in Oregon which follows its southern bank. This diffi­ culty of communication will be overcome as soon as the Cascade branch of the Northern Pacific Railroad is completed. The fertile, cereal-producing prairie lands and plains are situated in the eastern part, and nearly all the rich, alluvial bottom lands are in the westerll part of the Territory. The scenery of the Cascade range is indescribably grand, affording views of such colossal peaks as Mount Baker, Mount Rainier (Indian, Takhoma), Mount Saint Helens, and Mount Adams. Another beautiful rauge of mouutains of lesser height, called the Olympic, lies aloug the coast b(0 tween Puget Soun<l. and the Paci Lie, affording a delightful pros­ pect from the souud and its vicinity. The picture:sque attractions of this country, with its glacier-covered mountains, its water-falls, its majestic windi11g rivers, with their pre­ cipitous bluffs, its mighty expanse of inland island-dotted sea, its deep, broad, forest-covered lakes certainly furnish a new and interm,ting field for the tourist and the artist. The great Columbia River, rising in the vast water-shed just north of the eastern part of the Territory, receives the copious waters of Clarke's Fork, flowing fresh from the Rockies through Lake Pend d'Oreille, then the Okanogan and other considerabl~ streams, making its great bend to the westward: and thence flowing southeasterly, i joined by its great affluents, the Yakima and Snake RiYers, thus tra­ ver ing the entire eastern section referred to; then flows along t~e outhern border of the Territory, receiving the Lewis and Cowlitz River west of the Cascade range, and empties into the Pacific Ocean. It afford great facilities for commercial traffic, and abounds in deliciou fish. Ju t north of the mouth of the Columbia River is Shoalwater Bay which ha a good entrance from the ocean and is full of shoals and flat . The latter are covered with oyster , thou and of ba ket of which ar annually shipped to various citie of the Pacific coa t. Her­ ring, c fi b, halibut, and turgeon al o there abound. Tw nty-:fi-v mil s further north is Gray' Harbor, having an e-xcel- 1 nt ntranc from the ocean, bordered with exten ive and valuable for t, of fir and cedar, receiving the Chebali River from the ea t all:d h umtulup and th Hoquiam River from the north, which drarn gr at f rtil vall y . PUGET SOUND. und i a gr at, de p inland a extending nearly 200 mil - oc an, having a urface of about 2,000 quare mile and a TERRITORY OF W .ASHJNGTON. 579 shore line of about 1,594 miles, indented with numerous bays, harbors, and inlets, each with its peculiar name, and contains numerous islands inhabited by farmers, lumbermen, herdsmen, and those engaged in quarrying lime and building stone. Admiral Charles Wilkes has well described this pride of Washing-ton Territory as follows : · ~othing can surpass the beauty of these waters and their safety. Not a shoal ex­ ists within the Straits of Juan de Fuca, Admiralty Bay, or Hood's Canal that can­ in any way interrupt their navigation by a seventy-four gun ship. I venture nothing in saying that there is no country in the world that possesses waters equal to these; they cover an area of about 2,000 square miles; the shores of all its inlets and bays are remarkably bold, so much so that a ship's side would strike the shore before her keel would· touch the groun<l.. The country by which these waters are surrounded is remarkably salubrious, and affords every advantage for t,he accom111odation of a vast commercial and military marine, with convenienc~ for docks, and a great many sites for towns and cities, at all times well supplied with water, and capable of being well provided with every­ thing by the surrounding country, which is well adapted for agriculture. The Straits of Juan de Fuca are 95 miles in length, and have an average width of 11 miles. At the entrance (8 miles in width) no danger exists, and it may be safely na.vigated throughout. No part of the world affordA :finer inlands, sounds, or a greater number of harbors than are found within the Straits of Juan de Fuca, capable of receiving the largest class of vessels and without a danger in them that is not visible. From the rise and fall of the tide (18 feet), every facilit,y is afforded for the erection of works for a great maritime nation. Tbe country aho affords as many sites for water power as any other. On this sound are already situated thriving towns and cities, bidding for the commerce of the world. On the eastern part of the sound~ near the city of Seattle, are situated two important fresh-water lakes of great depth and beauty, and bordered by great forests and rich deposits of coal. Lake Union, the smaller of these, having an area of 6 square miles, 6 miles},hore line, and an aver­ age depth of i5 feet, is 1¼ miles distant from the sound, and is connected with.it by a small stream entering- into Salmon Bay.