A Report On Washington Territory Part 6

[Sidenote: A remarkable soil.]

_e._ BASALT. This is the magic soil of the Great Plain (or plateau) of the Columbia. And it is found also in large areas on the Cascade Mountains. It has an ashy look and texture; sometimes black, but generally of ashen hue. Rarely it is compact and clayey. There are perhaps twenty thousand square miles of this basaltic land; enough of itself to make a medium-sized State. Of course there are inequalities in the productiveness of this land. The basaltic rock in many places crops out, as mentioned under the head of Topography, and there are coulees and galled spots. I cannot say what proportion of the surface is rendered valueless by these irregularities. The outcropping basalt does not destroy the value of the land; for the soil s.p.a.ces between the rocks may be greater than the rock s.p.a.ces, and whilst unfit for the plough, they may be suited to trees, or cattle range. But, judging by all that I saw and heard, I should think that the smooth land considerably predominates over the rough. Certainly there is more smooth, comparatively level, fertile, productive, and easily cultivated land here in proportion to the whole area than I have ever seen elsewhere.

The great plain of East Colorado is a vast and beautiful stretch of country, but it is unproductive without irrigation. Taking everything into consideration, the plateau of East Washington seems to me to be unequaled in combined extent and productiveness.

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

NATURAL VEGETATION.

[Sidenote: Vast vegetation.]

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

[Sidenote: Deciduous trees.]

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

[Ill.u.s.tration: A VIEW OF THE FOREST ON THE LINE OF THE SEATTLE, LAKE Sh.o.r.e AND EASTERN RAILWAY.]

[Sidenote: Larch.]

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

[Sidenote: Extraordinary evergreen forests.]

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

[Sidenote: Douglas fir, or Oregon pine.]

[Sidenote: The best of ship timber.]

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

The trunks stand as straight and regular as posts set with a plumb-line.

This crowding often prevents the full development of the trunk also, except on the most moist and fertile lands. The absence of lower branches insures a great length of lumber free from knots.

[Sidenote: White cedar.]

[Sidenote: Beautiful house lumber.]

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

[Sidenote: Hemlock spruce.]

[Sidenote: Tanners wanted.]

Hemlock Spruce is not so abundant, but it const.i.tutes a noticeable element in the Snoqualmie Valley forests. It seems to be exactly the same tree which so abounds in our Eastern and Northern Lake States, and is common in the moist valleys all along the Appalachian Mountains. It is called hemlock in the Northern States, and spruce in the Southern.

Its wood, though unsuited for many purposes, is largely used in the North for the frames of cheap buildings and also for fencing-plank, and its bark is in great demand for tanning, especially for making the red sole leather. It is also used for tanning upper leather and calf-skins, though its light leather is not so good as that made from the oak barks.

The hemlock bark has not been considered quite equal to the chestnut-oak (or rock oak) bark for any tanning purposes, but in Virginia the price is usually the same. It certainly makes good sole leather. The logger in Washington Territory neglects this tree, and there are no tanneries yet to call for it, but this will soon be changed, and the hemlock will take its position, not only as the most beautiful of the evergreens, but as among the most useful. This tree does not attain as great size as the two above mentioned, but I observed many specimens ranging from four to five feet in diameter.

[Sidenote: White pine.]

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

[Sidenote: Balsam fir.]

[Sidenote: Large supply of Canada Balsam.]

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

[Sidenote: The yew.]

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

[Sidenote: The superior timber of Snoqualmie Valley.]

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

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

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

[Sidenote: Range for horses and cattle.]

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

LUMBERING.

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

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

[Sidenote: Magnitude of the lumber business.]

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

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

[Sidenote: Vast extent of the lumber market.]

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

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

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

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