[Sidenote: The only competition is between Tacoma and Seattle.]
The location of Port Townsend puts that town out of the general
competition. The same is true of Olympia. Whatcom, or some possible town
near the line between Whatcom and Skagit counties, might grow into
consequence if made the terminus of some transcontinental road. This
point, however, is involved in the larger question of the course of the
Manitoba Railroad. With the present outlook, the only two competing
towns on Puget Sound are Tacoma and Seattle. The former has the
advantage of being the terminus of the Northern Pacific Railroad, and of
having large private capital to advance its interests. These have made
the town all that it is. It is handsomely laid out, and well built. It
has an elegant hotel, and a population said in Tacoma to be 12,000, and
in Seattle to be 7,500. The harbor has water enough, but the landing is
bad; there being no level ground available for wharves or business
houses near the water. A mere roadway, cut out of the high bluff,
furnishes the only line of communication. The town is one to two
hundred feet above the water and above the main railroad depot, and must
be reached by a long, steep road. Tacoma is twenty-six miles farther
from the sea than Seattle, has a back country of inferior resources, and
has no advantage in distances from the East.
[Sidenote: Advantages of Seattle.]
Seattle has already been described. It has probably double the
population of Tacoma, and more than double the business. It has flat
ground enough for commercial purposes. In its position, its harbor, its
relations to the back country, its materials for trade, commerce,
manufactures, its present and prospective railroad connections, it
surpasses all present and future competitors on Puget Sound.
There will be mining and trading towns at numerous points between
Seattle and Salal Prairie.
[Sidenote: Towns of East Washington.]
The towns on the east flank of the Cascade Mountains may have a future;
_i.e._, Cle-ellum, Ellensburg, and North Yakima. They have a chance for
the State capital, and there may be manufacturing as well as mining
towns near the iron ore, and other mineral beds. Small places will also
spring up at the mouth of the Wenatchie and the Okinagane, and at the
termini of the steamboat landings.
The county seat of Lincoln cannot remain at Sprague. Wheatland would
have a chance for that.
[Illustration: VIEW OF THE CITY OF SPOKANE FALLS, EASTERN TERMINUS
SEATTLE, LAKE SHORE AND EASTERN RAILWAY.]
[Sidenote: Spokane Falls and its fine prospects.]
Assuming that Spokane Falls is the objective point of the Seattle
Railway, I will give a somewhat full account of this thriving young
city. In 1882 it had 700 inhabitants; in 1887 it had over 7,000. In 1883
the Northern Pacific Railroad reached there, and since that date the
town has grown continuously. It will be a large city, as will be obvious
if its advantages be considered. These are chiefly: I. Its water-power;
II. Its agricultural relations; III. Its mining surroundings; IV. Its
railroad prospects; V. Its good ground for building.
[Sidenote: Mr. Paul F. Mohr's article.]
I. ITS WATER-POWER.--The value of this water-power arises partly from
the volume of water and its great fall, and also its uniformity, and its
freedom from disturbing causes. The river falls in a succession of
cascades amounting to 156 feet within the limits of the city. Mr. Paul
F. Mohr has published an intelligent article on the subject, from which
I quote the following statements:
"To arrive at the available number of horse-power which the Spokane
River could furnish at this point, assuming 90,000 horse-power as
the gross power of the river, and deducting 60 per cent. therefrom,
would leave 36,000 horse-power as a most conservative and minimum
estimate.
"The City of Minneapolis used in 1880, as nearly as I can ascertain,
about 20,000 horse-power, and Minneapolis is probably the largest
flour-milling point in the world.
"The industries requiring most power are, in their order, as
follows: lumber, flour, iron and steel, paper, woolen goods and
worsted goods, with several industries consuming a comparatively
small amount of power, not necessary to mention. Of the industries
above named, all but the iron and steel industries can be followed
at this point, and, in fact, the flouring, paper and woolen
industries belong to this section of the country."
It is claimed that the Spokane River at the falls never rises more than
six feet, and never freezes. The river here has cut so deeply into the
basalt, that there must be combination among the riparian owners in
order to draw the water to good mill sites, and invite manufacturers to
use the power. Mr. Mohr urges this.
Two flour-mills are now there turning out about 450 barrels of flour a
day; also saw-mills, and, I think, a dynamo for electric lights, etc.;
but, of course, these use but a small part of the power, which, if fully
utilized, in such ways as are suggested by Mr. Mohr, would of itself
create a large city.
II. AGRICULTURAL RELATIONS.--Spokane Falls has a promising agricultural
country on all sides. The Pend d'Oreille region has good agricultural
capabilities, though the best lands there are in the Indian reservation.
The country north of Spokane Falls, in the direction of Colville, is
spoken of as a fertile valley, having more rain than the plateau
country, much of it limestone soil, specially productive in hay and
wheat. The wheat is harder than the plateau wheat, and contains a larger
proportion of gluten; hence it is desired as a mixture for the wheat
that is usually brought to the Spokane Falls mills.
Turning to the great plateau, we find that the rich Palouse River
country, since the construction of the Spokane Falls and Palouse
Railroad finds its readiest market at Spokane Falls. And now that the
Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern Railroad is striking out through the
Great Bend, another portion of this great producing region will be
brought within easy reach.
III. MINING INTERESTS.--I need here only refer to the fact that Spokane
Falls is situated centrally with regard to the mines of precious and
base metals heretofore described. Evidently the business from the mines
of Chewelah, Colville, Little Dalles, Kootenai, etc., must come here
except so far as it may be diverted to a tide-water city which would
smelt their ores and sell them goods. No doubt the Canadian Pacific will
handle some of the business of the Kootenai mines. Similar remarks may
be made with regard to the mines of the Coeur d'Alene country, with
the qualification that a road crossing the mountain, say to Missoula,
would divert some of the trade to Helena or Butte City.
The miners of Okanogan, Methow, etc., would be nearest to Spokane Falls,
but would be 100 or 150 miles on the way to Puget Sound, which would
divide the trade.
IV. RAILROAD PROSPECTS.--The Northern Pacific Railroad, a
transcontinental line, already passes through Spokane Falls. If the
cut-off through the Coeur d'Alene country should be made, it would be
equivalent to an additional road. The Spokane Falls and Palouse Railway
joins the Northern Pacific at Marshall, only nine miles from the city,
and its general course points directly toward it.
The road across the Great Bend has been commenced. The road to Colville,
Little Dalles, etc., will inevitably be made at an early day.
This would make it really the centre of six roads, counting the Northern
Pacific as two.
V. BUILDING GROUNDS.--The city is built and building on both sides of
the river, and stands on a level, dry, gravelly plain, a mile or more in
width, rising into wooded hills. In other words, it has all that can be
desired for situation.
[Sidenote: Sprague, Colfax, and Lewiston.]
Sprague, Colfax, and Lewiston claim attention as indicating the points
in a proposed branch line of railroad, leaving the Seattle, Lake Shore
and Eastern Railway somewhere in the Great Bend country.
Shops of the Northern Pacific Railroad are in Sprague, which fact is an
endorsement of the locality. Its population is over 1,500. The town
standing in a coulée, there are no indications of fertility of soil in
sight. Here the timber belts seem to end, and no trees are seen for 100
miles eastward. It occupies an intermediate position between the great
wheat areas of Whitman County on the south and of Lincoln on the north.
Stage lines leave here for Colfax (south) and for Davenport and other
towns in the Great Bend (north), and also for the Okanogan mines.
Colfax is about forty miles southwest from Sprague. It is on the Palouse
River, in a narrow valley where there is scarcely room for a town. The
bordering hills are steep; the surrounding country is some 400 or 500
feet higher than the town. It is claimed, however, that there are good
grades to be had for railroads going in any direction. The town has a
population of 1,800 to 2,000, and is evidently prosperous. It has
water-power and wheat-mills. The railroad agent in the town says that
his cash receipts for freight average $1,200 a day. Knapp, Burrell & Co.
told me that they brought in 672 carloads of freight annually in the
regular course of their business. I felt surprised at the statement.
This firm does a farmers' business in barbed wire, wagons, all sorts of
agricultural machinery and implements, grain-bags, etc., etc.
Mr. Hamilton imports groceries to the amount of $75,000. Coal is $12.00
a ton. Lumber is scarce and high, and freights enormous. A citizen told
me that he had paid $64.30 freight from Portland on a lot of lumber that
cost $34.90 in that city. Another marvelous story was that a citizen
paid $5.00 a ton for coal in St. Paul and $20.00 a ton to bring it to
Colfax.
[Sidenote: Notes on the Colfax country.]
In asking about the surrounding country, I made the following notes:
One-half the country is arable. The non-arable land is grazed by
horses, sheep and cattle. Wool, an important item. Of the arable land,
one-tenth is under the plough; of this, three-fourths is put in wheat,
and one-fourth in oats and barley--more barley than oats. Very fine root
crops. Average of wheat, 30 bushels per acre; oats, 50 to 60 bushels.
Price of wheat, 45 cents; freight to Portland, 20 cents, making $6.60 a
ton. Peaches mature. Can raise corn, but it does not pay to shuck it.
There is a continuous wheat area of 70 townships, equal to 2,520 square
miles, taking in a little of Idaho.
[Sidenote: Lewiston.]
Lewiston, in Idaho, came into being during the days of placer mining,
and now depends on agricultural business. It has about 1,000 people, and
may become important by reason of its location at the junction of the
Clearwater and Snake rivers. The transcontinental line that may some day
be built through Wyoming might pass through Lewiston.
[Sidenote: Walla Walla.]
Walla Walla is the oldest, and was long regarded the best of all the
towns of East Washington. It is beautifully situated in a fertile
country; has about 5,000 inhabitants; is well laid off and built, and
has a more staid and settled population than any other town there. This
is true, also, of the farming population around Walla Walla, many of
whom have comfortable homes. The town has some water-mills; and an
astonishing amount of "truck" is raised and shipped in this
neighborhood. The city has not grown much of late, and, except its
agricultural surroundings, there is nothing especially to give it
prosperity.