[Sidenote: Mr. Mohr's account of the resources of the new route.]
West of the Cascade Range the road will pass through a densely wooded
district, through which, with the additional aid of transportation
facilities by river now existing, an immense logging industry will be
created. The red fir and white cedar now being taken out are superior in
quality to those of any section of this coast. Each mile as opened will
therefore become an immediate source of income. Considerable prospects
and discoveries of gold and silver have already been found, and a number
of men are now at work making such developments as are practicable in
the absence of transportation facilities. With the opening of the road a
heavy mineral traffic will be developed in the future.
Near the summit large deposits of iron are sure to be found, judging
from the extraordinary local magnetic variations.
Twenty miles west of the summit are iron-soda springs, which will no
doubt become quite famous.
East of the Cascade Summit the country tributary to the road is covered
with open, fine forests; the timber is principally second growth yellow
and black pine, in tall and straight trees, forming very valuable
timber. This prevails for forty miles east of the summit. The remaining
country to the mouth of the Wenatchie River is rich agricultural land,
fairly well settled up between the Cascade Summit and the mouth of the
Wenatchie River.
Very extensive indications of coal and iron are found; and along all of
the tributaries of the Wenatchie considerable deposits of precious
metals have been discovered, which will no doubt be rapidly developed in
the future.
This entire section of country has been well known to miners and
prospectors for the past twenty years, but the total lack of
transportation facilities has thus far prevented any considerable
development of mining properties.
At the confluence of the Wenatchie River with the Columbia River (which
will likewise be the crossing point for the Seattle, Lake Shore &
Eastern Railway) we find the Columbia River is navigable as far up as
the Okanogan country. A large city is destined to spring up at this
point, which will control, by means of the Columbia River, a very
extensive tributary country.
The valleys of the Entiat, Chelan, Methow, Okanogan, and other rivers,
which drain an extraordinary mineral belt, with occasionally fine
districts of agricultural land, will provide an enormous quantity of
freight for the road. None of this freight will be able to find an
outlet except by this road, by reason of the fact that very swift and
rocky rapids, which begin about twelve miles south of our crossing and
continue for some fifty miles, will for at least a great many years
prevent practicable or profitable navigation to points below our
crossing.