THE UNITED STATES--THE WESTERN HIGHLANDS AND TERRITORIAL POSSESSIONS
The western part of the United States consists of a succession of high
mountain-ranges extending nearly north and south. The two highest
ranges, each about two miles high, enclose a basin-shaped plateau about
one mile high. This basin is commonly called the "plateau region." The
rim ranges are broken in a few places by passes that the
transcontinental railways thread. West of the Sierra Nevada ranges are
the fertile Pacific coast lowlands.
=The Plateau Region.=--This region is generally arid, but on the higher
plateaus there is sufficient rainfall to produce a considerable forestry
and grazing. The general conditions of rainfall and topography forbid
any great development of agriculture. Farming is confined to the
river-flood-plains, the parks, and the old lake beds and margins.
A considerable area, estimated at more than two million acres, may be
made productive by irrigation, and the United States Government is
undertaking the construction of an elaborate and extensive system of
reservoirs for the impounding of stream and storm waters now running to
waste. The irrigated lands of this region, when their products are
accessible to markets, are very valuable. The river-bottom lands of New
Mexico, and the old margins of Great Salt Lake in Utah are examples.
They produce abundantly, and a single acre often yields as much as four
or five acres in regions of plentiful rainfall.
Not much of the crop of this region, the fruit and wool excepted,
leaves the vicinity in which it is grown, on account of the expense of
transportation. In the matter of the transportation of their
commodities, the dwellers of the western highland are doubly
handicapped. The building of railways is enormously expensive, and in a
region of sparse population there is comparatively little local freight
to be hauled. The difficulties of developing such a region from a
commercial stand-point, therefore, are very great.
Mining is the chief industry of this section, and silver, gold, and
copper are its most important products. Since the discovery of precious
metals in the United States, this region has produced gold and silver
bullion to the value of about four billion dollars. This sum is about
one-half the value of the railways of the country,[55] and from 1865 to
1880 a large part of the capital invested in railway building represents
the gold and silver of these mines. In the last twenty years of the past
century they produced an average of about one hundred and twenty-five
million dollars per year, and this average is constantly increasing.
Coal-measures extend along the eastern escarpment of the Rocky
Mountains, and these are destined at no remote day to create a centre of
steel and other manufactures. Several of the railways operate coal-mines
in Colorado and Wyoming for the fuel required. A limited supply of steel
is also made, the industry being protected by the great distance from
the Eastern smelteries.
[Illustration: GOLD MINING--CRIPPLE CREEK, COLORADO]
_Denver_ is the chief active centre of finance of the mining industry
in the western highlands, although many of the great enterprises derive
the capital necessary to develop them from _New York_ and _San
Francisco_. _Leadville_, _Cripple Creek_, _Butte_, _Helena_, and
_Deadwood_ are regions of gold and silver production. _Virginia City_ is
the operating centre of the famous Comstock mines. At _Anaconda_ is the
chief copper-mine of this region. _Salt Lake City_ and _Ogden_ are the
centre of the Mormon agricultural enterprises. _Santa Fé_, _Las Vegas_,
and _Albuquerque_ are centres of agricultural interests and
stock-growing.
_Spokane_ and _Walla Walla_ are commercial centres of the plains of the
Columbia River. The former is the focal point of a network of local
roads that collect the wheat and other farm products of this region; the
latter is the collecting point for much of the freight sent by
steamboats down the Columbia River from _Wallula_. Railway
transportation has largely superseded river-navigation for all except
local freights, however. _Boise City_ is the financial centre of
considerable mining interests.
=The Pacific Coast Lowlands.=--Climatically this region differs from the
rest of the United States in having a rainy and a dry season--that is,
the rainfall is wholly seasonal. In the northern part the rainfall is
sixty inches or more, and rain may be expected daily from the middle of
October to May. In central California the precipitation is about half as
much, the rainy season beginning later and ending earlier. In southern
California there are occasional showers during the winter months,
aggregating ten or twenty inches.
The level valley-lands have no superior for wheat-farming, and in but
one or two places is the rainfall insufficient to insure a good crop. In
the San Joaquin and southern valleys of California the harvest begins in
May, in the Sacramento Valley in June, and in the Willamette and Sound
Valleys of Oregon and Washington in July. The wheat goes mainly to Great
Britain by way of Cape Horn. It cannot be safely shipped in bulk, and
the manufacture of jute grain-sacks has become an important industry in
consequence. The yearly wheat product of this region is not far from
eighty million bushels.
Fruit is a valuable product of the foot-hills of the Sierras, and in
southern California oranges, lemons, and grapes are now the staple crop.
In some cases the average yield per acre has reached a value of five
hundred dollars. Some of the largest vineyards in the world are in this
region. The Zinfandel claret wine and the raisins find a market as far
east as London, and considerable quantities are sold in China and Japan.
The navel orange, although not native to California, reaches its finest
development in that State. A large part of the fruit-crop of California
is handled at Minneapolis, Chicago, St. Louis, and New York. It is
transported in special cars attached to fast trains.
Wool is an important crop. In the northern part the sheep thrive best in
the foot-hills. The valley of Umpqua River, Ore., produces nearly
seventeen million pounds of wool yearly, the staple being an ordinary
variety. California produces nearly as much of the finest merino staple.
A considerable part is manufactured in the mills of the Pacific coast.
The Mission Mills blankets made in San Francisco are without an equal
elsewhere.
The discovery of gold by John Marshall in 1848 resulted in a tremendous
inflow of people to the gold-fields of California. It also was a factor
in the acquisition of the territory composing the Pacific coast States.
The first mining consisted merely in separating the metal deposited in
the bed-rock of streams by washing away the lighter material. In time
the quartz ledges which had produced the placer gold became the chief
factor in gold mining. California is still one of the leading States in
the production of gold. Quicksilver mining is an important feature of
the mining interests of the Pacific coast, and the mines of the coast
ranges produce about half the world's output.
Lumber manufacture is an important industry. Douglas spruce, commonly
known as "Oregon pine," grows profusely on the western slopes of the
high ranges, the belt extending nearly to the Mexican border. It makes a
most excellent building-lumber, especially for bridge-timber and
framework. Masts and spars of this material are used in almost every
maritime country. Sugar-pine is less common, but is abundant. It is
largely used for interior work. Several species of redwood occur in
central California, confined to a limited area. The wood is fine-grained
and makes a most beautiful interior finish.
_San Francisco_ is the metropolis of the Pacific coast of the United
States. It is the terminus of the Santa Fé and Union Pacific railways,
and the centre of a network of local roads. Steamship lines connect the
city with Panama, the Hawaiian Islands, Japan, and Australian ports;
coast steamships reach to the various ports of Alaska, Oregon, and
California. It is also the financial as well as the commercial centre of
the Pacific coast. _Los Angeles_ is the centre of the fruit-growing
region; its port is _San Pedro_. _Stockton_, _Port Costa_, and
_Sacramento_, all on navigable waters, are wheat-markets. _Portland_
(Ore.) is the metropolis of the basin of the Columbia and Willamette
Rivers. Navigation of the former is interrupted by falls or rapids at
_Dalles_ and _Cascades_, but boats ascend as far as _Wallula_. The lower
Willamette is also made navigable by means of a canal and locks at
Oregon Falls.
Puget Sound is a "drowned valley," with an abundance of deep water. The
score or more of harbors are among the best in the world. _Seattle_ and
_Tacoma_, the leading ports, are terminals of great transcontinental
railways, and also of the most important trade-route across the
continent. Lines of steamships connect Seattle with Japan and China, and
the commerce passing through this gateway is drawn from a territory
that extends more than half-way around the world. These ports are
destined to become the chief American ports in the Asian trade.
=Alaska.=--The most productive industry of the insular part of the
territory is the fisheries. For many years the Pribilof Islands produced
practically all the seal-pelts used in the manufacture of seal-fur
garments. So many seals were killed, however, that the species seemed
likely to become extinct, and seal-catching has been forbidden for a
term of years.
[Illustration: PUGET SOUND]
The discovery of gold along the Klondike River and in the beach-sands of
Cape Nome was followed by the development of surface mines that produced
a large amount of gold. For the better transportation of products, a
railway has been completed from _Skagway_ across White Pass to _White
Horse_, the head of navigation of the Yukon. About twenty steamboats are
engaged in the commerce of the river. _Skagway_ and _Dyea_ are
collecting points for the commerce of the Klondike mines. _Juneau_ has
probably the largest quartz-mill in the world.
=Porto Rico.=--Porto Rico, formerly a Spanish colony, is now a possession
of the United States. The island is about the size of Connecticut and
has a population somewhat greater. The industries are almost wholly
agricultural, and nearly the whole surface is under cultivation. Sugar,
coffee, and tobacco are grown for export, and these constitute the chief
source of income. The coffee-crop, about sixty million pounds yearly, is
the most valuable product and commands a high price on account of its
superior quality. It is sold very largely to European coffee-merchants,
and is marketed as a "Mocha." Exports of fruit to the United States are
increasing. In 1900 the exports to United States markets, mainly sugar
and cattle products, were about six million dollars. The imports from
the United States were chiefly of cotton-prints and rice, to the amount
of nearly nine million dollars. The total export and import trade that
year was about twenty million dollars.
The facilities for the transportation of products are not good. The
railway lines have a total mileage of about one hundred and fifty miles.
An excellent wagon-road, built by the Spanish Government from San Juan
to Ponce, has been supplemented by several hundred miles of roads built
under the direction of the military authorities. _San Juan_ and _Ponce_
are the leading seaports and centres of trade.
=Hawaiian Islands.=--These islands were discovered by a Spanish sailor,
Gaetano, in 1549, and again visited by Captain Cook in 1778. Up to 1893
they formed a native kingdom. In 1893 foreign influence was sufficient
to overthrow the native government, and in 1898 they were formally
annexed to the United States and about the same time organized as a
territory. From an early date the geographic position of the islands has
made them a convenient mid-ocean post-station, and they have therefore
become a most important commercial centre.
[Illustration: HYDRAULIC GOLD MINING--CALIFORNIA]
Of the various islands composing the group, Hawaii, Maui, Oahu, Kaui,
Molokai, Lanai, and Niihau are inhabited. About one-fifth of the
population consists of native Hawaiians; a little more than one-fifth is
white; the remainder is composed of Japanese, Chinese, and Porto Ricans.
The native population is decreasing. About ninety-five per cent. of the
property is owned by the white people--Americans, English, and Germans.
The volcanic soils are the very best sugar-lands, and a large amount of
capital is invested in this industry. The sugar-plantations employ more
than forty thousand laborers, all Japanese, Chinese, and Porto Ricans.
The value of the sugar export is nearly twenty-five million dollars
yearly; that of fruit, rice, and hides is about two hundred and fifty
thousand dollars. Coffee is rapidly becoming a leading product. The bulk
of the imports comes from the United States, and consists of clothing,
cotton textiles, lumber, and machinery.
_Honolulu_, on the island of Oahu, is the capital and commercial centre,
and foreign steamships and sailing-craft are scarcely ever absent from
its harbor. Regular steamship service connects this port with San
Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver, B.C., and the principal ports of China
and Japan. It is connected with the other islands by a system of
wireless telegraphy. The city has the best of schools, business
organizations, hotels, and streets.
_Pearl Harbor_ contains a large area of water, most of which is deep
enough for the largest vessels afloat. It is intended to deepen the
entrance and establish a United States naval station at this place. The
village of _Hilo_ is the chief port of the island of Hawaii.
=The Philippine Islands= are an archipelago of about two thousand islands,
the two largest of which, Luzon and Mindanao, are each nearly the size
of New York State. Luzon is by far the most important.
After their cession to the United States (December 10, 1898), they were
held under military control, but this has given place to local
self-government as rapidly as the circumstances permitted. A general
school system has been established and is extended wherever practicable.
In a considerable number of the islands civil organization is still
impossible.
The following are the principal islands and their mineral resources:
----------------+----------------------+---------------------
NAME |CHIEF CITIES AND PORTS|MINERAL RESOURCES
----------------+----------------------+---------------------
Luzon |Manila, Lipa, Batangas|Coal, gold, copper
Mindanao |Zamboanga |Coal, gold, copper
Samar |Catbalogan |Coal, gold
Negros |Bacolor |Coal
Panay |Iloilo |Coal, gold, petroleum
Leyte |Tacloban |Coal, petroleum
Mindoro |Calapan |Coal, gold
Cebu |Cebu |Coal, petroleum, gold
----------------+----------------------+----------------------
The native population is mainly of the Malay race, but there are also
many Negritos. Of the native element the Tagals are the most advanced,
and are the dominant people. The foreign population includes nearly one
hundred thousand Chinese, who are the chief commercial factors of the
islands, and the leading industries are controlled by them. There is a
considerable population of Chinese and Tagal mixed blood, commonly known
as "Chinese mestizos"; they inherit, in the main, the Chinese
characteristics. The European and American population consists mainly of
officials, troops, and merchant-agents for Philippine products.
The principal products for export are "Manila" hemp, sugar, and tobacco.
The hemp is used in the manufacture of cordage and paper. On account of
the great strength of the fibre it has no equal among cordage fibres.
The imports from the United States consist mainly of machinery and
cotton textiles. The total trade of the islands amounted in 1901 to
about fifty million dollars, most of which was shared by Great Britain
and the United States.
Coal is mined in the island of Cebu and is abundant in most of the
islands. Iron ore, copper, and sulphur occur, but they have not been
made commercially available to any extent. Gold is mined in the island
of Luzon. A stable government only is needed to make these great
resources productive. An abundance of timber is found in most of the
islands. Cedar, ebony, and sapan-wood are available for ornamental
purposes; there is also a great variety of economic woods.
_Manila_ is the commercial centre. Manila Bay is one of the finest
harbors in the Pacific Ocean, but much work is necessary to give the
water-front a navigable depth for large steamships. With an improved
harbor the city is bound to be a great emporium of Oriental trade.
Steamship lines connect the city with Hongkong, Australia, Japan,
Singapore, and Liverpool. There is also a military transport service to
Seattle. A railway to Dagupan extends through the most important
agricultural region. The wagon-roads throughout the island are very
poor.
_Lipa_, _Batanzas_, _Bauan_, and _Cavité_ are cities of about forty
thousand population, all more or less connected with the industries of
Manila. _Iloilo_ is the second port of importance of the islands, and is
the centre of a considerable export trade in tobacco, hemp, sugar, and
sapan-wood. _Cebu_ is also a port having a considerable trade.
=Tutuila=, one of the Samoan Islands, was acquired by treaty for use as a
coal-depot and naval station. _Pago Pago_ is a port of call for
steamships between San Francisco and Australia. =Guam=, one of the Ladrone
Islands, is a naval station. These possessions are strategic and are
designed to secure the interests of the United States in the Pacific. An
ocean telegraphic cable connects the Pacific Ocean possessions with the
United States and Asia.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
Why are mountain-regions apt to be sparsely peopled?
Why are arid regions sparsely peopled, as a rule?
Why are not gold-mining settlements so apt to be permanent as
agricultural settlements?
From the Abstract of Statistics find the production of gold and silver
of this region for each ten years ending the last half of the century.
What causes the difference between the wool clip of southern California
and that of the Eastern States?
Follow the route of a grain-carrying ship from San Francisco to
Liverpool.
What are the advantages to the United States of the accession of the
Hawaiian Islands?--of the Philippine Islands?--of Alaska? What are the
disadvantages?
FOR COLLATERAL READING AND REFERENCE
Mineral Resources of the United States.
Abstract of Statistics.
U.S. Coast Survey Chart of Alaska.
Map of Hawaiian Islands.
Map of Philippine Islands.
[Illustration: NIAGARA POWER-HOUSE (EXTERIOR)]
[Illustration: NIAGARA POWER-HOUSE (INTERIOR)]