Puget Sound is a great inland sea, extending nearly 200 miles from the
ocean, having a surface of about 2,000 square miles, and a shore line of
1,594 miles, indented with numerous bays, harbors, and inlets, each with
its peculiar name; and it contains numerous islands inhabited by
farmers, lumbermen, herdsmen, and those engaged in quarrying lime and
building stone. Nothing can surpass the beauty of these waters and their
safety. Not a shoal exists within the Sound, the Straits of Juan de
Fuca, Admiralty Bay, Hood's Canal, or the Straits of Georgia, that would
in any way interrupt their navigation by a seventy-four-gun ship. There
is no country in the world that possesses waters equal to these. The
shores of all the inlets and bays are remarkably bold, so much so that a
ship's side would touch the shore before her keel would touch the
ground. The country by which these waters are surrounded has a
remarkably salubrious climate.
The region affords every advantage for the accommodation of a vast
commercial and military marine, with conveniences for docks, and there
are a great many sites for towns and cities, which at all times would be
well supplied with water, and the surrounding country, which is well
adapted to agriculture, would supply all the wants of a large
population. No part of the world affords finer islands, sounds, or a
greater number of harbors than are found within these waters. They are
capable of receiving the largest class of vessels, and are without a
single hidden danger. From the rise and fall of the tide (18 feet),
every facility is afforded for the erection of works for a great
maritime nation. The rivers also furnish hundreds of sites for
water-power for manufacturing purposes. On this Sound are already
situated many thriving towns and cities, besides those already
mentioned, bidding for the commerce of the world.
The flora of the Sound region is varied and interesting. A saturated
atmosphere, constantly in contact with the Coast Range system of
upheaval, together with the warm temperature, induces a growth of
vegetation almost tropical in its luxuriance. On the better soils, the
shot-clay hills and uplands, and on the alluvial plains and river
bottoms, grow the great trees, already mentioned, and many other species
of almost equal beauty, though of no commercial value.
"The characteristic shrubs are the cornels and the spiraeas, many
species. These, with the low thickets of salal (_Gaultheria shallon_),
Oregon grape (berries), and fern (chiefly pteris, which is the most
abundant), and the tangle of the trailing blackberry (_Rubus pedatus_)
make the forests almost impenetrable save where the ax or the wild beast
or the wilder fire have left their trails.
"The dense shade of the forest gives little opportunity for the growth
of the more lowly herbs. Where the fire has opened these shades to the
light the almost universal fireweed (_epilobium_) and the lovely brown
fire-moss (_funaria_) abound. In swamps and lowlands the combustion of
decay, almost as quick and effective as fire itself, opens large spaces
to the light; and here abound chiefly the skunk cabbage of the Pacific
coast (_lysichiton_) and many forms of the lovliest mosses, grown beyond
belief save by those who have looked upon their tropical congeners.
_Hypnums_ and _Mniums_ make the great mass which meet the eye; and among
the many less obvious forms a careful search will reveal many species
characteristic of this coast alone. The lower forms of the cryptogams,
the lichens and the fungi, abound in greatest profusion as might be
expected. The chief interest in these, in the present state of our
knowledge of them, springs from their disposition to invade the more
valuable forms of vegetation which follow advancing civilization."
[Illustration: VIEWS ON PUGET SOUND.]
I measured one fungus, which I found growing upon the decaying trunk of
a mammoth fir, that was thirteen inches thick and thirty-four inches
wide. I have frequently seen mosses growing on rotten logs, in the deep
shades of these lonely forests, that were twelve to sixteen inches deep,
and others hanging from branches overhead three feet or more in length.
There are places in these dense forests where the trees stand so close
and their branches are so intertwined that the sun's rays never reach
the ground, and have not, perhaps for centuries; and it is but natural
that these shade and moisture loving plants should grow to great size in
such places.
The fauna of this Territory includes the elk, black-tailed deer,
_Cervus columbianus_; the mule-deer, _Cervus macrotus_; the Virginia
deer, _Cervus virginianus_; the caribou, the Rocky Mountain goat, Rocky
Mountain sheep, the grizzly and black bear. Among the smaller mammals
there are the raccoon, the cougar, wild cat, gray wolf, black wolf,
prairie wolf or coyote, gray and red fox, fisher, mink, martin, beaver,
otter, sea otter, red squirrel, ermine, muskrat, sea lion, fur and hair
seals, wolverine, skunk, badger, porcupine, marmot, swamp hare,
jack-rabbit, etc. Of birds and wild fowls there is a long list, among
which may be mentioned several varieties of geese and brant, including
the rare and toothsome black brant, which in season hovers in black
clouds about the sand spits; the canvas back, redhead, blue bill, teal,
widgeon, shoveler, and various other ducks; ruffed, pinnated, and blue
grouse; various snipes and plovers; eagles, hawks, owls, woodpeckers,
jays, magpies, nuthatches, warblers, sparrows, etc. There are many
varieties of game and food fishes in the Sound and its tributaries, in
addition to the salmon and trout already mentioned. In short, this whole
country is a paradise for the sportsman and the naturalist, whatever the
specialty of either.
We left Seattle, _en route_ for Victoria, at seven o'clock on a bright,
crisp November morning. The air was still, the bay was like a sheet of
glass, and only long, low swells were running outside. We had a charming
view of the Cascade Mountains to the east and the Olympics to the west,
all day. The higher peaks were covered with snow, and the sunlight
glinted and shimmered across them in playful, cheery mood. Deep shadows
fell athwart dark canyons, in whose gloomy depths we felt sure herds of
elk and deer were nipping the tender herbage, and along whose raging
rivers sundry bears were doubtless breakfasting on salmon straight. Old
Mount Baker's majestic head, rising 10,800 feet above us and only fifty
miles away, was the most prominent object in the gorgeous landscape, and
one on which we never tired of gazing. We had only to cast our eyes from
the grand scene ashore to that at our feet, and _vice versa_, to--
"See the mountains kiss high heaven,
And the waves clasp one another."
A large colony of gulls followed the steamer, with ceaseless beat of
downy wings, from daylight till dark, and after the first hour they
seemed to regard us as old friends. They hovered about the deck like
winged spirits around a lost child. Strange bird thus to poise with
tireless wing over this watery waste day after day! Near the route of
the vessel one of the poor creatures lay dead, drifting sadly and alone
on the cold waves. Mysterious creature, with--
"Lack lustre eye, and idle wing,
And smirched breast that skims no more,
Hast thou not even a grave
Upon the dreary shore,
Forlorn, forsaken thing?"
Our feathered fellow-passengers greeted us with plaintive cries whenever
we stepped out of the cabin, dropping into the water in pursuit of every
stray bit of food that was thrown overboard from the cook-room. My wife
begged several plates of stale bread from the steward, and, breaking it
into small pieces, threw handfuls at a time into the water.
[Illustration: OUR FEATHERED FELLOW-PASSENGERS.]
Twenty or thirty of the birds would drop in a bunch where the bread
fell, and a lively scramble would ensue for the coveted food. The lucky
ones would quickly corral it, however, when the whole flight, rising
again, would follow and soon overtake the vessel. Then they would
cluster around their patron, cooing, and coaxing for more of the welcome
bounty. I took out my detective camera and made a number of exposures on
the gulls, which resulted very satisfactorily. Many of the prints show
them sadly out of focus, but this was unavoidable, as I focused at
twenty feet, and of course all that were nearer or farther away, at the
instant of exposure, are not sharp. Many, however, that were on wing at
the time of making the exposure, and at the proper distance from the
lens, are clearly and sharply cut.
These pictures form a most interesting study for artists, anatomists,
naturalists, and others, the wings being shown in every position assumed
by the birds in flight. The shutter worked at so high a pressure that
only one or two birds in the entire series show any movement at all, and
they are but very slightly blurred. When we consider that the steamer,
as well as the gulls, was in motion--running ten miles an
hour--trembling and vibrating from stem to stern, and that, in many
cases, the birds were going in an opposite direction from that of the
vessel, the results obtained are certainly marvelous. It may interest
some of my readers to know that I used an Anthony detective camera,
making a four-by-five-inch picture, to which is fitted a roll holder,
and in all the work done on this trip, I used negative paper. I also
obtained, _en route_, several good views of various islands, and points
of interest on the mainland, while the boat was in motion.
There are many beautiful scenes in and about the Sound; many charming
islands, clothed in evergreen foliage, from whose interiors issue clear,
sparkling brooks of fresh water; while the mainland shores rise
abruptly, in places, to several hundreds of feet, bearing their burdens
of giant trees. There are perpendicular cut banks on many of the islands
and the mainland shores, thirty, forty, or fifty feet high, almost
perpendicular, made so by the hungry waves having eaten away their
foundations, and the earth having fallen into the brine, leaving exposed
bare walls of sand and gravel. On Whidby Island, one of the largest in
the Sound, there was, up to a few years ago, a herd of wild cattle, to
which no one made claim of ownership, and which were, consequently,
considered legitimate game for anyone who cared to hunt them. They were
wary and cunning in the extreme. The elk or deer, native and to the
manor born, could not be more so. But, alas, these cattle were not to be
the prey of true, conscientious sportsmen; for the greed of the market
hunter and the skin hunter exceeded the natural cunning of the noble
animals, and they have been nearly exterminated; only ten or twelve
remain, and they will soon have to yield up their lives to the
insatiable greed of those infamous butchers.
[Illustration: DECEPTION PASS, PUGET SOUND.]
One of the most curious and interesting points in the sound is Deception
Pass. This is a narrow channel or passage between two islands, only
fifty yards wide, and about two hundred yards long. On either side rise
abrupt and towering columns of basaltic rock, and during both ebb and
flow the tide runs through it, between Padilla and Dugalla Bays, with
all the wild fury and bewildering speed of the maelstrom. This pass
takes its name from the fact of there being three coves near--on the
west coast of Whidby Island--that look so much like Deception that they
are often mistaken for it at night or during foggy weather, even by
experienced navigators. All the skill and care of the best pilots are
required to make the pass in safety, and the bravest of them heave a
sigh of relief when once its beetling cliffs and seething abysses are
far astern. Gulls hover about this weird place, and eagles soar above it
at all hours, as if admiring its pristine beauties, yet in superstitious
awe of the dark depths. Mount Erie, two miles away, rising to a height
of 1,300 feet, casting its deep shadows across the pass and surrounding
waters, completes a picture of rare beauty and grandeur.
We reached Victoria, that quaint, old, aristocratic, ultra-English town,
just as the sun was sinking beneath the waves, that rolled restlessly on
the surface of Juan de Fuca Strait. We were surprised to see so
substantial and well-built a town as this, and one possessing so much of
the air of age and independence, so far north and west. One might
readily imagine, from the exterior appearance of the city and its
surroundings, that he were in the province of Quebec instead of that of
British Columbia. My wife felt that she must not remain longer away from
home at present, and we were to part here; therefore, in the early
morning she embarked for home, while I transferred my effects and self
to the steamer Princess Louise, bound for Burrard Inlet.