379 



OUR ROCKY MOUNTAIN AREAS. 



Washington Tebritory. — The following facts are condensed from our cor- 

 respondence : 



Washington Territory is divided into two portions, known as tlie eastern 

 and westei'n, by the Cascade mountains, and which differ as much from each 

 other as do New York and Texas. The eastern portion is composed of moun- 

 tains and valleys, sparsely covered on the hills with pine, and along the streams 

 with Cottonwood. The climate is what might be termed extreyne, sometimes 

 being quite warm, and at others equally as cold, but at all times dry. Almost 

 the entire country is covered with a short bunch grass ; and at the same time 

 that it is surpassed by no country for summer grazing, it is well adapted for 

 stock in winter by feeding for about two months. It produces, by irrigation, 

 some corn, barley in abundance, wheat, oats, potatoes, &c., &c., excellent peaches 

 and melons, some apples, pears, plums, and cherries, and all kinds of garden 

 vegetables. The extreme eastern portion has gold mines which sustain a large 

 mining population. The western region is exactly the reverse of the eastern in 

 many respects, being densely covered with a body of the largest fir timber the 

 world ever saw. The soil on the upland is generally clay, and produces fair 

 ci-ops when cleared. Clearing is considered out of the question at the present 

 time, though the day will come when many farms will be made on the uplands. 

 The river bottoms are numerous and have a rich alluvial soil unsurpassed by 

 any State in the Union. The climate is damp and mild, there seldom being 

 more than eight or ten warm days during the summer, and the same number of 

 cold ones during the winter. The products are an unlimited quantity of the 

 finest quality, comprising fir lumber and spars, Avheat in abundance on bottom 

 land, apples, plums, pears, cherries, and all kinds of berries without limit and 

 of the very best quality. Coal in large quantities and of medium quality is to 

 be found in many places; strong indications of gold, silver, lead, and iron, have 

 been found in many places, but in such limited quantities that none of the metals 

 have been worked as yet. Stock of all kinds do extremely well in both por- 

 tions of the Territory, though sheep, and perhaps the Cashmere goat, are better 

 adapted to the eastern portion. Puget sound and the various streams produce 

 an endless variety of fish of the very best quality. 



Up to January 1st of the present year there were but five inches of snow, 

 which remained only two days. The lowest point reached by the thermometer 

 in a northern exposure was 19°, and that only once. 



This Territory is no exception to other regions. There are many there who 

 would gladly leave could they dispose of their property to advantage. But our 

 correspondent intimates that people (and especially families without means) 

 who are willing to settle down and farm, can surely make a good living. In a 

 few years, by the aid of a generous government which gives land to all, they 

 will have acquired a good home and many of the luxuries of life. Washington 

 Territory is not so bad a place to make a fortune in as many imagine. 



Walla- Walla. — A correspondent in Walla- Walla valley, latitude 46° 

 north, reports a thriving state of affairs in his valley, for which he claims a 

 climate similar to that of the latitude of 38° on the Atlantic coast. In the vi- 

 cinity of rich gold deposits, the neighboring population is composed largely of 

 miners. A few years since the most lucrative field culture yielded large returns 

 in oats and barley, " a perfect mine of treasure." More recently the demand 

 for these products has been interfered ^xiih. by the settlement and cultivation of 

 valleys nearer the richest mines, and wheat has become the principal crop. 



Fearing competition in this direction, and casting about for other sources of 

 agricultural prosperity, he says : "Our valley is particularly well adapted to 



