NARRATIVE OF 1853. 195 
but there is a wide bottom land of good soil almost everywhere; and the upland consists, in a great 
degree, of tables, which, though thickly wooded, are, from their location along this mighty river, 
more valuable than might be suspected. Their rich stock of timber is easily got into the river 
and the soil left behind is generally of superior quality. No prairies occur on the Columbia 
below Kathlamet, except those called tide-lands, near its mouth, which only need embankment 
and drainage to make them cultivable. In the estimate only such lands are included as are at 
once ready for occupation. 
When a population has been established requiring more than 6,500,000 acres for their 
support, besides the products of trade in the lumber and other products of the country, as 
much more land lies west of the Cascade range, which by that time will be made accessible 
and even more valuable for agriculture than what is now presented. The whole area of land 
west of the Cascade range may be estimated at 18,480 square miles. 
