flaws of the wind as in other narrow waters. . . . And 
there are in this region so many excellent and most secure ports 
that'the commercial marine of the Pacific ocean may be here 
easily accommodated.” 
u The importance and extent of this inland sea, the number 
and beauties of its numerous harbors, the value of the magnifi¬ 
cent forests by which it is surrounded, and its inexhaustible 
coal beds along its shores, are but little understood or appreci¬ 
ated by those who have not seen and examined for themselves ; 
possessing as it does more than seventeen hundred miles of in¬ 
land shore line, having in every channel, bay or harbor sufficient 
depth of water for the largest ship that floats in any navy in the 
world; channels unobstructed by rocks or sand bars, with an 
entrance so broad and safe that no pilots have been or ever will 
be needed.”— Hon. Alvin Flanders. 
Scenery. In no country we have visited have the gifts of 
God been so lavishly strewn as we have seen along the valley 
of Puget Sound. The clear, transparent atmosphere lends en¬ 
chantment to the crescent of mountains adjacent; those shining 
cupolas as seen in clear days glittering in the sunbeams, afford 
the most charming landscape. In sailing on those waters think¬ 
ing minds are lost in contemplating the beauty and grandeur 
of the scenes ; romantic headlands on the right hand, and bold, 
abrupt islands on the left, with Mount Olympius on the one 
hand, and the frosted peaks in the Cascade range on the other, 
all forming the grandest sight on which the human eye can rest. 
44 The scenery of this part of Admiralty Inlet resembles strongly 
parts of the Hudson river, particularly those above Poughkeep¬ 
sie. The distant highlands, though much more lofty, remind us 
of the Kaat-Kills.” — Wilkes. 
“ A voyage through these waters in the pleasant month of 
June is a source of pleasure and enjoyment; then the atmos¬ 
phere is clear, transparent, exhilarating, and possessed of that 
magnifying power which renders distant objects clear and dis¬ 
tinct to the vision, and gives natural scenery a definite outline 
and sharp cutting against the sky. In the foreground is the 
sound itself, dotted with islands, and penetrating the land in all 
directions with its channels, bays and inlets. Beyond is the 
mainland covered with lofty trees of fir and cedar, with here 
and there a village or milling establishment, nestled in a quiet 
bay, while an occasional prairie, with its comfortable farm hou- 
