Democratic Sentinel, Volume 12, Number 39, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 October 1888 — PACIFIC NORTHWEST. [ARTICLE]

PACIFIC NORTHWEST.

PORT TOWNSEND, W. T.. OUR FUTURE GIBRALTAR. The Most Northwesterly American Seaport—A Fine Harbor—Fishing and Ship- : Plug Advantage*—Manufacturing Possibilities—A Splendid Climate —Charming Scenery—Agricultural and Business Opportunities. [SPECIAL COItBESPONDENCE.) Pobt Townsend, Wash. Ter., Oct. 10, 1888. For many centuries the Strait of Gibraltar ; was the western boundary of the old world. All eyes turned to the East. Every dream of empire, every thought of power, every mode of improvement, every hope of riches, of glory or of fame shaped its way to tho Orient. The gold and precious stones of India were in tho East, the learning of Arabia and the mysteries of Egypt were in the East. Eastward the crusaders swarmed to take the Holy City, and even Columbus was seeking the East when he discovered the West, and turned the finger of destiny to the Occident. For four hundred years now the sweep of progress has been to the W’est. In the Western world has grown up the greatest nation in the world’s history, and there seem no bounds to the possibilities of the future. So long as the natural increase of tho earth exceeds the decrease so long will the steady current from the East to the West continue; the old world will continue to pour its surplus into the new and the East into the West, seeking equilibrium. The Atlantic region will become dense with people, the Mississippi Valley will be filled, and the Pacific coast grow rich and populous. Hero and there great trade centers will adjust themselves in an evenly balanced continent. Near the point where the Strait of Fuca merges into that superb stretch of sea water known as Puget Sound, nature has marked the site for a city, where one as large as New York can stand. Port Townsend already has a place on the map and a recognition among men and in trade circles. Nowhere do coming events east their shadows before in clearer outline than in this little city of the Strait and Sound. These are some of its advantages: It is the first American mainland touching point by water with Alaska, Australia, Japan, China, and India; while on the other hand it is the last house of call for out-going traffic, and whether it is the flow of growth coming in or the ebb of produets going out, Port Townsend, like the larded measure of Cassim.in the Arabian tale, retains a share. It is the port of entry for the Puget Sound collection district, and all vessels must stop both coming and going. The Government has already expended $100,(XX) for a custom house, and $120,000 has been appropriated by Congress to make needed additions. Here is the seat of the foreign Consulates; the United States Marine Hospital is here, and a revenue cutter sails in and out of the port, doing police duty for Uncle Sam. A military post is near by, and a half-million dollars is given to build fortifications near the light-house, in an appropriation bill now before Congress. More American tonnage is registered in Port Townsend than in any other port except New York. It is the Pacific watch-tower; the future Gibraltar of the Pacific Northwest. It has a harbor capable of sheltering the largest, fleets, the only harbor in the Northwest to which ships can sail to anchorage,saving expensive towage fees. The largest ship can sail into it without ever hittiug upon unseen shoals and hidden rocks, and a vessel can lay its broadside sheer up against the shore almost anywhere, with no other danger than that of abrasion when lifted or lowered by the tides, which vary from 10 to 15 feet. The harbor is three miles by six in size, with a depth of from five to fifteen fathoms, better anchorage than up-Sound ports,‘and SI,OOO will cover damage to shipping in thirty-five years of common use. It is nearest to the coming fisheries of the North Pacific coast, which must become an inexhaustible source of wealth. New England flshermon have already made this their headquarters. Salmon, cod, trout and other food fish abound, and the finest halibut in the world are taken along the shore for a thousand miles to Alaska. A schooner recently caught 40,000 pounds of halibut in a day; another took $5,000 worth of seal skins in a short trip.

It has at its door the only iron-smelting furnace in Washington Territory, with a capacity of fifty tons a day, to which is being added a rolling-mill plant costing over one million dollars, for the manufacture of steel rails and plates for ship-building, and with iron, marble, building stone, coal and lumber within reach, who will say the peninsula city cannot be made a great workshop. Its immense timber resources are barely touched. Trees are of many kinds and can be put to many uses. The Douglas fir or Oregon pine is the acme of fine timber. In the tree it is tall, often 300 feet high, and straight, and a single tree has been known to cut 30,000 feet. It can be put through the planer green, and come out as smooth as Eastern or Southern pine that has been in pile for a year. It has a picturesque location. Look which way you will an entrancing view of wood, mountain and water meets the gaze. To the east Mount Baker is seen, a monarch of the Cascades, whose snow-white summit pierces the thin air of eternal winter, with a jagged line of snow-peaks leading off a hundred miles to another sentinel—Rainier while to the west the Olympic range throws its white caps against the sky which the evening tints with a charm beyond our pen to describe. To the north, across the waters of the Straits of Fuca, the blue mountains of Vancouver Island—far beyond Victoria, the sleepy old capital of British Columbia—fade away on the horizon. At our feet the busy town and wharves with ships and steamers from far countries, while here and there along the shores columns of rising smoke tell us of saw mills, fish canneries and other industries. To the south and west there is a wide range of land capable of producing all of the crops of the north temperate zone, an area which, when brought under cultivation, will support thousands of families. Washington Territory already leads the country in the yield per acre of potatoes and wheat, and to enumerate what is possible in the way of cereals, fruits, and vegetables would be to reprint a seed catalogue. The conditions are most favorable to fruit-grow-ing; the trees begin to bear early, and there are no destructive insects. Cattle, horses, and sheep are easily cared for; dairy farming. poultry raising—nearly every feature of agriculture —are possible near Port Townsend. For men who are willing to work and assist nature, this section certainly offers a diversity of opportunities. The nearest railroad to Port Townsend is the North Pacific, just across the Sound, but a local line has been surveyed to Portland, 207 miles, with no grade exceeding fortyfive feet to tho mile. This new road, the Port Townsend Southern, now in course of construction, has secured 400 acres of terminal grounds and water-front at this place. Port Townsend has more than one string to her bow, but we do not wish to mislead the reader with the idea that everyone can catch on; that there is a fortune or even an opening for men without regard to capacity or calling. Good wages await trained mechanics, laborers and domesties, but there is no great demand for professional men, clerks or tired men; the outlook too is poor <ior mere office seekers or loungers, but for farmers, gardeners, stock-raisers, lumbermen, capitalists, fishermen, miners, manufacturers and practical men in all productive fields the openings are numerous. Moses Folsom.