Part 23

BAKER, on a branch of the Great Northern railway, has 400 people, and is a center of cement factories.

Skamania county, in the south central part of the state, has its southern boundary on the Columbia river, with Lewis county to the north. It is chiefly within the forest reserve, and includes Mount St. Helens on the west and Mount Adams on its eastern border. Altogether it has an area of 1,636 square miles, chiefly mountainous, and about 3,000 people.

The north fork of the Lewis river drains the most of the mountainous region, while a lot of small streams drain the southern part, emptying into the Columbia river.

The climate is a mean between that of eastern and western Washington, and is very mild and salubrious. The soil of the valleys in the region of the Columbia river is very fertile.

RESOURCES.

The chief resource of the county is in its timber and lumber, yet its mineral and agricultural wealth is becoming better known and appreciated yearly. The fruit raised in its valleys is of excellent flavor, early in season, and the soil is generous in its yield. Splendid pasturage in the foothills encourages stock-raising, and fishing in the Columbia river is profitably followed by some of the citizens.

TRANSPORTATION.

Boats on the Columbia river and a railroad on each side of it are the means of transportation, and ample for the residents of the county in its southern portion. The coming of the North Bank railroad has given a decided stimulus to the growth of the county.

DEVELOPMENT.

Skamania county has developed slowly and the bulk of its natural wealth is still practically untouched. Its minerals, well known to be valuable, are attracting the attention of prospectors, while the forests, fisheries and farming lands will furnish a competence to hundreds of additional familles. The scenery, combined with the fishing and hunting afforded, are additional attractions that will prove alluring to many newcomers.

PRINCIPAL TOWNS.

STEVENSON, a small town on the Columbia river and railroad, is the county seat and has a population of about 450.

Tributary to Stevenson is considerable improved land, and the people are engaged in stock-raising, fruit-growing and farming.

BUTLER is a town of about 300 people on the railroad and river.

CARSON, CAPE HORN, MT. PLEASANT and BEAR PRAIRIE are smaller villages, destined to become centers of commercial distribution.

Snohomish county extends 36 miles in width from the Sound to the peaks of the Cascade mountains, adjoining King county on the north. It has an area of some 2,500 square miles of territory, a population of about 63,000 people, and a great storehouse of wealth in its natural resources. It is one of the largest and richest counties in the state, with a mild and healthful climate, magnificent scenery, great diversity of landscape, innumerable water falls and plenty of game.

RESOURCES.

The forests of Snohomish are very extensive and but little depleted. Fir, cedar, hemlock and spruce are its chief trees. Nearly one-half of the area of the county is heavily mineralized with veins of gold, silver, copper, lead, nickel, iron, and other ores. There are also vast ledges of marble, granite and other building stones.

In diversified agricultural possibilities, few counties can excel Snohomish. Its general soils in its valleys are alluvial, and produce astonishing crops; about the deltas of its rivers, the riches of the salt water and the mountains have combined to make a soil that will endure for ages and annually astonish the husbandman with its generosity. Upon its uplands, its clay and decaying herbage have combined for ages to create a soil wonderfully adapted to produce grass and fruits, and the industrious are luxuriating in nature's prodigality.

Rainfall is abundant, but not excessive, and crops of the cereals and fruits are never failures.

TRANSPORTATION.

This county is splendidly provided with transportation facilities; many steamboats ply its salt waters and part way up the three great rivers that flow into the Sound. Two transcontinental railroads cut the western part of the county in two. The trunk line of the Great Northern follows the valley of one river from the southeast to the coast, while two branch lines run up the other two great valleys, past the center of the state, toward the mountains, while a dozen spurs and short logging and coal roads act as feeders to the main lines, thus giving all the towns of the county access to all the Sound markets, and those of the east and the ports of the Pacific ocean.

PRINCIPAL CITIES AND TOWNS.

EVERETT, situated upon a fine harbor on the shores of Puget Sound near the mouth of the Snohomish river, is the county seat and metropolis of the county. It has a population of 35,000, and is fast developing into a commercial and manufacturing center of importance.

The largest steamers afloat can find wharfage at her docks and safe anchorage in her waters. It has upwards of 3,000 men employed in its factories and mills, with a monthly payroll aggregating $230,000.

The city is substantially built, having all the conveniences of a modern city, with wide streets and wide sidewalks; has both gas and electricity for lights, and a good water system. Some of its streets are paved with preserved wooden blocks and some with asphalt.

Everett is a sub-port of entry of the Puget sound country. The United States has spent half a million dollars improving the mouth of the Snohomish river for a fresh-water harbor.

SNOHOMISH is a city of 4,000 people, on the Snohomish river, which is navigable, and is connected with Everett by a street car line. It is also on the Northern Pacific and Great Northern railways, and is the distributing center for a large agricultural district. It has a number of shingle and sawmills, and is headquarters for a good deal of the mining industry of the county.