A Review of the Resources and Industries of the State of Washington, 1909 | Page 6

commissioner by
purchase outright on very easy terms, or may be leased for a term of
five to ten years at a low rental, the lessee receiving virtually a first
right to purchase.
These state lands are as good as any in the state and offer to the
homeseeker a splendid opportunity for a start.
[Page 15] In this state there are also numerous tide lands, oyster lands,
and shore lands to be obtained at various prices, both from the state and
from private individuals who have already acquired title from the state.
WATER POWER.
It is probable that no state in the Union is better equipped for creating
power than the State of Washington. Numerous waterfalls of magnitude
are already successfully utilized. Among these the most noted are the
Spokane falls, capable of producing 400,000 horse power; the
Snoqualmie falls, with a sheer descent of 250 feet, with a capacity of
100,000 horse power; Puyallup river at one place is furnishing about
20,000 horse power; the Cedar river has a capacity of 50,000 horse wer;
the Nooksack falls with 15,000 horse power already generated;
Tumwater falls with 4,000 horse power, with Chelan falls, the Meyers
falls and the falls of Asotin creek all in use to limited extent. The
waters of the Yakima river are also in use in part for power purposes,

but more extensively for irrigation. Besides these there are many minor
streams already harnessed.
But the unused water powers of the state far exceed that portion now
developed. All its streams are mountain streams, excepting perhaps, the
Snake and Columbia rivers. These mountain rivers in a flow of 50 to
200 miles make a descent of 2,000 to 5,000 feet in reaching sea level,
providing innumerable opportunities to use the falls already created by
nature, or to divert the waters and produce artificial falls.
No heritage of the state is of greater value and none more appreciated
than this water power. Since the introduction of electricity as a lighting
and motive force, its creation by water power looms into immense
importance. The exhibition of its achievements to be seen in
Washington today is amazing to the men whose vision of light and
power was first with the tallow dip and four-footed beasts, and later
with kerosene and steam. Electricity, created by our water falls, lights
our cities and farm homes, draws our street cars and some railroad
cars--pushes most of the machinery used in manufactories, to the great
satisfaction and profit of our citizens.
[Page 16] GAME.
The State of Washington was once a paradise for the sportsman in its
every corner. Its desert lands were full of jack rabbits and sage hens;
over its mountains and foothills roamed herds of elk, mountain goats,
deer, and many bear, cougar and wild cats. In its timbered valleys were
pheasants and grouse in plenty. Upon its waters and sloughs the wild
ducks and geese were in vast flocks, while its waters teemed with
salmon in many varieties, and several families of the cod tribe, sole,
flounders, perch, mountain trout and other fish.
While these conditions cannot now be said to exist in full, yet at certain
seasons, and in some places, the same game, animals, birds and fishes
are in abundance, and the sportsman, while he may not have his "fill,"
may satisfy a reasonable amount of his craving for the excitement of
the frontier. The state has deemed it wise to restrict the time and place
within which its game can be taken and the amount a single individual
shall kill. These regulations suffice partly to preserve the game from
extinction and help replenish the state's treasury, and are considered
wise and reasonable.
SCENERY.

If Washington is mighty in forest possession, provided with fuel for
centuries in its coal beds, rich in precious metals, with great open
waterways full of fish roads from the ocean and millions of fishes in its
inland waters, with game upon its thousand hills and its vast plains
loaded with waving grains and red with luscious fruits, still its
crowning glory is its matchless scenery.
Towering above the clouds, with its head crowned with eternal snows,
its sides forever glistening with icy glaciers till their feet touch the
green tops of its foothills, near the center of the state, stands in
imposing grandeur the highest mountain of the states--grand, old
Mount Rainier.
[Illustration: Plate No. 11.--Fish Cannery at Port Angeles, Clallam
County.]
[Illustration: Plate No. 12.--A Forest Scene in Clallam County.]
[Illustration: Plate No. 13.--North Bank Bridge Over the Columbia
River at Vancouver, Clarke County.]
[Illustration: Plate No. 14.--U. S. Army Post, Vancouver, Clarke
County.]
[Illustration: Plate No. 15.--Stock-Raising in Clarke County.]
[Illustration: Plate No. 16.--A Clarke County Fruit Ranch.]
Through its center north and south the Cascade mountains in a zigzag
course lift