195,237,000,000

34,245

4,042

4,620

The quantity of timber used by the mills during the year 1902 aggregated about 1,800,000,000 feet. At the present rate of consumption the standing timber will keep the mills running at their present capacity for more than one hundred years.

The shipments of lumber and shingles from the state of Washington during the past four years were as follows:

CARGO AND RAIL SHIPMENTS OF LUMBER.

THE COAL AND COKE INDUSTRY.

Early settlers in the Puget Sound region looked upon timber as their chief reliance for export, but it was soon discovered that coal deposits of an excellent and an extensive character existed here convenient to tide water. These coal fields cover an area of several thousand square miles and some twenty-four mines are now in operation. These are mainly in Pierce, King, Skagit, Whatcom and in Kittitas counties, immediately east of King. Valuable deposits are also being opened up on the headwaters of the Cowlitz, in the vicinity of the Cowlitz Pass, of coal which is claimed to be a good quality of anthracite or semi-anthracite. The mines now in operation produce a bituminous or semi-bituminous coal of fine quality for manufacturing, steam and domestic use. Some of these mines turn out a fine coking coal, of which considerable quantities are being made in Pierce and in Skagit counties. These various mines give employment to about five thousand men at wages averaging $2.50 per day. The following are the official figures taken from the report of the state mining inspector, C. F. Owens, for the years 1900, 1901 and 1902. Several additional mines will be opened up and operated as Soon as transportation facilities are provided, some of which are now in the course of construction. This coal is exported to California and many other points on the coast, including Alaska, to Honolulu, and many other points on the waters of the Pacific Ocean:

THE FISHING INDUSTRY.

In recent years the fisheries of Puget Sound and on the coast tributary to its ports have assumed immense proportions, and are taking a high place among our leading industries. They employ about eight thousand men and their earnings average $1,500,000 annually. Puget Sound has many large canneries in operation, and from five to ten millions of capital are invested in the business. It employs a fleet of more than one hundred tugs and thousands of fish boats of every description.

The recent report of State Fish Commissioner Kershaw shows that in the Puget Sound district there were twenty-one salmon canneries, one crab, one clam, and two sardine and herring canneries in operation; in the Willipa Harbor district three salmon canneries, one clam cannery; and in Gray's Harbor district one salmon cannery, in the year 1902.

The commissioner gives the "catch" of the various districts as follows: For the Puget Sound district, value...

Columbia river district..

Willapa Harbor district

Grays Harbor district..

Total value of salmon pack...

.$3,238,945

492,372 167,368

135,000

.$4,034,685

The Puget Sound district also produced 43,633,000 pounds of fresh, salt and smoked fish, which were shipped or consumed locally, valued at $1,789,900; 30,500 sacks of clams, 40,000 dozen crabs, 50,000 pounds of shrimps, valued at $225,650; 50,000 gallons of guano and oil valued at $25,000; IO cases of herring and smelt; 10,000 cases of crabs and 8,000 cases of clams (canned). The total value of the output of the district was $5,528,595. The following table is taken from the official report of the cases of salmon packed on the coast during the past five years:

Year

1902

1901

1900

1899

1898

Total.

Puget Wash'gton British Columbia Oregon Sacramento Sound. Coast. Columbia. River. Coast. River. Alaska. 565,708 70,105 625,982 348,139 49,080 16,550 2,635,578 4,311,142 1,410,444 60,016 1,236,156 240,600 60,569 17,500 505,687 57,100 585,413 358,772 73,800 38,000 892,324 33,600 732,437 340,125 74,930 33,550 1,094,207 3,201,175 423,000 22,000 484,161 481,461 85,309 27,150 1,028,317 2,551,398

2,022,704 5,056,989 1,597,746 3,216,518

In addition to the Puget Sound fisheries, Seattle is the headquarters and base of supplies of a number of companies engaged in packing salmon on the Alaskan coast and elsewhere. The value of the pack of these companies is about $20,000,000 per annum. In addition to the salmon, these fisheries produce large quantities of halibut, cod, smelt, herring, oysters, clams, crabs and other varieties of salt water fish.

The cod fisheries of Behring Sea are growing every year in importance, and their product is cured and marketed on Puget Sound. The product of

these various canneries and fishing enterprises is sent by water and rail to all parts of the world. Although the supply would appear to be unlimited owing to the extent of the waters in which these fish are taken, yet the state of Washington maintains a number of hatcheries for the propagation of salmon, and their value is attested by increased runs of that fish. Large shipments, in recent years, have been made of cheap dried salmon from Puget Sound and elsewhere on the coast to Japan, but of these no figures are at present available.

There are many deposits of iron ore in the Puget Sound region and elsewhere in the state, but as yet they are undeveloped. One furnace was established several years ago at Irondale, near Port Townsend, but its principal supply of ore was brought from Texada and Vancouver Islands, which contain some mines of high grade ore. Limestone of excellent quality is found in abundance on San Juan and other islands of the lower Sound. Granite of fine quality is found in many places. Valuable mines of lead and copper and numerous deposits of gold and silver have been found in many places in the Cascade Mountains, particularly in Snohomish, Skagit and Whatcom counties. Large numbers of men are now engaged in development work, and much machinery is being installed for working the ores.

An extensive smelting plant has been in successful operation at Tacoma for many years. Another on a large scale has been established at Everett. Ores are brought to these smelters not only from many mines in the state of Washington, but from numerous points along the entire coast of North America, more particularly from Mexico and Alaska. The development of the above mentioned industries has been very largely brought about within the last few years. Others will be referred to elsewhere in the course of this history. They are mentioned here that some idea may be formed of the capacity of the Puget Sound region and of its possibilities in the future. The fairy godmothers who presided over the destinies of this last and best of the Creator's handiwork would seem to have determined to hide it from mankind until a race should appear, capable of making the most of these possibilities, and it would seem that such a race is now in full possession.

CHAPTER XV.

FAVORABLE SITUATION OF PUGET SOUND FOR DEVELOPMENT OF COMMERCE.

It has been well said that "Commerce is the great civilizer of nations, the parent of liberty, of the arts, of refinement.”

In all ages of the world commerce has been the chief agent for the building up of rich and populous cities. Tyre and Sidon, Athens and Alexandria, Rome and Carthage, Venice and Genoà, Cadiz and Lisbon, Antwerp and London, with many other cities famous in their day and time for their

merchant princes and for their opulence and wealth, attained their distinction principally by means of their immense commercial development. For more than four thousand years the great highway for commerce has been from India, by land or water to the Mediterranean Sea, thence through the Straits of Gibraltar to western Europe and England, and thence to North America across the Atlantic. This movement has always, since we have any historical record, been in a westerly direction and chiefly confined to the temperate zone, north of the equator, where the fullest development of man's physical, moral and intellectual nature has been realized. Along this route, which commerce has steadily followed, great cities, nations and empires have grown up in wealth, power and influence, declined and passed, in many instances, out of existence only to give way to others farther west, which pursued or are now pursuing the same course of growth, activity and decay, if the past is a true criterion of the future. These cities, nations. and empires have been the great bankers, manufacturers, capitalists and distributors of minerals, raw materials and manufactured goods and by their industry and ability have controlled the commerce of the world. This control has passed from one nation and one race to another, but always from east to west and approximately on the same parallels of latitude. The Romans, more than any other people of ancient times, built roads throughout all their vast empire, and it became a proverb that "all roads lead to Rome," but even this precaution could not retain to that proud city either the control of the world's commerce, or the political control of her once numerous provinces. From the time when Joseph was sold by his brethren, for twenty pieces of silver, to "the company of Ishmaelites which came from Gilead, with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt," to the present time, the course of this commerce, "like the star of empire," has been continually westward.

Caravans brought spices and rich products of India to the eastern shores of the Mediterranean, whence they were distributed to the nations of Europe and northern Africa. Later, King Solomon had at sea a navy of Tharshish with the navy of Hiram, king of Tyre, of which it is recorded that they brought, "once in three years, gold and silver, ivory and apes and peacocks," and elsewhere it is recorded that the same navies brought from Ophir to King Solomon four hundred and twenty talents of gold. It is a peculiarity of this western trend of commerce from one race or nation to another, that the best blood of each nation in its turn emigrated westward and became the nucleus for the future growth of other cities, nations and kingdoms. The enterprising men and women of Tyre and Sidon founded and built up the city of Carthage, which in its day was one of the great cities of the world, sending its ships by the Pillars of Hercules to the British Isles, and many