Part 16 (1/2)

San Juan county is a group of islands lying between the waters of the Straits of Fuca and the Gulf of Georgia, off the southeast sh.o.r.e of Vancouver island. It has about 200 square miles of territory and about 4,500 people.

There are three large islands and several smaller ones. The islands are covered with soil and timber not different from the main land adjoining. Heavy timber in the forests, fine clay loams in the bottom lands, shot clay on the hillsides, big ledges of lime rock and other minerals and great shoals of fish in the waters are the foundations for prosperity for the citizens of the county.

RESOURCES.

The soils of the islands yield generously to good tillage, and wheat, oats, barley, potatoes and hay yield large crops. Dairying is profitable. Poultry-raising and fruit-growing, are especially attractive. Sheep and [Page 77]

cattle find splendid pasture. Great quant.i.ties of salmon and other fish are taken in the waters, and game-deer and wild fowl--are abundant.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate No. 67.--Two Views of the Lime Works at Roche Harbor, San Juan County.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate No. 68.--A Typical Farm Scene in Skagit County.]

TRANSPORTATION.

There is no transportation save by water, but the islands are in the way of traffic from so many different directions that all parts are well served by steamboats.

ISLANDS AND TOWNS.

SAN JUAN ISLAND is the largest of the group, and its chief industries are farming, raising stock, salmon-fis.h.i.+ng, and manufacturing lime.

FRIDAY HARBOR, on this island, is the county seat and largest town, with about 500 people. A telephone system is in operation throughout the island.

ROCHE HARBOR is the home of great lime kilns.

ORCAS ISLAND is the leading fruit-growing district of the county.

EAST SOUND, near the center of the island, at the foot of Mount Const.i.tution, is a picturesque and charming fruit-growing section and summer resort.

ORCAS is an important center of the fruit and sheep raising industries.

LOPEZ ISLAND is a beautiful stretch of fertile agricultural land, much of it under tillage, and is the home of a prosperous community of farmers and stock-growers.

LOPEZ is the chief commercial center, with a cannery and creamery.

SKAGIT COUNTY.

Skagit county is the next county to the northwest corner of the state, stretching from Rosario straits to the peaks of the Cascades--about 100 miles east and west and 24 miles north and south. Its area is 1,800 square miles, with a population of about 35,000.

It is a county of great diversities in climate, topography and resources. The Skagit river and its branches drain nearly the entire county from the mountains to the salt.w.a.ter. Its deltas are great flat fields of wonderful fertility. Its valleys also, where cleared of forests, are very rich alluvial lands. Its upper lands carry a great burden of forests and are full of hidden treasures.

RESOURCES.

The resources of the county are its forests and minerals, its agricultural products, and fishes. Its great cereal crop is of oats; hops, fruits, hay and barley follow in the order named in importance, while the products of the dairy are rapidly multiplying.

Its minerals include the precious metals, iron, lead, coal, marble, limestone, granite, sandstone, etc.

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TRANSPORTATION.

Aside from its water transportation, the Great Northern and the Northern Pacific railways cross its westerly end and send a branch line through the valley of the Skagit river well up towards the mountains and to the salt water at Anacortes. And other roads are building, while there are 168 miles of modern graveled wagon roads.