hich was at hand and ready for consumption
with no effort but the effort of taking. The impenetrable forests
were to them a barrier to be let alone. For the minerals within the
mountains they had no use, and to gather wealth from the tillage
of the soil needed too much exertion. Fish and game and fruits all
ready to gather were all they sought, and the state had enough
of these to attract and hold a large population. But the vision
of the white man was different. His eye scanned the peaks of the
Cascades with its great eternal white Rainier having its head thrust
up among the clouds, and he realized that around and beneath them
must be a vast hoard of the precious metals. His eye caught the
dazzling grandeur of the white-capped Olympics, but he realized
that they held in reserve something more substantial to his needs
than scenery and hunting grounds. The impenetrable barriers of the
forest-covered foothills were to him a treasure worth the struggle
for an empire. He scanned the glittering waters of the bays and
inlets of Puget Sound and its great open way to the Pacific Ocean
and realized that it meant more to him and to his children than a
place to catch a few fish. He viewed the vast plains of "barren"
land within the great winding course of the Columbia river and
believed it worth more than pasturage for a few bands of ponies.

The thousand tumbling water-falls that hastened the course of the
rivers toward the sea meant more than resting places for the chase. No
wonder the hardy pioneers whose vision saw the grandeur of Washington
and comprehended its meaning dared a mighty journey, vast hardships
and trying and dangerous hazards to save this empire to Uncle Sam.
Washington, saved by the energy and foresight of a few, has become the
[Page 9]
delightful home of a million and more, and their possession is
one that Alexander or Napoleon would have coveted, had they known.

[Illustration: Plate No. 3.--Chehalis County Timber.]

[Illustration: Plate No. 4.--The Logging Industry in Chehalis County.]

[Illustration: Plate No. 5.--View of Harbor, Aberdeen, Chehalis
County.]

[Illustration: Plate No. 6.--Limb Cut from a Chelan County Peach
Tree.]

[Illustration: Plate No. 7.--Six-Year-Old Winesap Apple Tree on
Farm of Blackmont Bros., Chelan County.]

[Illustration: Plate No. 8.--Farm of Wm. Turner, Chelan County.
From Sage Brush to Bearing Orchard, Showing How Living Is Made
While Orchard Is Coming Into Bearing.]