[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 their clustered peaks and mountain passes from four to eight thousand feet above the sea, while Mount Olympus and his colleagues higher still poke their inspiring [Page 17] front heavenward.  Between these two white and green clad mountain ranges, protected from the blizzards of the southwestern plains and from the hurricanes from the ocean, lie in safety the placid waters of Washington’s great inland sea, matchless Puget Sound.

Where else upon the globe is such a diversified stretch of tranquil water, upon whose shores the ocean tides ebb and flow, upon whose surface the navies of the world could maneuver to their heart’s content, while visible from shore to shore are the vast evergreen forests, interlaced with winding waters and stretching gently upwards till they reach the visible mountain peaks a hundred miles away, thousands of feet skyward?

Scarcely less enchanting is the view eastward from the Rainier’s lofty height—­a vast stretch of hill and plain almost surrounded by green mountain sides, through whose gray and green fields flow the great winding courses of the mighty Columbia and the lazy Snake rivers, while a multitude of smaller streams gleam through the forest sides of the mountains over innumerable waterfalls.  Here within the foothills you gaze upon the largest lake within the state, a beauty spot to enchant alike the artist and the sportsman.  Deep within its rocky sides and full of speckled beauties lying like a mirror in the stretch of green hills about it, lies Lake Chelan, and on its unruffled bosom a fleet of boats ply for fifty miles beyond its outlet till reach the mining foothills of the mountains.  A hundred miles eastward, still among the scattered pines of northeastern Washington, the Spokane river tumbles in masses of foam and spray over a succession of rocky falls on its way to the Columbia, while still further on the Pend d’Oreille and upper reaches of the Columbia river flow close up among the mountains and foothills and present a series of beautiful combinations of rock, trees, hills and valleys, of forests and waterfalls of magnificent beauty.  Washington in its scenery is magnificent in proportions, wonderful in its variety, grand and imposing in form and feature—­picturesque—­enticing—­“a thing of beauty and a joy forever.”

[Page 18] principal industries of Washington.

LUMBERING.

The description of the resources of a state naturally suggests what its industries are.  The forests of western Washington inevitably lead to the lumber industry and the fertile soil of eastern Washington point as unerringly to agriculture.  These are the two great industries of the state.  The lumberman and the farmer are in the majority.  Already there are sawmills enough in operation to cut up all the standing timber in the state within fifty years.  They employ probably 100,000 men.  This includes those engaged in logging and the subsidiary industries.