The Real Estate Magnate of 1883

After a visit to Mount Tacoma, two of our party concluded to make an excursion to the British possessions on the north side of Puget Sound. On our way up we passed several towns and settlements, the principal of which is Seattle, a place of 7,000 inhabitants. I spent several hours there and came across two old residents, Wm. H. White and John T. Carroll. I should say that the boomer of the Pacific coast resides at Seattle, one of the real estate magnates of the place. I spent two hours in his office listening to his demonstrations that Seattle was the coming Chicago of the North Pacific coast. Portland, Oregon, he said, would do very well for a side show, but the real city would be on Puget Sound. We have a city already of 10,000 people and are in our infancy. Portland is an old town and has less than 30,000 people. We manufacture right here 4,500,000 feet of lumber every month. We would be an important place without a railroad, but with railroads that are building and to be built here we will have 50,000 people in five years. If ever there is to be an overland trade between New York and China it must pass through the waters of Puget Sound.