The Tragedy of the Timber Clearings
A local observer laments the destruction of high-value hardwoods, burned by settlers to make way for farming.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
It appears to be a crime to destroy such timber. Alder can be found in great quantities and is a valuable timber when manufactured; the lumber when dressed and stained resembles cherry, and is fine timber for furnishing and inside finishing. But this timber is being destroyed rapidly, as it grows on the best land and is being cut down and burned by the settlers. Maple, too, is being destroyed rapidly in clearing land. Thousands of logs are being burnt which, if manufactured, would be worth from $50 to $100 each, as they contain the beautiful curly and bird's eye grain. Ash and maple grow on similar land to the alder, and are being cleared away just as ruthlessly.
“It appears to be a crime to destroy such timber.”
This reflects the early settler mentality of the Pacific Northwest, where the abundance of forest was treated as an obstacle to progress rather than a resource. Today, this 'crime' of wasting timber is viewed through the lens of ecological loss and the history of rapid land-use transformation in Mason County.
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