States. The first modern explorer of the territory was a Spaniard,
followed a few years later by English sailors. Just at the end of the
last century, some Boston capitalists, for there were capitalists even
in those days, although they reckoned their wealth by thousands rather
than millions, sent two ships to this section to trade with the Indians
for furs. One of these ships was the "Columbia," which gave the name to
the region, part of which still retains it, although the section we are
now discussing now owns and boasts of the name of the "Father" of his
and our country.

Washington became a State five years ago. It is a great mining country,
but is still more noted for its wonderful lumber resources. The trade
from Puget Sound is tremendous. One company alone employs 1,250 men in
saw mills and logging, and it is responsible for having introduced
improved machinery of every type into the section. The early history of
the great lumber business is full of interest, and this is one point
alone in which the advance has been tremendous. Another great company
cut up 63,000,000 feet of lumber in one year, and shipped more than half
of it out of the country. White cedar of the most costly grade is very
common in Washington, and it is used for the manufacture of shingles,
which sell for very high prices, and are regarded as unusually and,
indeed, abnormally good. White pine of immense quantity and size is also
found. Some of the logs are so large that they are only excelled by the
phenomenal big trees of abnormal growth which are found some hundreds of
miles farther south on the great Pacific Slope.

Idaho is another of the great States of the great Northwest. It lies
largely between the two States just described so briefly, and its shape
is so peculiar that it has been spoken of as resembling a chair, with
the Rocky Mountains and the Bitter Root Range as its front seat and