in great part of rich alluvial deposits, which will cause them, ere long, to be turned into continuous stretches of farms, like the valleys of the Touchet and Dry Creek.
Such is the excellence of the bunch-grass peculiar to the plains east of the Cascade Mountains, that even the dry grass, which is cured by standing, keeps fat, all winter, the stock left to range at liberty anywhere on the prairie. Perhaps the pure, mild, dry, elastic nature of the atmosphere contributes something to keep animals in so good condition. Certain it is, that instead of coming out in the spring with lank sides and rough coats, they are as round and glossy as if kept up and curried.
At first thought it might be conjectured that such a country would be excellent for dairy purposes; but such is not the case. The dryness of the food and air together acts upon milch-cows to lessen the quantity of milk, although so much milk as is yielded is very rich in quality. Doubtless, many localities may be selected where dairies may be profitably conducted; but the tendency of cattle-raising is to a product of fat beef rather than butter and cheese.
The county of Yakima is bounded by the Yakima River on the east and north, the Cascade Mountains on the west, and the county of Klikitat on the south. Besides Walla Walla and Yakima counties, the whole of Eastern Washington is divided into Klikitat, with a population of two or three hundred, and Stevens, with a population of ten or twelve hundred. The former county borders on the Columbia, opposite Wasco County in Oregon, and consists almost entirely of high, rolling plains.
Stevens County, in the north-east corner of Wash-
