HOSKINSON, Riley M

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Early days in Seattle 1877

In this second letter to friends in Kansas dated Aug 27, 1877, Riley talks about his early days in Seattle, particularly his agricultural success on their land in Smith's Cove. Riley's letter suggests a paradise: "This is truly a pleasant place to live; society of the best, business brisk, climate very equable, temperature rarely in summer descending below 50° or ascending above 80°. No storms of any kind and seldom wind enough to carry a sheet of paper. Light rains all the summer at intervals of a few days. Vegetation green and lovely all the time. Things in the vegetable line grow as if by magic. In twenty-seven days from planting we had lettuce and radishes fit for the table. In six weeks potatoes and turnips, sown June 19, are now six inches in diameter, and all other vegetables are growing in like manner. The fruit crop is enormous; it must be seen to be realized. Nearly every kind of fruit tree must be propped or break. Some specimens of sweet cherries measured 1-1/2 inches in diameter, strawberries from 5-1/2 to 9 inches in circumference. Most of the apples are now big and are very large, and those now ripe are very fine. Peaches and grapes do not thrive here, but are shipped in large quantities from California." The only downside he writes of..."The land is hard to clear, as the timber crop is very large and dense..."