The bulk of the resources of this county are yet dormant. The mountains are full of minerals; timber is abundant; grassy hillsides are tempting to the sheep and cattle, while the soil is rich, and when tilled will be found to produce excellent crops. The county has a fine future for wealth from all these sources, and, while the mines are [Page 57] first to be made productive, without doubt the fruits and cereals will come into their own in time and furnish much of its wealth. TRANSPORTATION. Two railroads reach the center of the northern half of the county, terminating at Republic, the county seat. These railroads have pushed in here after the precious metals mined in the vicinity. The Columbia river is navigable most of its course on the county boundary, barring some obstructions which the national government will remove and thus open up to river navigation to the ocean the fruits of toil in Ferry county. CITIES AND TOWNS. REPUBLIC, the county seat, is the only large town in the county, and has a population of about 1,250 people. It is the distributing point for supplies for the mines and ships out much ore for the smelters. Ferry county altogether offers exceptional opportunities for the homeseeker in a variety of occupations, as already indicated. FRANKLIN COUNTY Franklin county occupies the basin formed by the junction of the Columbia and Snake rivers, being bounded east, south and west by them. The southern portion of the county is scarcely 300 feet above sea level, and the soil is fine and sandy. The northern part of the county is somewhat higher and composed of successive benches till they reach an altitude of 1,000 feet. It is only a few years since these lands were all considered barren and useless. Yet in 1906 these bench lands in this county added 1,500,000 bushels of wheat to the world's supply and in the following season nearly doubled that output. There are no forests, the land being covered with bunchgrass and sagebrush. IRRIGATION. Along the rivers some farmers have irrigated small parcels of land by pumping water, but the bulk of the irrigable lands are awaiting the action of the U. S. Reclamation Service, which it is thought will ultimately be engaged in an extensive irrigation problem to reclaim thousands of acres now arid and barren. The warm climate of these low Bandy lands has already been proven to be immensely advantageous to the gardener and fruit-grower, and the lands wonderfully productive when the magic influence of plenty of water renders the sources of plant life soluble. The wheat crops now being produced come from the bench lands without irrigation. TRANSPORTATION.