, 1876-06-10
To Whntcom and Back.

3sIglHi the SOUND, gong 10 luIalIP ny
ranoe. arrived there about ten O'Clock III
thc fsrcnoon. The steamer LiJ6y reach.
ID thai place about noon put my canoe
m TOP Of the steamer, went aboard,
hound for Whatcom, Sehome, &c.
Among the passengers aboard was the
les. Nr. Hill the Evangelist, accom-.
panied by DIR. Frccand the Dentist {;
-hw left the boat together at our first
etoppiag place, Coupcvilc, Whidbey's
ISLAND
CGl. Larrabee was also there, bound
lOr bis rancho on the Island, he left US at
Willcr's Point, taking with him some
very beautiful flower plants, the envy
-. gEL
u. Sweet was returning home from a
visit scross the Sound, where lie had
l,oen very successful in the sale Of his
logs from the Skagit River.
Gt. NJ. Haller, Esq, came aboard at
Coupyillc, bougd for La Conner OH pro
,essional business.
AT Jtsalady, passengers for the Stila.
guamisA River left rs, and at La Conner
chose destined for the Skagit.
We reaehed Ls Conner about ten
o'clock in the evening, did not 60 through
The slough, bu. turcd around and pass
ea be.Iecn Fidalgo's and Whidbey's
Island, through what is known as De
reption Pass. THE ~aters Of the Sound
east Of Whidbey's Island are forced
through this very narrow pass, or up
'5winiEish Slough ny la Conner to con-
meet with the lower Sound. The waters
,Ie verydcep thuoUgh the Pass, channel
very narrow, and at certain stages so
swift as TO lie very dangerous for small
boats, at yarious times persons have been
drowned there The boats carrying
Thcm being eugulphed in the whirlpools
so as 10 bc Interchangeable. The tide
was favorable when we passed through.
~ was about twelve o'c'ocS ut night :;
the rocky ledges close beside the steamer
on either hand, the bubling, whirling,
foalning, swiftly flowing waters beneath
rs, with the dark and gloomy sky above,
gave an air of weircd beauty to the scene
not soon to be forgotten. When Iawokc
in the morning, we were net fur from
Whatcom, and SehOme the two main
towns on Bellingham Bay. had kept
up until after passing through the Pass
for the sake of viewing the scenery there,
this being my first visit to this part Of
The Sound. My genial friend Sheriff
Allen kept me company from La Conner,
and soon made me at home among the
Kind, and generous hearted people of
lehome and Whatcom.
Bellingham Bay is one of the finest and
most accessible harbors on the Sound,
it forms natural cut let to the Frazer
River region, and is central point for a
vast tract OF country at present very
little developed,
At the time Of the great rush to the
Frazier River mines in 1857 and 1853,
some ten thousand proplc were for about
three months settled around the bay.
1t was expected Whatcop would be a
large city in short time. Lots were
sold, large amount of land was cleared
for town site, &C., but the excitement
died away; for various reasons, induce
ments were not made sufficient to retain
scarSc any Of this multitude. The place
became 50 deserted, that hundreds of
acres of land cleared for towrsitc pur-
poses eighteen years or more ago have
been allowed to grow up to timber again,
so that now it would cost a large sum of
money to clear OF this thick growth of
sapling timber from three TO six inches
in diameter that thiCkly covers the !
ground.
The town Of Whatcom is situated
sisou: n mile and a half farther up the
Bay than Sehomc. Here are the different
county aficcs. Tho sGce of the Bel.
lingham Bay M;N. The Whatcom Ho-
tel kept by join nR. Jeakins, who also
officisies as Jusi;ee of the Peace The
store kept by NR (Fopts,. and quite
number Of residezccA