, 1878-02-27
ABOUT THE SKAGIT.

eu about TWO mouths HSo 'h '"e "ee"'s
Tntelligenoer it was obtained for that
journal at the time Mr.. DAILY was can
vassing for it on the Skagit ant; Snoho-
msh.
The initials signed to it indicate
Frank Scott rs the author. 1t was
either written by him or by Mr. DAILY at
his lictation. The statement contains
30 many things heretofore unpublished,
that at first it seems like romancing more
than it does like describing regen but
short distance from here, actually Wis
tied by the party of which Mr.. S. was Il
member, who went where none had pre-
viousy been and saw what he describes.
The party consisted of Frank Scott,
John Sutter, Chas. Presentien, o. H..
Klement, John Duncan and John Row
ley.
They confirm the following statement
in all its important particulars, from
which it appears that the upper Skagit
country presents natural features as
weird and wondrous as the famed region
of the national park on the Yellowstone.
AS to distances and methods OF travel
of the party, some additional particulars
are here given, as wei! as some differenc
es of detail as to distances and minor
points which do not affect the main
features of the article in the least.
None OF the party were any great dis
tance above the falls except Sutter,
Rowley and Scott; they were some 16
miles above.
The various distances from the falls to
the mouth, down river, ms given by one
of the party, are AS follows: From the
falls to the lower end of the tunnel, 3
miles; thence miles to the head ot
canoe navigation; then strip of l5 miles
canoe navigation, followed by portage
of 10 miles; river now nayigaDie to heat.
of regular canoe navigation, 80 miles
below tunnel, where enters the first fork
of the river; 80 miles from here to Cas-
cade river; l6 miles from the mouth of
Cascade to the Sauk, and thence 10 miles
TO the mouth of Baker river, which is
situate 76 miles below the tunnel and 60
miles from the salt water of the Sound,
ut the mouth of the Skagit. 1t is 20
miles from Baker to the coal mines,
which are 40 miles from the mouth of
the Skagit.
BY this it appears that the tunnel is
something near 1876 miles from the
mouth of the river.
: But few Of the readers of the STAR
will find reason to complain of this arti-
Gle not being of sufficient interest to
warrant its republication in full 50 soon
after being published in a journal rs
widely circulated as the Mteitigencer,
especially as many additional particulars
are herewith furnished confirming its
verify:
LA CONNER, Nov. s, 1877.
Ed. INTELLIGENcER:--T has been
much speculation and many theories re-
garding the source of tae Skagit river,
and little information has been obtained
otherwise than from Indians. THIS head
of the Skagit river was termed by them
u magic well, from the fact that no per
son OF party ever veptured beyond the
head OF canoe navigation, as such a
venture required some little courage and
determination, and that supported by
physical strength and experience in
mountaineering 1t was not generally
supposed that this wonderful river had
its source east ot the Cascade mountain
range. hut it must now he admitted as q
fAct, dividing or running through the
range as il does near the 49th parallel
AT this point the river forks. One fork
rises almost due east from the junction
and il about 40 miles in length, and is
very rapid for about 1j miles after which
the valley opens ont two or three miles
wide, till near the head, where is a basin
surouudr 10y high hills covered with
bunch grass, wl.h here and there a
fcruuby pine Tree. The other fork, which
is thu ,r.cr. rises about so miles north
oft British line, ruaning nearly due
s0Ltu uiou4 the eastern base of the Cas-
cade range, or rather between tue Cas-