, 1880-04-22
ments is said to be strongly IN favor OF
aune exatlon to the Y. :. The

to the western side Of which Our descrip-
tion has reached so far. flows through an
extensive valley. Several small towns
hive been started at various points along
its banks, each having post Office. Much
vacant land suitabiei iQr farming purposes
may yet be- found on the eastern side of
this river. bn, we have no means Of know
ing just the amounts or hcation OF the
different available tracts. Near the
mouth of the river Is the
LUMMI INDIAN RESERVATION
where there |. n large body Of fine marsh
and alder bottom land; most of Il Is occu-
pied, however. by The U. S. reservation
for the Ind as. A portion 'only OF that
outside Of the reservation limits has been
settled upon. :. J.-..
Travelling eastward. we follow the road
through scattering settlement until We
arrive at sr.
WHATcoM,
All old established town or a large and
splendid harbor. This town is still quite
small, as there has never been anything In
its immediate vicinity to support or EN-
courage the growth ofa larger placc--ex-
cept the Belingmm Bay Coal Mines that
were for years In operation about ~ mile
southeast from here. Whatcom Greek,
emptying into the bay at this point, has
some good land IN its vicinity not taken.
A few of the claims that were settled upon
years ago are now good farms. The set.
Tiers are anxious to have their valley de-
veloped
a' .rr sEHoME, o.
Situated I'M q c,rve of the bay about
mile southwest from Wlateom, grew up
from the patronage dispensed at tile coal
! mines. These mines have been tclnpora-
rily abandoned, awaiting raise in prices
ia the coal trade. AS consequence. bus
ness is considered exceptionally dull.
East Of Scllsme Is small lake and some
good land. IL is believed by some that
the immense deposit Of coal in :his vicin-
ity extends under the bed Of the bay. As
site tor nlanufactorics, this bay presents
a desirable location, for It's size. general
character and accessibility ircm the ocean.
Travelling south from here we iind suc-
ccssivciy: Harris Bay, Chuukan,lt Bay
I tnotabIc for its fine quarry OF superior
sandstone) Point Williams, Padilla Bay,
and
sAAMISI,
where large river OF that name empties.
Near the mouth OF this river is Urge
amount of the richest tide marsh Nearly
all of IL is taken, although portion only
has been dyked. South from here IRE the
famous
LA CONNER FLATS.
being large, low, level tract oftide marsh
continuous from the Saan,ish flats and ex-
tending southwark to the mouth of the
north fork of the Skagit river. These flats
have been reclaimed few years only. yet
the locality is already lannon's ior grain
raising. Some idea OF the fertility of the
soil may be inferred from the fact that u
lew OF the leading faruers produce from
10000 to 30, 900 bushels each ct grain every
year. Onts and barley are chiefly raised.
tile soil producing from so TO l25 bushels OF
either, per acre. lnanll, or eastward,
from this fine body Of laud is a large marsh
known as tile
OLYMPIA MARSH,
! where thousands OF acrs Of the richest
kind Of marsh land have been taken. al
though but little of it Is yet IN cultivation.
There Is also considerable good bottom
land available. The town OF La Conner
Il located in the edge 0l the flats. on the
eastern bank OF a large slough separating
the flats from Fidalgo Island. This place
i'a sprightly, entcrprising town of about
| 100 Inhabitants. 1t boasts one weekly
newspaper, two hotels, several stores, a
drug store. \ physician, several lawyers,
a blacksmith, telegraph office. &C.. &c.
IL Is the northern terminus OF n semi
weekly mail route froIn Seattle. all points
In the county north Of mere being sup
piled with a weekly mail only. Large
quantities Of grain are exported from this
point to San Francisco every year. The
Skaglt river empties few miles south Of
here, IN two streams two or three miles
apart, one Of them being at its mouth in
Snohomlsh county, the other Ia What
con. Tie delta between the mouths OF