The Wild Fertility of the Sammamish Valley

From Mr. F. McRedmond, who was in town yesterday from the settlement on the Sammamish river, we obtained the following information concerning that locality and its progress during the current year: The river has its source in Sammamish Lake and flows northwest in a circuitous course a distance of twenty-five miles and empties into Lake Washington near its head. On the river and its tributaries there is an area of five thousand acres of rich bottom land, principally beaver-dam land, covered with a rich growth of willow. Of this, a large tract still belongs to the Government and is yet subject to pre-emption and homestead. Beside that owned by the government, there is a large tract of railroad land. Our informant declares this among the richest and most fertile land in the United States, easily cleared and wonderfully productive. The first settlement in this district was made five years ago. Now there are twenty-five claims occupied by their owners. Settlers are coming in fast. There has been eight new dwelling houses built on the river this summer. They are very anxious to have the river opened to navigation, as they are at present obliged to freight their produce, lumber, merchandise, etc., up and down the river in small boats. If the river were opened there would be thirty-four miles of steamboat navigation from the head of Lake Washington to the head Sammamish Lake.