The River’s New Pulse: Captain Hill Promises to Link Snohomish and Seattle

To remove the great that [thwart] the people of the Snohomish and Stillaguamish we spread into the public mind last week a full account of five advantages offered for direct steam communication from Seattle to Skagit River, including at La Conner, and 30 miles up the river. Capt. J. S. Hill at the Star Hotel after reading this article found that there was ample support for putting a steamer on this route, and that he would commence running on this route from Bellingham and when desired would on his return go down the North Fork of Skagit, stopping at La Conner giving the people on Stillaguamish the benefit of ten arrivals per week.

He would run at least once a month near the end of its route, and if the people on the route would give him their business he felt certain that after a month or two the business would be sufficient to justify his running weekly. He will also come down prior to May first at any time desired upon one weeks notice being given that sufficient freight will be furnished to justify the trip.

We congratulate our friends upon their success in this matter. Capt. Hill we know to be not only a very accommodating gentleman, and a very pleasant companion; but he is also a gentleman of larger experience in river navigation than perhaps any other man on the Sound. He ran one of the first boats ever run on this river, took the RM boat up the Stillaguamish, and has thoroughly explored the Skagit.

We are informed by him that in this township contracts would probably be let, if desired, for the survey this summer of townships number thirty, thirty-one, and part of thirty-two north of range six east. Willamette Meridian. We hope the proper encouragement will be extended to Mr. Shoecraft so that he will be induced to survey them all this summer, because by so doing most all the bottom land not previously surveyed on the Pill Chuck and south fork of the Stillaguamish would by this means be surveyed, and if surveyed would all be settled upon within a couple of years as most of this tract is of the best quality of bottom land, all situated within fifteen miles of tide water either at this place or at Centreville on the Stillaguamish.