The Tragic Disappearance on Squak Lake

Several erroneous reports have been published concerning the drowning of Peterson in Squak Lake early this month. John August Peterson was a resident of the Squak Valley and lived by himself on a homestead one mile from the bridge, on the line of the Issaquah and Squak Slough road. He was a native of Sweden, about 30 years of age, and for a long time carried the mail in his section of King County. On October 4th, he started to return to his home. On arriving at Squak Lake, he found the steamer had gone, and being anxious to reach home, he bought a frail canoe from Indian Curley and set out. He had on his person a heavy silver watch, money, and three sacks. On October 6th, the steamer picked up the canoe in the middle of the lake, upside down. The sack of bedding was floating under the canvas, but the man was missing and has not been seen since. The canoe and blankets were picked up by Captain Alex Sawyer of the steamer Una. On learning of the affair, Sheriff McGraw deputized B. M. Crawford to make a search and recover the body if possible. The lake is, we understand, in some places over 70 feet deep, rendering dragging impossible with the facilities at hand. The drowned man has relatives in the old country, who have been notified of the affair by Mr. Andrew Chilberg.