OCR Text |
Show I 11-1 J 182 The road now Jed al~ng the mountain siJe, around heads of the precipiw tons ravines .i and,, l~ccpmg men ahead to cleat:~ road, \Ve passed altcmately through boc.!Ics of !Imber and sma~l _open pra1nos, and encamped in a large meadow, in view of the great pratnc belo·w. At . unset the thermometer was at 40°, and the ni{)'bt \vas very clear and bright . \Vater was only to be had here by descending a bad raviue into which we drove our at.timals, and had tnnch tron ble \Vith them, in a' very ~lose growth of small pmes. l\1 r. Preuss l1ad walked ahead, and did not get Jnto camp this cveniug. The trees here maintaineJ their size, and one of the black spruces measured 15 feet in circumfereucc. lt1 the neighborhood of the camp, pines have reappeared here among the timber. October· 23.-The morning was very clear; there had been a heavy white frost during the nigbt, and at sunrise the thcrn10metcr was at 31°. After cutting throngh two thick bodies of timber, in which I noticed s0me small trees of hemloc!c spruce, (perusse,) the forest became more open, and ·we had no longer any trouble to clear a way. Tlle pines here were 11 or 12 feet in circt:t~tfcrcu?e, audabont 110 feet high, and appeared to love the open grounds: ll1e trail now led aloug o_ne o[ the loug spurs o[ the mountain, descendmg gradually towards the plum; and after a fe\v miles travelling, we emerged finally from the forest, in full view of the plain below, and saw the snowy mass of Monut Hood, standing high out above the surrounding country, at the distance of l SO miles. The road along the ridge was ex· cellellt, an_d the grass very green and good; the old grass having been burnt ofT early m the autumn. About 4 o'clock in the afternoon we reached a little bottom on the Walahwalah river, \vhere we found lVlr. Preuss, who yesterday had reached this place, and found himself too far in advance of tl~e camp .to returu. The stream here has j u t iss ned from the narrow ra· vme~, whiCh are walled with precipices, in which the rock has a brown and more burnt appearance thau above. At sunset the thcrruometer was at 48°· and our position was in lonaitude 118° 00' 39'·, and in latitude 45° 53' 35".' 0 Til~ morning was clear, with a temperature at sunrise of 24°. Crossing t~w nver, we tr~vellcd over a hilly couu try \Vith good bunch grass; the nver botto~1, wluclt O'enerally contains the best soil in other countries, being here a s.tenle level of rock and pebble . We had foulld the soil in the Blue moun tams to be of _excellent quality, and it appeared also to be good her~ amoHg the lower hills. Reaching a little eminence, over which the trail p~s.sed, we had an extensive view along the course of the river, which was divtded and spread over its bottom in a net \Vorlc of water receiving several other tributaries from the mon11 t ~l ins. There was a band' of several hundred horses grazing on the hills about two miles ahead; and as we advauced on the road we met other bauds \vhicll [udians were driviug out to pa .. ture also on the hills. True to its 'O'cueral character the reverse of other count·· tl 1 ·11 · 5 . . ' b ues, 1e u sand moun taws here were nch 111 o-rass the bottoms arren and sterile. 0 ' fIt: six. miles we crossed a principal fork, below which the scattered water 0 1t 10 nv~r was gathered into one channel· unci passino- ou the way sev· era unfintshed h d ' ' 0 . ouses, an some cleared patches where corn and potatoes were cult1 vated we . 1 d · . . ' · · ~"~fY 11. 1 ' Ieac 1c , In about eto-ht mdes farther the mtsston"" hes ta) IS1.1 mcnt o.f D I·. WI n·t man, wht.c h COilbS!. Sted, at thlt:. > t1. m' e, of one ad ·0 be 0 1 us;-L c. bllllt of unburnt bricks as in Mext·co b h1 odu nd D r. WL'n ·t man absent ou 'a v' isit to the D· ulles of the Colnmb·t a·' ut a the pleasure to see a .fine-looking large family of emigrants, men, 183 [ 174 ] women, and ch ildren, in robust health, all indemnifying themselves for previous scanty iare, in a hearty consumption of potatoes, which arc produced here of a remarkably good qnality. We were disappointed in our expectation of obtaining corn meal or flour at this station, the rr1ill belonging to the mission having been lately burnt down; but an abundant supply of excellent potatoes banished regrets, and furnished a grateful substitute for bread. A small town of Nez Perc6 Indians gave an inhaLited and eve11 a populous appearance to the station; and, after remaining about an hour, we continued our route, and eucampcd on the river about four miles below, passing on the way an emigrant encampment. Temperature at sunset, 49°. October 25.-The \Veather was pleasant, with a sunrise temperature of 36°. Our road to-day had in it nothing of interest; and the country offered to the eye only a sandy, undulating plain, through which a scantily timbered river takes its course. W c hal ted about three miles above the month, on account of grass; and the next morning arrived at the Nez Perce fort, one of the trading establishments of the IIudson Bay Company, a few hundred yards above the junction of the Walah walah with the Columbia river. Hure we had the first view of this river, and found it about 1,200 yards wide, and presenting the appearance of a fine navigable stream. We made our camp in a little grove of willows on the Walahwalah, which are the only trees to be seen in the neighborhood; but were obliged to send the animals back to the encampment we had left, as there was scarcely a blade of gt·nss to be found. The post is on the bank of the Columbia, on a plain of bare sands, from which the air was literally filled with clouds of dust and sand, during one of the few days we remained here; this place being one of the several points on the ri vcr which arc distinguished for prevailing high winds, which come from the sea. The appearance of the post and conn try was without interest, except til at we here saw, for the first time, the great river on which the course of events for the bst half century has been directing attention and conferring historical fame. The river is, inde_ ed, a noble object, and has here attained its full magnitude. Auont nine miles above, and in sight from the heights about the post, is the junction of the two great forks which constitute the main stream-that on which we had been travelling from Fort IIall, and known by the names of Lewis's fork, Shoshonce, and Snake river; and the North fork, which has retained the name of Columbia, as being the main stream. We did not go up to the juuctiou, being pressed for time; but the union of two large streams, coming one from the southeast, and the other from the northeast, and1neeting in \Vhat may be treated as the geograp.hical centre .of the ~regon valley, thence doubling the volume of water to the o~ean, wh1le o~emng two great lines of communication with the interior contmcnt, conStltu~ cs a feature in the map of the country which cannot be overlool~ed; and lt was probably in reference to this junction of waters, and these hnes of communication, that this post was established. They are important lines, and,_from the structure of the country, rr..ust forever remain so-one of them leadmg to the South Pass, and to the valley of the Mississippi; the other ~0 the pass at the head of the Athabasca river, and to the countries drained Y th~ waters of the Hudson Day. The British fur companies now use bl)th hncs; the Americans, in their emigration to Orego11, have begun to follow the one which leads towards the United States. Battenus from tide latf; ~· ascend to the junction, and thcuce high up the North fork, or Co- Ulllbla. Land conveyance only is used upon the line of Lewis's fork. |