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Show [ 174 J 188 be made, which his party required, meet 1n~ at the Dal~es, from which polnt I proposed to commence out~ homeward JotHncy. 1 he day after our ar. rival being nnday, no busu1ess could be done at the mission; bnt on Mon?ay 1\1~ r. Perkit~s assisted me in procur~ng from the Indians a large ca. noe, m wh1ch I dcs1gned to complete our JOUrney tt) Vancouver, where I expected to obtain the necessary supply of provisions and stores for our winter joumey. Three Indian , from the family to whom the canoe be. longed, were engaged to a~sist in worlci ng her during the voyage, and, with them, our water party conststc<..l of Mr. Preuss auc.l myself, with llcruier and Jacob Dodson. In charge of the party which was to ren1ain at the Dalles I left Carson, with in --trnctions to occupy the people in making pack saddles and refitting their eqnipag1~. Tllo village from which we were to take the canoe was on the right bank of the river, about ten miles below, at the mouth of the Tinanells creek; and while lVIr. Preuss proceeded down the river with the instruments, in a little canoe paddled. by two Indians, Mr. Perkins accompanied me with the remainder of the party by land. The last of the emigrant· hn.cljust left the Dalles at the time of our arrival, trav. elling some by water aud others by land, making ark-like rafts, on which they hau embarked their families and household, with their large wagons and other fnrniture, while their stock were driven along the shore. For about five miles below the Dalles, the river is narrow, and probably very deep; but during this distance it is somewhat open, with grassy bottoms on the left. Entering, then, among the lower mountains of the Cas· cade .ra!1ge, it a. sumes a general character, and high and steep rocky hills shut It In on either side, rising abruptly in places to the ht'ight of 1,500 feet above the water, and gradually acquirinO' a more mountainous char· acter as the river approaches the Cascades. t> After an honr's travel, when the snn was nearly down, we searched along the shore ~or a pleasant place, and lmlted to prepare supper. We had beeu well supphcd by our friends at the mission with del icions salted salmon, which had been taken at the fattest season; also, with potatoe , bread,~of· fee, a_n~ sugar. We were delighted at a challge in our mode of travellmg and ltvmg. The canoe sailed smoothly down the river: at night we en· camp~d upon the shore, and a plentiful supply of comfortable provisions sup piLed t~e first of wants. We enjoyed the contrast which it presented to ~ur late toilsome marchings, our night watchings, and our frequent priva· tt?n of food. \Ve were a motley group, but all happy: three unknown Indtans; Jacob, a colored man; Mr. Preuss, a German; Bernier, creole French ; and myself. Bei~1g n~w npon the ground explored by the Sonth Sea expedition under ;~ptal~ Wilkes, and havi~g accomplished the object of uniting my ~ur_vcr llh hu~, and thus presentmg a connected exploration from the Mtsstsstppt ~0 t_he P_acific, aud thc_win~er being at baud, I deemed it necessary to_econ· ~lzc ~lme by voyagm50' Ill the niO'ht as is customary here to avotd tho htgh ~ d l . l . . b ' ' Ac ~ 10 _s, w 11c l nse wJth t!Je moruing, and decline with the day. le cordmgly, after an hou~'s halt, we again embarked, aud resumed our f asant voyage dowu the n ver. The wind rose to a <rale after several 1 1our:); but the moon was very brin·J JI and the wind was f~ir and the canoe o- anced · "dl d 5 ' (_ ' ·d · t> • r~pl Y own the stream, the waves breaking into foam ~.dongst e, and our_ mght voy~~ge, as t_ho wiud bore us rapidly aloug betwcl'll the dark mountams, was Wild and mtercstino-. About midnio-ht we ')lit to thcsllo!e on a rocky beach, behind which w~s a dark-lookiug pine [~rest. We lnult 189 [ 174 J up large .firrs among tho rocks, which wero in large masses round about; nnd arrauging our blankets on the most sheltered places we could find , pns~ed a delightful night. After an early breakfast, at day I ight \VC resnmed onr jonrney, the weather beiug clear and beautif~tl, a_nd the riv r sn1ooth ~nd still. On either ~ide the mountains ar<! all pule-timbered, rocky, and htgh. We were now ~P·· proaching one of thu marked features; of the lower Columbia: where the river forms a great cascade, \\rith a series of rapids, in Lreaking tl11·ough the ran(re of monntains to which the lofty peaks of Mount llood aud St. Helens belo11o-, auu which rise as great pillars of sno·w on either side of the passage. The m,tin branch of the Sa'cramenlo river, and the Ttamatlt, issue in cascades from thi~ r:.u1<re; anc.l the Columbia, breakiug through it in a succession of cascades, gives the idea of cascades to tl1e wl10le ranw); and ltCuce the name of the CAscADE RANGE, which it bear , and distingui--lles it fron1 tile Coast Ratl!.;e lower dowt~. I11 mukitw a hort turn to the ::;outh the river forms the cascaliec;; in breaking over a. ptlillt of ag~lomerated 111assrs of rock, leavin~ a ha11dsomc bay to the right, ·with sev ral rocky pine-covered island ·, and the mountains s·weep at a di~-;tance aroutJd a rove where several ' small trcams e11tcr the hay. !11 less than an hour ·we hal ted on the left bank, abont Jive minutes' wall< ahove tl1e cascades, where tlwre ·were several Indian lmts, and where onr gnides signified it was cu ·tonwry to hire lndians to assi tin making tlJC portage. When trn vclliug with a boat as light as a canoe, which may easily IJc carried ou the shoulders of the l11diaus, this is llltlch the better side of the river for the rortao-e, as the ground here is very good and level, bein o- a handsome bottom, which I remarked was covered (as was now always the case along the 1·iver) \Vith a growth of green and frcsh-lookino- grass. Jt w11s long lwfiHe we cou ld come to an understanding with tile Indians; but at leuo-th, when they had {jr~ t received the price or their as jstancc in goods, they went vigorously to \Vork; and, iu u shorter time than bad been occupied in making onr arrangements, tltc canoe, instrnments, and bagO'uge, were carried throtwh (a distance of ahont hal[ a mile) to the bank belovv the main ca cade, \vhcre \Ve again em? arkcu, the water bein o- \Vl1ite with foam amono- uo-ly rocks, and boiling 1nto a thousand whirlpools. The boat passed with great rapid ity, crossing a~d recrossitw iu the eddies of the current. After pa ·sing throu o-h about 2 nulco;; of broken water, we ran some wild-looking rapids, which are called the Lower Rapids, beitig the la~t on the river, which below is t ranq nil and smooth-a broad, magnificent stream. Ou a low broad point on the right bank of the river, at the lower end of these rapids, were pitched mauy tents of the ('migrants, who were waiting here for their fricncl~ from above, or for boats and provisions which were expected frotn Vaucouver. In our passage down the rapids, I bad noticed their camps aJong the shore, or trausp~rtin_g their goods across the portage. This portage makes a head of navJgat10n, ascending the river. It is about two miles in length; and above, t~ the Dalles, is 45 miles of srnooth anJ good navigation. \Ve ghded on without further interruption between very rocky and high steep mou_ntains, which sweep along the ri1rer valley at a little distance, covered wtth forest of piue, and showing occasionally Jofty escarpn1ents of red ~ock. Nearer, the shore is borderell by steep escarped hills and huge ver~tcal rocks, from which the wu ters of the mountain 1 each the river in a v_anoty of beautiful falls, sometimes several hundred feet in height. OccaSlonally along the river occurred pretty bottoms, covered with the greenest |
