116 Account of Captain Franklhi's Expedition. 



From Mr Douglas to Mr Scouler, 



Doled Priest's Rapid, on the Columbia River, lat. 48°. N. long. 

 117°. W., Aprils, 182G. 



" I regretted exceedingly the impracticability of seeing you 

 before you sailed, which was owing to a hurt that I received 

 on my knee when packing a box. This unfortunate accident 

 has caused me some trouble ever since. Although unfitted 

 by it for much exertion, I left Fort Vancouver on the 22d 

 of October, for the purpose of seeing you on my way to 

 Whitby's harbour, on the Cheecheelin river. On the evening 

 of the following day, I put ashore at Oak Point in order to 

 procure a little food, when an Indian gave me the letter from 

 you, in which you stated your expectation of remaining a few 

 days, and as the ship had been seen by some of the natives 

 that very morning, I boiled my kettle and re-embarked with- 

 out loss of time at eleven o'clock at night, expecting to reach 

 the bay before day light. Unfortunately the wind was unfa- 

 vourable, and my Indians so much fatigued, that we did not 

 arrive till ten o'clock, when I learned, to my great disappoint- 

 ment, that your vessel had left the river but one hour before. 

 I found Tha-a-muxci, (or the Beard Com Comley's brother,) 

 whom- you had seen and spoken to of me. He is a fine old 

 man ; at his request I shaved him, that he " might look like 

 one of King George's Chiefs." He accompanied me all the 

 way along the coast, and sixty miles up the Cheecheelin river, 

 where I crossed a tract of land near Mount St Helen's to the 

 Cow-a-lidsk river, which I descended to its junction with the 

 Columbia. This was the most unsuccessful trip I have made. 

 The season being late, and my knee troublesome, I was com- 

 pelled to lie for three days at Cape Foulweather, in a hut made 

 of pine branches and grass ; and as I could not go out to 

 shoot, I fared most scantily. However I killed during the 

 excursion several species of Procellaria and Lams, and one 

 Colymbus, but the excessive rain would not allow of my pre- 

 serving any of them. The only plant which seemed worthy 

 of notice was a new Eriogonum ; I obtained also some seeds, 

 among which were Helonias tenaoc, and a fine large-fruited 

 Carex. This trip took twenty-five days, and reduced me to such 



