106 DOUGLAS 1 JOURNAL 



palatable beverage might be made from them. Lewis observes that 

 when eaten in a large quantity they occasion bowel complaints. This 

 I am not aware of, but assuredly they produce flatulence : when in the 

 Indian hut I was almost blown out by strength of wind. \ Flowers large, 

 blue ; abundant in all low alluvial plains on the margins of woods and 

 banks of river. S. 



On Saturday, 16th April, the chief factor, John McLoughlin, Esq., came 

 down the river from the new establishment, who received me with much 

 kindness. I showed him my instructions and informed him verbally 

 the object of my voyage, and talked over my pursuit. In the most 

 frank and handsome manner he assured me that everything in his power 

 would be done to promote the views of the Society. Since I have all 

 along experienced every attention in his power, horses, canoes and people 

 when they could be spared to accompany on my journeys. Also in 

 every instance had much assistance from those in authority under him, 

 with all the comfort the country affords circumstances which I am 

 confident that it will give Mr. Sabine much pleasure in communicating 

 to the committee of the Hudson Bay Company. The same day I had 

 all my articles sent on shore from the ship. Mr. McLoughlin advised 

 me to visit the new establishment as they were shortly to abandon this 

 one on the coast. 



Tuesday, l$th. In company with him I left the mouth of the river ; 

 at 8 o'clock morning in a small boat with one Canadian and six Indians ; 

 we made only forty miles, having no wind and a very strong current 

 against us. We slept in the canoe, which we pulled up on the beach. 

 Our supper was a piece of good sturgeon, a basin of tea, and a slice of 

 bread. We had six Indians for paddling the canoe ; they sat round the 

 fire the whole night roasting sturgeon, which they do by splitting a branch 

 and placing the meat in it, twisting a bit of rush at the top to prevent 

 it falling out. They ate a fish weighing about 26 or 28 Ib. from ten 

 o'clock at night till daylight the following morning. They had paddled 

 forty miles without any sort of food except the young shoots of Rubus specta- 

 bilis, and water. We started at three o'clock the following morning 

 and reached our destination at ten on Wednesday night. The scenery in 

 many parts is exceedingly grand ; twenty-seven miles from the ocean 

 the country is undulating, the most part covered with wood, chiefly pine. 

 On both sides of the river are extensive plains of deep rich alluvial soil, 

 with a thick herbage of herbaceous plants. Here the country becomes 

 mountainous, and on the banks of the river the rocks rise perpendicularly 

 to the height of several hundred feet in some parts, over which are some 

 fine waterfalls. The rocks are chiefly secondary, sandstone and limestone 

 bedded on blue granite. The country continues mountainous as far 

 as the lower branch of the Multnomah river, the Belle Vue Point of 

 Vancouver, about seventy miles from the ocean, when it again becomes 

 low on the banks and rises gradually on the back ground. On the 

 south, towards the head waters of the Multnomah, which are supposed 

 to be in a ridge of snowy mountains which run in a south-west direction 

 from the Columbia, the view is fine. A very conspicuous conical mountain 



