I 



ACROSS THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS, ETC. 1^^ 



precede us in the barge, and engage canoes to convey us to the 

 lower fort. 



This evening, we purchased a large bag of Indian meal, of 

 which we made a kettle of mush, and mixed with it a con- 

 siderable quantity of horse tallow and salt. This was, I think, 

 one of the best meals I ever made. We all ate heartily of it, 

 and pronounced it princely food. We had been long without 

 bread stuff of any kind, and the coarsest farinaceous substance, 

 with a proper allowance of grease, would have been highly 

 prized. 



The next morning, we visited Walla-walla Fort, and were 

 introduced, by Captain W., to Lieutenant Pierre S. Pambrun, 

 the superintendent. Wyeth and Mr. Pambrun had met before, 

 and were well acquainted; they had, therefore, many reminis- 

 cences of by-gone days to recount, and long conversations, rela- 

 tive to the variety of incidents which had occurred to each, since 

 last they parted. 



The fort is built of drift logs, and surrounded by a stoccade of 

 the same, with two bastions, and a gallery around the inside. 

 It stands about a hundred yards from the river, on the south 

 bank, in a bleak and unprotected situation, surrounded on every 

 side by a great, sandy plain, which supports little vegetation, 

 except the wormwood and thorn-bushes. On the banks of the 

 little river, however, there are narrow strips of rich soil, and 

 here Mr. Pambrun raises the few garden vegetables necessary 

 for the support of his family. Potatoes, turnips, carrots, &c., 

 thrive well, and Indian corn produces eighty bushels to the 

 acre. 



At about 10 o'clock, the barge got under way, and soon after, 

 our company with its baggage, crossed the river in canoes, and 

 encamped on the opposite shore. 



There is a considerable number of Indians resident here, 

 Kayouse's and a collateral band of the same tribe, called Walla- 



