ACROSS THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS, ETC. 165 



lightest, and dragging the unloaded boat through them by a cable. 

 Our people chose the latter method, as the canoes felt very heavy 

 and cumbersome, being saturated with the rain which was still 

 falling rapidly. They were accordingly immediately unloaded, 

 the baggage placed on the shore, and the men entered the water 

 to their necks, headed by Captain Thing, and addressed them- 

 selves to the troublesome and laborious task. In the meantime, 

 Mr, N., and myself were sent ahead to take the best care of 

 ourselves that our situation and the surroundins; circumstances 

 permitted. We found a small Indian trail on the river bank, 

 which we followed in all its devious windings, up and down hills, 

 over enormous, piles of rough flinty rocks, through brier bushes, 

 and pools of water, &c. &c., for about a mile, and descending 

 near the edge of the river, we observed a number of white men who 

 had just succeeded in forcing a large barge through the torrent, and 

 were then warping her into still water near the shore. Upon ap- 

 proaching them more closely, we i-ecognised, to our astonishment, 

 our old friend Captain Stewart, with the good missionaries, and 

 all the rest who left us at Walla-walla on the 4th. Poor fellows! 

 Every man of them had been over breast deep in water, and the 

 rain, which was still falling in torrents, was more than sufficient 

 to drench what the waves did not cover, so that they were most 

 abundantly soaked and bedraggled. I felt sadly inclined to 

 laugh heartily at them, but a single glance at the sorry appear- 

 ance of myself and my companion was sufficient to check the 

 feeling. We joined them, and aided in kindling a fire to warm 

 and dry ourselves a little, as there was not a dry rag on us, and 

 we were all in an ague with cold. After a very considerable 

 time, we succeeded in igniting the wet timber, and had a tolerably 

 large fire. We all seated ourselves on the ground around it, 

 and related our adventures. They had, like ourselves, suffered 

 somewhat from the head-wind and heavy swells, but unlike us 

 they had a craft that would weather it easily ; even they, how- 



