ACROSS THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS, ETC. 177 



fbly, SO terribly ludicrous, that I and those who were with me, 

 burst into a simultaneous roar, which frightened it and made it 

 cry, 'in which predicament it looked much less horrible than 

 before. 



On the 1st, of November we arrived at the brig. She was 

 moored, head and stern, to a large rock near the lower mouth of 

 the Wallammet. Captain Lambert with his ship's company, and 

 our own mountain men, were all actively engaged at various 

 employments; carpenters, smiths, coopers, and other artisans 

 were busy in their several vocations ; domestic animals, pigs, 

 sheep, goats, poultry, &c., were roaming about as if perfectly at 

 home, and the whole scene looked so like the entrance to a 

 country village, that it was difficult to fancy oneself in a howling 

 wilderness inhabited only by the wild and improvident Indian, 

 and his scarcely more free and fearless neighbors, the bear and 

 the wolf. An excellent temporary storehouse of twigs, thatched 

 with grass, has been erected, in which has been deposited the ex- 

 tensive assortment of goods necessary for the settlement, as well 

 as a number of smaller ones, in which the men reside. It is intend- 

 ed as soon as practicable, to build a large and permanent dwelling of 

 logs, which will also include the store and trading establishment, 

 and form the groundwork for an American fort on the river 

 Columbia. 



bth. — Mr. N. and myself are now residing on board the brig, 

 and pursuing with considerable success our scientific researches 

 through the neighborhood. I have shot and prepared here 

 several new species of birds, and two or three undescribed 

 quadj^upeds, besides procuring a considerable number, which, 

 though known to naturalists, are rare, and therefore valuable. 

 My companion is of course in his element ; the forest, the plain, 

 the rocky hill, and the mossy bank yield him a rich and most 

 abundant supply. 



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