John M‘Loughlin, Esq. was there, but 
would be down as soon as he received in- 
= telligence of the ship's arrival. From Mr. 
_ M'Kenzie we experienced great attention, 
and though we did not quit the vessel till the 
19th, I was daily on shore. With respect 
to the appearance of the country, my ex- 
pectations were fully realized, in its ferti- 
lity and variety of aspect and of soil. The 
greater part, as far as the eye could reach, 
was covered with Pines of various species. 
The Atlantic side of this great Continent 
much exceeds the western coast in the 
variety of its kinds of forest-trees; there 
are no Beeches, Magnolias, Gleditschias, 
or Juglans, and only one kind of Oak and 
. of Ash on the Pacific side. 
Cape Disappointment, on the southern 
bank of the river at the ocean, is a re- 
markable promontory of rock, forming a 
good sea-mark, elevated about seven hun- 
dred feet above the level of the sea, and 
covered with Pines and brushwood. The 
country to the northward, near the ocean, 
is hilly. The opposite point, called Point 
Round, or Point Adams of Lewis and 
Clarke, is low, and in many places swampy: 
a ridge of low hills runs for about forty 
miles southward, skirting the sea, as far as 
Lookout, so named by Vancouver. 
The breadth of the Columbia is about five 
miles at its mouth, not including Baker's 
Bay, which has a deep bend; the current 
is very rapid, and produces great agitation De 
when the wind blows from the westward, 
ing the water over the sand-bar quite 
across the river, so that no channel can be 
perceived, and it becomes impossible for a 
[ _ vessel to go out or in with safety. 
: My paper for preserving plants being all 
in the hold of the ship, I could do but lit- 
tle in collecting, though we continued our 
excursions every day, when the weather 
permitted, and were frequently meeting 
with objects which caused us much gratifi- 
cation. Nothing gave me, I think, greater 
pleasure, than to find Hookeria lucens in 
l " in the damp shady forests, 
.. rowing with a plant whose name also re- 
ded me of another valued friend, the 
ziesia ferruginea. All my paper and 
čs were sent ashore on the 16th, and on 
NORTH-WESTERN PARTS OF NORTH AMERICA, 
89 
the 19th, I embarked in a small boat with 
Mr. John M‘Loughlin, the Chief Factor, 
who received me with demonstrations of 
the most kindly feeling, and showed me 
every civility which it was in his power to 
bestow. 
The following night, at ten p. m., we ar- 
rived at Fort Vancouver, ninety miles from 
the sea, the spot where the Officers of Capt. 
Vancouver completed their survey of the 
river in 1792. The scenery round this 
place is sublimely grand—lofty, well wood- 
ed hills, —-mountains covered with per- 
petual snow,—extensive natural meadows, 
and plains of deep, fertile, alluvial deposit, 
covered with a rich sward of grass, and a 
profusion of flowering plants. The most 
remarkable mountains are Mounts Hood 
and Jefferson, of Vancouver, which are at 
all seasons covered with snow as low down 
as the summit of the hills by which they 
are surrounded. From this period to the 
10th of May, my labour in the neighbour- 
hood of this place was well rewarded by 
Ribes sanguineum, (Bot. Reg. t. 1349. 
Bot. Mag. t. 3335.), a lovely shrub, which 
grows abundantly on the rocky shores of 
the Columbia and its tributary streams, 
producing a great profusion of flowers, and 
but little fruit, except in the shady woods 
where the blossoms are comparatively few ; 
I also found Berberis Aquifolium, (Bot. 
Reg. t. 1425.) B. glumacea, ( Ejusd. t. 1426. 
Cand. JB. nervosa of Pursh), Acer 
macrophyllum, (Hook, Fl. Bor. Am. v. 1. t. 
88.) and Scilla esculenta, (Bot. Mag. t. 
2774.) the Quamash of the natives, who 
prepare its roots in the following manner. 
A round hole is scraped in the ground, in 
which are placed a number of stones, and ne 
a fire is kept burning on them till they are T 
red hot, when it is removed and replaced 
bruise these roots, or pound them into cakes 
and round lumps, which they lay up on the 
shelves in their lodges for winter use. - 
