336 COLUMBIA RIVER. 



very exhausting to the patience. Our friends at Nisqually had told 

 us we should find this part of the road good, yet we found it barely 

 passable. I would, however, advise all who travel this road to pre- 

 pare for a bad one. But what increased the discomfort of the road 

 to me, was the news I received by an Indian messenger, with letters 

 announcing to me that the Peacock had not yet arrived. 



We finally succeeded in reaching the top of the hill, which is about 

 fifteen hundred feet high, by a zigzag path, literally climbed by steps 

 which had been made by the horses' feet, and without which it would 

 be impossible to mount it in the direction we did, the clay is so 

 slippery. 



After reaching the crest of this ridge, we were amply repaid for our 

 labour by one of the most charming views I saw in Oregon, extend- 

 ing to a distance over the luxuriant country, while at our feet lay one 

 of the beautiful prairies, bedecked in every hue of the rainbow, with 

 the Chickeeles winding through it. We descended, and passed over 

 the prairie to some Indian lodges, whose inhabitants were squalid 

 and dirty as usual ; and as an evidence of their want of natural 

 feeling, near by lay one of their horses, with one of his fore-legs 

 broke short and just hanging by the skin. To the question, why 

 they did not kill the horse, thej^ gave no answer, but looked at the 

 interpreter with apparent contempt and listlessness. Desirous of 

 avoiding the lodges, with their inmates and vermin, we proceeded 

 about a mile beyond them, and encamped on the edge of a fine forest 

 of pines. 



Notwithstanding a hard rain fell during the night, we passed it 

 very comfortably. The Indians supplied us with some fresh salmon, 

 which they had already begun to take in the rivers that were in sight 

 from our encampment. They reported that the river was navigable 

 for canoes, though occasional obstructions were met with from fallen 

 timber. 



Mr. Drayton found here some beautiful pieces of cornelian, of large 

 size and bright red colour. 



The morning proved beautiful, and one of the finest days succeeded 

 that I ever remember to have seen. Our route lay through alternate 

 woods and prairies, the former composed of large pines and cedars. 

 Several considerable streams of water were passed, whose banks were 

 not so high as those before met with ; the latter covered with straw- 

 berries, so tempting as to induce us to dismount and feast upon them, 

 and many plants that excited a feeling of interest, and reminded us of 

 home : among the number was the red honeysuckle (Caprifolium), 



