358 COLUMBIA RIVER. 



weighing generally eight pounds, and some as much as twelve. 

 Merinos have been tried, but they are not found to thrive. 



The Californian horses are not equal to those raised in Oregon : 

 those bred near Wallawalla are in the most repute. 



In one of our rides we visited the site of the first fort at Vancouver : 

 it is less than a mile from the present position, and is just on the brow 

 of the upper prairie. The view from this place is truly beautiful : 

 the noble river can be traced in all its windings, for a long distance 

 through the cultivated prairie, with its groves and clumps of trees ; 

 beyond, the eye sweeps over an interminable forest, melting into a 

 blue haze, from which Mount Hood, capped with its eternal snows, 

 rises in great beauty. The tints of purple which appear in the 

 atmosphere, are, so far as I am aware, peculiar to this country. This 

 site was abandoned, in consequence of the difficulty of obtairiing 

 water, and its distance from the river, which compelled them to 

 transport every article up a high and rugged road. The latter 

 difficulty was encountei'ed in the first location on the upper prairie, 

 because it was said that the lower one was occasionally flooded ; but 

 although this may have happened formerly, it is not found to occur 

 at present. 



I also visited the grist-mill, which is situated on a small stream, 

 but owing to the height of the river, which threw a quantity of back- 

 water on the wheel, it was not in action. The mill has one run of 

 stones, and is a well-built edifice. Annexed to it is the house of the 

 miller, who is also the watchmaker of the neighbourhood. The mill 

 is amply sufficient for all the wants of the Company, and of the sur- 

 rounding country. The saw-mill is two miles beyond the grist-mill. 

 A similar mistake has been made in choosing its position, for the mill 

 is placed so low that for the part of the season when they have most 

 water, they are unable to use it. There are in it several runs of 

 saws, and it is remarkably well built. In few buildings, indeed, 

 can such materials be seen as are here used. The quality of timber 

 cut into boards, is inferior to what we should deem merchantable in 

 the United States, and is little better than our hemlock. The boards 

 are shipped to the Sandwich Islands, and we here found the brig 

 Wave takino; in a cargo of lumber. These boaVds sell at Oahu for 

 eighty dollars per thousand. I could not ascertain their cost here. 

 About twenty men (Canadians and Sandwich Islanders) are em- 

 ployed at the mill. 



They have a large smith's shop here, which, besides doing the 



