462 PUGET SOUND AND OKONAGAN. 



and sell for a leaden ball : they were found very fat, and considered 

 good food by our party. The soil is too poor for farming operations, 

 and onl}^ a few potatoes are grown. There is generally a supply of 

 provisions on hand here for the parties that are passing to and fro. 



There is also another post called Fort Thompson, on the Kamloops 

 Lake, which is in charge of an Indian, and is of less importance than 

 Okonagan. 



On the morning of the 9th, Mr. Maxwell, one of the Company's 

 officers, arrived from Colville, with forty horses laden with provisions, 

 for Mr. Ogden's brigade. He was not a little surprised to find 

 strangers in the country, and in possession of his quarters at the post. 

 He was obliging enough to offer any assistance that he could render, 

 and, in conjunction with Le Pratt, endeavoured to supply all the 

 wants of the party. 



The Okonagan tribe of Indians are supposed to number about two 

 hundred, and are represented as quiet and peaceably disposed. Their 

 food consists principally of salmon and a small fish which they call 

 carp ; but they are not provident enough to lay up a sufficient supply 

 for their winter's stock, and are obliged, for the remainder of the 

 year, to make use of roots, and a bread which is made from the moss 

 that grows on the trees. This moss is collected in large quantities, 

 cleaned, and then placed in a hole made in the ground, along with 

 heated stones, which are all covered up closely with earth. In this 

 hole the moss remains for twenty-four hours. When the pit is opened, 

 it is found to have become soft. After this process, it is washed and 

 moulded into cakes, which are set out to dry. The seed of the Balsa- 

 moriza (Oregon sunflower), is also used here, being pounded into a 

 kind of meal, which they call mielito. To this is added the siffleurs ; 

 but with all these articles of food, much suffering is experienced 

 towards the spring. 



The Company's servants at the northern posts suffer almost as 

 much at times, although they are provided and attended to by the 

 officers : they live mostly upon salmon. The difficulty of getting 

 provisions to the posts in the interior is very great : all that is con- 

 sumed at the north is carried twenty-four days' journey on pack- 

 horses, and eighteen in barges, before it arrives at its destination ; and 

 the amount transported is not more than enough to supply the 

 officers, whose allowance is very limited. The servants of the 

 Company receive an increased pay as some recompense for their 

 privations. 



