NISQUALLY AND COLUMBIA RIVER. 293 



quite as numerous as described by Vancouver, and continued to be 

 seen in large quantities for the distance of six hundred miles. 



On the 23d April, I changed my course again, to avoid running over 

 that portion of sea which had been already traversed by others, and 

 on that day we saw several flocks of small birds, like snipe in appear- 

 ance. The wind favoured us, and carried us forward at a rapid rate. 



In latitude 42° N., longitude 149° W., we lost sight of all the villula, 

 and the thermometer fell to 51°. At night we had a heavy dew, and 

 the temperature was as low as 46°. We now experienced a strong 

 current setting to the southward and eastward. Petrels and albatrosses 

 were seen in abundance. 



On the 28th of April, at 6 a. m., we made Cape Disappointment, 

 which w T e soon came up with. A heavy sea, caused by the strong 

 winds that had prevailed for several days, was running. I, notwith- 

 standing, stood for the bar of the Columbia river, after making every 

 preparation to cross it; but on approaching nearer, I found breakers 

 extending from Cape Disappointment to Point Adams, in one unbroken 

 line. 



I am at a loss to conceive how any doubt should ever have existed, 

 that here was the mouth of the mighty river, whose existence was 

 reported so long before the actual place of its discharge was known, 

 or how the inquiring mind and talent of observation of Vancouver 

 could have allowed him to hesitate, when he must have seen the 

 evidence of a powerful flood of fresh water contending with the tides 

 of the ocean, in a bar turbulent with breakers, in turbid waters extend- 

 ing several miles beyond the line of the shore, and in the marked line 

 of separation between the sea and river water. Such appearances 

 must be constant, and if seen, the inferences could hardly be question- 

 able, that the great river of the west poured itself into the ocean at 

 this point. 



Mere description can give little idea of the terrors of the bar of the 

 Columbia : all who have seen it have spoken of the wildness of the 

 scene, and the incessant roar of the waters, representing it as one of 

 the most fearful sights that can possibly meet the eye of the sailor. 

 The difficulty of its channel, the distance of the leading sailing marks, 

 their uncertainty to one unacquainted with them, the want of know- 

 ledge of the strength and direction of the currents, with the necessity 

 of approaching close to unseen dangers, the transition from clear to 

 turbid water, all cause doubt and mistrust. 



Under such feelings I must confess that I felt myself labouring ; and, 

 although I had on board a person from the Sandwich Islands who pro- 



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