WILLAMETTE VALLEY. 351 



first sights that caught my eye was a patent threshing machine in the 

 middle of the road, that seemed to have been there for a length of time 

 totally neglected. 



We rode on to the log houses which the Messrs. Lee built when 

 they first settled here. In the neighbourhood are the wheelright's and 

 blacksmith's, together with their work-shops, belonging to the mission, 

 and, about a mile to the east, the hospital, built by Dr. White, who 

 was formerly attached to this mission. I was informed by many of 

 the settlers that this gentleman had rendered very essential service to 

 this district. His connexion with the mission was dissolved when he 

 returned to the United States.* 



The hospital is now used for dwellings by some of the missionaries. 

 It is, perhaps, the best building in Oregon, and accommodates at 

 present four families: it is a well-built frame edifice, with a double 

 piazza in front. Mr. Abernethy and his wife entertained us kindly. 

 He is the secular agent of the mission. Order and neatness prevail in 

 their nice apartments, where they made us very comfortable, and gave 

 us such hospitality as we should receive at home. It seemed an out- 

 of-the-way place to find persons of delicate habits, struggling with 

 difficulties such as they have to encounter, and overcoming them with 

 cheerfulness and good temper. 



Near the hospital are two other houses, built of logs, in one of which 

 Dr. Babcock, the physician of the mission, lives. 



We paid Dr. Babcock a visit in the evening, and found him com- 

 fortably lodged. He stated to me that the country was healthy, 

 although during the months of August and September, they were 

 subject to fever and ague on the low grounds, but in high and dry 

 situations he believed they would be free from it. A few other diseases 

 existed, but they were of a mild character, and readily yielded to 

 simple remedies. He is also of opinion that the fever and ague becomes 

 milder each season, as the individuals become acclimated. 



The lands of the Methodist Mission are situated on the banks of the 

 Willamette river, on a rich plain adjacent to fine forests of oak and 

 pine. They are about eight miles beyond the Catholic Mission, conse- 

 quently eighteen miles from Champooing, in a southern direction. 

 Their fields are well enclosed, and we passed a large one of wheat, 

 which we understood was self-sown by the last year's crop, which had 

 been lost through neglect. The crop so lost amounted to nearly a 

 thousand bushels, and it is supposed that this year's crop will yield 

 twenty-five bushels to the acre. About all the premises of this mission 



* Dr. White has since returned to Oregon, in the capacity of Indian Agent. 



