16 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES 



this unpalatable weed was now quite nau- 

 seous to the whole party, and in several it 

 produced bowel complaints. Mr. Hood 

 was the greatest sufferer from this cause. 

 This evening we were extremely distressed, 

 at discovering that our improvident com- 

 panions, since we left Hood's River, had 

 thrown away three of the fishing-nets, and 

 burnt the floats ; they knew we had brought 

 them to procure subsistence for the party 

 when the animals should fail, and we could 

 scarcely believe the fact of their having wil- 

 fully deprived themselves of this resource, 

 especially when we considered that most of 

 them had passed the greater part of their 

 servitude in situations where the nets alone 

 had supplied them with food. Being thus 

 deprived of our principal resource, that of 

 fishing, and the men evidently getting weaker 

 every day, it became necessary to lighten 

 their burdens of every thing except ammu- 

 nition, clothing, and the instruments that 

 were required to find our way. I there- 

 fore issued directions to deposit at this 

 encampment the dipping needle, azimuth 



