254 
FROM THE COLUMBIA VALLEY TO FORT OWEN. 
I noticed to-day a very remarkable landmark, a vast column of basaltic trap, in form of a 
truncated cone, so regular in shape that it would almost seem to have been cut out by the hand 
of man, instead of being a singular specimen of nature’s handiwork. 
There is a beautiful island in the river near our camp covered with luxuriant grass, on which a 
large number of horses belonging to the Nez Perces are now feeding. They are driven here to 
pasture and fatten for the annual trip across the mountains. 
Wednesday , July 27.—Thermometer at 7 a. m., 79° ; barometer, 30. Arrived at Wallah-Wallah, 
and encamped two miles from the Hudson’s Bay Company’s fort. We were hospitably received 
by Mr. Pambrun, the factor in charge of the fort. We shall be obliged to remain here a short 
time to recruit our animals, as many of them are very much broken down and galled by the 
pack-saddles. 
Mr. Hoyt’s horse was drowned in attempting to cross a creek, and another this morning. The 
teamster, whom I had sent to this place from the Indian agency by a better road with our only 
wagon, came in and reported it broken down a few miles from this place. This is unpleasant 
news, as our means of transportation are very limited. We received several visits from the 
Wallah-Wallah chiefs and braves, who expressed a great deal of friendship for us, and seemed 
delighted to find that the reports of our hostile intentions were false. They are deadly enemies 
of the Blackfeet, and ready to join us in any expedition against them. We told them that war 
was not the object of our journey; that we came to smoke the pipe of peace with all the tribes. 
They said they would ‘‘tell my news” to the chief, and that he would visit us to-morrow. 
I employed an old voyageur of the name of Antoine Plaute to guide us to Fort Benton. He 
is a quarter breed—French and Indian. His life has been spent in the mountains, trapping 
beaver for the Hudson’s Bay Company, and once in his youth he crossed the mountains with the 
Kalispelm Indians to hunt on the plains of the Missouri. He has Blackfoot blood in his veins, 
yet bears a mortal enmity to the whole race, as they once, many years ago, were near taking his 
scalp. He is a rich Indian, above want, and I doubt if money would induce him to take the 
field. But when told that he was wanted to guide our party into the heart of his old enemies’ 
country, faithful to his Indian instincts, his eye brightened, and he was ready to mount his horse. 
Friday , July 29.—All hands busily engaged in jerking meat and preparing pack-saddles. The 
prospects of the expedition are anything but cheerful. The chief packer is sick, and obliged to 
leave the party; his assistant and several men are getting sick and dissatisfied with their hard 
work, and the prospect before them of boundless forests, and Indians whose dispositions are 
uncertain. The principal chief of the Wallah-Wallahs visited us to-day. He owns a thousand 
horses, and ranks high among the tribes of this region. He boasted of his friendship for the 
whites, and that none of his tribe had ever killed a white man. 
The loss of our men is more disastrous on account of the difficulty of finding others to supply 
their places. 
Saturday , July 30.—We left Wallah-Wallah very early this morning, and marched in a north¬ 
easterly direction twenty-five miles, and encamped in a very fine meadow on the banks of the 
Wallah-Wallah. The timber and grass are excellent, and the country around is beautiful. The 
chief, Pu-pu-mux-mux, sent a runner from his camp, forty-five miles distant, to inquire where we 
should cross the Lewis fork of the Columbia. I pointed out to him the place, and sent word by 
him to the chief to meet us there with men and canoes, to transport us across the river. The 
country through which we passed is a rolling prairie, without trees or water. 
Sunday, July 31.—Thermometer at sunrise, 51°; barometer, 29.498. Left camp at an early 
hour, and after marching five miles, halted until evening. A prairie, forty-five miles in extent, is 
before us, entirely destitute of trees and water, and the heat is so great that it would be exceed¬ 
ingly hazardous to attempt to cross it before nightfall. We receive many visits from Indians; 
among them was an old Nez Perces, mounted on a fine horse, which he wished to exchange for 
