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these look more like orchards of fruit trees, planted by the hand of man, than groves of natural growth, and serve to relieve the eye from the yellow and scorched hue of the plains. The meanderings of the streams may be readily followed by the growth of trees on their banks as far as the eye can see.

They were detained here by the straying of their animals, and did not succeed in getting off until the next day, when Turner gave them two of his horses, being willing to run the risk of recovering the lost ones in their stead.

On the morning of the 9th, they had a severe frost. In the course. of the day they passed Creole creek, and encamped on the Ignas The atmosphere during the day had become quite thick, owing to the smoke arising from the burning of the prairie. Here they prepared themselves fully for their journey, by trimming their horses' hoofs and taking a full account of them. The soil was a red decomposed basalt, well adapted for grazing and wheat lands.

On the 10th, the country was somewhat more hilly than the day previous, but still fine grazing land. During the day they crossed many small creeks. The rocks had now changed from a basalt to a whitish clayey sandstone. The soil also varied with it to a grayishDrown, instead of the former chocolate-brown colour, which was thought to be an indication of inferior quality. The country had an uninviting look, from the fact that it had lately been overrun by fire, which had destroyed all the vegetation except the oak trees, which appeared not to be injured.

On the 11th, after passing during the day Lake Guardipii, which is about five hundred yards long, they encamped on the Lumtumbuff river, which is a branch of the Willamette. This river is a deep and turbid stream, branching out in places like a lake, but being in general narrow and fordable.

On the 12th, the route was across a parched-up prairie, some portions of which were composed of gravel and white sand, mixed with clay. The paths were very rough, owing to the soil, which was much cut up by the herds that had been driven through; and which, on becoming hard, was exceedingly fatiguing to the horses. Bands of wolves were met with, and were heard throughout the night howling in various parts of the prairies. The cry of these animals is peculiar: one sets up a long shrill whine, three or four join in, and in a few moments afterwards, the whole pack utter a sort of sharp yelp, which gives the idea of a half-laughing, half-crying chorus. The party had hitherto made from fifteen to twenty miles a day; and in travelling this day, the animals suffered a great deal from want of water. They

encamped on the Malé creek, which was about thirty feet wide, and ran in a northerly direction.

On the 13th, they had much difficulty in finding their horses, which had escaped the guards at night, owing to the thick fog that prevailed. They were in consequence unable to go forward until three o'clock in the afternoon; some of the animals had gone six miles back on the trail in search of water, and were found in the vicinity of marshy places. Messrs. Emmons and Eld had employed the hours of this detention in getting dip and intensity observations. In consequence of this mishap, they were unable to make more than two miles during the day, which continued hot and foggy.

Some wandering Callapuyas came to the camp, who proved to be acquaintances of Warfields' wife: they were very poorly provided with necessaries. Mr. Agate took a characteristic drawing of one of the old men.

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These Indians were known to many of the hunters, who manifested much pleasure at meeting with their old acquaintances, each vying with the other in affording them and their wives entertainment by sharing part of their provisions with them. This hospitality showed them in a pleasing light, and proved that both parties felt the utmost good-will towards each other. The Indians were for the most part

clothed in deer-skins, with fox-skin caps, or cast-off clothing of the whites; their arms, except in the case of three or four, who had rifles, were bows and arrows, similar to those I have described as used at the north; their arrows were carried in a quiver made of seal-skin, which was suspended over the shoulders.

On the 15th, they reached the base of the Elk Mountains, which divide the valley of the Willamette from that of the Umpqua. The ascent and descent of this ridge are both gradual, and the hills were covered with pines, spruces, and oaks, with a thick undergrowth of Hazel, Arbutus, Rubus, and Cornus. Through these thickets they were obliged to force their way along the back of one of the spurs, and were three hours in reaching the top, which was fifteen hundred feet above the level of the plain. A species of Castanea was met with, whose leaves were lanceolate and very rusty beneath; the cup of the nut was very prickly.

The route over the Elk Mountains was very serpentine, owing to the obstruction caused by fallen timber, many of whose trunks were four and five feet in diameter. Previous to ascending the mountain, they had crossed several small streams over which the Hudson Bay Company had constructed bridges for the passage of their sheep. Much trouble was caused by the necessity of dragging a number of their pack-horses with lassos from a miry pool into which they had plunged. At the encampment, during the night, ice made on the pools to the thickness of a quarter of an inch, and the thermometer had fallen to 26°. The soil on the Elk Mountains is hard and dry; on the ridge, rock is nowhere exposed to view, and only a few fragments of sandstone lie on the surface; where they made their descent, however, and in the banks of the streamlets, they saw the rock finely developed in horizontal layers. The soil also was more sandy and of indifferent quality, and the grass in consequence is thin and occasionally mixed with ferns.

On the 16th, they encamped on the Elk river. The hunters were successful in killing a large elk, which was brought into camp and divided. Lieutenant Emmons, Mr. Agate, and Sergeant Stearns, with a Canadian as guide, left the encampment for Fort Umpqua, which was fourteen miles distant. The country for the first five miles was hilly, with scattered patches of pines, and it appears in places to be suitable for cultivation; the rest of the distance was over a country much broken. The trail carried them over a succession of steep hills and through deep ravines, which at times appeared almost impassable to their broken-down beasts; four of which Lieutenant Emmons was taking with him to exchange. They did not reach the

bank of the river opposite the fort, until between eight and nine o'clock. On the opposite side they perceived a fire, with some figures passing to and fro. By firing guns, and employing the stentorian voice of their guide, it was made known that our party was in want of two canoes to cross the river. The person in charge of the fort, Mr. Gangriere, had suffered much alarm, until he recognised the voice of Boileau, their guide, which had served to quiet him, and he at once directed the canoes to cross over; while these were sought for, the horses were hobbled, and the accoutrements made up, ready for transportation. Fort Umpqua was, like all those built in this country, enclosed by a tall line of pickets, with bastions at diagonal corners; it is about two hundred feet square, and is situated more than one hundred and fifty yards from the river, upon an extensive plain; it is garrisoned by five men, two women, and nine dogs, and contains a dwelling for the superintendent, as well as store-houses, and some smaller buildings for the officers and servants' apartments.

At the time of the visit, an unusual number of Indians of the Umpqua tribe had collected around; and Mr. Gangriere said, had shown a strong disposition to attack and burn the fort. He stated that hostility to the Company and the whites generally, arose from the losses they had met with from the small-pox, which they said had been introduced among them by the Company's parties under Michel and M'Kay; and their anger was much increased by his refusal to supply them with ammunition. So critical did he consider the state of affairs, that he was about to despatch a messenger to Vancouver, to inform Dr. M'Laughlin of his situation; he had not ventured to leave the fort for many days.

Mr. Gangriere, besides entertaining Messrs. Emmons and Agate with tea, &c., gave them an account of the dangers they had to pass through. He informed them that he had long before heard of the intended journey, through the Indians, and that the news had passed on to all the tribes, who were collecting in vast numbers to oppose their passage, having sworn vengeance against all the whites, or those connected with them. He also stated that within a short time they had murdered two half-breeds who had been living peaceably among them, but who had been formerly employed by the Hudson Bay Company. By way of making his story more credible, he said that the Shaste Indians had sent him word that they were lying in wait for the whites when they should come. Large numbers of the Umpquas, according to him, had assembled at the usual crossing, to arrest the progress of the party, and he advised Lieutenant Emmons to cross the

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river at a place higher up. Mr. Gangriere furthermore thought their numbers so small that he was sure they would be all killed.

Lieutenant Emmons places the fort in latitude 43° 24' N. From the account given by Mr. Gangriere, the river pursues a northwesterly course, and runs a distance of thirty miles before it enters the sea. It is navigable from the ocean to the place where the Umpqua and Elk rivers unite, about three miles below the fort, for vessels drawing not more than six feet water. The mouth of the Umpqua offers no harbour for sea-going vessels, and has only nine feet water on its bar. Its entrance is very narrow, with low sands on the north and south sides.

The Umpqua country yields a considerable supply of furs, and principally of beaver, most of which are of small size. The regulations of the Company do not seem to be so strictly in force here as to the north of the Columbia, in relation to buying the small skins. These, I have understood, they refuse to purchase there; and every Indian who is found with a small skin is refused supplies of ammunition, which has been found sufficient to prevent the killing of the young animals. Here they also obtain from the Indians some land and sea otter, deer, and bear skins.

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Mr. Agate made a sketch of one of the girls of the Umpqua ribe, of which the above wood-cut is a copy.

The agent at this post obligingly exchanged the horses, and supplied

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