Page:Early western travels, 1748-1846 (1907 Volume 29).djvu/19

 TRAVELS IN THE GREAT WESTERN PRAIRIES, &c., &c.

[PART II]

CHAPTER V

Departure from Vancouver—Wappatoo Island—The Willamette River—Its Mouth—The Mountains—Falls—River above the Falls—Arrival at the Lower Settlement—A Kentuckian—Mr. Johnson and his Cabin—Thomas M'Kay and his Mill—Dr. Bailey and Wife and Home—The Neighbouring Farmers—The Methodist Episcopal Mission and Missionaries—Their Modes of Operations—The Wisdom of their Course—Their Improvements, &c.—Return to Vancouver—Mr. Young—Mr. Lee's Misfortune—Descent of the Willamette—Indians—Arrival at Vancouver—Oregon—Its Mountains, Rivers and Soil, and Climate—Shipment for the Sandwich Islands—Life at Vancouver—Descent of the Columbia—Astoria—On the Pacific Sea—The Last View of Oregon—Account of Oregon, by Lieut. Wilkes, Commander of the late exploring Expedition.

On the morning of the 21st, I left the Fort and dropped down the Columbia, five miles, to Wappatoo Island. This large tract of low land is bounded on the south-west, south and south-east, by the mouths of the Willamette, and on the north by the Columbia. The side contiguous to the latter river is about fifteen miles in length; the side bounded by the eastern mouth of {201} the Willamette about seven miles, and that bounded by the western mouth of the same river about twelve miles. It derives its name from an edible root called Wappatoo, which it produces in abundance. It is generally low, and, in the central parts broken with small ponds and marshes, in which