Page:History of Oregon volume 1.djvu/235



As soon as information of the arrival of the Lausanne reached him, McLoughlin sent fresh bread, butter, milk, and vegetables to meet the vessel in the river; and on her arrival at Fort Vancouver, he invited the whole ship's company to take tea with him. The invitation was accepted by Captain Spaulding and several others. On the following day rooms were made ready for the whole fifty-three persons, who were quartered and fed at Fort Vancouver during the several weeks unavoidably spent before places could be assigned them.

Having acquainted himself with the existing condition of the Mission and the territory, Jason Lee allotted to the colonists their several fields of labor. The points selected covered the places likely to be of most importance in the country when the United States should extend jurisdiction over it.