Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 24.djvu/202

 182 Charles Henry Carey 1844. But shall have to wait perhaps six months longer before I hear anything of these doings. Wednesday, 11. Very rainy dull weather; warm; we have had white frosts two mornings only ; no freezing of water at all; I am not certain for health, and even for pleasure, but I should prefer a New York winter; there is nothing, however, like being contented in the situation in which Providence places us. This country has suf- fered much from the late high water. In this place the damage is small compared to the losses up the river; fences, houses, cattle, wheat, &c &c have gone down stream. Our news yet is not very particular, but we hear in a way, we suppose it true, that the mission has lost in the barn at the late mission farm, now Mr. Beer's, some six or eight hundred bushels of wheat in the chaff, the high water coming into the barn. It is a great dis- count from the value of farms on the Williamette this liability to damage in time of freshets. From the best knowledge as yet obtained, I presume the direct damage of this flood in this new country, saying nothing of loss of time during its continuance, is not less than twenty thousand dollars. The emigrants over the mountains have a very wet introduction to this land; it must be discouraging to them. We came in the first of June, the most favorable time ; perhaps our first impressions were too elevated; at any rate these dull and cloudy months with almost ceaseless rains and high sweeping ruinous waters have had some effect upon our very high estima- tion of this land. Thursday, 12. As to weather, it may be stereotyped cloudy, rainy, dark. Fine time to read provided I can find anything of sufficient interest to keep me awake to read, and if I am at a great loss I fly to the Nos. of the Advocate just received and to the previous letters from our dear friends lately received and soon forget it is dull weather; and though we read them over and over, they are still good.