Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 24.djvu/274

 252 Leslie M. Scott morning would be an eligible situation for a settlement. On the E side of the river would serve for pasturage & the high ground on the W side for tillage & sheep walks ; and the river could easily be made navigable. The hunt- ers were out but without success, except P. Legare who killed 2 deer. There are some deer, but [198] they are very shy. Some Indians visited us in the evening. June 4. Cloudy. Proceeded 20 miles, first S. S. W. & then S. S. E. through a hilly country. First up a nar- row valley along the river where we are camped, & then across a range of hills and along another narrow valley, where we crossed some more hills to another valley which brought us to the Yangawa river where we camped at the foot of Elk Mountain. This river at the foot of the mountain falls into the sea. Some spots of rocks are to be seen on the brows of some of the hills we passed today. Some parts of the valley we passed today are subject to inundation. There are also a few places marshy but all the rest of the way the soil appears very rich & clothed with a more luxur- iant crop of herbage than we have met with since leaving the fort. There is a considerable quantity of clover among the long grass, which in many places is sufficient- ly rank & thick to be cut for hay, & most excellent hay it would make. [199] The ground appears highly sus- ceptible of cultivation & would be superior pasture land, the low ground for cattle, the bare or partially wooded hills for sheep. The plain on the end of which we are camped is of considerable extent & has a pretty large swamp in the middle of it. The second valley through which we passed is watered by a fork of the river which Comments June 4. Yangama River was Siuslaw River. Elk Mountain marks the divide between Siuslaw and Umpqua rivers. Camp probably was ten miles west of the site of Cottage Grove.