Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 5.djvu/260

250 tains to the south; no time was lost in ascertaining the existence of this truly grand tree, which I named Pinus Lambertiana; but no perfect seeds could I find, and I returned to my rendezvous at Fort Vancouver, richly fraught with the treasure I had collected.

A few days were devoted to arranging my last collection, and drying the seeds I had gathered, without loss of time, on the 5th of September, having engaged a chief as my guide, and accompanied by one Canadian, I started on a journey to the Grand Rapids. Two days were consumed in ascending the Columbia, though I was favoured with a fair wind; I pitched my camp close to Chumtalia's (my guide) house, taking the precaution of having the ground well drenched with water, to prevent the annoyance of fleas, from which, however, I did not wholly escape. On the Saturday morning, as soon as Chumtalia learned that it was my intention to visit the summit of the mountains on the north side of the river, he forthwith fell sick, and presently framed an excuse for not accompanying me on the expedition. He, however, sent a younger brother to guide me, together with two young men from the village, and I left the Canadian at the tent, to take care of my books, etc., charging Chumtalia to supply him with salmon, and to see that no harm should befall him. To encourage my guides, I was under the necessity of giving them the whole of the provisions the first day, except four small biscuits and a little tea and sugar; at our first encampment, about two-thirds up the mountain, we left our blankets, intending, after having reached the summit, to return thither and sleep. But our path being dreadfully fatiguing, climbing over the shelving detached rocks and fallen timber, the night overtook us ere we had reached the top. I killed a halfgrown eagle, on which we fared, and with a little tea, made in an open kettle, and drunk out of vessels formed of bark, we passed a tolerable night, without any bedding. Previous to lying down, I used the precaution of drying all my clothes, which were drenched with perspiration from the violent exercise I had taken. The following day, in the dusk of