Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 6.djvu/431

425 JOURNAL AND LETTERS OF DAVID DOUGLAS. 425 in foam through the deep glens, the necessity for crossing which im- peded my progress in no slight degree. In the low places the water spread into small lakes, and where the road had a considerable decliv- ity, the rushing torrent which flowed down it, gave rather the appear- ance of a cascade than a path. The road was so soft that we repeatedly sunk to th'e knees, and supported ourselves on a lava block or the roots of the trees. Still, violent as was the rain, and slippery and danger- ous the path, I gathered a truly splendid collection of Ferns, of nearly fifty species, with a few other plants, and some seeds, which were tied up in small bundles, to prevent fermentation, and then protected by fresh Coa bark. Several beautiful species of Mosses and Lichens were also collected ; and spite of all the disadvantages and fatigue that I underwent, still the magnificence of the scenery commanded my fre- quent attention, and I repeatedly sate down, in the course of the day, under some huge spreading Tree fern, which more resembled an indi- vidual of the Pine than the fern tribe, and contemplated with delight the endless variety of form and structure that adorned the objects around me. On the higher part of the mountain I gathered a Fern identical with the Asplevium viride of my own native country, a cir- cumstance which gave me inexpressible pleasure, and recalled to my mind many of the happiest scenes of my early life. In the evening I reached the saw-mill, when the kind welcome of my mountain friend, Mr. Miles, together with a rousing fire, soon made me forget the rain and fatigues of the day. Some of the men had arrived before me, others afterwards, and two did not appear till the following day, for having met with some friends, loaded with meat, they preferred a good supper to a dry bed. My guide, friend, and interpreter, Honori, an intelligent and well-disposed fellow, ar- rived at seven, in great dismay, having in the dark entered the river a short distance above a chain of cataracts, and to avoid these, he had clung (a a rock till extricated by the aid of two active young men. Though he had escaped unhurt, he had been exposed to the wet for nearly ten hours. A night of constant rain succeeded, but I rested well, and after breakfast, having examined all the packages, we quitted the saw-mill for the bay, and arrived there in the afternoon, the arrangement and preservation of ray plants affording me occupa- tion for two or three days. It was no easy matter to dry specimens and papers during such incessantly rainy weather. I paid the whole of the sixteen men who had accompanied me, not including Honori, and the king's man, at the rate of two dollars, some in money and some in goods: the latter consisted of cotton cloth, combs, scissors, and thread, etc., while to those who had acquitted themselves with willingness and activity, I added a small present in addition. Most of them preferred money, especially the lazy fellows. The whole of the number employed in carrying my baggage and provisions was five