Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 6.djvu/446

440 440 JOURNAL AND LETTERS OF DAVID DOUGLAS. constellation of Orion, which had so often attracted my admiring gaze in my own native land, and which had shortly passed the meridian, was my guide. I continued in a South-East direction till two o'clock, when all at once I came to a low place, full of stunted shrubs, of more robust habit, however, than those at the camp. I instantly struck a light, and found by the examination of my barometer, that I was nearly five hundred feet below the camp. No response was given to our re- peated calls it was evident that no human being was near, so by the help of the moon's light, we shortly collected plenty of fuel, and kindled a fine fire. No sooner did its warmth and light begin to diffuse themselves over my frame, than I found myself instantly seized with violent pain and inflammation in my eyes, which had been rather pain- ful on the mountain, from the effect of the sun's rays shining on the snow ; a slight discharge of blood from both eyes followed, which gave me some relief, and which proved that the attack was as much attrib- utable to violent fatigue as any other cause. Having tasted neither food nor water since an early hour in the morning, I suffered severely with thirst ; still I slept for a few hours, dreaming the while of gur- gling cascades, overhung with sparkling rainbows, of which the dewy spray moistened my whole body, while my lips were all the time glued together with thirst and my parched tongue almost rattled in my mouth. My poor man, Calipio, was also attacked with inflammation in his eyes, and gladly did we hail the approach of day. The sun rose brightly on the morning of Thursday, January 30th, and gilding the snow over which we had passed, showed our way to have been infinitely more rugged and precarious than it had appeared by moon-light. I discovered that by keeping about a mile and a half too much to the East, we had left the camp nearly five hundred feet above our present situation ; and returning thither over the rocks, we found Honori en- gaged in preparing breakfast. He had himself reached the camp about noon on the second day. He gave me a calabash full of water, with a large piece of ice in it, which refreshed me greatly. A few drops of opium in the eyes afforded instant relief both to Calipio and myself. The man with the provisions was here also, so we shortly made a com- fortable meal, and immediately after, leaving one man behind with some food for the bird-catcher and his two companions, we prepared to descend, and started at nine A. M. to retrace the path by which we had come. Gratified though one may be at witnessing the wonderful works of God in such a place as the summit of this mountain presents, still it is with thankfulness that we again approach a climate more congenial to our natures, and welcome the habitations of our fellow- men, where we are refreshed with the scent of vegetation, and soothed by the melody of birds. When about three miles below the camp, my three companions of yesterday appeared like mawkins on the craggy lava, just at the very spot where I had come down. A signal was