Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 15.djvu/128



118 T. C. ELLIOTT

a few who crossed to us, plus J^ m. Course N. 65 E. 1-5 m., N. 60 E. 2-3 m., plus 1 m., N. 52 E. 2 m. At 6:40 P. M. put up near end of course. At \ l / 2 M. gone Observation for longitude and time. Latitude by account 45 54^4' N.

August 5th, Monday. 88 . A fine morning, again gummed. At 5:15 A. M. set off. All our gum quite expended and 'no woods whatever so that we must go without that most neces- sary article and our canoe is very leaky. Finished course, then + 1 m., N. 43 E. 1-3 m., N. 42 E. y 2 m., N. 30 E. # m., N. 33 E. 1-3 m., N. 28 E. 2^4 m., beginning of course boiled salmon and shaved. Course N. 42 E. 1 m. We now see no agate along shore as below. These lands are wholly com- posed of strata of rock from 10 to 30 feet thick, and there are the upper strata of about 20 feet of pillar like rock, this is often like the flutes of an organ at a distance, its strata seems perpendicular and is often split in pieces. The pillars are split also in various directions as if broken or cracked by a violent blow. This rests in a strata of black rude rock as per speci- mens of both. These two different kinds of rock lie alternately one on another to the bed of the river which is mostly of the black rock, though sometimes of the pillar rock. The black rock appears always to have the thickest bed, the last 100 feet is covered with splinters of the upper rocks sometimes to a good depth. The surface of the upper rocks forms what is called the plains. This is covered with pure sand through which the rocks appear everywhere and bears scanty grass round, hard and in tufts, with a few shrubs and thistles of 1 to 5 feet high. Course N. 5 E. j m., N. 5 W. ft m. The whole is about 350 to 400 feet high. On the ) these rocks finish with this course and are all of deep strata as per the 2 specimens. The rock is rude black rock, often shows from 2 to 3 lines ( ?) in the strata or bed, the same strata almost always inclining to the west'd and sometimes descending in a curve and then as- suming a horizontal line. This strata sometimes 40 feet deep

88 Mr. Thompson passes north through Wallula Gap and reaches the Indian camp at the mouth of Snake river, where he had planted his formal notice on the 9th of July, on his way down the river. Mr. Ross says that on the morning of August 1 4th they found this notice attached to a pole which flew the British flag in the midst of this Indian camp.