Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 17.djvu/264



256 JASON LEE

was after. He immediately returned to his lodge and sent a man for the horse and took me into the lodge and asked me if I would have something to eat. He wished to try my skill in medicine and presented a sick girl, probably afflicted with headache. I gave him some camphor, with directions how to use it. He accompanied me to our camp and the Kioos chief and others came to see us off, Mr. Shepard and I before the rest, and gave us a hearty shake of the hand and called us friends. The fire for a few days has been raging in the woods upon the mountains a few miles distant, and the atmosphere was so filled with smoke that we could see but a short distance, and was painful to the eyes. The two chiefs knowing [that] we should be likely to miss our [route] followed us and rode with us some miles until we reached the point where there wab no danger of missing the way and then took their leave. Is this not an interposition of Providence? Who would have supposed that these Indians would have shown such kindness and generosity towards strangers on account of their religion ? And yet this is the cause of their taking so much interest more in us than in others. They have prayer on Sunday fore- noon, and run horses and dance in the a. m. [p. m.]. In short their religion amounts to nothing more than a sort of Catholic mummery taught them by the traders. May He who teaches us as never man was taught soon teach them the way of life and salvation opened up by the great atonement made on Calvary. We have been nine hours ascending and descend- ing one mountain, the highest and most difficult by far that we have crossed. Found some beautiful springs of water. Camp in the woods almost without grass.

Saturday, August 30. Started at 6 o'clock and ascended a worse mountain than yesterday. It was with great difficulty that the cows could get up at all, but we at last reached the summit and traveled most of the day on the ridge, but we lost the view of the scenery, the smoke being so dense that we could see but a few yards. Many green pitch pine trees were burned down, and the fire was yet consuming them. The grass is mostly