Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 17.djvu/351



KLAMATH EXPLORING EXPEDITION 343

viz. : Nathan Scholfield, R. W. Larrett, and E. Fletcher. The boats were then to be manned as follows: For boat No. 1, H. Winchester, captain; R. Coffin, lieutenant; N. Scholfield, engineer ; and C. S. Eigenbrodt, A. A. Brinsmade, P. Flanagan and W. E. Evans. For boat No. 2, C. T. Hopkins, 1st lieutenant commandant ; R. W. Larrett, engineer ; Dr. H. H. Beals, A. Davies, I. T. Turney, W. E. Broadbent, R. S. Philpot, Dr. J. W. Drew and Charles McDowell. For boat No. 3, Dr. H. J. Payne, second lieutenant commandant; E. Fletcher, engineer, S. E. Smith, Dr. E. R. Fiske, Welbert W. Stevens, C. Lein- f elder, I. Magrannary, and C. T. Ward. It was also arranged that Capt. Lyman with part of his crew, consisting of Mr. Peter Mackie, 1st mate; Charles Moore, 2nd mate; Charles Brown, J. Anderson, I. M. Dodge and James Cook, should remain on board of the schooner at all times to protect her during the absence of the party. They first made the Oregon coast at Cape Orford on the morning of Sunday, July 21st, and by a free northwest wind they sailed down the coast, when at about six miles from the cape several fires were lighted simultaneously on the approach of the schooner in the vicinity. These fires were supposed to be signals from the Indians on shore to other distant members of their tribe as a notification of the approach of a vessel. A boat was lowered here with a crew to examine the shore for locating the entrance of the river. They soon returned, however, reporting no river, but a village of several Indian houses on the shore. Capt. Rufus Coffin, the only person on board who had ever seen the mouth of the river and who acted as pilot, did not distinctly recollect its locality. Upon sailing further down the coast he was soon able to identify it, but being impressed with the conviction that it was very difficult and even dangerous to attempt its entrance except at the most favorable time of tide, especially with the strong wind which prevailed, a whaleboat was dis- patched in charge of Mr. Mackie, the first mate and four sailors, in order to examine the entrance and determine the state of the tide, while the schooner was lying off and on. In