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348

SOCRATES SCHOLFIELD

through his flannel shirt by an Indian to get at articles car- ried at his breast inside of the shirt. To one of the Indians who had accompanied the party and appeared to be more reli- able and friendly than the others, many presents had been given. He was presented with a good suit of clothes, with which he was much pleased, and on the return to the vessel the same evening he was allowed to stay on board, and in the morning while the party were at breakfast, the Indian being in the cabin, was observed to take a bowie knife from one of the berths and secrete it in his clothes. He was in consequence immediately hustled out and sent on shore. It was thus proved to those most charitably disposed to the Indians that no confi- dence whatever could be placed in any of them, and after this the Indians were only allowed to come to the vessel at even- ing for the purpose of trade. On the following day the party were employed in taking soundings in the harbor and survey- ing locations for a townsite consisting of half a square mile located on each side of the river.

The explorations thus far had proved unsatisfactory in relation to the river, and in regard to the development of the country in the interior, the river having proved to be smaller and more difficult of access than the explorers had a right to anticipate from its representation on the maps, and by travelers who had crossed the Klamath and Rogue rivers in the interior, and had represented each of these streams some sixty or one hundred miles in the interior as being as large or larger than this river proved to be near its mouth ; and moreover this river was found by the surveyed courses taken to run from a direction averaging northeast by east, as far as the explora- tion extended, instead of from a southeasterly direction, as universally represented on the maps ; it was therefore con- cluded that their explorations should be extended up and down the coast, hoping to find some larger river in the vicin- ity. For this purpose Lieutenants Hopkins and Payne, Mr. Fletcher, Mr. Eigenbrodt, Dr. Fiske, Dr. Drew and three others were dispatched down the coast. They started on