Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 25.djvu/351

 EARLY DAYS ON THE WILLAMETTE 309 although its level above low water is between 30 and 40 feet. We debarked, passed the range of wood adjoining the river, and came to the open country beyond. * * * The country is pleasant, thinly shaded with oak, pine, hard, alder, soft maple, ash, hazel, etc. At a short distance are ranges of grassy hills where not a stick of wood grows. bank about 100 feet above the river, where level country, thinly shaded by large oaks, extends to the foot of barren hills about three miles distant. On the one side runs a small stream, which would be about 200 yards from the fort; on the other stands a thicket of tall pine, very proper for building. * * * Here the Willamette bends to the S. W ., and Yellow River, whose course is visible, runs N. W. High lands and blue hills are seen in both these directions. We returned by an old Indian path through the woods along the river. * * * In three- quarters of an hour's hard walking we reached our canoe and crossed over. * * * This afternoon three Ameri- can freemen arrived from Mr. Wallace's house of last winter, which they left about nine o'clock this morning by land. From this record we get the location of the second post, and the approximate location of the first house or trading post built by the whites on the Willamette. In locating these two posts we must begin at the end of Alexander Henry's record of his trip, and work back. We will take his entry of Jan. 24, 1814, when he crosses the river to look for a proper place to build the third post: It was two miles up the river from Wm. Henry's house, and on the opposite side. It was on the bank of the river and about 100 feet above it. On one side a small stream 23 200 yards from the fort. The Willamette here bends to the Southwest, and Yellow River 24, whose course is visible, runs Northwest. 28 Hess Creek, on U. S. G. S. map, Hess Branch. 24 Chehalem River.
 * * * * This place is commodiously situated on a
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