Page:The Columbia river , or, Scenes and adventures during a residence of six years on the western side of the Rocky Mountains among various tribes of Indians hitherto unknown (Volume 1).djvu/137

 A council of war was then called, in which it was arranged that five officers should remain at each end of the portage, and the remainder, with twenty-five men, be stationed at short distances from each other. Its length was between three and four miles, and the path was narrow and dangerous; one part greatly obstructed by slippery rocks; and another ran through a thick wood, from which a skilful enemy could have attacked us with advantage. We only made one half of the portage the first day, and encamped near an old village; with the river in front; a deep wood in the rear; at one end a natural intrenchment of rocks; and at the other a barrier formed by the canoes and bateaux. The whole brigade was divided into three watches, with five officers to each.

In the course of the day, in the most gloomy part of the wood, we passed a cemetery, materially different from those belonging to the lower tribes. There were nine shallow excavations, closely covered with pine and cedar boards, and the top boards sloping to let off the rain. Each place was about seven feet square, and between five and six feet in height. They contained numbers of dead bodies; some in a state of greater or less decomposition, and a few