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/165

 westward, over which we had to cross. In some places the path led over steep and slippery rocks, and was so narrow, that the horses which were loaded with large bales could not pass without running the risk of falling down the craggy precipices; and the men were obliged to unload them and place the bales singly on the top of the packsaddles. After we had passed as we imagined the most dangerous part of the pathway, and had commenced our descent into the plain, one of the horses missed his footing, and rolled down a declivity of two hundred feet, loaded with two cases of axes: the cases were broken, and their contents scattered about the rocks; but, with the exception of his sides, the skin of which was scraped off, the horse received no material injury. We arrived on the north side of these hills about eleven o'clock, when we stopped to breakfast on the banks of the river, which here turns to the eastward. We resumed our journey at two o'clock, and suffered severely during the day, from the intense heat, and the want of water. The country was a continued plain, with sandy and rocky bottom, mixed with loose tufts of grass. About seven in the evening we reached a cool stream, on the banks of which were a profusion of wild cherries, currants, and