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/194

 would have greatly alleviated my sufferings; but my ignorance of such as were wholesome and nutritious prevented me from tasting any thing with which I had not been previously acquainted. On the day before my arrival, my clothes, &c. had been sold by auction; all of which were however returned by the purchasers. After a few days' rest and proper attention I became nearly renovated in health, and before the end of a fortnight every trace of my painful privations had disappeared.

To such as may feel disposed to doubt the accuracy of the foregoing statement, I beg leave to say that Mr. Clarke, who then commanded the party, and who is now a member of the Hudson's-Bay Company, and the other gentlemen who were with him, are still alive; and although they cannot vouch for the truth of each day's detail, they can for my absence and the extent of my sufferings, as evinced by my emaciated appearance on rejoining them. I can with truth assert that I have rather softened down than overcharged the statement, and therefore trust my candid readers will acquit me of any intention to practise on their credulity. Mine, however, was not a solitary case; and the sceptical no doubt will be more surprised to learn that a few