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/85

 passed to Bos'n Tom; who, to do him justice, betrayed none of the softer feelings of national partiality to his countrymen. The moment he gave "the dreadful word" it was followed by a horrid yell; and with a rope's end he laid on the back and shoulders of every poor devil who did not happen to be as alert as he wished, accompanied by a laughable mélange of curses in broken English, and imprecations in his own language.

We had tolerably good easterly breezes, and nothing particular occurred until the 18th, at four, when a man ahead cried out "Land on the weather-bow!" As we were then not more than half way between the islands and the American continent, we eagerly rushed on deck to feast our eyes with a view of our new discovery.

After looking at it for some time very attentively through his glass, the captain pronounced it to be an island, with a dark-brown soil, and apparently destitute of vegetation; and added, with marks of evident exultation, that he always felt certain we should fall in with unknown islands in these latitudes, (about 35° north,) and in that expectation had diverged materially from the usual course of vessels proceeding to the