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/90

 graced the fair form of humanity. The only intelligence we could obtain from them was, that the people in the barge were white like ourselves, and had a house on shore. A few minutes afterwards it came alongside, and dissipated all our fearful dreams of murder, &c., and we had the delightful, the inexpressible pleasure of shaking hands with Messrs. Duncan M'Dougall and Donald M'Lennan; the former a partner, and the latter a clerk of the Company, with eight Canadian boatmen. After our congratulations were over, they informed us, that on receiving intelligence the day before from the Indians that a ship was off the river, they came down from the fort, a distance of twelve miles, to Cape Disappointment, on which they hoisted the flag we had seen, and set fire to several trees to serve in lieu of a lighthouse.

The tide was now making in, and as Mr. Rhodes had returned from placing the buoys, Mr. M'Lennan, who was well acquainted with the channel, took charge of the ship as pilot; and at half-past two we crossed the bar, on which we struck twice without sustaining any injury; shortly after which we dropped anchor in Baker's Bay, after a tedious voyage of six months and twenty-two days. Mr. M'Dougall