Description of Tongue Point.--A Trip to the _Willamet_.--Arrival of
W. Hunt in the Brig Pedlar.--Narrative of the Loss of the Ship
Lark.--Preparations for crossing the Continent.
The new proprietors of our establishment, being dissatisfied with the
site we had chosen, came to the determination to change it; after
surveying both sides of the river, they found no better place than the
head-land which we had named Tongue point. This point, or to speak more
accurately, perhaps, this cape, extends about a quarter of a mile into
the river, being connected with the main-land by a low, narrow neck,
over which the Indians, in stormy weather, haul their canoes in passing
up and down the river; and terminating in an almost perpendicular rock,
of about 250 or 300 feet elevation. This bold summit was covered with a
dense forest of pine trees; the ascent from the lower neck was gradual
and easy; it abounded in springs of the finest water; on either side it
had a cove to shelter the boats necessary for a trading establishment.
This peninsula had truly the appearance of a huge tongue. Astoria had
been built nearer the ocean, but the advantages offered by Tongue point
more than compensated for its greater distance. Its soil, in the rainy
season, could be drained with little or no trouble; it was a better
position to guard against attacks on the part of the natives, and less
exposed to that of civilized enemies by sea or land in time of war.
All the hands who had returned from the interior, added to those who
were already at the Fort, consumed, in an incredibly short space of time
the small stock of provisions which had been conveyed by the Pacific Fur
Company to the Company of the Northwest. It became a matter of
necessity, therefore, to seek some spot where a part, at least, could be
sent to subsist. With these views I left the fort on the 7th February
with a number of men, belonging to the old concern, and who had refused
to enter the service of the new one, to proceed to the establishment on
the _Willamet_ river, under the charge of Mr. Alexander Henry, who had
with him a number of first-rate hunters. Leaving the Columbia to ascend
the _Willamet_, I found the banks on either side of that stream well
wooded, but low and swampy, until I reached the first falls; having
passed which, by making a portage, I commenced ascending a clear but
moderately deep channel, against a swift current. The banks on either
side were bordered with forest-trees, but behind that narrow belt,
diversified with prairie, the landscape was magnificent; the hills were
of moderate elevation, and rising in an amphitheatre. Deer and elk are
found here in great abundance; and the post in charge of Mr. Henry had
been established with a view of keeping constantly there a number of
hunters to prepare dried venison for the use of the factory. On our
arrival at the Columbia, considering the latitude, we had expected
severe winter weather, such as is experienced in the same latitudes
east; but we were soon undeceived; the mildness of the climate never
permitted us to transport fresh provisions from the Willamet to Astoria.
We had not a particle of salt; and the attempts we made to smoke or dry
the venison proved abortive.
Having left the men under my charge with Mr. Henry, I took leave of that
gentleman, and returned. At Oak point I found Messrs. Keith and Pillet
encamped, to pass there the season of sturgeon-fishing. They informed me
that I was to stay with them.
Accordingly I remained at Oak point the rest of the winter, occupied in
trading with the Indians spread all along the river for some 30 or 40
miles above, in order to supply the factory with provisions. I used to
take a boat with four or five men, visit every fishing station, trade
for as much fish as would load the boat, and send her down to the fort.
The surplus fish traded in the interval between the departure and return
of the boat, was cut up, salted and barrelled for future use. The salt
had been recently obtained from a quarter to be presently mentioned.
About the middle of March Messrs. Keith and Pillet both left me and
returned to the fort. Being now alone, I began seriously to reflect on
my position, and it was in this interval that I positively decided to
return to Canada. I made inquiries of the men sent up with the boats for
fish, concerning the preparations for departure, but whether they had
been enjoined secrecy, or were unwilling to communicate, I could learn
nothing of what was doing below.
At last I heard that on the 28th February a sail had appeared at the
mouth of the river. The gentlemen of the N.W. Company at first flattered
themselves that it was the vessel they had so long expected. They were
soon undeceived by a letter from Mr. Hunt, which was brought to the fort
by the Indians of _Baker's bay_. That gentleman had purchased at the
Marquesas islands a brig called _The Pedlar_: it was on that vessel that
he arrived, having for pilot Captain Northrop, formerly commander of
the ship _Lark_. The latter vessel had been outfitted by Mr. Astor, and
despatched from New York, in spite of the blockading squadron, with
supplies for the _ci-devant_ Pacific Fur Company; but unhappily she had
been assailed by a furious tempest and capsized in lat. 16° N., and
three or four hundred miles from the Sandwich Islands. The mate who was
sick, was drowned in the cabin, and four of the crew perished at the
same time. The captain had the masts and rigging cut away, which caused
the vessel to right again, though full of water. One of the hands dived
down to the sail-maker's locker, and got out a small sail, which they
attached to the bowsprit. He dived a second time, and brought up a box
containing a dozen bottles of wine. For thirteen days they had no other
sustenance but the flesh of a small shark, which they had the good
fortune to take, and which they ate raw, and for drink, a gill of the
wine each man _per diem_. At last the trade winds carried them upon the
island of _Tahouraka_, where the vessel went to pieces on the reef. The
islanders saved the crew, and seized all the goods which floated on the
water. Mr. Hunt was then at _Wahoo_, and learned through some islanders
from _Morotoi_, that some Americans had been wrecked on the isle of
_Tahouraka_. He went immediately to take them off, and gave the pilotage
of his own vessel to Captain Northrop.
It may be imagined what was the surprise of Mr. Hunt when he saw Astoria
under the British flag, and passed into stranger hands. But the
misfortune was beyond remedy, and he was obliged to content himself with
taking on board all the Americans who were at the establishment, and who
had not entered the service of the Company of the Northwest. Messrs.
Halsey, Seton, and Farnham were among those who embarked. I shall have
occasion to inform the reader of the part each of them played, and how
they reached their homes.
When I heard that Mr. Hunt was in the river, and knowing that the
overland expedition was to set out early in April, I raised camp at Oak
point, and reached the fort on the 2d of that month. But the brig
_Pedlar_ had that very day got outside the river, after several
fruitless attempts, in one of which she narrowly missed being lost on
the bar.
I would gladly have gone in her, had I but arrived a day sooner. I
found, however, all things prepared for the departure of the canoes,
which was to take place on the 4th. I got ready the few articles I
possessed, and in spite of the very advantageous offers of the gentlemen
of the N.W. Company, and their reiterated persuasions, aided by the
crafty M'Dougal, to induce me to remain, at least one year more, I
persisted in my resolution to leave the country. The journey I was about
to undertake was a long one: it would be accompanied with great fatigues
and many privations, and even by some dangers; but I was used to
privations and fatigues; I had braved dangers of more than one sort; and
even had it been otherwise, the ardent desire of revisiting my country,
my relatives, and my friends, the hope of finding myself, in a few
months, in their midst, would have made me overlook every other
consideration.
I am about, then, to quit the banks of the river Columbia, and conduct
the reader through the mountain passes, over the plains, the forests,
and the lakes of our continent: but I ought first to give him at least
an idea of the manners and customs of the inhabitants, as well as of the
principal productions of the country that I now quit, after a sojourn of
three years. This is what I shall try to do in the following
chapters.[U]
[Footnote U: Some of my readers would, no doubt, desire some scientific
details on the botany and natural history of this country. That is, in
fact, what they ought to expect from a man who had travelled for his
pleasure, or to make discoveries: but the object of my travels was not
of this description; my occupations had no relation with science; and,
as I have said in my preface, I was not, and am not now, either a
naturalist or a botanist.]