hauling her up on the beach and securing her, we took our provisions, blankets, and guns, and made for the house.

In a few moments, a large fire was blazing, and we commenced cooking our suppers and drying our clothes, which had become completely saturated by the fog.

After eating our frugal meal, we wrapped ourselves in our blankets, and laid down alongside of the fire and were soon in a sound sleep; from which we were aroused about mid-night by a terrific scream from L and the cry of 'A panther! a panther!' Every one was on his feet in an instant, with his rifle or pistol in hand, crying, 'Where? where?' in a terrified voice. L in the meantime, was sitting on the ground, holding on to his blanket with the grasp of a vice, as if he was trying to crush something to atoms. He was a perfect picture of fright; his face covered with blood, his eyes almost out of his head, his dishevelled hair, and, in fact, his whole appearance presented a picture that a painter might have made his fortune from.

Won't some of you help me to kill it?' he asked, in a terrified voice, as the animal under his blanket began to move, notwithstanding the tightness of his grasp.

In a moment, our pistols were cocked, and we commenced turning down the blanket very cautiously, so that it should not escape, and that we might catch it alive, if possible. In a few moments the animal was visible; and with one accord we sent up a shout of laughter, louder than was ever heard in that place before.

A poor cat left by the Indians had returned from the woods, and not seeing us, (our fire having grown dim,) had jumped from the roof of the house down in L -'s face, and he, awakening with a start, had caught her in his blanket before she could make her escape. His fears had magnified her into a panther, and were the cause of all the disturbance. After laughing at him for being frightened by a cat, we again composed ourselves to sleep, and slept soundly until late the next morning. When we awoke, the sun was shining brightly. The fog of the preceding day, that had covered the landscape like the curtain of a panorama, was now lifted up, and the beauties of the scenery were disclosed in a most charming manner. After eating our breakfast, we replaced our traps in the boat, and shoved her into the water; and in a few moments the lusty strokes of our oarsmen were propelling our little boat along at the rate of five or six miles an hour.

On looking around us to see our exact whereabouts, we found that we had encamped near Pillar Rock, (a singular rock, that rises like a column from the mid-channel of the Columbia,) just twelve miles from Astoria.

The scenery on the north side of the river, as far as the eye can reach, is high and rugged. A succession of high hills, covered with immense forests of spruce and hemlock, with here and there an oak and cedar patch, extend along the north shore, and add an air of grandeur to the scenery around. In the middle of the river are a number of small, marshy islands, covered with flocks of wild-fowl, which, as we darted round the points of the islands, would rise from their feeding grounds in countless numbers, and completely deafen us with their quacking and screaming. The river is between ten and twelve miles wide along here,

and for miles and miles it was covered with wild-fowl of almost every variety. The beautiful and graceful swan, the wild-goose, the brant, ducks of every kind, and other wild-fowl, too numerous to mention, are here. It is a perfect elysium for sportsmen.

In a few hours we arrived at Mr. Burney's landing, and making our boat fast to the shore, we commenced climbing up to his house, which is situated on a piece of table-land, about two hundred feet above the river. In a little time, we reached the top; and after giving orders for our dinner, we amused ourselves by rambling over his farm, and in admiring the scenery of the river as seen from this elevation.

While we were here, the little steamer Columbia passed, on her way up the river to Portland. She is the first steam-boat that has ever made regular trips up and down the Columbia river. She is but little better than the first steamer that broke the waters of the Hudson; and is, as she was, the fore-runner of a large steam-navigation. We were soon called to the house, where a smoking dinner of salmon and potatoes awaited us, and in a few moments we were hard at it, every one knowing that the less said, on such an occasion, the better. After eating our dinner, we paid our bill and descended to the boat, and were soon on our way; having determined to stop that night at a saw-mill about fifteen miles farther up.

As the sun began to sink toward the west, a heavy fog came over the river and soon wet us to the skin; but we still kept on our way, no wise daunted; and after two hours' hard pulling, one of the men cried out that he heard the sound of saws at the mill, and away we went toward the place from which the sound proceeded. As we neared the place, we found we were mistaken, and that the sound came from an Indian lodge; though what they were making such a noise about, none of us could tell. We however determined to land, and see if we could find out from them where we were, as it had grown so dark that it was impossible for us to see the land one hundred yards away from the boat.

As soon as the boat touched the shore, I jumped out, and groped my way through the bushes toward the house; where, on arriving, I was saluted by twenty or thirty curs rushing out and barking at me in a furious manner, causing C and one or two men to rush up from the boat to rescue me, as they supposed from the noise made that they were eating me.

After driving the dogs away, we searched for the door, and after a great deal of trouble, succeeded in finding it and effecting an entrance. Here the scene beggared description. Seated round the room in the form of a circle, were thirty of the most horribly ugly Indians I ever beheld in Oregon. A log was placed before each one of them, on which they beat an accompaniment to a song that an old hag was singing, as she danced round the fire in the centre of the circle. Two or three men were on the outside of the circle, poking furiously against the roof with long poles, and joining in the chorus of the song, which was something like this: 'To 'lada a-tora, to lada a-tora, to lada a-tora―ough!' Every now and then, a woman would rise and give a yell that would have frightened a timid man to death, if he had not seen whence it came. The dogs would bark and yell simultaneously with the Indians; and altogether, it

beat any thing I had ever read of. The witch-scene that Tam O'Shanter saw was nothing to it.

After waiting a few moments to see if they would not stop, and finding that they had no such intentions, I made my way toward an old Indian who was contemplating the scene from his bunk with evident satisfaction, and asked him what was the meaning of the singing and acting. He looked very seriously at me, and replied that they were mommuking medicine,' or, rendered in English, they were invoking the DEITY to cure some of their sick by expelling the Devil from them.

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The Indians of Oregon believe that when they are sick, a little devil about as large as their thumb has entered in them, and is in the part affected; and the only remedies they apply are prayers and songs to the GOOD DEITY.

Having found out from him that the saw-mills were but two miles farther up the river, we returned to our boat, and left them in disgust. In a little time we arrived at the saw-mills, where we remained until morning. Early the next morning we jumped in our boat, and, assisted by a fair wind, speedily made our way up the river. The view of the land on either side of us was marred by a dense fog, accompanied by a drizzling rain, making it very uncomfortable for us.

This day we reached about thirty miles farther up, and not being able to find a house where we could rest and get shelter for the night, we landed, and built a tent with our boat-sails and some blankets, which sheltered us somewhat from the driving rain; we however kept ourselves warm by the large fire that we kept burning all night. As one side of our bodies would get wet, we would turn over and expose the dry side to the weather while the other was warming; thus passing the night between fire and water. As the morning approached, the rains ceased; and, as the sun rose above the hills, the fog rose from the river and gradually ascended toward the clouds, disclosing the scenery of the river for a long distance up and down.

The scenery of the Columbia is much alike, though not enough so to make it appear monotonous. High hills, covered with dense forests, rise gradually from the river to the height of two and three hundred feet, and in some places as high again. In a few places along the river, high basaltic rocks rise boldly out of the water to the height of two hundred feet, and reminded me of the Palisades on the Hudson river.

Pieces of prairie and marsh-land are scattered about between the hills, and are almost all occupied by the settlers, who are fast locating themselves on every available piece of ground near the river. The sound of the wood-chopper's axe' is heard on every hand, and, in a few years, places that are now the hiding-haunts of wild animals will be under cultivation, and will be classed among the most delightful places on this 'Pacific slope.'

On jumping into our boat and pulling up the river a short distance, we were surprised and chagrined to find we had passed the night within a few hundred yards of a fine, comfortable-looking farm-house; the fog of the preceding evening having hid it from our view.

The brightness of the day, and the prospect of getting within a few miles of Portland by night, however, cheered us, and the men gave way

with a will; and about noon we arrived at 'St. Helen's,' an embryo city, laid off on the south bank of the Columbia, where the lower mouth of the 'Willamette' river empties into it.

The situation is excellent for a large city, and the proprietors are sanguine in regard to its future greatness. We landed here and ate our dinner, after which we proceeded on our way until night, when we arrived within a few miles of the main entrance to the 'Willamette,' where, espying the farm-house of an old friend, we shoved our boat on shore, and walked up to his house.

He was astonished and delighted to see us, and after shaking hands with all the family, (some thirteen in number,) we sat down and rested ourselves while the old lady and her daughters were preparing supper.

They seemed to be adepts in the culinary department, for in a very few moments we were invited to take our seats at the table.

We needed no pressing to do this, the steam arising from the savory viands having whetted our appetites to the extremest point; and we were soon at work with a will that none but a hungry man knows any thing about.

I do not think I ever enjoyed a meal before as I did this. The most of us had eaten nothing but salmon and potatoes for a week past, and the spare-ribs, cabbages, and other dishes that constituted our supper, were appreciated, perhaps, better than they would have been at any other time, or under different circumstances. After eating our supper, the old lady cleared off the table and set it in the corner. C

L

and

then produced their flutes and played, while the rest of us joined

in a dance.

At a late hour, we wrapped ourselves in our blankets, and were soon asleep; from which we did not awake until the sun was high on his morning course. We then bade our friends good-bye, and started for Portland; where we arrived in a few hours, and found numerous friends waiting to receive us, having learned from the captain of the steamer that we were on the way up.

Our boat-men here left us, and we concluded to remain two or three days, and then visit Fort Vancouver on our way down. Within one year's time, Portland had increased three-fold in size and population. The axe had been busy in the woods, and where the forest stood one year before, a number of fine dwelling-houses and stores were erected, and a number of others were in process of erection, giving the town a very flourishing aspect. It bids fair to be the metropolis of Oregon.

On the morning of the third day after our arrival, we bade our friends good-bye, and pulled down the river on our way to Vancouver. We reached there about two o'clock P. M., and after securing our boat to the beach, proceeded to the house of Captain I-, of the army, whose acquaintance we had formed the year before. After exchanging our travelling garments for others of finer material and appearance, we entered the drawing-room among the ladies. There every thing put me in mind of home. His daughter Kate, the belle of Oregon, at my request took up her guitar, and played and sang some songs. thought, as she sat on the low stool, with her guitar in her lap, and a strain of melody pouring from her lips, that I had never seen such a

I

lovely being. For four years I had been absent from my home, and the only vocal music that I had heard was the hoarse voices of sailors, singing on board of my vessel. The music that I now listened to, sweet at any time, was rendered trebly so by the recollections it stirred up within me. It was late that night ere I could get to sleep, and angels visited me in my dreams, and sung pæans to lull my slumbers.

The next morning, we strolled around among the buildings of the Hudson Bay Company, and visited the Governor, and others connected with the Company.

Early the next morning, we started for home, where we arrived in three days, well pleased with our trip up the Columbia.

MONTAGUE.