dried salmon,
and they had great quantities of fresh salmon trout of an excellent
flavor, taken at the mouth of the Umatilla; of which the travellers
obtained a most acceptable supply.

Finding that the road was on the north side of the river, Mr. Hunt
crossed, and continued five or six days travelling rather slowly down
along its banks, being much delayed by the straying of the horses, and
the attempts made by the Indians to steal them. They frequently passed
lodges, where they obtained fish and dogs. At one place the natives had
just returned from hunting, and had brought back a large quantity of
elk and deer meat, but asked so high a price for it as to be beyond the
funds of the travellers, so they had to content themselves with dog's
flesh. They had by this time, however, come to consider it very choice
food, superior to horse flesh, and the minutes of the expedition speak
rather exultingly now and then, of their having made a famous "repast,"
where this viand happened to be unusually plenty.

They again learnt tidings of some of the scattered members of the
expedition, supposed to be M'Kenzie, M'Lellan, and their men, who had
preceded them down the river, and had overturned one of their canoes, by
which they lost many articles. All these floating pieces of intelligence
of their fellow adventurers, who had separated from them in the heart of
the wilderness, they received with eager interest.

The weather continued to be temperate, marking the superior softness of
the climate on this side of the mountains. For a great part of the
time, the days were delightfully mild and clear, like the serene days
of October on the Atlantic borders. The country in general, in the
neighborhood of the river, was a continual plain, low near the water,
but rising gradually; destitute of trees, and almost without shrubs
or plants of any kind, excepting a few willow bushes. After travelling
about sixty miles, they came to where the country became very hilly and
the river made its way between rocky banks and down numerous rapids.
The Indians in this vicinity were better clad and altogether in more
prosperous condition than those above, and, as Mr. Hunt thought, showed
their consciousness of ease by something like sauciness of manner. Thus
prosperity is apt to produce arrogance in savage as well as in civilized
life. In both conditions, man is an animal that will not bear pampering.

From these people Mr. Hunt for the first time received