community of arrant rogues and freebooters. Their
habitations comported with their circumstances, and were superior to any
the travellers had yet seen west of the Rocky Mountains. In general, the
dwellings of the savages on the Pacific side of that great barrier were
mere tents and cabins of mats, or skins, or straw, the country being
destitute of timber. In Wish-ram, on the contrary, the houses were built
of wood, with long sloping roofs. The floor was sunk about six feet
below the surface of the ground, with a low door at the gable end,
extremely narrow, and partly sunk. Through this it was necessary to
crawl and then to descend a short ladder. This inconvenient entrance was
probably for the purpose of defense; there were loop-holes also under
the eaves, apparently for the discharge of arrows. The houses were
large, generally containing two or three families. Immediately within
the door were sleeping places, ranged along the walls, like berths in
a ship; and furnished with pallets of matting. These extended along one
half of the building; the remaining half was appropriated to the storing
of dried fish.

The trading operations of the inhabitants of Wish-ram had given them
a wider scope of information, and rendered their village a kind of
headquarters of intelligence. Mr. Hunt was able, therefore, to collect
more distinct tidings concerning the settlement of Astoria and its
affairs. One of the inhabitants had been at the trading post established
by David Stuart on the Oakinagan, and had picked up a few words of
English there. From him, Mr. Hunt gleaned various particulars about that
establishment, as well as about the general concerns of the enterprise.
Others repeated the name of Mr. M'Kay, the partner who perished in
the massacre on board of the Tonquin, and gave some account of that
melancholy affair. They said Mr. M'Kay was a chief among the white men,
and had built a great house at the mouth of the river, but had left
it and sailed away in a large ship to the northward where he had
been attacked by bad Indians in canoes. Mr. Hunt was startled by this
intelligence, and made further inquiries. They informed him that the
Indians had lashed their canoes to the ship, and fought until they
killed him and all his people. This is another instance of the clearness
with which intelligence is transmitted from mouth to mouth among the
Indian tribes. These tidings, though but partially credited by Mr. Hunt,
filled his mind wi