inevitably be blockaded by the British; we concluded to abandon the
establishment in the ensuing spring, or at latest, in the beginning of
the summer. We did not communicate these resolutions to the men, lest
they should in consequence abandon their labor: but we discontinued,
from that moment, our trade with the natives, except for provisions; as
well because we had no longer a large stock of goods on hand, as for the
reason that we had already more furs than we could carry away overland.

So long as we expected the return of the vessel, we had served out to
the people a regular supply of bread: we found ourselves in consequence,
very short of provisions, on the arrival of Mr. M'Kenzie and his men.
This augmentation in the number of mouths to be fed compelled us to
reduce the ration of each man to four ounces of flour and half a pound
of dried fish _per diem_: and even to send a portion of the hands to
pass the rest of the winter with Messrs. Wallace and Halsey on the
Willamet, where game was plenty.

Meanwhile, the sturgeon having begun to enter the river, I left, on the
13th of February, to fish for them; and on the 15th sent the first
boat-load to the establishment; which proved a very timely succor to the
men, who for several days had broken off work from want of sufficient
food. I formed a camp near Oak Point, whence I continued to despatch
canoe after canoe of fine fresh fish to Astoria, and Mr. M'Dougal sent
to me thither all the men who were sick of scurvy, for the
re-establishment of their health.

On the 20th of March, Messrs. Reed and Seton, who had led a part of our
men to the post on the Willamet, to subsist them, returned to Astoria,
with a supply of dried venison. These gentlemen spoke to us in glowing
terms of the country of the Willamet as charming, and abounding in
beaver, elk, and deer; and informed us that Messrs. Wallace and Halsey
had constructed a dwelling and trading house, on a great prairie, about
one hundred and fifty miles from the confluence of that river with the
Columbia. Mr. M'Kenzie and his party quitted us again on the 31st, to
make known the resolutions recently adopted at Astoria, to the gentlemen
who were wintering in the interior.

On the 11th of April two birch-bark canoes, bearing the British flag,
arrived at the factory. They were commanded by Messrs. J.G. M'Tavish and
Joseph Laroque, and manned by nineteen Canadian _voyageurs_. They landed
on a point of land under the guns