ud. During his first summer on the waters of the Columbia he made
Fort Vancouver his headquarters, making excursions from this Hudson Bay
post in every direction. On one of his long trips he saw in an Indian's
pouch some of the seeds of a new species of pine which he learned were
obtained from a very large tree far to the southward of the Columbia. At
the end of the next summer, returning to Fort Vancouver after the
setting in of the winter rains, bearing in mind the big pine he had
heard of, he set out on an excursion up the Willamette Valley in search
of it; and how he fared, and what dangers and hardships he endured, are
best told in his own journal, from which I quote as follows:

_October_ 26, 1826. Weather dull. Cold and cloudy. When my
friends in England are made acquainted with my travels I fear they
will think I have told them nothing but my miseries.... I quitted
my camp early in the morning to survey the neighboring country,
leaving my guide to take charge of the horses until my return in
the evening. About an hour's walk from the camp I met an Indian,
who on perceiving me instantly strung his bow, placed on his left
arm a sleeve of raccoon skin and stood on the defensive. Being
quite sure that conduct was prompted by fear and not by hostile
intentions, the poor fellow having probably never seen such a being
as myself before, I laid my gun at my feet on the ground and waved
my hand for him to come to me, which he did slowly and with great
caution. I then made him place his bow and quiver of arrows beside
my gun, and striking a light gave him a smoke out of my own pipe
and a present of a few beads. With my pencil I made a rough sketch
of the cone and pine tree which I wanted to obtain, and drew his
attention to it, when he instantly pointed with his hand to the
hills fifteen or twenty miles distant towards the south; and when I
expressed my intention of going thither, cheerfully set out to
accompany me. At midday I reached my long-wished-for pines, and
lost no time in examining them and endeavoring to collect specimens
and seeds. New and strange things seldom fail to make strong
impressions, and are therefore frequently over-rated; so that, lest
I should never see my friends in England to inform them verbally of
this most beautiful and immensely grand tree, I shall here state
the dimensions of the largest I c