ort William, Mr. Keith made his appearance
there from Fort George, or Astoria, with the news of the arrival of the
"Isaac Todd" in the Columbia river. This vessel, which was a dull
sailer, had been kept back a long time by contrary winds in doubling
Cape Horn, and had never been able to rejoin the vessels-of-war, her
consorts, from which she was then separated. When she reached the
_rendezvous_ at the island of Juan Fernandez, finding that the three
ships-of-war had sailed, the captain and passengers, as they were short
of provisions, determined to range the coast. Entering the harbor of
_Monterey_,[AI] on the coast of California, in order to obtain
provisions, they learned that there was an English vessel-of-war in
distress, in the bay of _San Francisco_.[AJ] They repaired thither
accordingly, and found, to their great surprise, that it was the sloop
_Raccoon_. This vessel, in getting out of the River Columbia, had
touched on the bar, with such violence, that a part of her false keel
was carried away; and she had with difficulty made San Francisco, with
seven feet of water in the hold, although her crew had been constantly
at the pumps. Captain Black, finding it impossible to repair his ship,
had decided to abandon her, and to cross the continent to the Gulf of
Mexico, thence to reach some of the British West India islands. However,
on the arrival of the Isaac Todd, means were found to careen the vessel
and repair the damage. The Isaac Todd then pursued her voyage and
entered the Columbia on the 17th of April, thirteen months after her
departure from England.

[Footnote AI: A Spanish mission or presidency, in about the 36th degree
of latitude.]

[Footnote AJ: Another Spanish presidency, in about the 38th degree of
latitude, and the first European establishment to be met with south of
the Columbia. [These now obsolete notes are interesting as indicative of
the period when they were written.--ED.]]

CHAPTER XXVIII.

Departure from Fort William.--Navigation on Lake
Superior.--Michipicoton Bay.--Meeting a Canoe.--Batchawainon
Bay.--Arrival at Saut Ste Marie.--Occurrences
there.--Departure.--Lake Huron.--French River.--Lake
Nipissing.--Ottawa River.--Kettle Falls.--Rideau
River.--Long-Saut.--Arrival in Montreal--Conclusion.

On the 20th of July, in the evening, Mr. D. Stuart notified me that he
should start the next morning for Montreal, in a light canoe. I
immediately wrote to m