us a few days since on horseback; one of whom appeared to be a man of
influence, and harangued the Indians on our arrival. After smoking with
the Indians, we formed a camp at the point where the two rivers unite,
near to which we found some driftwood, and were supplied by our two old
chiefs with the stalks of willows and some small bushes for fuel.

"We had scarcely fixed the camp and got the fires prepared, when a chief
came from the Indian camp about a quarter of a mile up the Columbia, at
the head of nearly two hundred men. They formed a regular procession,
keeping time to the music, or, rather, noise of their drums, which
they accompanied with their voices; and as they advanced, they ranged
themselves in a semicircle around us, and continued singing for some
time. We then smoked with them all, and communicated, as well as we
could by signs, our friendly intentions towards every nation, and our
joy at finding ourselves surrounded by our children. After this we
proceeded to distribute presents among them, giving the principal chief
a large medal, a shirt, and a handkerchief; to the second chief, a medal
of a smaller size; and to a third, who had come down from some of the
upper villages, a small medal and a handkerchief. This ceremony being
concluded, they left us; but in the course of the afternoon several of
them returned, and remained with us till a late hour. After they had
dispersed, we proceeded to purchase provisions, and were enabled to
collect seven dogs, to which some of the Indians added small presents of
fish, and one of them gave us twenty pounds of fat dried horse-flesh."

The explorers were still in the country which is now the State of
Washington, at a point where the counties of Franklin, Yakima, and Walla
Walla come together, at the junction of the Snake and the Columbia. We
quote now from the journal:--

"From the point of junction the country is a continued plain, low near
the water, from which it rises gradually, and the only elevation to be
seen is a range of high country running from northeast to southwest,
where it joins a range of mountains from the southwest, and is on the
opposite side about two miles from the Columbia. There is on this plain
no tree, and scarcely any shrubs, except a few willow-bushes; even of
smaller plants there is not much more than the prickly-pear, which is
in great abundance, and is even more thorny and troublesome than any
we have yet seen. During this time the pr