lustration: Hobbling the pony.]

For the life of me I could not be sure of the direction of the trail
after all this roaming over the plain at Bobby's heels, but I happened
to take the right course. When the trail was found, there was the saddle
to look for, and this was located with some difficulty.

The sun was high when we started on our journey. A few hundred yards of
travel brought uneasiness, as it was evident that we were not on the
regular trail. Not knowing but this was some cut-off, I went on until
the Columbia River bluff was reached and the great river was in sight,
half a mile distant and several hundred feet lower. Taking a trail down
the bluff that seemed more promising than the wagon tracks, I began to
search for the road at the foot of the bluff, only to find every
semblance of a road gone. I lost more than a half-day's precious time,
and again was thrown into anxiety lest I had missed the long-sought
train.

The next incident that I remember vividly was my attempt to cross the
Columbia, just below the mouth of the Snake River. I had seen but few
Indians on the whole trip and, in fact, the camp I found there on the
bank of the great river was the first I distinctly remember coming upon.
I could not induce the Indians to cross me over; they seemed surly and
unfriendly. Their behavior was so in contrast to that of the Indians on
the Sound that I could not help wondering what it meant. No one, to my
knowledge, lost his life at the hands of the Indians that season, but
the next summer all or nearly all the travelers who ventured into that
country unprotected were murdered.

That night I camped late, opposite Wallula (old Fort Walla Walla), in a
sand storm of great fury. I tethered my pony this time, and rolled
myself up in the blanket, only to find myself fairly buried in the
drifting sand in the morning. It required a great effort to creep out of
the blanket, and an even greater effort to free the blanket from the
accumulated sand. By this time the wind had gone down and comparative
calm prevailed.

[Illustration: I spent two hours calling across the river at the top of
my voice.]

Then came the attempt to make myself heard across the wide river by the
people of the fort. I traveled up and down the river bank for half a
mile or so, in the hope of catching a favorable breeze to carry my voice
to the fort, yet all to no avail. I sat upon the bank hopelessly
discouraged, not knowing what to do. I must