hungry to listen to us. It was a pleasant day, and under the circumstances doubly beautiful, and certainly, to me, one of the most agreeable and consoling of all my long wanderings. I gave baptism to several new-born infants, and afterward distributed medals, scapulars and chaplets among such as needed them, and fish-hooks among the young men - an article very necessary and very much sought after among them. All day long they were coming to share their fish with us, and offered us big strings of fine spotted mountain trout (salmo fario). Others brought us potatoes, onions, carrots, turnips and fruits of various sorts, which they seemed to have in abundance, the fruit of their own industry.
I left St. Ignatius' Mission on the 8th of September. VAre were one day reaching Clark's Fork and three days going clown the valley of this river, as far as the mouth of the river St. Regis and Borgia. Here we were kept by rain until the 16th. On that day we crossed the RegisBorgia thirty-seven times. Different kinds of pine and fir abound in this valley. The undergrowth, in the mountainous part that we traversed, is very thick, and consists principally of a sort of bush with velvety leaves, which, when properly dried, yield an aromatic tea, very agreeable and beneficial. We arrived at the summit of the Coeur d'Alene Mountains about four in the afternoon. This is called Sohon2 Pass and its elevation is 5,100 feet above sea-level.
Along the river in the Coeur d'Alene valley the forests are extremely thick, and one cannot but admire the astonishing thickness and height of the pines and cedars. I measured several of these giants of the forest, the circumference of which was five, six and even seven fathoms. In the shade of the cedars the Lychnis of Canada (or Asaron Canadensis) grows in profusion; it is a medical plant, of
2 Over the Cceur d'Alene Mountains between the headwaters of the Regis-Borgia and the Cceur d'Alene river. Named for Captain Mullan's guide in his explorations of this country, 1858-1862.