space to his impressions of them. (2) These breaks in the long journey were most welcome to the weary passengers, who spent all the time on land. On the 27th of May, 1844, they sailed from the harbor of Callao and were not to land again until at the end of their voyage. For a while the winds were favorable and the vessel was soon back on the north side of the Equator. Then they fell into a zone of calms which continued until both passengers and crew were well-nigh exhausted. Father De Smet thus refers to these miserable experiences: "Then an expression of discouragement and melancholy appears on the captain's face and on those of all the crew. It seems as if one were condemned to perish here. A blackened sea all around, a somber sky above, and clouds on the horizon, like impenetrable obstacles, changing form every instant and calling to mind all kinds of phantoms; while the ship, like a weak toy upon a sea in torment, swelling and sinking unceasingly, rocks and rocks until the head and stomach both turn."
Presently they came to regions of better winds and the good ship resumed her speed. It was high time, for her supply of provisions was getting low. Finally, on the 28th of July, amid general exclamations of joy, the longed-for coast of Oregon came into view where the great "River of the West" pours its tribute into the sea. But scarcely had the first outburst of joy passed when the ominous sight of the rolling breakers at the mouth of the river changed all to gloomy foreboding. They were face to face with one of the greatest of maritime dangers, the bar of the Columbia. They had heard of its terrors - what sailor had not? - but it required actual observation to show them in their true light. Here they were at the end of their voyage. For nearly seven months they had been upon the sea and had survived its calms and tempests. A sail of two hours would place them within the mouth of
(2) See p. 420 et seq. of the Letters.