couver in the days of his glory, 300 slaves would precede him, and he used to carpet the ground that he had to traverse, from the main entrance of the fort to the Governor's door, several hundred feet, with beaver and otter skins.
After a long and pleasant walk we returned to Mr. Birnie's home, where dinner was waiting for us: the open air had sharpened all appetites and we did honor to the dishes accordingly. I blessed the table and said grace, as is the custom in America whenever there is a priest among the guests, even in a Protestant household, as was the case here.
On the 2d I set out in a canoe for Fort Vancouver to notify Governor McLoughlin and Reverend Mr. Blanchet' of our arrival. Here again it was Mr. Birnie who had the kindness to furnish me a large Chinook canoe, manned by nine Indians. He himself remained on the vessel until it was past all the dangerous places of the bay, and he furnished a pilot to Vancouver, which is thirty leagues from Astoria. Favored by a good wind, and with two sheets spread for sails, we reached our destination toward evening on the following day. Imagine my joy and happiness at finding there the worthy Mr. McLoughlin, to whom our mountain mission is under so great obligations. I did not find Mr. Blanchet, as he was at the mission of St. Paul on the Willamette: a messenger was at once dispatched to him. But I had the further pleasure of finding the excellent and Reverend Mr. Demers, of whom I have often spoken in my letters. He was making his plans to start soon for Canada, in search of nuns: you may judge of the joy that otir arrival caused him. On the 5th I went down the Columbia to take to the ship the good news I had received at the fort. The news from the mountains was very consol
(4) Reverend Francis Norbert Blanchet, appointed from the Montreal district to the charge of the Oregon Mission in 1838, with the title of vicar-general.