The foremast gentleman saluted me by name, with all the familiarity of an old acquaintance. I returned the gracious salutation, desiring to know whom I had the honor of ad dressing. A small river separated us, and with a smile he said, " Wait until I reach the opposite shore, and then you
will recognize me." He is not a beaver hunter, said I to myself; yet under this tattered garb and slouched hat, I could not easily descry one of the principal members of the Honorable Hudson Bay Company, the worthy and respectable Mr. Ogden.' I had the honor and good fortune of making a voyage with him, and in his own barge, from Colville to Fort Vancouver in 1842; and no one could de
more agreeable society. It would be necessary for you to traverse the desert, to feel yourself insulated, remote from brethren, friends, to conceive the consolation and joy of such an encounter,
Mr. Ogden left England in the month of April last, accompanied by two distinguished [ ? engineer] officers. It was a source of great pleasure to receive recent news from Europe, but the Oregon question appeared to me somewhat alarming. It was neither curiosity nor pleasure that induced these two officers to cross so many desolate regions, and hasten their course toward the mouth of the Columbia. They were invested with orders from their Government to take possession of Cape Disappointment, to hoist the English standard, and erect a fortress for the purpose of sectir
ing the entrance of the river, in case of war.' In the Oregon question, John Bull, without much talk, attains his end, and secures the most important part of the country; whereas Uncle Sam loses himself in words, inveighs and storms! Many years have been passed in debates and useless contention, without one single practical effort to secure
P- 384.
robably their orders in this regard were somewhat elastic Father De Smet met them rettirning eastward the following spring; see p. 542. He there says their names were Ward and Vavasseur.