LIEUTENANT HOWISON REPORT ON OREGON, 1846 9
deliver her to any other than a United States officer. She was fast going- to pieces, and I thought it good policy to sell her for the benefit of the government, particularly as the man who purchased did so with the intention of repairing her, to be used as a pilot boat ; she brought $150. It would have required as much more to repair her, and I was only anxious she should sell for enough to make the purchaser take care of her and keep her employed.
Being under orders to come out of the river by the 1st day of September, my explorations were necessarily very limited, mak- ing the best use of our time. Many interesting portions of the country were still unvisited, which I greatly regret; for al- though Captain Wilkes in 1841, and other travellers since, have given very comprehensive descriptions of the country, so rapid are the developments made of its productions and re- sources by the large annual emigration of inhabitants, that a statistical account two years old may be considered out of date. Preparations were, of course, made to comply fully with orders.
The American barque Toulon, bound to the Sandwich is- lands, and now attempting to go down the river, had required the services of the old Indian, who acted as pilot, which left me entirely dependent on the lead, and a boat ahead, to feel my way through a devious channel of nearly 100 miles hi extent. I had not, nor could I procure, a map giving even an outline of the general direction of the stream. Thus unpro- vided, I left Fort Vancouver at daylight of August 23d. Three or four miles below the fort, I found the barque Toulon badly aground on a sand bar. I anchored abreast of her and sent men and boats to her assistance, but the current was strong, and it became 'necessary to unlade part of her cargo; so, nearly three days were consumed in relieving her. This, and the sub- sequent tediousness of the voyage down against constant head winds, made it the 8th of September when I anchored in Baker's bay. The 9th was devoted to observations on the bar and preparations for crossing it. On the 10th, in the after-
