propositions first, to leave Mr. Fields to his fate and proceed,
Fields voting "aye" and the others "no;" second, to divide the
party equally and go on, Fields voting " no " with the rest, because
he believed a division of the party would cause the destruction of
both parts. * I shall always honor Fields as the most de
voted and illustrious patriot I have ever met.
The party turned back the following morning, and by forced marches overtook the mounted division in a couple of days, returning with them to their homes, and all hope of land communication with California was abandoned. The only vessel leaving the Columbia river during the winter was the English bark Janet, bound to the Sand wich Islands, nor was there any American vessel in the river before March. The colonists were left, really as rhe torically, to fight their own battles. How they performed this duty will be seen in the following chapters.
