While the different changes which might have taken place in the various departments of church and state, and in the families with which we had been acquainted, were passing before our minds, our gallant vessel was bearing us rapidly onward towards our native shores, and on the 30th of April we entered the Gulf Stream in latitude thirty-six degrees north, and found this terror of the American coast in a remarkably quiet state, as it usually is when westerly winds prevail. We were sixteen hours in crossing the stream, and on the 1st day of May found ourselves on soundings, off the Capes of Virginia.

It is a singular fact often eliciting remarks from voyagers, though it is none the less remarkable on that account, that the water in the Gulf Stream is fifteen degrees warmer than it is on either side. Before reaching it from the south, the water for a great distance was full of an aquatic plant called the gulf-weed. As every object at sea commands the notice of the voyager, the sea-weed was observed with no small

interest.

On getting past the stream, in the evening we were permitted to see a grand display of Nature's fire-works. The clouds that hung over the stream in dense masses, were lighted up by the continued flashes of electricity, with the most magnificent illumination. Sometimes it would appear as if the whole ocean in our rear was in one general conflagration.

After leaving the stream we were favored with remarkably pleasant weather and fair winds, and on the morning of the 2d day of May, at three o'clock, we made the lighthouse of Barnegat, on the coast of New Jersey. Soon after daylight we received a New York pilot, at which time our voyage was considered as terminated; making one hundred and two days from Hong Kong. After receiving the pilot, a dense fog enveloped us, through which we had to feel our way, and in the midst of which we were hovering around the entrance to New York Bay. At length the fog was removed by a friendly wind, and at dusk the Leland dropped her

anchor inside of Sandy Hook, and within a stone's cast of the spot where lay the Lausanne the night previous to taking her departure in 1839.

We were detained at the Hook by dense fogs until the 4th of May, when we proceeded up the Bay to New York city, where we landed in safety on the evening of that day.

CHAPTER XVI.

Oregon Territory Its geography - Boundary and extent — Harbors Capes · Face of the country Snow Mountains Rivers Mouth of the Columbia Columbia Bar - Channel - Kinds of fish - Timber Climate - Summer and Clatsop Plains Bottom lands Puget's Middle region - Upper region - Capabilities

Winter
Sound

Fertility of the soil The garden of Oregon of the country.

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THAT portion of the vast extent of country lying west of the Rocky Mountains, which has acquired, by universal consent, the name of Oregon, lies within the following boundaries: Commencing at the north-west corner, in the centre of the Strait of Juan De Fuca, at its mouth, consider the north line as extending along said strait, at an equal distance from the main land on the south, and Vancouver's Island on the north, eastward, the distance of one hundred and twenty miles, thence northward till it strikes the forty-ninth parallel of north latitude, thence due east along said parallel the distance of five hundred and fifty miles, to the Rocky Mountains; on the east by the Rocky Mountains, extending from the forty-ninth parallel of north latitude, to the forty-first, the distance of four hundred and eighty miles; on the south by the Snowy Mountains, which extend, in a continuous range, from the Rocky Mountains to Cape Mendocino, on the Pacific, the distance of seven hundred miles; and on the west by the Pacific ocean, from Cape Mendocino, five hundred and twenty miles due north, to the mouth of the Strait of Juan De Fuca, near Cape Flattery, the place of beginning. Since the dividing line between the two governments which have an interest and have exercised a controlling influence in the country, has now been de

fined, and the forty-ninth parallel is hereafter, forever, to separate the two nations, it remains no longer a subject of discussion; but any one, in casting his eye over a correct map of the country west of the Rocky Mountains, will discover at one glance, that a more natural division than the one which has been established, would have been a line extending from Puget's Sound north-eastwardly along the summit of the highlands, which separate the waters of the Columbia from those of Frazer's river, to the Rocky Mountains, so as to embrace in Oregon all the territory drained by the Columbia river. This would have given a natural boundary to the country on all sides, while the forty-ninth parallel is a very unnatural one, because, in crossing the great valley of the Columbia, it puts asunder that which the God of nature has joined together.

The boundary as defined, gives Oregon about six hundred and forty miles of coast on the Pacific ocean and Strait of Fuca. The shores of the strait are composed of beaches of sand or stones, overhung by sandy and rocky cliffs, and from these the land ascends gradually to the foot of the mountains, which rise abruptly to a great height within a few miles of the ocean. The coast along the Pacific is nearly straight from north to south, in some places iron-bound, and in others composed of low beaches of sand.

The harbors, or places of refuge for vessels along the Oregon coast, are very few, and, if we except Puget's Sound, with its numerous arms stretching far inland, there are none of the first quality. At the mouth of the Umpqua river there is a tolerable harbor for small craft, and the channel across the bar will admit of the entrance of vessels drawing eight feet. Bulfinch's harbor, discovered by Captain Robert Gray, of Boston, in 1792, is situated forty miles north of the mouth of the Columbia, and by artificial means may be constituted a safe anchorage. Port Discovery, situated near the south-east angle of the Strait of Fuea, is pronounced perfectly safe, and convenient for ships of any size. It

is defended from the violence of the waves by Protection Island.

The most important harbor on the coast is that formed by the mouth of the Columbia river, as it constitutes a port of entry to the most important portions of Oregon. This harbor, though difficult of access in the winter season, when the prevailing winds on the coast are from the south and east, may, at other times, be safely entered by vessels drawing not more than sixteen feet, particularly if the navigator is acquainted with the intricacies of the channel. But this river, with its mouth, will be more particularly described hereafter.

There are but few Capes along this coast, and none that project far into the ocean; the shores being generally straight, bold and unbroken. The principal are Cape Blanco, which is a high point of land extending into the ocean between the Clameth and Umpqua rivers, and nearly under the forty-third parallel of latitude; Cape Disappointment, on the north side of the mouth of the Columbia river, and Cape Flattery, on the south side of the mouth of the Strait of Fuca. Cape Disappointment, however, does not properly class with the important Capes along the Pacific coast, as it does not extend into the ocean, but is, at least, three miles inside the bar of the Columbia. But it holds a prominent place on all our maps and charts, as, from its peculiar location and the appearance of the majestic firtrees upon its top, it forms an unerring guide to the storm-beaten sailor, who is desirous of seeking shelter in the quiet and peaceful waters of Baker's Bay.

There are no islands of importance between Capes Mendocino and Flattery. One is found, however, lying about forty miles south of Cape Flattery, and named, by the Spaniards, the "Isle of Grief," in commemoration of the loss of some of their men, who were destroyed by the natives on the adjacent coast.

The face of this country is wonderfully diversified, and presents every variety of scenery, from the most awfully grand and sublime, to the most beautiful and picturesque in nature.