in the morn, but took a long sleep at noon while waiting which refreshed me very much. Girls how do you think we manage to rest ourselves every noon having no houses to shelter us from the schorching heat of the noon day sun, or sofas on which to recline. Perhaps you think we always encamp in the shade of some thick wood. Such a sight I have not seen lo these many weeks. If we can find a few small willows or a single low tree, we think ourselves amply provided for. But often our camping places are in some open plain, & frequently a sand plain, even here is comfort & rest. My Husband who is one of the best the world ever knew is always ready to provide a comfortable shade with one of our saddle blankets, spread upon some willows or sticks placed in the ground. Then our Saddles & pishmores,[1] with the other placed upon the ground, constitute our sofa. Here we recline & rest untill dinner is ready. How do you think you would like this? Would you not think a seat by Mother in some cool room preferable? Sometimes my wicked heart has been desposed to murmur, thinking I should have no rest for the heat when I stoped. But have always been reproved for it by the comfort and rest I received under these circumstances. I never have wished to go back such a thought finds no place in my heart. "The Lord is better to us than our fears. I always find it so."
The camp on August 27th was near North Powder, Baker County, Oregon, the day having been spent in crossing Powder River Valley, about twenty-five miles and a usual day's travel. The Nez Perce chief with nickname suggestive of both appetite and piety, had insisted on remaining with the party all the way from Rendezvous. Spalding spelled his real name Tack-en-su-a-tis. The next morning will find them following the trail up Ladd Canyon and descending into Grande Ronde by a steep hill northwest of Hot Lake, which was not noticed. This had been the road of Wilson Price Hunt in 1811, and soon became the emigrant road of the pioneers. They will noon next day at crossing of Grande Ronde River, just west of the city of La Grande, and
- ↑ Wilkes gives this name as appichemens. He has a drawing of it and describes it as a thick saddle cloth placed under the pack saddle; Wilkes, Narrative, V, 217.
