the possession of these grandchildren and through the courtesy of Mr. R. E. Gosnell, Archivist for the Province of British Columbia, has been copied for this, its first publication.
To definitely designate the route from day to day is not possible, but the more important stopping places will be readily recognized. The party followed from Fort Colvile at Kettle Falls the more direct Indian trail up the valley of Colville (as now spelled), or Mill River to its source and then across the divide to the wide ridges along Tsimakane (or Chimakine) creek, flowing into the Spokane River, crossing that river considerably below the site of Spokane House, and thence south to the Snake River at the mouth of the Palouse. This afterward became the regular wagon road between Colville and Walla Walla, and is very clearly shown on the map published with John Mullan's Military Road Report. Governor Stevens followed this route very closely in the fall of 1853.
By the Hudson's Bay men. Snake River as far up as the Clearwater was ofteni called the Nez Perces River, and Fort Walla Walla was commonly designated as Fort Nez Perces. It would appear from the journal that at that point the party crossed the Columbia to the west or north side, but at John Day River they are clearly on the south bank again and from there to The Dalles. The usual crossing place afterward was ten miles below at Lyle, the mouth of the Klickitat River, but they recrossed above The Dalles and from there to Vancouver kept to the higher trails along the ridges and prairies back from the Columbia through a very rugged country of course, as the time consumed plainly indicates.
Mountains Hood, St. Helens, Rainier and Baker are all familiar names to Mr. Work, indicating that a set of "Vancouver's Voyages" was then in the library at Fort Vancouver, and whether the first or second edition does not matter.
