be of great use hereafter. Having now made choice of the locality, we commenced without delay the erection of the buildings. The first thing to be done was to clear the ground by cutting away the underbrush and isolated trees, after which, with the aid of the inhabitants, we constructed three wooden buildings, covered by a single roof of ninety feet; these were to serve as workshops for the brother blacksmith, carpenter and joiner.
Besides these, a house, forty-five by thirty-five feet, is now under way. It is to be two stories, and will be the dwelling-house of the missionaries.
We arrived in the Oregon Territory during the prevalence of a disease (bloody flux) which 'was considered contagious, though the physicians attributed it to the unwholesome properties of the river water. Numbers of savages fell victims to it, especially among the Chinooks and the Indians of the Cascades, large parties of whom encamped along the banks of the river, on their way to Vancouver, to obtain the aid of a physician. Those who could not proceed were abandoned by their friends; and it was truly painful to see these poor creatures stretched out and expiring on the sand. The greater part of our sailors, and three of the Sisters, were attacked by the pestilence; the Reverend Father Accolti also experienced its terrible effects; for myself, I was obliged to keep my bed during fifteen long days, and to observe a rigorous diet. But the captain of our vessel was the greatest sufferer. The disease attacked him so violently that I seriously fear he will never again return to the cherished family - the affectionate wife and children, of whom he used daily to speak with so much tenderness. He was a worthy man - an experienced and skilful navigator; I esteemed him highly, although I could not forbear blaming him for the little courage he had shown in repressing the profane language of one of the passengers, who, from the time of his embarkation until we landed him at Fort Vancouver, had never ceased to offend our ears by his horrid oaths. The Almighty has denounced his curse