Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 13.djvu/83

EARLIEST TRAVELERS ON OREGON TRAIL 75 you take a knife/ and with a pantomimic sweep of his hand he drew it across his throat. It is needless to say the Indian was reinstated as pilot." In the summer of 1813 also a small party of Astorians passed eastward through this valley under the leadership of John Reed, who is described as a Hibernian. Among them were the interpreter, Pierre Dorion, and his wife, and the in- structions were to trade and trap for furs on the streams now known as the Weiser, Payette and Boise during the fall and winter. This party were killed by the Indians, all except the faithful Madame Dorion, that mother of the first child of white parentage to be born in Eastern Oregon, which event took place in this Valley on Dec. 30th, 1811. She found her way back to the Columbia in the spring of 1814 and among those to whom she related her story was the next fur trader of whom I would especially speak, Mr. Donald Mackenzie, who was then bound for New York by way of the Columbia and Saskatchewan and Montreal with the report of the final winding up of the Pacific Fur Company's affairs at Astoria and with drafts to the amount (according to Mr. Ross) of eighty thous- and dollars in his belt. The terms of the sale to the Northwest Company included transportation from Astoria to Montreal for such Astorians as wished to return. With the passing of the Astorians from the Columbia the use of this trail appears to have been discontinued for fours years, There may have been straggling white hunters passing over it but we as yet have no record. It remained for this same Donald Mackenzie to return to the Columbia before the Snake Country trade was again undertaken ; and that was in the year 1818. Quite likely Mr. Mackenzie passed through this valley on an exploration trip during the winter of 1817-18, but of that we are not certain. Donald Mackenzie is a fur trader who has not yet received merited attention for what he accomplished on the Columbia. In family line he is said to have been related to Sir Alex. Mackenzie who made that first journey across the continent by land in 1792-3 and established British rignts north of the 49th