Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 37.djvu/203

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The Coming of the White Women, 1836
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cooking and housework is done by men chiefly. Mr. Pambran is from Canada Is very agreable & much the gentleman in his appearance

"3rd Mr. McLeod & Townsend[1] left for Vancouver today Since our arrival new arrangements have been made about our going. Mr Pambran is going in a boat by himself & offers us a passage with him Mr. McLeod is so loaded as not to be able to give us a comfortable passage We expect to leave next week. About noon Mr and Mrs Spaulding arrived with their company, having made better proggress than was anticipated The animals all come in except one horse that has been injured in packing & entirely given out & is left. Here we all are at W W. through the mercy of a kind Providence in health & all our lives preserved. What cause for gratitude & praise to God. Surely my heart is ready to leap for joy, at the thought of being so near the long desired work of teaching the benighted ones a knowledge of a Saviour & having completed this hazardous journey under such favourable circumstances. Mr Pambran said to us the day we arrived, there never had been a company previous to ours, that came in to the Fort so well fed as we had been for the last days of the journey All our friends of the East company, who knew any thing about the country dreaded this part for us very much. But the Lord has been with & provided for us all the way. And blessed be his Holy Name. Another cause of gratitude is the [preservation] of our animals in this difficult dangerous & lengthy route, while many parties previous to this have had every animal taken from them & left on foot in a dangerous land exposed to death. Two horses have given out with fatigue & left, two have been stolen or lost. Most that we have now have come all the distance from the Settlements & appear well. two calves only have been lost the remainder came on well except those we left at Snake Fort.

"Sab 4th This has been a day of mutual thanksgiving with us all. Assembled in the Fort at twelve o'clock for worship.

Our feelings are better imagined than described. This first Sabbath in September a sabbath of rest, first after completing a


  1. See later mention, after arrival at Vancouver.