Chapter 39
Scanty Fare During the Winter.--A Poor Hunting Ground.--The Return of the Fishing Season.--The Uthlecan or Smelt.--Its Qualities.--Vast Shoals of it.--Sturgeon.--Indian Modes of Taking It.--The Salmon--Different Species.--Nature of the Country About the Coast.--Forests and Forest Trees.--A Remarkable Flowering Vine.--Animals.--Birds.--Reptiles-- Climate West of the Mountains--Mildness of the Temperature.--Soil of the Coast and the Interior. THE winter passed away tranquilly at Astoria. The apprehensions of hostility from the natives had subsided; indeed, as the season advanced, the Indians for the most part had disappeared from the neighborhood, and abandoned the sea-coast, so that, for want of their aid, the colonists had at times suffered considerably for want of provisions. The hunters
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