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The mission and village are two miles west of us. There are four frame houses and a hundred tents. A Mr. Haines of San Francisco, took supper with us last night and gave us the shipping news. Men are left with nothing save the clothes on their backs; others are drowned; many are homesick. Rumor reaches us that gold has been found on the Kowak. But rumor is not to be relied upon when it is gold that sets it afloat.

If there is gold on the Kowak we shall find it. Our present care is to get our supplies up there in safety, but we are going at a slow pace. Six of our party are already up the river, six are on the "Helen" en route to the "Penelope" headquarters, two are at the ship-yards, and four are on the schooner. Dr. Coffin. Fancher and myself are here at Mission Inlet. This accounts for all of us as at present divided. We expect the return of the "Helen" to-night.

We three have been living high since the others left. For supper, with the help of our San Francisco visitor, we got away with three ptarmigan, two curlew, twelve flapjacks with syrup, stewed prunes, etc. After supper we went to sleep and did not awake until nine this morning, when we had ptarmigan broth, fried mush, ham and flapjacks. The other day we picked three quarts of salmon berries. They are very fine eating, something like a blackberry in size and shape, but are red like a raspberry and grow flat on the ground like a strawberry vine. They seem a combination of the three.