On the invitation of the young commander of the expedition, I agreed to accompany it. The choice of this officer indeed held out every promise of a pleasant time. Lieutenant Archibald Gracie, in addition to his high qualifications as a soldier and gentleman, (traits which he shares in common with the other officers of the post,) had for my purpose the advantage of our cadet life together for a while at West Point, which gave us a common topic and ground of interest in the past. Many an evening, therefore, have we spent lying before our camp fire, out on the still plains or by the rushing waters of the Umatilla, talking over these recollections or discussing the probable fortunes of those who were with us in the House of Bondage. Our preparations were soon made, for army expeditions do not allow much time for packing of trunks. The command was mounted, some fifteen pack mules added to carry the camp equipage, and about noon, May 18th, we bid farewell to the officers and rode away from the Dalles. Our course during the afternoon was through the Des Chutes Valley, an admirable country for grazing, as the temperature is such that cattle can be kept out for the whole year and always find subsistence. It was formerly the place where the Hudson Bay Company raised all the best horses they used. The country appears, however, from the absence of timber, to be waste and desolate, though the soil is said to be rich and admirably adapted to agriculture. After passing the little river of Des Chutes, we found some springs near the Columbia and encamped, having advanced about twenty miles. Our arrangements for sleeping were soon made. We carried no tents, so that a buffalo robe and a blanket formed all our bedroom furniture. This did well enough on pleasant nights, but when it rained, it required some skill to take refuge under the buffalo robe in such a way as to keep dry, and not to wake up finding one's self lying in a pool of water. As soon as we encamped, fires were made by the soldiers and the cooking commenced. Our suppers indeed, were not very sumptuous, the invariable bill of fare being, bacon, hard biscuit and a cup of coffee. Yet a long day's ride would supply the appetite, and after the horses were picketed and we were sitting cosily by the fire or were lying down watching the stars above us, with no sound on the wide plain but the measured tread of our sentinel, there was a degree of freedom about it far more pleasant than the conventional life of cities.