- A fair wind carried us a mile beyond Point No Point.15 We were engaged in unloading the boat and forming camp when the doctor [John Miller Haden], who had gone off with his gun to shoot ducks, came running toward us crying alternately “Bear!” and “Musket.” We immediately seized our arms to meet the enemy. The bear, however, did not seem to be concerned about us, but took to the water, with the idea, probably, of swimming across to Skagit head. We hurried into the boat and soon came up within forty or fifty yards. I made repeated attempts to fire, but the cap would not explode. Starling got ahead of me, but when the bear swam on unconcernedly, he sank back with a most disappointed sigh.“I have missed,” he said. As I was getting another musket, a soldier up and fired and the bear’s head went down. I thought I had lost my chance, but he appeared again in a moment. He was tossing his head and bleeding. I blazed away and he went down and did not come up again. When we reached him he was quite dead. We dragged our prize ashore, and the evening was spent in dressing the bear and discussing him.
- Old Maj. Snow had a store, which we visited and where we met a Dr. Vincent and a Mr. Howe. Their trade supplies, however, came from the mainland, which can only be reached by boat. The [Penn] cove is a deep indentation in the [Whidbey] island, about two miles wide and six miles long. It is a beautiful bay and thoroughly protected, but it can only be approached by large ships from the south around Skagit head, a circumlocution of great length.
- June 15th [of 1853]. As I did not feel encouraged that the settlers would do anything, I ran over to Mr. Miller’s on Camano island, where I learned that the band to which Sla-hai belonged was probably in camp on the Kikealis, one of the mouths of the Skagit. Miller had good reason to know for whom I was hunting, as the same Indian had threatened his life because Miller had ducked him for breaking a contract. There were a number of Patch-ka-num’s band about Miller’s, but I did not go among them, but decided to make an attempt to go up the Kikealis at night and when the tide was high. We left the island, going southward: as if returning to Steilacoom, and went into camp on Whidby island. As soon as night came on we reloaded our boat and started back. As we passed Miller’s place the Indians encamped there raised a great shout. Although we were several miles out, they must have heard and recognized us. A drizzling rain set in and the tide was against us, and in the morning we found ourselves far from our goal. We persevered, but when we reached the flats we found them quite impassible, so that I was obliged to give up my attempt to find the Kikealis, and, turning southward once more, we sailed over to Whidby island and camped on an old camping ground of the Skagits, where their last chief, Duatlim, was buried. . . .22 On the morning of the 16th we started on our return. By 2 o’clock we passed Skagit head, and continuing on to Appletree cove we stopped for dinner.
