Elleda Wilson: In One Ear: Almost insufferable ennui
Dec. 2—Rainy ruminations: "Narrative of a Voyage to the Northwest Coast of America in the Years 1811, 1812, 1813, and 1814 or, The first American settlement of the Pacific" is the journal of Gabriel Franchère (1786-1863) about the early settlement of Astoria, among other musings.
The diarist joined the Astor Expedition as a merchant's apprentice, arriving at the desolate outpost of Fort Astoria in 1811 on the ship Tonquin. His writings were one of the main sources for Washington Irving's "Astoria."
A little excerpt: "Mr. Clapp and I were left with the entire charge of the post at Astoria, and were each other's only resource for society ... We amused ourselves with music and reading, having some instruments and a choice library.
"Otherwise we should have passed our time in a state of insufferable ennui, at this rainy season, in the midst of the deep mud which surrounded us, and which interdicted the pleasure of a promenade outside the buildings." Heavy sigh.
