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Show 92 Lcwts and Cla•·ke's EXJJcclilwn agility with which the elk crossed tho swam~s aml ho~s, seems almost incredible; as we followed tiLCil' track, tho ground for a. whole acre would shake at out· tread, and sometimes we sunk to onr hips without fht<ling any bottom. Over the surface of tlu~sc bogs is a specirs of moss, among wltieh are great numbers of cranbct•J·ies, and occasiuually there rise ft·om the swamp steep ami smalllmobs of earth, thick~ ly eovet·ed with pine and laurel. On one of these we halted at night, but it was scar<>cly large enough to suffct· us to lie clear ot' the water, and had vcr·y little da·y wood. 'Vo sue~ ccet\cd however in collecting enough to makr a lire, and having stretched the elk skin to keep off the rain, which still continued, slcJlt till morning, Monday 9, when "c rose, JlcrfeetJy wet with a·ain during the night. 1'hree mcu were then sent in pursuit of the elk, ,vhile with tho otlun· tht·ec, captain Clarke lwocccded westward towards the sea. He passed ovct• three swamps, and then arrived at a creek. which was too deep to ford, and there was no wood to make a t·aft. He thct•cfoa·c Jll'occcdcd down it for a sbot·t distauce, till be fouml that be was between the forks of a creek. One branch of which he had passed ycstet·day, turns round tow~u·ds the south west to meet anothea· of equal size from the south, and together they form a small river, about seventy yards wide. llc t·e· tUI·ned to the place 'vherc he had left the l'a.ft, aml having crossed IH'occcded down about a mile, when he met three Indians. They were loaded with fresh salmon which they had taken with a gig, and wore now rctut·ning to their village on the seacoast, whet·e they invited him to accompany them. lie agreed, and they bt·ougbt out a canoe bid along the banks of the creek. In this they passed over the branch. 'vbicb he .Bad just crossed on a t•aft, and tbcn canied the canoe a quarter of a mile to the other fot·k, which they crossed and continued down to the mouth of the river. At this place it makes a great bend, where the 1·iver is seventy ~ar<ls wide; just above, or to the south of which is the Up the .Missout•i. village. 'Vc crossed ov<.•t·, and fonnd tl1at it consiste<l of tht'('C houses, inhabited by l wclve families or Clatsops. They were on the south exposure of a hill. and sunk about foul' lh·t deep into the gt'O\md; the walls. t'oot', and gableentls heing fol•rncd of split pine boards; the desc·.cnt tlu·ough a small door down a lat\dca·. 'l'hcrc aa·c two fia·es in the middle of the l'OOID, and the beds disposccl I'Otllld the walls two or· three feet ft·um the fall, so as to leave t·oom under them fot· their bags, baskets and household ar·ticlcs. 'The fioo1· itself is covca·cd with mats. Captain Clarke was received with much attention. A soon as he ent<.·rcd, clean mats wet·c spa·ead, and fish, IJcrl'ies and r·oots set bei'ol'l~ him on small neat platters of rushes. Aftct· he had eaten, the men of the other houses came and smoked with him. rrhey all a1>pcared much ncatet· in thcit• pe a·sons and diet than Indians g('.nerally a.a·c, anc.l frequently wash their ha.nds and faces., a ceremony by no means frequent clsewhm·e. While be was convct·sing with them, a flock of IJrant lighted on the water, aud he with a small rifle shot one of them at a great distance. r.rhcy immediately jumped in, and bt•ought jt on shore, vet·y much astonished at the shot., which eonta ·ilmted to make them inct·casc their attention. rrowat•ds evening it began to rain and Mow very violently r .. om the southwest; and captain (;lat·ke therefore, dc.tel'mincd to J'Cmaiu during the night. When they thought his appetite bad rctut·ned, an old woman presented him in a !Jowl, made of light coloured horn, a kind of sh'l'up, pleasant to lJJC taste, and made from a species of berry common in this country, about tho size of a cherry, and called by the Indians shelwel: of these bcrJ•ies a urcad is also prcpat·cd, whicb being boiled with roots forms a sou)>, which was served in neat wooden trenchers: this, with some cockles, was his repast. The men of the village now collected, and IJcgan to gamble. 'fhc most common game, was one in which one of tbe company was banktw, and played against all the rest. lie had a piece of bone, about th .. |