On one of these we halted at night, but it was scarcely large enough to suffer us to lie clear of the water, and had very little dry wood.

We succeeded, however, in collecting enough to make a fire; and having stretched the elk-skin to keep off the rain, which still continued, slept till morning." Next day the party were met by three Indians who had been fishing for salmon, of which they had a goodly supply, and were now on their way home to their village on the seacoast.

They, invited Captain Clark and his men to accompany them; and the white men accepted the invitation.
These were Clatsops.

Their village consisted of twelve families living in houses of split pine boards, the lower half of the house being underground.

By a small ladder in the middle of the house-front, the visitors reached the floor, which was about four feet below the surface.
Two fires were burning in the middle of the room upon the earthen floor.
The beds were ranged around the room next to the wall, with spaces beneath them for bags, baskets, and household articles.
Captain Clark was received with much attention, clean mats were spread for him, and a repast of fish, roots, and berries was set before him.
He noticed that the Clatsops were well dressed and clean, and that they frequently washed their faces and hands, a ceremony, he remarked, that is by no means frequent among other Indians.