impression may have left a prejudice against them, since, when we were
among the Clatsops and other tribes at the mouth of the Columbia, they
had less opportunity of stealing, if they were so disposed."

The weeks remaining before the party set out on their return were passed
without notable incident. The journal is chiefly occupied with comments
on the weather, which was variable, and some account of the manners and
customs of the Indian tribes along the Columbia River. At that time,
so few traders had penetrated the wilds of the Lower Columbia that the
Indians were not supplied with firearms to any great extent. Their main
reliance was the bow and arrow. A few shotguns were seen among them,
but no rifles, and great was the admiration and wonder with which the
Indians saw the white men slay birds and animals at a long distance.
Pitfalls for elk were constructed by the side of fallen trees over which
the animals might leap. Concerning the manufactures of the Clatsops,
they reported as follows:--

"Their hats are made of cedar-bark and bear-grass, interwoven together
in the form of a European hat, with a small brim of about two inches,
and a high crown widening upward. They are light, ornamented with
various colors and figures, and being nearly water-proof, are much more
durable than either chip or straw hats. These hats form a small article
of traffic with the whites, and their manufacture is one of the best
exertions of Indian industry. They are, however, very dexterous in
making a variety of domestic utensils, among which are bowls, spoons,
scewers (skewers), spits, and baskets. The bowl or trough is of
different shapes--round, semicircular, in the form of a canoe, or cubic,
and generally dug out of a single piece of wood; the larger vessels have
holes in the sides by way of handles, and all are executed with great
neatness. In these vessels they boil their food, by throwing hot stones
into the water, and extract oil from different animals in the same way.
Spoons are not very abundant, nor is there anything remarkable in their
shape, except that they are large and the bowl broad. Meat is roasted on
one end of a sharp skewer, placed erect before the fire, with the other
end fixed in the ground.

"But the most curious workmanship is that of the basket. It is formed of
cedar-bark and bear-grass, so closely interwoven that it is water-tight,
without the aid of either gum or resin. The form is generally conic, or
rathe