, to make amends for the tiresome pack across the
country.

[Illustration: A Siwash Indian in his canoe.]

We floated lazily with the tide, sometimes taking a few strokes with the
oars, and at other times whistling for the wind. The little town of
Olympia to the south became dimmed by distance. But we were no sooner
fairly out of sight of the little village than the question came up
which way to go. What channel should we take?

"Let the tide decide; that will carry us out toward the ocean."

"No, we are drifting into another bay; that cannot be where we want to
go."

"Why, we are drifting right back almost in the same direction from which
we came, but into another bay! We'll pull this way to that point to the
northeast."

"But there seems a greater opening of water to the northwest."

"Yes, but I do not see any way out there."

So we talked and pulled and puzzled, until finally it dawned upon us
that the tide had turned and we were being carried back into South Bay,
to almost the very spot whence we had come.

"The best thing we can do is to camp," said Oliver.

I readily assented. So our first night's camp was scarcely twelve miles
from where we had started in the morning. It was a fine camping place. A
beautiful pebbly beach extended almost to the water's edge even at low
tide. There was a grassy level spit, a background of evergreen giant-fir
timber, and clear, cool water gushing out from the bank near by. And
such fuel for the camp fire!--broken limbs with just enough pitch to
make a cheerful blaze and yet body enough to last well. We felt so happy
that we were almost glad the journey had been interrupted.

Oliver was the carpenter of the party, the tent-builder, wood-getter,
and general roustabout, while I, the junior, was "chief cook and
bottle-washer."

An encampment of Indians being near, a party of them soon visited our
camp and began making signs for trade.

"_Mika tik eh_[1] clams?" said one of the matrons of the party.

"What does she say, Oliver?"

"I'm blessed if I know, but it looks as if she wanted to sell some
clams."

After considerable dickering, with signs and gestures and words many
times repeated, we were able to impart the information that we wanted a
lesson in cookery. If she would show us how to cook the clams, we would
buy some. This brought some merriment in the camp. The idea that there
lived a person who did not know how to cook clams! Without saying by
your leave or an