Cruzatte brought out his fiddle, a dance was held, about the fire, and the Echeloots appeared much entertained.
In the middle of the night, soon after the camp had gone to bed, Peter was awakened by Pat's suddenly squirming out of the blanket.
"The fleas are 'atin' me entoirely," declared Pat. "Into the river goes ivery stitch o' me clothes."
Peter was glad to follow the example. By morning nearly all the men were stripped, and needs must stalk about in blankets while their clothing was being cleaned.
"'Twas the mosquitoes east of the mountains," laughed George Shannon. "Now 'tis the fleas west of the mountains."
But the fleas were a slight matter, when amidst grand scenery the Columbia River ever bore the canoes onward, toward the ocean and the end of the long, long journey.
After the Echeloots (whom the violin and the dancing had so entertained), more Indians were met. The banks of this Columbia were thickly populated. These Indians lived in wooden houses, too—houses walled and raftered with planks faced and trimmed by fire or by knives and little axes. The houses were furnished with bedsteads.
"As good houses as some settlers' houses back in the Illinois country," declared Captain Clark, who was constantly exploring among them.
The canoes that the Indians cleverly managed were large, hollowed from a single log, with high bows
