136 pioneer liee; OB, 



f ncxt object was to procure dry wood and make a 

 fire, which, as the rain was now falling quite hard, 

 was no easy matter. When Clark stepped upon the 

 shore, he was met by the warning note of a large 

 rattle -snake which lay coiled up at his feet. He 

 returned to the canoe and proposed to float down to a 

 more favorable place, but I told him I should not go 

 farther in our present plight. I made the next at- 

 tempt to land, and met with a similar reception from 

 another rattle-snake. I stepped to the canoe, pushed 

 up the stream, and once more stepped ashore, beat 

 ing about me with a stick to find whether there were 

 snakes about, until I reached the top of the bank, 

 which was there about ten feet high. On the top 

 I found a half-decayed pine stump, which leaned 

 over in such a manner that the lower side was dry. 

 Calling to Clark, and informing him what I had 

 found, I proceeded to set fire to it. Fortunately, my 

 powder had kept dry, and in a few moments the 

 stump was enveloped in a blaze. We then built a 

 fire in our canoe, and pushed down the creek, arriv- 

 ing at home about daybreak. I told Clark he might 

 have the elk we had killed, if he would go after it. 



About ten days after, Clark and I started again on 

 a fire-hunt. Pushing up the stream about seven 

 miles, we turned and commenced floating down at 

 nine o'clock. After proceeding about a mile, Clark, 

 who sat forward, saw a large buck, a short distance 

 ahead. He fired and wounded the animal, when it 

 wheeled and attempted to plunge over the- canoe. 

 Clark held up his hand to protect himself, which 



