Then the fine wood dust would
smoke. Then it would burn. The Indian would put a little kin-dling
wood on it. Soon he would have a large fire.

In that time the white people had not yet found out how to make
matches. They lighted a fire by striking a piece of flint against a
piece of steel. This would make a spark of fire. By letting this spark
fall on something that would burn easily, they started a fire.

White men had another way of lighting a fire when the sun was shining.
They used what was called a burning glass. This was a round piece of
glass. It was thick in the middle, and thin at the edge. When you held
up a burning glass in the sun, it drew the sun's heat so as to make a
little hot spot. If you put paper under this spot of hot sunshine, it
would burn. Men could light the to-bac-co in their pipes with one of
these glasses.

Captain Clark had something funny happen to him on account of his
burning glass. He had walked ahead of the rest of his men. He sat down
on a rock. There were some Indians on the other side of the river.
They did not see the captain. Captain Clark saw a large bird called a
crane flying over his head. He raised his gun and shot it.

[Illustration: Cranes]

The Indians on the other side of the river had never seen a white man
in their lives. They had never heard a gun. They used bows and arrows.

They heard the sound of Clark's gun. They looked up and saw the large
bird falling from the sky. It fell close to where Captain Clark sat.
Just as it fell they caught sight of Captain Clark sitting on the
rocks. They thought they had seen him fall out of the sky. They
thought that the sound of his gun was a sound like thunder that was
made when he came down.

The Indians all ran away as fast as they could. They went into their
wig-warns and closed them.

Captain Clark wished to be friendly with them. So he got a canoe and
paddled to the other side of the river. He came to the Indian houses.
He found the flaps which they use for doors shut. He opened one of
them and went in. The Indians were sitting down, and they were all
crying and trembling.

Among the Indians the sign of peace is to smoke to-geth-er. Captain
Clark held out his pipe to them. That was to say, "I am your friend."
He shook hands with them and gave some of them presents. Then they
were not so much afraid.

[Illustration: Lighting a Pipe with a Burning Glass.]

He wished to light his pipe for them to smoke. So he took out