=121. On Waters Flowing into the Pacific.= In five log boats, which they had dug out of trees, they glided down the Clearwater to where it meets the Snake River. They camped near the spot where now stands the present town of Lewiston, Idaho. Then they embarked on the Snake River and floated down to where it joins the mighty Columbia. They were among the Indians again, who had plenty of dried fish, for here is the home of the salmon, a fish found in astonishing numbers. The men had never seen so many fish before. [Sidenote: =Explorers reach the Pacific=] The number of Indians increased as they went toward the Pacific. Finally the party of explorers passed through the Cascade Mountains and were once more on the smooth current of the Columbia. They soon beheld the blue waters of the Pacific. During their five months' stay on the Pacific, Captain Clark made a map of the region they had gone through. They repaired their guns and made clothes of the skins of elk and of other game. [Sidenote: =Lewis and Clark travel different routes=] The Indians told them of a shorter route to the Falls of the Missouri, and Captain Lewis and nine men went by this route while Captain Clark with others retraced the old route. They saw nothing of each other for two months, when they all met again in August on the banks of the Missouri. [Sidenote: =All return to St. Louis=] They reached St. Louis September 23, 1806. The people of the United States were glad to hear of the safe return of the exploring party, for they had long thought the men were dead. [Sidenote: =Rewarded by Congress=] Both President Jefferson and Congress put great value upon the useful information that the expedition gathered. Congress rewarded every one connected with the expedition. Each man was granted double pay for the time he spent and was given three hundred acres of land. To Captain Lewis was given fifteen hundred acres and to Captain Clark a thousand acres. Lewis was appointed first governor of Louisiana Territory and Clark was made the governor of Missouri Territory. =122. Fur Traders and Missionaries Lead the Way.= Soon after this expedition the fur traders pushed their way across the Rocky Mountains from St. Louis to the Pacific. They found the "gateway of the Rockies," called the South Pass, which opened the way to the Oregon country (1824). [Illustration: LEWIS AND CLARK ON THEIR WAY DOWN SNAKE RIVER] [Sidenote: =The coming of the missionaries=]