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Authors: Roland Smith
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French for several minutes.
"He does not speak Shoshone," Tabeau explained. "But he has two Shoshone wives living with him up at the Hidatsa village. The women were captured in a Hidatsa raid a few years ago and Charbonneau here won them in a bet with the warriors who owned them. He says he'll bring them with him. He also says that he's a skilled boatman."
The captains asked Tabeau to take Charbonneau outside.
"What do you think?" Captain Lewis asked.
"We need someone who can speak Shoshone. I don't suppose he'll allow one of his wives to come along without him."
"Probably not. And even if he were willing, having an unescorted woman along could pose a problem."
Captain Clark nodded in agreement. "We could use another boatman."
"True."
The captains talked for quite some time before calling Charbonneau back in. After another long discussion they reached an agreement with him. Charbonneau would be hired, and he would bring one of his wives with him.
The following week he brought his two wives to the fort. They were just girls, no more than fifteen or sixteen years old. When they were introduced to the captains they stared down at the ground shyly. Charbonneau had chosen the girl named Sacagawea to accompany us in the spring. "In the Hidatsa language," he said, "Sacagawea means Bird Woman."
The name fit her well. She was a small-boned girl with long crow-colored hair, pulled back and braided in the Indian way. I walked up to her and she immediately scratched my ears. As I stood there enjoying her attentions, I picked up an odd scent from her that could
mean only one thingâBird Woman was carrying a pup inside her. The captains were clearly unaware of this, and I suspected Charbonneau was no less ignorant. They would all find out soon enough.
When they left, Captain Lewis said, "I hope Sacagawea is strong enough to endure the rigors of our journey."
Bird Woman would surprise us all.
January 12, 1805
We brought in the New Year by taking a large group of men to the first Mandan village for dancing and merriment. A good time was had by all...
WE ENJOYED our time among the Mandans, but after a few weeks the men were already talking about proceeding on, hoping for an early spring. I was eager to leave as well. I had gotten used to wandering and discovering new sights and smells. The fort was secure and comfortable, but also confining. I spent a good part of each day roaming through the Mandan villages or out hunting with Drouillard.
Captain Lewis spent most days inside the fort, working on his notes and preparing his collection, which would be sent back with the French voyagers in the spring.
As the winter progressed, food became scarce. Our hunters often came back hungry and frostbitten, without a scrap of meat to show for their efforts.
The captains started doctoring the Indians in exchange for meat and produce. They treated wounds, colds, rheumatism, bad teeth, frostbite, and a number of other ailments. The word spread and every morning a dozen Indians lined up outside the captains' huts, each with an armful of food, to wait their turn for the white medicine.
A second business was set up using the forge and the blacksmith and gunsmith skills of Private John Shields. The Indians brought in hoes that needed mending, axes that needed sharpening, and broken rifles. Eventually there wasn't a broken hoe in any of the Mandan and Hidatsa lodges. The axes were all sharpened, and all the Indians' rifles were as good as new.
Business dropped off. The captains remedied this by helping Shields design a battle-axâan item that became so popular he and the men helping him could hardly keep up with the demand.
I thought Shield's ax business was a little odd. On the one hand, the captains were telling the Indians to stop warring with one another. On the other hand, they were making battle-axes that the Indians would certainly use in raids. One day a Hidatsa war chief stopped by
the Captain's hut on his way to pick up a
"He does not speak Shoshone," Tabeau explained. "But he has two Shoshone wives living with him up at the Hidatsa village. The women were captured in a Hidatsa raid a few years ago and Charbonneau here won them in a bet with the warriors who owned them. He says he'll bring them with him. He also says that he's a skilled boatman."
The captains asked Tabeau to take Charbonneau outside.
"What do you think?" Captain Lewis asked.
"We need someone who can speak Shoshone. I don't suppose he'll allow one of his wives to come along without him."
"Probably not. And even if he were willing, having an unescorted woman along could pose a problem."
Captain Clark nodded in agreement. "We could use another boatman."
"True."
The captains talked for quite some time before calling Charbonneau back in. After another long discussion they reached an agreement with him. Charbonneau would be hired, and he would bring one of his wives with him.
The following week he brought his two wives to the fort. They were just girls, no more than fifteen or sixteen years old. When they were introduced to the captains they stared down at the ground shyly. Charbonneau had chosen the girl named Sacagawea to accompany us in the spring. "In the Hidatsa language," he said, "Sacagawea means Bird Woman."
The name fit her well. She was a small-boned girl with long crow-colored hair, pulled back and braided in the Indian way. I walked up to her and she immediately scratched my ears. As I stood there enjoying her attentions, I picked up an odd scent from her that could
mean only one thingâBird Woman was carrying a pup inside her. The captains were clearly unaware of this, and I suspected Charbonneau was no less ignorant. They would all find out soon enough.
When they left, Captain Lewis said, "I hope Sacagawea is strong enough to endure the rigors of our journey."
Bird Woman would surprise us all.
January 12, 1805
We brought in the New Year by taking a large group of men to the first Mandan village for dancing and merriment. A good time was had by all...
WE ENJOYED our time among the Mandans, but after a few weeks the men were already talking about proceeding on, hoping for an early spring. I was eager to leave as well. I had gotten used to wandering and discovering new sights and smells. The fort was secure and comfortable, but also confining. I spent a good part of each day roaming through the Mandan villages or out hunting with Drouillard.
Captain Lewis spent most days inside the fort, working on his notes and preparing his collection, which would be sent back with the French voyagers in the spring.
As the winter progressed, food became scarce. Our hunters often came back hungry and frostbitten, without a scrap of meat to show for their efforts.
The captains started doctoring the Indians in exchange for meat and produce. They treated wounds, colds, rheumatism, bad teeth, frostbite, and a number of other ailments. The word spread and every morning a dozen Indians lined up outside the captains' huts, each with an armful of food, to wait their turn for the white medicine.
A second business was set up using the forge and the blacksmith and gunsmith skills of Private John Shields. The Indians brought in hoes that needed mending, axes that needed sharpening, and broken rifles. Eventually there wasn't a broken hoe in any of the Mandan and Hidatsa lodges. The axes were all sharpened, and all the Indians' rifles were as good as new.
Business dropped off. The captains remedied this by helping Shields design a battle-axâan item that became so popular he and the men helping him could hardly keep up with the demand.
I thought Shield's ax business was a little odd. On the one hand, the captains were telling the Indians to stop warring with one another. On the other hand, they were making battle-axes that the Indians would certainly use in raids. One day a Hidatsa war chief stopped by
the Captain's hut on his way to pick up a
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