N3823

Lewis & Clark Expedition - Bicentennial

Fred's Anecdotal Note

George Drouillard - Chief Hunter and Scout

This extraordinary man was the most valuable person serving under the captains, and it is my hope that a U.S. stamp will some day be issued to honor him. M. O. Skarsten, Lewis and Clark historian, writes, "A man of strong yet nimble physique, equally at home in the woods, on the plains, and in the mountains; a man of quick decision and vigorous action; enthusidstic, ardent, courageous, resourceful, likeable. It was the all-out competence of the man, his willingness - nay, even eagerness - to serve on any occasion, his unfailing reliability, his courage, tact, good judgment, ond resourcefulness - it was qualities such as these that semed, singly and in combination to make him well-nigh indispensable in the furtherance of the project to which he had committed himself "

Drouillard's mother was a Shawnee lndian, and his father Pierre was a French Canadian who was a British subject living in Detroit. Growing up with his father and stepmother Angelique Descamps, young George received an excellent education and leamed the social amenities which prepared him for a close friendship with Lewis. He is mentioned in the journals an amazing 641 times, 355 of which extol his skills as a hunter. Lewis wrote of him, "A man of much merit with uncommon skill as a hunter and woodsman " This virtually unknown hero was a superb scout, negotiator, combatant, tracker, interpreter, and hunter. His final compensation of $833 plus 320 acres of land was higher than anyone else except the captains. In an I807 report, Lewis wrote of him, "It was his fale to have encountered with either Captain Clark or myself all the most dangerous and trying scenes of the voyage in which he unifurmly acquitted himself with honor. "