N3826

Lewis & Clark Expedition - Bicentennial

Fred's Anecdotal Note

Sacajawea 

(Sacagawea)

Prior to the expedition, Lewis had studied medicine in Philadelphia in preparation for the upcoming journey. He was to serve as doctor for the Corps. On Feb. 11th, 1805, he delivered a healthy baby to Charbtnneau's wife Sacajawea. He was named Jean Baptiste Charbonneau. Historians feel that Charbonneau's" hiring hinged on the fact that Sacajawea and their son would accompany him. As a young girl, an Indian raiding party had kidnapped her from her home near the Rockies. The captains wanted her as an interpreter but more importantly felt that a party traveling with a woman and baby would be viewed as peaceful. On Oct. 19, 1805, Clark wrote that she, "reconciles all the Indians as to ourfriendly intentions - a woman with a party of men is a tiken of peace."

Her important contributions were numerous. She taught the men how to find edible plants, berries and nuts. Lewis wrote of one such occasion "When we halted for dinner the squaw busied herself in searching for the wild artichokes which the mice collect and deposit in large hoards...her labour soon proved successful and she procured a good quantity of these roots. " When the white pirogue nearly capsized, Sacajawea remiined calm and focused as she rescued irreplaceable journals and valuable suppiies that had washed overboard. The next day Lewis wrote that she had "equal fortitude and resolution with any person on board at the time of the accident." Perhaps her most vital contribution was helping to secure the horses needed to cross the Rocky Mountains.

When the Corps reached the Pacific, Sacajawea became a pioneer in women's rights when she cast a vote to decide where to build the fort. Throughout she carried and cared for her son. Sacajawea was not compensated, and after the expedition, Clark wrote to Charbonneau that her "long dangerous and fatigueing rout to the Pacific Ocean and back deserved a greater reward for her attenfion and services on that rout than we had in our power to give her. " History has provided her reward which is the respect and gratiude of the American people.