Sacajawea (Sacagawea): Guide for Lewis and Clark

Sacajawea, also spelled Sacagawea (1788-1812) was a Shoshone Indian who guided and acted as interpreter and negotiator for Meriwether Lewis and William Clark on their exploratory expedition. She traveled with them from North Dakota to the Oregon coast and back. Lewis and Clark met Sacajawea when they were camped for the winter at Fort Mandan in North Dakota. As a young girl, Sacajawea had been kidnapped by the Hidatsa Indians, and she was later sold to the French-Canadian fur trader Toussaint Charbonneau - she became his wife. Charbonneau and his pregnant wife Sacajawea were hired to help guide the Lewis and Clark expedition. Sacajawea carried her newborn boy along on the journey. William Clark documented Sacajawea's extensive contributions to the expedition, and he later cared for her son, Jean Baptiste Charbonneau (nicknamed "Pomp" or "Pompy"), at his home in St. Louis, Missouri. Sacajawea died at Fort Manuel, South Dakota, on December 20, 1812, soon after giving birth to a daughter called Lisette (although there is an alternate theory that she lived to be a very old woman, living on the Wind River Indian Reservation, Wyoming). After Sacajawea's death, William Clark adopted her two children, Jean Baptiste and Lisette. Sacagawea

In 1800, when she was about 12 years old, Sacagawea was kidnapped by a war party of Hidatsa Indians -- enemies of her people, the Shoshones. She was taken from her Rocky Mountain homeland, located in today’s Idaho, to the Hidatsa- Mandan villages near modern Bismarck, North Dakota. There, she was later sold as a slave to Toussaint Charbonneau, a French-Canadian fur trader who claimed Sacagawea and another Shoshone woman as his “wives.” In November 1804, the Corps of Discovery arrived at the Hidatsa-Mandan villages and soon built a fort nearby. In the American Fort Mandan on February 11, 1805, Sacagawea gave birth to her son Jean- Baptiste Charbonneau, who would soon become America’s youngest explorer.

Captain Clark wrote that the “great object was to make every letter sound” in recording Indian words in their journals. The Sacagawea Statue (Bismarck, pronunciation of Sacagawea’s name in years since the ND) expedtion as “Sacajawea” does not match “Sah-cah' gah-we-ah,” the way that the captains recorded the young Shoshone woman’s name. In fact, her name -- made by joining the Hidatsa words for bird (“sacaga”) and woman (“wea”) -- was written 17 times by the explorers in their journals and on their maps, and each time it was spelled with a “g” in the third syllable.

The Shoshones possessed horses that the expedition needed to cross the Bitterroot Mountains. The captains felt that because of her Shoshone heritage, Sacagawea could be important in trading for horses when the Corps reached the western mountains and the Shoshones. While Sacagawea did not speak English, she spoke Shoshone and Hidatsa. Her husband Charbonneau spoke Hidatsa and French. In effect, Sacagawea and Charbonneau would become an intepreter team. As Clark explained in his journals, Charbonneau was hired “as an interpreter through his wife.” If and when the expedition met the Shoshones, Sacagawea would talk with them, then translate to Hidatsa for Charbonneau, who would translate to French. The Corps’ Francois Labiche spoke French and English, and would make the final translation so that the two English-speaking captains would understand.

Sacagawea, with the infant Jean Baptiste, was the only woman to accompany the 33 members of the permanent party to the Pacific Ocean and back. Baptiste, who Captain Clark affectionately named “Pomp” or “Pompy” for his “little dancing boy” frolicking, rode with Sacagwea in the boats and on her back when they traveled on horseback. Her activities as a member of the Corps included digging for roots, collecting edible plants and picking berries; all of these were used as food and sometimes, as medicine. On May 14, 1805, the boat Sacagawea was riding in was hit by a high wind and nearly capsized. She recovered many important papers and supplies that would otherwise have been lost, and her calmness under duress earned the compliments of the captains.

On August 12, 1805, Captain Lewis and three men scouted 75 miles ahead of the expedition’s main party, crossing the Continental Divide at today’s Lemhi Pass. The next day, they found a group of Shoshones. Not only did they prove to be Sacagawea’s band, but their leader, Chief Cameahwait, turned out to be none other than her brother. On August 17, after five years of separation, Sacagawea and Cameahwait had an emotional reunion. Then, through their intepreting chain of the captains, Labiche, Charbonneau, and Sacagawea, the expedition was able to purchase the horses it needed.

Sacagawea turned out to be incredibly valuable to the Corps as it traveled westward, through the territories of many new tribes. Some of these Indians, prepared to defend their lands, had never seen white men before. As Clark noted on October 19, 1805, the Indians were inclined to believe that the whites were friendly when they saw Sacagawea. A war party never traveled with a woman -- especially a woman with a baby. During council meetings between Indian chiefs and the Corps where Shoshone was spoke, Sacagawea was used and valued as an interpreter.

On November 24, 1805, when the expedition reached the place where the Columbia River emptied into the Pacific Ocean, the captains held a vote among all the members to decide where to settle for the winter. Sacagawea’s vote, as well as the vote of the Clark’s manservant York, were counted equally with those of the captains and the men. As a result of the election, the Corps stayed at a site near present-day Astoria, Oregon, in Fort Clatsop, which they constructed and inhabited during the winter of 1805-1806.

While at Fort Clatsop, local Indians told the expedition of a whale that had been stranded on a beach some miles to the south. Clark assembled a group of men to find the whale and possibly obtain some whale oil and blubber, which could be used to feed the Corps. Sacagawea had yet to see the ocean, and after willfully asking Clark, she was allowed to accompany the group to the sea. As Captain Lewis wrote on January 6, 1806, “[T]he Indian woman was very impo[r]tunate to be permited to go, and was therefore indulged; she observed that she had traveled a long way with us to see the great waters, and that now that monstrous fish was also to be seen, she thought it very hard she could not be permitted to see either.”

During the expedition’s return journey, as they passed through her homeland, Sacagawea proved a valuable guide. She remembered Shoshone trails from her childhood, and Clark praised her as his “pilot.” The most important trail she recalled, which Clark described as “a large road passing through a gap in the mountain,” led to the Yellowstone River. (Today, it is known as Bozeman Pass, Montana.) The Corps returned to the Hidatsa-Mandan villages on August 14, 1806, marking the end of the trip for Sacagawea, Charbonneau and their boy, Jean Baptiste. When the trip was over, Sacagawea received nothing, but Charbonneau was given $500.33 and 320 acres of land.

Six years after the expedition, Sacagawea gave birth to a daughter, Lisette. On December 22, 1812, the Shoshone woman died at age 25 due to what later medical researchers believed was a serious illness she had suffered most of her adult life. Her condition may have been aggravated by Lisette’s birth. At the time of her death, Sacagawea was with her husband at Fort Manuel, a Missouri Fur Company trading post in present-day South Dakota. Eight months after her death, Clark legally adopted Sacagawea’s two children, Jean Baptiste and Lisette. Baptiste was educated by Clark in St. Lous, and then, at age 18, was sent to Europe with a German prince. It is not known whether Lisette survived past infancy.

During most of the 20th century, several generations of Americans have believed a theory that originated in 1907 by Dr. Grace Raymond Hebard, Librarian, University of Wyoming. According to Dr. Hebard’s theory, a person who lived to age 100 on the Wind River Indian Reservation (Wyoming) was the Sacagawea of the Lewis and Clark expedition. Alleged to have been “Sacajawea,” which was interpreted to mean “boat launcher,” that woman died and was buried on the reservation on April 9, 1884. Dr. Hebard formalized her theory in her 1932 book, Sacagawea: A Guide and Intepreter of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

The only written documents that have been found positively identifying that elderly woman are the listing of her name on a November 1, 1877 census roll of the Wind River Shoshone and Bannock Indians, and the woman’s April 9, 1884 death certificate. Both of these official documents clearly record her name as “Bazil’s Mother.” At age 100 in 1884, Bazil’s Mother would have been born in 1784, making her 21 years old in 1805 -- the year Sacagawea set out with Lewis and Clark. Most 20th century books, encyclopedias, and movies have perpetuated this theory, creating the mistaken identity of the Wind River woman. Sacajawea (Boat Launcher) or Sacagawea (Bird Woman) - Shoshone By Julia White The Shoshone lived in Idaho, parts of Utah and parts of Northern Nevada, and it is believed that Sacajawea was born in Eastern Idaho in what is now Salmon, Idaho. Everything about Sacajawea is mysterious from the correct spelling and meaning of her name, to the circumstances surrounding her death. At about age 10, Sacajawea was captured by a raiding band of Hidatsa and carried to their camp near the border of North Dakota. Eventually, Sacajawea was sold to a French-Canadian fur trader named Toussaint Charbonneau. The Corps of Discovery (as the Lewis and Clark Expedition was officially named) had camped for the winter at Fort Mandan in North Dakota, which is where Charbonneau was also spending the winter with his pregnant wife, Sacajawea. When winter broke, Charbonneau was hired to guide Lewis & Clark due to his knowledge of the country where he trapped. He was specifically instructed to bring Sacajawea, with her baby boy Jean Baptiste, for a number of reasons. First of all, the presence of a woman and baby would establish the peaceful nature of the party. Secondly a Native translator and negotiator with knowledge of the languages, customs and tribes of the country was essential. Clark noted that Sacajawea’s knowledge of the terrain and mountain passes saved weeks of travel time. Her ability to speak and negotiate with Native tribes allowed the expedition to keep fresh horses and food all along the way. When food was scarce, Sacajawea gathered and prepared roots, nuts, berries and other edible plants in order to provide tasty nourishment. Clark was so taken with Sacajawea, and so concerned about her welfare at the hands of the abusive and wife-beating Charbonneau, that he proposed taking the infant boy to St. Louis to be raised in safety. From here, history becomes cloudy. It is known that Sacajawea did take her son to Clark in St. Louis where he was raised as Clark's own. She did leave Charbonneau and spend time in St. Louis. One account says that she died of "putrid fever" (smallpox, tuberculosis, scarlet fever??) at age 25, and even Clark's account of the members of his expedition mark her as dead. Native accounts, however, especially Shoshone oral history, have Sacajawea marrying several more times, having a number of children, and meeting up with her son Jean Baptiste in Wind River, Wyoming. This woman (called Porivo) had intimate knowledge of the Lewis & Clark expedition, spoke French, wore a Jefferson Medal around her neck, was a political speaker, she was credited with introducing the Sun Dance Ceremony to the Shoshone, and was an advocate of agriculture as a necessary skill for the Shoshone. Porivo died at age 96, and was buried in the white cemetery at Ft. Washakie as a final show of respect for her efforts in behalf of both Lewis & Clark, and her own people. Dr. Charles Eastman, who had been hired by the Bureau of Indian Affairs to locate Sacajawea, opted for the Native history as being the most accurate. After extensive research, Eastman determined that Porivo was, indeed, Sacajawea. Sacajawea

Sacajawea is well-known as the Indian woman who led Lewis and Clark on their famous expedition to find the Pacific Ocean. Sacajawea was not officially a member of the expedition party. Her husband, Toussaint Charbonneau, was hired as an interpreter and took Sacajawea along. She was allowed to join the party as an unofficial member because the captains thought she would be useful to help in communicating with some of the Indian tribes they met and also in obtaining horses from her native tribe, the Shoshone.

Sacajawea was born about 1790 in what is now the state of Idaho. She was one of the "Snake People," otherwise known as the Shoshone. Her name in Hidatsa was Tsi-ki-ka- wi-as, "Bird Woman. In Shoshone, her name means "Boat Pusher."

She was stolen during a raid by a Hidatsa tribe when she was a young girl and taken to their village near what is now Bismark, N. Dakota.

Some time afterward the French-Canadian trapper and fur trader, Charbonneau bought Sacajawea and her companion, Otter Woman, as wives. When her husband joined the expedition at Fort Mandan in the Dakotas, Sacajawea was about 16 years old and pregnant.

The expedition spent the winter at Fort Mandan and Sacajawea's baby, Jean Baptiste Charbonneau, was born on Feb. 11 or 12, 1805. He was also given the Shoshone name, Pomp, meaning First Born.

The expedition resumed the westward trek on April 7, 1805. Their route was along the Missouri River, west to the mountains. On May 14, 1805 an incident occurred which was typical of the calmness and self-possession Sacajawea was to display throughout the journey. The incident was recorded in the diaries because of it's significance to the success of the expedition. On that day, the boat Sacajawea was in was hit by a sudden storm squall. It keeled over on it's side and nearly capsized. As the other members of the crew worked desperately to right the boat, Sacajawea, with her baby strapped to her back, busied herself with retrieving the valuable books and instruments that floated out of the boat. They had been wrapped in waterproof packages for protection and, thanks to Sacajawea's courage and quick actions, suffered no damage.

Contrary to popular opinion, Sacajawea did not serve as a guide for the party. She only influenced the direction taken by the expedition one time, after reaching the area where her people hunted she indicated they should take a tributary of the Beaverhead River to get to the mountains where her people lived and where Lewis and Clark hoped to buy horses.

On August 15, 1805 Sacajawea was re-united with her tribe, only to learn that all her family had died, with the exception of two brothers and the son of her oldest sister, whom she adopted. One of her brothers, Cameahwait, was head chief of the Shoshone. The Shoshone chief agreed to sell the party the horses they needed for the trek through the mountains. He also sketched a map of the country to the west and provided a guide, Old Toby, who took them through the mountains and safely to the Nez Perce country. where they resumed river travel.

Throughout the expedition, Sacajawea maintained a helpful, uncomplaining attitude of cheefulness in the face of hardship. This was so remarkable that it was commented on by all the men who kept diaries. There is one record of her complaining, however. While wintering on the Columbia River before starting their journey back to the east, nearby Indians reported that a whale had washed up on the beach about 35 miles from the fort. Sacajawea said that she had traveled a long way to see the great waters and, now that a monstrous fish was also to be seen, she thought it "very hard" that she could not be permitted to see it, and the ocean too. Captain Clark took a party of two canoes, including Sacajawea and her husband, to find the whale and possibly obtain some blubber. By the time they arrived there was nothing left but the skeleton, but they were able to buy about Sacajawea Its pronunciation is close to that of the more commonly used "Sacajawea," the spelling and pronunciation her tribe prefers today. In their language, it doesn't mean Bird Woman or Boat Launcher. It means a burden that is pulled or carried. Until she was old enough to walk, Sacajawea spent much of her time in a cradleboard made of willow branches. Her mother carried it on her back. Babies quickly became accustomed to their cradleboards and felt secure and contented in them. That was important, because children had to be well-behaved. Enemies could be anywhere, and a crying child could give away an entire band. A baby who cried without a good reason got its nose pinched. Shoshone bands wintered in the river valleys of the part of Idaho roughly bordered by the present-day towns of Carmen, Lemhi, North Fork and Challis. In the spring, they began their annual forays in search of food. Babies and small children were left at home with parents or aunts and uncles, who took turns staying with them. "I've been to North Dakota and seen the sign saying 'home of Sacagawea.' I don't like what these other tribes are doing with their Sacagawea and Sagawaga and all that. In our language, her name is Sacajawea. It means burden." Snookins Honena The Shoshone prized their children. They gave them necklaces made with elk teeth, a symbol of status. They began teaching them almost from the time they were born, and everyone was expected to help with a child's education. Discipline for young children wasn't just their parents' responsibility. Grandparents, aunts and uncles, older siblings and others all had the authority to correct a child who was misbehaving. Sacajawea's practical training for her tribe's difficult way of life began when she was a toddler. Shoshone children were expected to learn early and work hard. Their survival depended on it. Sacajawea would have mastered all the skills she needed to survive by the time she was 12. At that age, she was said to have been small but wiry, with attractive facial features. "The men would deal with movement, where the bands would go. The women would have the say around the camps. Children started learning right away. There was no TV then. And you'd listen to the stories that would tell you about your beliefs and customs. Long ago, girls worked harder than they do today. It was based on your survival and the fact you could be attacked by the enemy. Girls were taught to be aware of enemies. They were taught to use weapons, and they always carried a knife." Camille George From her tribe's elders and her relatives, she learned the Shoshones' history, cultural traditions and spiritual beliefs. Stories of who they were and what they believed were told to children from the time they were old enough to understand. Members of other tribes would have recognized her immediately as an Shoshone, identified by the reddish paint her people wore in the parts in their hair, around their eyes and on their foreheads and cheeks. The paint, made with red, iron-oxide clay, was a symbol of peace. Between the ages of 10 and 12, Shoshone girls went with their mothers, aunts and grandmothers for one of the last parts of their education. They called it the doe-yuh-huvee. A spiritual quest and a coming-of-age ritual, it was a day and a night spent in the mountains away from the rest of the tribe. A girl was told, among other things, about the changes she would experience as she became a woman. A girl only chose her husband if she was lucky. Marriages were arranged by her family, with her father playing a decisive role. Girls could be promised to a man years before they were old enough to marry. A girl with a stern authoritarian for a father had little choice but to accept the husband he approved. A girl with a kind, loving father would have considerable influence in the decision. Either way, wives were expected to obey and respect their husbands. Depending on their ability to provide for them, Shoshone men had up to three wives. A capable provider who treated his wives well was in great demand. Girls married between the ages of 14 and 16. Men were forbidden to have sexual relations with girls who had not come of age, even if they were married to them. There was no formal ceremony of the kind we have today, but couples commonly chose to exchange vows and gifts. It was customary for the husband to give a gift to his new wife's father, and their parents also may have exchanged gifts. Sometimes there was a feast to celebrate. By the time she was 12, Sacajawea would have had a strong sense of identity with her tribe and a clear idea of what was expected of her as a woman. She'd have learned virtually all of the skills she needed to survive in a camp or alone in the wilderness, to care for herself, a husband and a child, and to be a fully contributing member of her tribe. She would need all her skills and resourcefulness for what lay ahead. In her 12th year, Sacajawea was the victim of a brutal attack. It would take the Shoshone girl from Idaho to center stage for one of America's great adventures. The Shoshones´ traditional enemies at the beginning of the 19th century were the Blackfeet and the Sioux Indians. The Hidatsas, who recently had acquired horses and extended their range, were relative newcomers to the Shoshones´ territory. Like the Shoshones, the Hidatsas were skilled horsemen. Unlike the Shoshones, they had rifles. Plains Indians whose raids lengthened with the acquisition of horses, the Hidatsas traded with white men the Shoshones didn´t know existed. Her band was camped where three rivers meet in what is now western Montana. Her father, brothers and most of the other men had left to hunt buffalo. A few men and some older boys had stayed with the women and children. As always, Sacajawea was carrying her knife. Some of the Shoshones had bows and arrows. All were habitually alert to the possibility of danger. But the attack was so sudden and overwhelming that they had no chance. The horses and gunfire seemed to explode from the trees. Terrifying in their red and black war paint, the riders fired with deadly accuracy. All around her, Sacajawea´s relatives and friends were falling. Charbonneau´s other wife was glad to have someone to help with the work. The women expected Charbonneau to provide food, and he expected them to do the domestic chores. When he brought game, they cleaned and butchered it, made stews and other meals and dried the rest of the meat to be eaten later. They planted and tended gardens, harvested crops and prepared meals using fresh vegetables - skills learned from the Hidatsas and the Mandans. They made Charbonneau´s pants, shirts, moccasins, hats and coats. They cared for him when he was sick. They kept their home clean, comfortable and stocked with the necessities of daily life. Sacajawea was pleased to be living with a woman who understood her native language, but her happiness was tempered by her husband´s linguistic limitations and domineering behavior. Charbonneau spoke only French and Hidatsa and late in his life admitted that his Hidatsa was far from perfect. He had no desire to learn another language and didn´t want his wives saying things he couldn´t understand, particularly about the man of the house. Only Hidatsa was to be spoken in their home. He forbade the women from speaking the Shoshone language. That didn´t always stop them. Charbonneau was often gone. And although he was fond of laying down the law and known to have beaten Sacajawea, she didn´t allow him to control her. Smart and resourceful, she found ways around his decrees that she found intolerable. Occasionally she even made fun of him. She was dedicated to making the marriage work, but not at any price. By the summer of 1804, Sacajawea was pregnant. She was grateful for the lessons her mother and the other women in her tribe had taught her about childbirth. Unlike Shoshone husbands, who sometimes helped in childbirth, Charbonneau would be of little or no use when the baby came. In October of that year, more white men came to the village. These men were different from the traders and fur trappers Sacajawea was accustomed to encountering. Some of them wore uniforms. They had strange-looking boats, heavily laden with wonders she had never seen. They had mysterious tools, fearsome weapons, exotic scientific instruments. Disciplined and well-organized, they set about building a winter camp, which they called Fort Mandan. The newcomers answered to two men who clearly were in command. One day Sacajawea saw the men talking to her husband. Charbonneau later told her they were planning a long journey that would take them through her homeland. They would need horses from her tribe. They would need interpreters. Charbonneau´s fluent French and passable Hidatsa would be useful to them, but he spoke no Shoshone. Either of his wives could prove to be more valuable when the expedition entered Shoshone territory. Fearing he wouldn´t take her if she seemed too eager to return to her people, Sacajawea hid her enthusiasm. Sacajawea´s baby was born with a full head of dark hair on Feb. 11, 1805, eight weeks before the Corps of Discovery left its winter camp at Fort Mandan. Charbonneau named him Jean Baptiste. Sacajawea called him Baambi, a Shoshone word for hair. Clark called him "Pomp." A baby could be a liability on so perilous a voyage. Charbonneau could have chosen to take his other wife, but she was an eastern Shoshone who didn´t know the Shoshone territory the Corps of Discovery would have to cross. Sacajawea would have been the logical choice for the expedition´s leaders. She knew the land and the people and might be useful in procuring horses from them. Charbonneau, however, was not a man to let his wives call the shots. If she begged him to take her, he´d have feared that she´d return to her people for good and almost certainly refused. It worked. The 31 men, one woman, one baby and one dog of the Corps of Discovery left Fort Mandan on April 7, 1805, plying the Missouri in six canoes and two larger, flat- bottomed pirogues. Sacajawea set up a warm tepee the first night, a skill learned as part of her Shoshone education. On the third day, Sacajawea dug Jerusalem artichokes for the men to eat. It was the first of many times she added variety to a diet that relied heavily on meat. One of her most important contributions, however, was her mere presence. Though Lewis and Clark thought of themselves as traveling through unexplored territory, the continent west of the Mississippi was actually well known. It was home to dozens of Indian tribes who knew the land intimately and vigorously defended their turf. Intruders ran the risk of paying with their lives. Without Sacajawea and Jean Baptiste, they could have been mistaken for a war party and annihilated. The presence of a woman and a child assured potential enemies that its intentions were peaceful. Though only 16 or 17 when she joined the expedition, she proved to be more than competent as a mother. She cared for all of her infant son´s needs while carrying him halfway across a continent and back. By all accounts, he was a healthy, happy baby. Difficult as the journey had to have been for her, she wasn´t known to complain of its hardships. She had an even disposition and kept her head in times of trouble. Five weeks out from Fort Mandan, in a squall, Charbonneau almost sank the pirogue carrying the expedition´s documents and scientific records. His wife calmly retrieved the irreplaceable items that were washed overboard. A few weeks later, near the Great Falls of the Missouri, Sacajawea became seriously ill. She was so sick that some of the men were afraid she would die. Lewis tried several remedies with varying degrees of success. The one that appeared to make the difference was sulphur water from a nearby spring. She eagerly drank it and soon recovered. In the summer of 1805, the expedition reached the place where the Hidatsas had captured Sacajawea almost exactly five years earlier. Lewis recorded that she showed no emotion. One of the most famous entries in the journals of Lewis and Clark, written when they achieved their heart´s desire of reaching the Pacific Ocean, is "O! the joy." For Sacajawea, the equivalent moment occurred on Aug. 17, 1805. By then, the Corps of Discovery was in the homeland of her people. Though some Lemhi people blame Sacajawea for showing the white men her homeland, others say she had no choice. The day began auspiciously when she was reunited with a friend who had been captured with her but escaped. Later, Lewis ordered a conference with the Shoshone chiefs. To communicate with him, they spoke to Sacajawea, who translated to Hidatsa for Charbonneau, who translated to French for one of the corps´ privates, who translated to English for Lewis. Sacajawea was looking at the Shoshone leaders when Lewis realized that she was capable of emotion, after all. Away from her people for five years, traveling for months over an uncertain route and arriving just in time for a hastily arranged meeting, she recognized the leader of the Shoshone chiefs as her own brother. Forgetting her deeply ingrained belief that women were to remain submissive and respectful at important conferences, she ran to its most important person, hugged him, threw a blanket over him and wept. Lewis and Clark wanted the chief and some of the members of his band to help them cross the Bitterroot Mountains to Nez Perce territory and the rivers they hoped would take them to the sea. The Shoshones, concerned that they could encounter Blackfeet raiding parties en route, were reluctant. Their chief agreed to help, but by then considerable misgivings had been expressed. The chief´s name for nearly two centuries has been given as Cameahwait, which Lewis accepted as meaning "one who never walks." Lemhi Shoshones today say it means "I won ´t go." Some believe that his name wasn´t Cameahwait at all, that his or his braves´ refusal to go over the mountains was at some point misinterpreted as his name, and that no one today knows what his real name was.

After years of hoping to be reunited with her people, Sacajawea chose to stay with Charbonneau instead of remaining with her brother and her tribe. She may have felt unwelcome. Most of her family was dead, and the man to whom she had been promised no longer wanted her because she´d had Charbonneau´s baby. Politics may also have played a part. The tribe had long feared its enemies´ rifles. Its leaders may have told her to stay with the white men and assist them in hopes of gaining alliances with the well-armed newcomers. The Shoshones provided the expedition with the horses it desperately needed to cross the mountains, and a guide to lead the way. The guide´s name was Deetobi. Lewis and Clark called him Old Toby. Today, he is best known as a guide who twice managed to get lost. Some Lemhi people say he was never lost, but saw the white men as potential enemies and deliberately misled them. The more confused they were, the less likely they would be to return to their hosts´ homeland. With help from the Nez Perce tribe, the expedition reached the Pacific by way of the Clearwater, Snake and Columbia rivers early in November. When a vote was held to decide the location of the party´s winter camp, Sacajawea was allowed to join the men in voting. As a further sign of her status, the captains humored her request to be permitted to go and see a beached whale. The return journey that began the following spring was less eventful for Sacajawea. Her routine was well established, the country wasn´t quite the vast question mark it had been on the westbound trip, and there were no boat mishaps or family reunions for her. The corps reached the Mandan villages on Aug. 14, 1806. A few days later, Clark paid Charbonneau for his services - Sacajawea received nothing - and left for St. Louis. Charbonneau, Sacajawea and Jean Baptiste, now a toddler, stayed to resume the life they´d known before Lewis and Clark paddled into their lives. Sacajawea had the satisfaction of knowing she had performed useful services, seen an ocean, traveled farther than virtually any of her people and made important friends - especially Clark. Her time with Lewis and especially Clark, who on at least one occasion restrained her husband from beating her, allowed her to see herself as a person of value rather than as a slave or possession. Sacajawea, Charbonneau and Jean Baptiste spent about three years in the Mandan village after completing their journey to the Pacific and back. Charbonneau preferred the Indian lifestyle to living in a city, but an offer he couldn´t refuse took the family to St. Louis. William Clark had taken a liking to Jean Baptiste during their travels together. He called him his "little dancing boy, Baptiste." Clark offered to adopt him and raise him as his own child. Sacajawea agreed to consider it, but told him she wanted to wait until he was older. She and Charbonneau ultimately accepted the offer, knowing their son would be well cared for and receive a better education than they could give him. They took Jean Baptiste to St. Louis, where Clark was living, in 1809. Clark by then was a general and superintendent of Indian Affairs for the Louisiana Territory. Sacajawea and Charbonneau stayed in St. Louis with Jean Baptiste for two years, then left him under Clark´s care and returned to the Mandan villages. Jean Baptiste was 6. Sacajawea, then in her early 20s, was pregnant. Her second child was born in 1812. A daughter named Lizette, she is thought to have died in infancy. But Sacajawea died before her daughter. "This evening the Wife of Charbonau a Snake Squaw, died Of a putrid fever she was a good and the best Woman in the fort, aged about 25 years she left a fine infant girl." The words are those of John Luttig, a clerk with the Missouri Fur Company. He recorded the death in his journal on Dec. 12, 1812, at Fort Manuel, S.D.