We already know how Lewis and his party killed 2 Blackfoot natives while on his journey down the Marias, and as we are on the trail of Sacajawea, we will follow the Clark party on its journey down the Yellowstone. July 3rd Clark records: "—took my leave of Captain Lewis and the Indians at 8 A. M.—set out with Charbono, his wife and child (he had 20 others) with fifty horses; we proceeded on through the valley of Clark's river—making 36 miles—plenty of feed for the horses—great numbers of deer and one bear"—here they left the divide and followed down a branch of the Bitter Root—called Wisdom creek—but not until Sacajawea told him that she knew the place.

"The 'squar' pointed to the gap through which she said we must pass which was S.56' E, she said we must pass the river before we reached the gap." Here Clark was depending on her knowledge of the country and he was not disappointed. On the 8th, they reached the junction of the two forks of the Jefferson where they had cached their goods and canoes–opened and found them all right—one boat with a hole in it.

Next day the 9th– had the horses brought up —the canoes raised, washed, drawn up on the shore for repairs— 'The Squar brought me a plant the root of which the natives eat.' Will set sail tomorrow. July l0th,—'last night very cold—grass stiff frozed—water in bason with ice � of an inch thick—had all the canoes put in the water—loaded."

By the 13th they had reached the junction of the Madison where new arrangements were made; Sergeant Ordway with six horses went on down the Missouri, and Clark and his party comprising himself, eight men besides the 'squar', Charbono and the child—left the Missouri and began their trip to the head of the Yellowstone— camping where the town of Logan now is–lots of deer, elk, beaver and otter. Here we have an expression of appreciation of the 'squar' for we read, —"The Indian woman who has been of great service to me as a pilot through this country recommends a gap in the mountain more south, which I shall cross."

In the crooked travels of the l4th—"The squar informed me of a large road passing through the upper part of this low plain from Madison's river through the gap which I was steering my course to." Again he refers to the Indian woman who told him, "That a fiew years ago the buffalow was very plenty on those plains and vallys–as high as the head of Jefferson's river—12 miles further on we struck a buffalo trail, the one the Indian woman meant." On the 15th they reached the branch near where the town of Livingstone now is. The 16th, he sent Shannon to kill a buffalo and make moccasins for his horses feet of its hide.

17th—saw a fort built last summer—"the Squaw (he now spells it correctly for the first time) informs me that when the war parties of minnetares, Crows & c who fight Shoshones find themselves pursued they make these forts to defend themselves." So far, he has not found a tree large enough from which to make a canoe—they proceed with horse packing only. By the 23rd, Clark decided to make canoes by tieing two together, from the small trees only to be found; that night the horses were stolen by Indians—24 of them—half of his herd, and he now decides to send the rest of them to the Mandans by Shannon and Windsor—and later adds Pryor and Gibson to this party—writes a long letter to be handed to Hugh Heney of the North West Co., at Ft Assiniboine.

Next day 24th, they packed the double canoes with all their remaining goods and floated down stream—on and on through great herds of buffalo a distance he says of 636 miles by canoe— to camp on the 3rd of August at the junction of the Missouri; here they were so badly bitten by mosquitos that they left a note for Lewis to tell him where to find them—then went on down river, but found the insects so bad that he says 'the child of Charbono is so much bitten by musquitoes that his face is much swelled up"—passed on down, found it no better—"tried to shoot a ram but the mosquitoes were so thick on his gun that he could not see the sights, and missed the ram." And now they come to the Mandans.

Saturday 17 August, 1806: "Settled with Touisant Chabano for his services as an interpreter, the price of a horse and Lodge purchased from him for public service in all amounting to 500$ 33a cents. Derected that two of the largest canoes by fastened together with poles tied across them so as to make them study for the purpose of conveying the Indians and enterpreter and their families—we also took leave of T Chabono, his Snake Indan wife and their child (son) who had accompanied us on our rout to the pacific ocean in the capacity of interpreter and interpretres. T Charbono much wished to accompany us in the said capacity if we could have prevailed the Menetarre Chiefs to decend the river with us to the U States—we offered to convey him down to the Illinois if he chose to go but he declined— I offered to take his little son, a butiful promising child who is 19 months old, to which they both, himself and wife were willing provided the child had been weened. They observed that in one year the boy would be sufficiently old to leave his mother and he would then take him to me if I would be so friendly as to raise the child for him in such a manner as I thought proper to which I agreed & c."

And so, in five large volumes out of a total of seven, we have traced the fate and fortunes of this dusky maid—captive, concubine (?) slave, sold and bought, partly wife, and a real mother! For far less of suffering and accomplishment we have acclaimed as a heroine many a white woman! For her, assent is silence!

Here too, we leave Lewis and Clark, who left to Time and Fate, the keeping of their benefactress, without whose faith and favor, themselves would not have had erected to their memory, monuments of marble and of bronze; her humble and unobstrusive contribution to the greatness of America—after a hundred and forty years–remains almost a blank!

Of world-famed women, there are four whom we think of as Indians: Marina who guided Cortez to a successful conquering of Mexico; of Pocahontas who made it possible for the English to settle at Jamestown; Mo-nah-se-tah whom Custer captured at Washita battle ground, the young attractive maid—one of fifty-two women and children herded to a concentration camp—and who, like Marina, guided Custer—to win the campaign against the Kiowa wanderers, and remnants of those left alive after Roman Nose and Black Kettle bands were massacred in the disgraceful affairs of Sand Creek and Washita. And Sacajawea.. Of the four justly noted red women the Shoshone girl stands out far in the front, yet, we chance the guess that not one per cent of the people of the United States know and appreciate the magnitude and value of her contribution to United States history! Her statue should stand first—in the Hall of Fame!

M. I. McCreight.
The Wigwam,
February 22, 1945


BOOKMARK

In 2000, the United States Mint issued a golden dollar coin bearing a representation of Sacagawea and her child.
Offered October 2001
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