Sacagawea in primary sources
February 11, 1805 Lewis
"about five oClock this evening one of the wives of Charbono was delivered
of a fine boy. it is worthy of remark that this was the first child which
this woman had boarn, and as is common is such cases her labour was tedious
and the pain violent; Mr. Jessome informed me that he had freequently administered
a small portion of the rattle of the rattle-snake, which he assured me had
never failed to produce the desired effect, that of hastening the birth
of the child; having the rattle of a snake by me I gave it to him and he
administered two rings of it to the woman broken in small pieces with the
fingers and added to a small quantity of water. Whether this medicine was
truly the cause or not I shall not undertake to determine, but I was informed
that she had not take it more than ten minutes before she brought forth."
(80)
April 7, 1805 Lewis
"Capt. Clark myself the two Interpretters and the woman and child sleep
in a tent of dressed skins." (92)
-the baby is not even 2 months old
April 9, 1805 Lewis
"when we halted for dinner the squaw busied herself in serching for
the wild artichokes which the mice collect and deposit in large hoards.
this operation she performed by penatrating the earth with a sharp stick
about some small collections of drift wood. he labour soon proved successful,
and she procured a good quantity of these roots." (93)
May 16, 1805 Lewis
"the Indian woman to whom I ascribe equal fortitude and resolution,
with any person onboard at the time of the accedent, caught and preserved
most of the light articles which were washed overboard." (111)
May 20, 1805 Lewis
"The hunters returned this evening and informed us that the country
continued much the same in appearance as that we saw wehere we wer or broken,
and tht about five miles above the mouth of shell river a handsome river
of about fifty yards in width discharged itsefl itno the shell river on
the stard. or upper side; this stream we call Sah-ca-ger-we-ah or bird woman's
River, after our interpreter the Snake woman." (113)
July 22, 1805 Lewis
"The Indian woman recognizes the country and assures us that this is
the river on which her relations live, and that the three forks ar at no
great distance. this piece of information has cheered the sperits of the
party who now begin to console themselves with the anticipation of shortyly
seeing the head of the missouri yet unknown to the civilized world." (163)
July 28, 1805 Lewis
"Our present camp is precisely on the spot that the Snake Indians were
encamped at the time the Minnetares of the knife R. first came in sight
of them five years since. from hence they retreated about three miles up
Jeffersons river and concealed themselves in the woods, the Minnetares
pursued, attacked them, killed 4 men 4 women a number of boys, and mad[e]
prisoners of all the females and four boys, Sah-cah-gar-wa-eh o[u]r Indian
woman was one of the female prisioners taken at that time; tho' I cannot discover
that she shews any immotion of sorrow in recollecting this event, or of
joy in being restored to her native country; if she has enough to eat and
a few trinkets to wear I believe she would be perfectly content anywhere."
(171)
July 30, 1805 Lewis
"we reloaded our canoes and set out, ascending Jeffersons river. Sharbono,
his woman two inballeds and myself walked through the bottom on the Lard.
side of the river about 4 1/2 miles when we again struck it at the place
the woman informed us that she was taken prisioner, here we halted untill
Capt. Clark arrived" (172).
August 8, 1805 Lewis
"the indian woman recognized the point of a high plain to our right
which she informed us was not very distant from the summer retreat of her
nation on a river beyond the the mountains which runs to the west. this
hill she says her nation calls the beaver's head from a conceived re[se]mblance
of it's figure to the head of that animal. she assures us that we shall
either find her peoople on this river or on the river immediately west of
its's source; which from it's present size cannot be distant" (181).
August 17, 1805 Biddle
"On setting out at seven o'clock, Captain Clarke with Charboneau and
his wife walked on shore, but they had not gone more than a mile vefore
Clarke saw Sacajawea, who was with her husband 100 yards ahead, ehan to
dance and show every mark of the most extravagant joy, turning round him
and pointing to several Indians, whom he now saw advancing on horseback,
sucking her fingers at the same time to indicate that they were of her native
tribe....We soon drew near to the camp, and just as we approached it a woman
made her way throught the croud towards Sacajawea, and recognising each other,
they embraced with the most tender affection. The meeting of these two young
women had in it something peculiarly touching, not only in the arcent mnner
in which thier feelings were expressed, but from the real interest of their
situation. they had been companions in childhood, in the war with the Minnetarees
they had both been taken prisoners in the same battle, they ahd shared and
softened the rigours of their captivity, till on of them had escaped from
the Minnetarees, with scaree a hope of ever seeing her friend relieved from
the hands of her enemies. While Sacajawea was renewing among the women the
friendships of former days, Captain Clarke went on.....Sacajawea was sent
for; she came into the tent, sat down, and was beginning to interpret, when
in the person of Cameahwait she recognized her brother: She instantly jummped
up, and ran and embraced him, throwing over him her blanket and weeping profusely:
The chief was himself moved, though not to the same degree. After some conversation
between them seh resumed her sear, and attempted to interpret for us, but
her new situaion seemed to overpower her, and she was frequently interrupted
by her tears. After the council was finished the unfortunate woman learnt
that all her faimly were dead except two brothers, one of whom was absent,
and a son of her eldest sister, a small boy, who was immediately adopted
by her" (202-203).
August 17, 1805 Lewis
"It was mutually agreed that he should set out tomorrow morning with
eleven men...also to take the indians, Charbono and the indian woman with
him; that on his arrival at the Shoshone camp he was to leave Charbono and
the Indian woman to haisten the return of the Indians with the horses to
this place." (205)
Octover 19, 1805 Clark
"as Soon as they Saw the Squar wife of the interperter they pointed
ot her and informed those who continued yet in the Same position I first
found them, they imediately all came out and appeared to assume new life,
the sight of This Indian woman, wife to one of our interprs. confirmed
those people of our friendly intentions, as no woman ever accompanies a war
party of Indians in this quarter." (256-7)
January 6, 1806 Lewis
"Capt Clark set out after an early breakfast with the party in two canoes
as had been concerted the last evening; Charbono and his Indian woman
were also of the party; the Indian woman was very importunate 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 alos to be seen, she though it very hard she could not be permitted
to see either (she had never been to the Ocean)" (300-1).
May 11, 1806 Clark
"we were crouded in the Lodge with Indians who continued all night and
this morning Great numbers were around us. The One Eyed Chief arived and
we gave him a medal of the small size and spoke to the Indians through a
Snake boy Shabono and his wife. we informed them who we were, where we were
came from & our intentions towards them, which pleased them very much"
(380-1).
May 16, 1806 Clark
"The men who were complaining of the head ake and cholick yesterday
and last night are much better to day. Shabonos Squar gathered a quantity
of fenel roots which we find very paliatiable and nurushing food. the onion
we also find in abundance and boil it with our meat." (388)
August 17, 1806 Clark
"we also took our leave of T. Charbono, his Snake Indian wife and their
child who had accomplanied us on our rout to the pacific ocean in the capacity
of interpreter and interpretess...I offered to take his little son a butifull
promising child who is 19 months old to which they both himself & wife
wer willing provided the child had been weened. they observed that in one
year the boy would be sufficiently old to leave his mother & 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." (458)
Clark to Toussaint Charbonneau, on board the perogue near the Ricara
Village
August 20, 1806
"You have been a long time with me and conducted your Self in Such a
manner as to gain my friendship, your woman who accompanied you that long
dangerous and fatigueing rout to the Pacific Ocian and back diserved a
greater reward for her attention and services on that rout than we had
in our power to give her at the Mandans. As to your little Son (my boy Pomp)
you well know my fondness of him and my anxiety to take him and raise him
as my own child...If you are desposed to accept either of my offers to you
and will bring down you Son your famn Janey had best come along with you
to take care of the boy untill I get him....Wishing you and your family great
suckcess & with anxious expectations of seeing my little danceing boy
Baptiest I shall remain your Friend, William Clark"
On the front cover of Clark's cash book which he kept from 1825 to 1828,
Clark wrote of knowledge of the whereabouts of the former Corps of Discovery
members. Most controversial has been his listing of Sacajewea as dead by
this point. "Se ca ja we au Dead, Tousant Charbon[o] in Wertenburgh,
Gy." This assertion contradicts the Shoshoni belief that Sacajewea lived
until age 100, reunited with her son Pomp and dsklfjlsa at the Shoshoni
reservation until ? where she died at age 100. Clark's listing of her as
dead has been discounted by those who point out that Clark made other mistakes
on this same list. For example, Clark writes "P. Gass Dead" when Gass in
fact lived until April 2, 1870 when he died at the age of ninety-nine. (17)
John Luttig's journal
Dec
"this Evening the Wife of Charbonneau a Snake Squaw, died putrid fever
she was a good and the best Women in the fort, aged all years she left
a fine infant girl" (Luttig, 106).
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