1

WESTWARD HO!
By the fall of 1804,
Sacagawea was
experiencing her first
child. However, that did
not prevent
Charbonneau from
asking Lewis and Clark if
they would hire him as
an interpreter. He knew
Hidatsa and the sign
language common
among the river tribes.
Lewis and Clark enlisted
him right away. When
they found out he was
married to a Shoshone,
they encouraged him

Check This Out!

Sacagawea
faced the same
dangers and
difficulties as
everyone else
and she did it
while having full
care of an infant.

to bring her along.

They had heard that
Shoshone had fine
horses, which they
would need later.
They figured the
presence of
Sacagawea would
make the Shoshone
more open to
negotiations. In
addition, Indians
they encountered
would view them as
peaceful since war
parties never
included women.

SACAGAWEA AND

On April 7, the

Charbonneau
moved into Fort
Mandan with the rest
of the Corps. There,
on February 11, 1805,
Sacagawea went
into a long, difficult
labor. A local
interpreter gave
Lewis a remedy using
a rattlesnakes rattle
to help make the
birth easier. Lewis tore off two rings
from a rattle and
pounded them into
a powder, which he
mixed with water.
Minutes after drinking
it, Sacagawea gave
birth to a boy. He
was named Pomp,
meaning, first born
in Shoshone.

Corps of
Discovery, now a
party of 33
people, left Fort
Mandan.
Sacagawea was
not the guide of
the Corps, but
she contributed
to the
expeditions
success. Within a
few days, she
had shown her
usefulness by
gathering wild
artichokes for
food. During the
journey, she was
an important
supplier of
nourishment for
the group.

Only a little over a

month into the
journey,
Sacagawea
showed the
courage and clear
thinking that won
her the praise of
the expedition
members. On May
14th, Charbonneau
was at the helm of
one of the

How did
Sacagawea
carry her son on
the journey?

SACAGAWEAS
BOOK!

sailboats, where
Sacagawea and
Pomp were
passengers. A sudden
squall came up, and
the boat keeled over
on its side and began
to fill with water.
Charbonneau froze
because he did not
do well in
emergencies. While
one of the

other man
threatened him to
shoot him if he did
not right the boat,
Sacagawea
busted herself,
rescuing some of
the expeditions
valuable supplies instruments, books,
and clothing
wrapped in
waterproof

packets, which had fallen into the

water. Without her quick thinking, the
expedition could have been in real
trouble. Those supplies were vital for
the expedition.

What did Clark and

Lewis think of
Sacagawea?
Clarks affection for
Sacagawea seems
clear in his journal
entries. Mostly the
two captains
referred to her
usefulness, and her
alertness. Not one
word of complaint
did they write about
her.