Bismarck daily tribune., 1903-12-21
HISTORY OF THE BIRD-WOMAN
DR.. James HOSmer Tells of the Bird.W Woman,
So Important a Member of the Lewis
and Clark Expedition.

The proposal OF the women OF the
to erect monument to
the Indian girl who served
as guide to Lewis and Clark, renders
the following tribute to
her from the pen of DR.. James X.
Hosmer of Minneapolis, editor Of the
Lewis and Clark journals:
"Sacajawea. the Bird woman, be-
longed to the ShOshone, or Snake ln-
dams, mountain tribe which, in the
Gays Of Lewis and Clark, was in dan
ger Of determination at the hands of
the Minnetarees, or Blackfeet. She
had been taken captive when child
by these foes When Lewis and
Clark, coming up the Missouri.
reached in their first winter the Man.
dams and Minnetarees, Sacajawea, ~
ga. Of 16, had shortly before became
the slave and wife of Chabonneau, a
French voyageur, who, like many =
waif of his race. had sunk far towards
savagery and was living with the
wild men. Perhaps the best strike
the Captains made in preparing for
their work was in engaging Chabon-
neau and Sacajawea to join the ex-
pedition. 1t was believed that he
would be a useful interpreter, and
that the Bird woman, too, might be OF
some service when they reached the
mountains from which she had come.
When the party started westward in
the spring of 1905, these two were in
cluded-the degenerate Frenchman,
and his poor little slave wife. who,
although she carried strapped to her
bach her papoose, born so lately rs the
preceding February, had no choice
but to follow her lord.
Engaged the White Man.
From the first, however. the Bird
woman won upon the captains and
their men by mild and engaging
qualities; and as they worked their
canoes up the Upper Missouri. she
showed extraordinary efficiency.
Though burdened with her babe. she
labored with the men, with paddle
and tow-rope, and soon rendered an
| important service. A canoe loaded
with the most valuable belongings OF
the expedition, the journals Of the
Captains, their scientific instruments
and their medicines, was caught in q
rapid by squall, and on the point OF
being overturned. Chabonneau, who
with Sacajawea, was on board, had
the steering oar, and struck with feal
went 'howling to his Gods The boat
filled to the gunwale and was saved
from an overturn only at the last
moment, her precious cargo floating
out upon the stream. But the Bird
woman, with her wits all at hand
saved not only herself and baby, bu
grasping right and left at the escapin,
packages rescued what was indispen
sable. It was the first conspicuou
exhibition Of her presence Of mind an
hardness, which later were constant
ly shown.
Meeting Her Lost Brother.
"As the summer waned the part
approached the Gates Of the Noun
tains, where the canoes must be for
saken, and the horses obtained wit
which 1t would be possible to eros
the divide toh the head springs Of tn
: Columbia. Thus far since leaving tn
Mandans, there had been neithe
sight nor sound of man; nor as tn
mountains rose before them was ther
a trace OF human beings except /
camps deserted months before. Tn
Captains ranged far ahead Of the
men: but though at last glimpse
were obtained Of Indians at dis
tance, these at once hurried ava.
d avoiding all contact. Caution, Il
those mountain tribes, in fact, we
the price of existence. When th
case for Lewis and Clark was CROWN
t desperate, and the possibility al
: peared that the attempt must
b abandoned and the expedition 60 bac
t the Bird woman began TO dance ar
sing. She was once more among IL
haunts Of her people; she recognize
the valley into which they had pen
trated as the place where five or S
years before she had been taken ca
a tive. Presently some Indian wom'
r were brought in, who abandoned
d the men, had been left to fall into Il
y hands of the strangers. AS the po
II creatures cowed before their captOl
= bending their heads to receive the
deathblow. suddenly young 81
catching sight Of Sacajawea, rush
toward her. She was a tribeswOma
who having captured at the san