Arizona republican. [volume] (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1890-1930, 1905-02-06

Those were the days when gallantry
was of a different sort from that
which exists now. Captains Lewis and
Clark, who would have been glad to do
any little service for a woman of their
own caste or to have ris1ed their lives
for girl with blue eyes and a slim
waist, appear to have treated the
heroine of the expedition with little
more respect than she was accustomed
to receive from her own people. When
the expedition reached the coast, Cap
tain Lewis persuaded Sacajawea to
give him her girdle of blue beads, SO
that he might trade it for a sea-otter
skin. But the Indian woman, whose
blue beads were probably her only
fnery. was apparently glad to make
the sacrifice. and at Christmas time
sshe presented Lewis, who appears to
have been her favorite of the two cap
tains, with two dozen tails of the
white weasel. And at a time of dis
tress she gave him piece of bread
which she had saved for a long time,
intending, in case of extremity, to use
it for her baby. The annals of white
mans history present no more vivid
story of sacrifice of heroine for hero.
May the Indian woman henceforth
share with the sturdy captain the
glory of their exploit, as she shared
with them the dangers and the tolls of
the journey, and the piece Of bread
which she had saved for her babe.
Sacajawea's services did not end
when the expedition reached the
coast. on the return trip, during that
part of the journey when the company
divided into two parts for the purpose
of covering more territory she Travelled
with Captain Clarks party, and on
4
when every one else was lost. She
showed Captain Clark the way out of
Ross Hole on July 6, 1906, and later in
the same month piloted him over the
Bozeman Pass to the Yellowstone. She
had passed through this region in
early childhood and remembered the
rocks and other landmarks thai had
guided her fathers party ten years be
fore.
The story of Sacajawea presents a /
strange combination of the romantic
and the matter of fact. When, on the |
return trip, the expedition reached the /
country of the Minitarees, Charbon- |
neau decided to stay there, and his !
squaw remained with him. The cap !
tains gave Charbonneau $500 for his !
services. but the Indian woman re- |
ceived nothing And with the parting |
among the Minitarees ends the story |
of Sacajawea-slave, wife, guide, hero
inc. woman. From having been the |
moving spirit of an expedition which |
made its leaders famous all over the
world. and which resulted in the ac-
QUESTION of a vast territory for the
country they served, she became once
more the sIaVe-wife of a man in no /
way her equal The current of her
hard. unappreciated life ran on, undis-
turbed unimproved. When Brecken-
ridge came upon her in 1911, he found
her in poor health, and it is probable
that she died soon after. Nothing fur
Their was ever heard of her. CharbOn-
neau was last seen alive on the banks
of the upper Missouri in March, 1888.
For almost a century Sacajawea' 5
heroism was unrecognized and her
name forgotten. The river, to which,
i'm a moment of rare gallantry, the ex-
plorers gave her name, now bears the
humble appcllation of Crooked
Creek
The recognition which the world
will give this Indian heroine at the
Lewis and Clark exposition this sum-
mer, while too tardy, Will be such as
she deserves. The woman who was
entrusted with the key that unlocked
the door to Asia viii be given place
in history with other heroines. The
statue which will be erected to her Will
be made of Oregon copper, and VIII
cost $1,000 1t will be given perma-
ment place in one of Portland's parks
when the exposition is over. The
statue will be the finest ever erected
TO an Indian woman, and will be sig
nffcant of the new recognition which
is being accorded the people from
whom the white man wrested the
that is now the United states
If America. w. E. BRINDLEY.