Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1907-09-27

Sacajawea was taken along for this
purpose. She. had given birth to. a
child while the expedition was in the
Minnetaree stronghold, but, with Gus
tomary Indian hardwood, the young
mother boldly faced all the perils and
hardships Of the Journey as
| Sacajawea's meeting with her own
people is thus described in the jour
ION setting out at z o'clock Capt.
Clark with Chaboneau and his wife
| walked on shore, but they had not
| gone more than a mile before the
captain saw Sacajawea, who was with
her, husband, 100 yards ahead, begin
to dance and show every mark of the
most extravagant joy, turning round
and pointing to several Indians, whom
he, now saw advancing on horseback,
sucking her fingers at the same time
ito show they We're of her native, tribe.
We soon drew near the camp, and just
as we approached a woman made her
way through the crowd toward Sacaja.
wea, and, recognizing each other, they
embraced with the most tender affec.
tion. The meeting of these two young
women had in it something peculiarly
touching, not only in the ardent man
ner in which their feelings were ex.
pressed, but from the real interest Of
their situation. They had been com,
panions in childhood; in the same bat
tie with the Minnetarees they had
been taken prisoners; they had shared
the same rigors of captivity till one
had escaped from the Minnetarees
with scarce a hope of ever seeing her
friend released from the hands of her
enemies & 5ss
| After conference with chief, Sac,
ajawea was sent for as interpreter,
and the jouranl continues: "She came
into the tent, sat down, and was be
ginning to interpret, when in the per.
son of Camehawait she recognized her
brother; she Instantly jumped up and
ran and embraced him, throwing her
blanket over him and weeping pro-
fusely; the chief was himself moved,
though not to the same degree. After
some conversation between them she
resumed her seat and attempted to
interpret for us, but her new situation
seemed to oyerpower her, and she
was frequently interrupted by her
tears. After the council was finished
the unfortunate woman learned that
all her family was dead except two
brothers, one Of whom was absent, and
a son of her elder sister, a small boy,
who was Immediately adopted by her
The journals pay the highest tribute
to the Shoshones as a nation. This
| powerful tribe, whose friendliness
Lewis and Clark especially desired
might not have been so favorably dis.
posed toward the adventures had il
| not been for the young Snake woman
who accompanied the expedition. But
/ her work as an interpreter was only
a small part of the service the remark.
able woman rendered Lewis and
Clark. Time and again the journals
4 pay tribute to her wonderful memory
AS a child she had wandered over
much of the wilderness which was
then unknown to white men, and she
seemed to remember every trail and
every pas and every landmark in the
wild country through which the ex
Ipedition travelled. More than once the
party would have been halted by ap
parently impossible barriers, but al
ways Sacajawea came to the rescue
! and pointed out some pass through
which she had travelled in childhood
/ After the separation of the party
Sacaiawea proceeded with Capt. Lewis
along Clarks river, near the Yellow
! stone. Here is one instance of hel
wonderful memory, quoted from Thu
journals: III
4 'tAlong these roads there are alst
| some appearances of old buffalo paths
and some old heads of bufaioes, AMI
las these animals have wonderful sa
gacity in the choice of their routes
the coincidence of a buffalo with al
Indian road was the strongest assur
ance that it was best In the after
noon we passed along the hillside
north of the creek, till in the cours,
of six miles we entered an extensive
4 level plain. Here the tracks of thu
Indians scattered so we could no long
or pursue them, but Sacajawea recog
nized the plain Immediately. She hat
travelled it often in her childhood ant
| informed us it was the great resort o
the Shoshones who came for the pur
pose of gathering quamash and cow
and taking beaver; and that glad
track was a branch of Wisdom river
and that, on reaching the higher par,
Il of the plain one SglonId see a gan III