Mid-August, 1805
In the Shoshone village, Captain Lewis spent the morning writing in his journal and the afternoon getting additional information about the country to the west. He talked with Cameahwait through Drouillard.
“Have you crossed the high mountains?” he had Drouillard signal to the Shoshone chief.
“No,” he responded, “but we have an old man with us who has, a Nez Perce. He and other Nez Perce have told me that a river west of the mountains runs a long way toward the setting sun and ends in a great lake of bad-tasting water.” Lewis had never heard of the Nez Perce, who proved to be the major tribe living west of the mountains. “The Nez Perce come east across the mountains to hunt buffalo on the Missouri each year,” the chief added.
“Ask him what trail they take across the mountains,” Lewis said.
Drouillard shared the disappointing answer: “A very bad trail that they call the Lolo Trail. There is no game, and they must live for many days on berries only. They say the trail is broken, rocky, and covered with many fallen trees.”
For a few silent moments Lewis pondered the chief’s description. If the Indians can bring their women and children over the mountains, he told himself, surely our seasoned and tough soldiers can cross them. It will be difficult and dangerous, but the men have already proven they can do more than they ever thought they were capable of doing—ascending the Missouri River against its mighty current with the keelboat, surviving the brutally cold winter at Fort Mandan, and performing the incredible labor at the Great Falls portage. Every time they have left such an experience behind them, they have believed it surely had to be the worst, only to have it get even worse the next time. We can do this!
“There are no buffalo west of the mountains,” Cameahwait continued. “People there live on salmon and roots.” He also had a complaint. “The Spanish west of the mountains refuse to sell us guns, but the English to the east of the mountains sell guns to the Blackfoot, Hidatsa, and other tribes that are enemies of the Shoshone. With guns, the tribes east of the mountains constantly bully and attack us, and we are forced to flee to the mountains.”
Lewis saw the opportunity to induce Cameahwait to help his expedition take their supplies over the Continental Divide and provide horses to get them over the Rocky Mountain range.
“When we return to our country from our journey to the great lake that tastes bad, we will send men with many guns for the Shoshone,” he assured Cameahwait through Drouillard. “Bring your young men and come with me tomorrow to meet the rest of my men and help us bring our supplies over the mountain pass. Then we will remain among you and trade with you for horses.”
The next morning, Lewis faced a problem in the Shoshone village. The Shoshone warriors refused to move when Cameahwait tried to lead them out to meet Clark and the main expedition. A mischievous Shoshone had spread a rumor that the white men were in league with the Blackfoot and had come to lead them into an ambush.
Cameahwait tried to reason with them. “If we don’t help them, the white men will bring no guns.” When that didn’t work, he challenged their manhood. “I hope there are still some of you who are not afraid to die!” he announced loudly. Then he mounted his horse. “I will go with the white men and convince myself of the truth of what they say, and I hope that at least some of you will have the courage to join me.”
Six Shoshone warriors mounted their horses, and the small party set out with Lewis and his men. Soon, six more warriors and three women joined them, making a party of sixteen Indians and four white men. Shoshones continued to ride up and join them until it appeared to Lewis that all the men of the village were with them.
Lewis sent Drouillard and Shields out to hunt for game because neither the Indians nor the white men had anything to eat. He asked Cameahwait to keep his young men in camp so they wouldn’t spook the game. This renewed the suspicion of the Shoshone warriors, who feared that the white men were trying to make contact with the Blackfoot. Two parties of Shoshone braves set out on each side of the valley to spy on Drouillard and Shields.
When Drouillard at last killed a deer, the excited Indians took off at a run to share in the prize. They were starved, and yet they took only the parts of the deer that Drouillard threw away. They ate ravenously of the still-warm kidneys, spleen, and liver, blood dripping from their chins. One of the last warriors to arrive picked up nine feet of the small intestine, chewing on one end while squeezing the contents out the other end. Lewis viewed the scene with a combination of horror, pity, and compassion for these starving people. He saved a hindquarter for himself and his men and gave the rest of the meat to Cameahwait to divide among his people. The Indians devoured it without bothering to cook it. As they moved on, Drouillard killed another deer, and the same scene was repeated. Then Drouillard killed a third deer, and the Indians were in good humor. When Shields killed an antelope, the problem of food was solved temporarily. All of this made clear to the white men the severe limitations faced by Indian hunters using only bows and arrows.
As they approached the forks where Lewis had told the Shoshones they would meet Captain Clark, Cameahwait halted. He spoke to his people, and with much ceremony he had the warriors remove the tippets they wore around their necks and place them on the white men. Tippets were a kind of scarf or short robe made from skins of ermine. Lewis realized that the chief’s suspicions of treachery were still strong because wearing the tippets would make the white men look like Shoshones in case the Blackfoot were waiting at the fork rather than Clark. Lewis took off his hat and put it on Cameahwait, instructing his men to follow his example. Now the white men looked like Indians, and the Indians looked like white men. The fears of the Shoshone were somewhat relieved.
As they neared the fork, Lewis saw with a sinking feeling that Clark had not yet arrived, greatly increasing the distrust of the Shoshone. Desperate to demonstrate his good will, Lewis gave his rifle to Cameahwait.
“If Blackfoot attack, you can use it to defend yourself,” he said. “And if you think I have deceived you, you can kill me with my own gun.”
Lewis ordered his men to give up their rifles to Shoshone warriors as well, which gave the Indians considerably more confidence in the white men. Recalling that he had left a note for Clark at the forks, Lewis decided to use a little deception.
“I will send one of my men down the river to see if our other chief has sent a man ahead to leave us a message,” he told Cameahwait. “You send one of your men with him to verify anything they find.”
He sent Drouillard and an Indian to get his own note. They returned with the note and the warrior’s confirmation that they had picked it up at the forks.
Looking at the note, he announced, “Our other chief has sent us a message that they are just below and coming on and that we should wait for them at the forks.”
He knew he wasn’t out of danger yet. He really had no idea where Clark was. Clark could have found navigation impossible and returned to camp many miles below where his team would wait for Lewis.
Lewis had Drouillard signal to Cameahwait. “In the morning, I will send a man ahead to meet the rest of our expedition. You send one of your men with him to see the truth of my words.” This was an enormous gamble because the Indians had the rifles, and if Clark wasn’t coming up the Jefferson River, they could easily kill the white men—and probably would.
“A Shoshone woman is with our other party,” Lewis told Cameahwait, hoping to pique his interest with the news. “We also have a black man with short, curly hair.”
The disbelieving Indians were eager to see this oddity. The idea of a black man aroused their curiosity, and they chattered about it among themselves. Lewis slept very little that night. He knew that if the Shoshone left him, they would hide in the mountains where it would be impossible to find them, and they would spread the alarm to all other Shoshone villages in the area. Without horses, the Corps of Discovery would have to cross the Rocky Mountains on foot, carrying their provisions and equipment on their backs, vastly increasing the labor of their journey. Lewis feared that such a demanding prospect could so discourage the men as to defeat the expedition. Lewis equated the Corps of Discovery with his own life, and he saw its fate now subject to the caprice of a few primitive natives who were capable of being as fickle as the wind.
With the Clark party, the river was very cold, causing the men’s feet and legs to ache when they had to wade in it—and they were in it almost constantly, hauling their canoes over rapids and shoals. The river bottom and shores were rocky, the current continued swift all day, and the wind was hard from the southwest. They covered fourteen miles and camped in a little copse of trees in the upper part of the valley.
As they set up camp, Charbonneau struck Sacagawea, drawing a severe reprimand from Captain Clark.
“I will not tolerate that kind of behavior,” he sternly admonished Charbonneau. “There will be no violence between members of the Corps of Discovery. She may be your slave in the Hidatsa village, but here she is as much a member of the Corps of Discovery as you are. Do not hit her again as long as you are under my command.”
Lewis had just observed his thirty-first birthday, and he was convinced that even though he had lived half of his expected life span, he had accomplished nothing that would advance the condition of mankind. If he completed this expedition successfully, he would have achieved something vastly worthwhile, but if he failed… He pushed such gloomy thoughts from his mind and tried once again to find sleep. Several of the young warriors were bedded below in the willow brush, hiding from an enemy they feared would attack during the night. Cameahwait and several of his Shoshones slept nearby, and Lewis could hear their measured breathing in the stillness of the night. To the west, the mountains loomed like great sleeping giant shadows, their secrets shrouded by the dark night. Lord, give me wisdom and strength, he prayed. Overhead, the sky looked like a huge blanket of black velvet in which millions of shining diamonds hung over the Earth.
Captain Clark and his main party were finding conditions worse. The temperature at this altitude was forty-seven degrees, the river current was swift, the cold river was shallow, and the men had to tow the canoes most of the time. They covered fourteen miles during the day and then camped in a narrow bottom. There was no timber, so they had to collect willow sticks to build a fire to cook their venison. For several nights they had been sleeping under two blankets or robes, and they awakened now to a light frost. They ate breakfast at dawn and prepared to set out again.
Suddenly, they saw two Indians on the opposite side of the river. “It’s Drouillard!” one of the men shouted. Drouillard, wearing the tippet of a Shoshone, and his Indian companion came up on horseback.
“Captain Lewis and the others are waiting at the forks with the Shoshone,” Drouillard said.
“Thank God, he’s found the Shoshones!” Clark exclaimed. “Let’s go, everyone!”
At the forks, Clark was shocked to see Lewis with a whole company of Indians, some of whom were armed with U.S. Army rifles. However, the Shoshones seemed friendly.
“I am happier to see you than you know,” Lewis said softly, smiling and slapping his friend’s back. “Our lives were literally in your hands!”
They heard two women shout excitedly and saw that one of the Shoshone women had recognized Sacagawea. The two women cried and hugged, talking at the same time. Sacagawea showed off little Pomp, and the other Shoshone women gathered around to greet her and admire her baby boy.
Lewis had a canopy raised and called a conference. Sacagawea translated, but it was a translation chain that ran from Sacagawea speaking Shoshone to the Indians and translating their responses into Hidatsa to Charbonneau, who translated the Hidatsa to French for Drouillard, who translated the French into English for the captains.
Then, to the amazement of the Corps, Sacagawea recognized Cameahwait as her brother! She jumped up, ran to him, and began crying profusely. Perplexity changed to elation when Lewis learned what was happening. What a stroke of luck for the expedition! Eventually, Sacagawea recovered her composure and the council began.
Lewis tailored his standard speech to make it appear that the primary objective of the expedition was to help the Shoshones by finding a more direct route to bring arms to them. He made it clear that to do so, the expedition had to have Shoshone horses and a guide to lead them over the mountains.
“We will help you,” Cameahwait said, “but I am sad that it will be more time before you bring us guns. We don’t have enough horses to carry all the supplies over the pass now, but we will take what we can back to the village in the morning and encourage all our people to come and help.”
Lewis then distributed presents. Everything seemed to astonish the Shoshones, especially the air gun and York. It was clear that horses were the only Shoshone economic asset, although they were dressed well in antelope and mountain goat skins. A few colorful beads hung from their ears, and muscle shells adorned their hair.
“The Spanish must have brought the horses originally, don’t you think?” Lewis speculated.
“Probably,” Clark agreed, “but they seem to have no knives, metal tomahawks, or other metal weapons—only bows and arrows—so we have to assume that they’ve had no contact with white men in a very long time.”
The soldiers spread their provisions out to dry as the expedition waited for Cameahwait to return from the Shoshone village. Lewis recorded the Shoshones’ dress and customs in his journal. He found them to be frank, communicative, fair, generous, and honest.
This was the time of year that the entire Shoshone nation gathered at the forks in the river for its annual buffalo hunt on the plains. Cameahwait and his village joined with different Shoshone bands that were arriving daily from throughout the area.
The Corps was out of fresh meat, so the soldiers joined with the Shoshones to make a fish drag of willows tied together and stretched across the river. They caught more than five hundred pan fish. The Shoshones also killed three deer during the day, chasing them on horseback until the deer were too fatigued to continue, then killing them with bows and arrows. In the afternoon, the Shoshones helped the expedition prepare to cross the mountain pass by sinking the canoes in the river and anchoring them with large rocks to preserve them for their return trip the following spring.
“The Shoshones could bring them up and steal them, Captain,” Shields warned.
“Yes, they could, but we’ll have to take that chance,” Lewis said.
During the evening, Sacagawea overheard her brother instruct some of his young braves to tell many others to meet him the next day so they could go to the prairie to hunt buffalo, which she reported to the captains through the translation chain.
“If that happens, we’ll be stuck without horses and have no guide to lead us over the mountains,” Lewis said to Clark, his heart and hopes sinking.
“We have to convince them to keep their promise to help us, my friend,” Clark added. “We’re very fortunate that Janie’s loyalty is to us rather than her brother.”
“We are indeed!” Lewis said. “I guess the hardships and dangers of our journey have bonded her pretty solidly to us.”
Deciding to confront Cameahwait directly, Lewis invited him for a smoke. He knew that bravery and honesty were primary virtues among the Indians, and if an Indian gave his word he was expected to keep it. He took Drouillard as interpreter instead of Sacagawea out of respect for her and her relationship with her brother
“You promised to help us get our supplies over the pass,” Lewis reminded the chief through Drouillard’s sign language.
Cameahwait nodded his head.
“Now you are planning to abandon us and go to the Missouri River to hunt buffalo.”
Cameahwait’s eyes darted. Then he looked at the ground and nodded again.
“Why are you breaking your promise?”
Cameahwait was silent for a moment. “What we were about to do is wrong,” he admitted finally. “I did it because my people are hungry and I must provide for them. But now I will do as I promised you.”
The next day they loaded all the pack horses for the trip over the mountain pass and set out at noon. Private Weiser was very ill, and Captain Lewis gave him peppermint and laudanum, which helped. Weiser rode Captain Lewis’ horse while Lewis walked. The mountains on both sides of the trail were very high and occasionally covered with pine trees. The expanded party covered fifteen miles before camping. Hunters came in with a deer, which the captains gave to the Shoshones because they were starving. During that day’s travel, Clark had seen squaws digging roots to feed their children, and he found it distressing to witness such hunger.
When they resumed the journey the next day, one of the Indian women paused to give birth to a baby, then hurried to catch up. They finally came to the Shoshone village. Cameahwait asked Lewis to have the soldiers fire their guns. Lewis had the men form a single rank and fire two rounds. The Shoshone were much pleased with this exhibition. The village consisted of thirty-two lodges made of willow bushes and earth that surrounded a large ceremonial lodge for guests. Lewis paid the Indians who had helped them carry supplies across the mountain pass with beads, needles, and other such items.
Then he began trading with the Shoshones for horses. He had decided that the expedition needed twenty-five horses to carry their supplies over the mountains, but he first wanted horses that would enable the hunters to bring in the meat they killed. He got three horses for a uniform coat, a pair of leggings, a few handkerchiefs, three knives, and some trinkets. Private John Boley bought a horse for an old checked shirt, a pair of leggings, and a knife. Some of the other men also bought their own horses.
“I need twenty more horses,” Lewis told Cameahwait through Sacagawea.
The price of Shoshone horses had increased considerably because the Indians knew they had a precious commodity and a desperate buyer. Lewis paid a higher price for nine more horses, but the Shoshones would not sell more without a still higher price. Altogether, the expedition now had twenty-five horses, which Lewis thought would be sufficient.
“Will we be able to hire your old Nez Perce who has been over the mountains to guide us over them?” he asked Cameahwait.
“I have spoken to him and he is willing to guide you,” Cameahwait responded through Sacagawea.
“Excellent!” a delighted Lewis responded. “This calls for a celebration. Cruzatte, break out your fiddle!”
The soldiers danced to the lively tunes, much to the amusement of the Shoshones, but the state of Lewis’s mind did not fit the mirth of his men. He worried that the caprice of the Shoshones might lead them to change their minds about the horses, possibly destroying any hope of completing the Corp’s journey.
He confided to Clark under the noise and gaiety of the moment, “Our experience has been that the Indians are unpredictable and not entirely trustworthy. I fear our horses may not materialize.”
“Well, let’s assume the best until the worst happens.”
The next day the two captains talked with the old Nez Perce guide who had crossed the Rocky Mountains and now would lead the Corps of Discovery. Because they couldn’t pronounce his name, they called him Old Toby, even though he was probably not over fifty. They found him to be a friendly and intelligent man.
“The mountains are very high,” he told them through the translation chain. “There is no game there. When we crossed the mountains, we lived for days on berries. Hunger and weakness were severe problems.”
The Shoshones refused to sell more horses for anything less than guns, which the Corps could not afford to part with. They now had twenty-seven horses, and they planned to depart the next morning with Old Toby as their guide.
“Sacagawea doesn’t show any special reluctance to leave her people again,” John Potts commented to Shields as they prepared to leave. “I think if she has little Pomp, enough to eat, and a few trinkets to wear, she’s contented anywhere—even with Charbonneau.”
Shields, chewing on his ever-present twig, paused to remove it from his mouth before answering his friend. “Could be, but remember that she was only nine years old when she was captured, and she probably just accepts her fate as inevitable. She seems awfully nice. I think life has just dealt her a bad hand.”