CHAPTER 3
Winter Sets In

A death so soon after their trip began must have been worrisome to Lewis and Clark, but they had no choice but to keep traveling north on the river. From late July to early November they met up with many Indian tribes, most of whom were friendly. Lewis and Clark joined the Indians in smoking peace pipes. They also gave the chiefs Jefferson medals. The Indians especially treasured blue glass beads. Clark’s slave, York, fascinated the Indians. Thinking his dark African American skin was paint, they tried to rub it off.

Of all the tribes they met, the Teton Sioux were the most hostile. However, even the Teton Sioux were willing to sit down with Lewis and Clark. In the end, the Teton Sioux allowed the Corps to continue on.

Winter arrived. By late November 1804, they had traveled 1,600 miles from St. Louis. There were still 1,000 miles to go to reach the Pacific Ocean. Snow was falling, and the Missouri River was freezing over. It was time for the explorers to build their winter quarters. All the men pitched in to build a fort on the Missouri River’s banks near several villages where 4,400 Indians made their home.

The fort went up quickly. It had two rows of log huts, a storage shed, a smokehouse, and a sentry box. An eighteen-foot-high stockade fence made of sharp-pointed logs surrounded the buildings. “We called it Fort Mandan, in honour of our friendly neighbours,” Lewis wrote.

Their friendly neighbors included not only the Mandan tribe but also the Minnetarees. The natives visited the fort and welcomed the Corps members into their earth lodges. The lodges were large, round, domed buildings built of sod. Lewis and Clark wrote to Jefferson describing the natives’ way of life.

The winter of 1804–1805 was bitterly cold. The temperature sometimes dropped to almost forty degrees below zero. Herds of buffalo walked on the frozen Missouri River without breaking through the ice.

On Christmas and New Year’s Day, most of the men were homesick. They received no mail or gifts from their families back home. Nevertheless, they exchanged presents and enjoyed food, drink, and square dancing.

That winter, two more people joined the Corps. A fur trader named Toussaint Charbonneau and his young Native American wife appeared one day. Charbonneau knew sign language and many Indian languages. Lewis and Clark persuaded him to travel with the Corps. Charbonneau would act as their translator. His wife could come, too. Her name was Sacagawea.

Sacagawea, who was going to have a baby, was a member of the Shoshone tribe. The Shoshones were famous for their herds of horses. Lewis and Clark had been told that the Corps would need horses to cross the Shining (Rocky) Mountains. But Charbonneau didn’t speak the Shoshone language. Later on the Corps’ leaders would have to depend on Sacagawea to barter with the Shoshones for the horses they would need.