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Show TALES r liy OF THE Edkha CHIEFS l I Watson SACAGAWEA A Shoshcml Kh'l of about fourteen, busy In camp with the humble duties of an Indian woman, would scarcely seem bom to be a leader of white men. Certainly, Cer-tainly, her thoughts did not run along this line. A stalwart husband, hus-band, babies playing around her feet, nnd the dally life Hint her mother and grandmother grand-mother before her had leu mis, sue wuuiu Sacagawea have said, was her future. Suddenly, a war-party 'of Hidatsa bore down upon the enmp. There was little time for defense or flight. Sacagawea Sacaga-wea found herself on a horse one of the Shoshonl horses racing back to the Hidatsa camp between guards. She was a trophy of the raid, just as were the horses and the Shoshonl scalps. Charbonnoau, a French-Canadian voyageur living among the Hidatsa, saw the quiet captive maiden. She seemed strong, she was modest, and pretty as Indian girls go; he bought her to add to his household, a wife nnd slave combined. What Sacagawea thought, we will never know. I'erhaps she was pleased to be chosen by a white man; perhaps she remembered longingly some youth at the Shoshonl enmp. She did not say ; she quietly assumed as-sumed her new duties. Then Lewis nnd Clark came to the village on their famous expedition and engaged Charbonneau as a guide and Interpreter. Sacagawea went along to attend her husband, but by and by the white men noticed that it was the woman who knew the way, and the woman who could speak the many Indian In-dian tongues. The cowardly Charbonneau Charbon-neau was just another greedy mouth n worthless braggart, who talked much but did little. As they ascended the Missouri river, amid adventures with bears and other unpleasant happenings, an accident occurred which periled the very life of their expedition. Charbonneau was at the helm of a canoe containing papers, pa-pers, instrument's, medicines, and "almost "al-most every article indispensable for the success of our enterprise." A squall came up, and the boat turned partly around. The guide, losing his head, managed to almost overtirn the craft, and many of the precious contents con-tents were spilled into the river. The leaders were on shce ; the men in the boat were busy trying to right her. What could save the valuable cargo? Let the explorer himself answer: "The Indian woman to- whom I ascribe as-cribe equal fortitude and resolution with any person on board . . . caught and preserved most of the articles which were washed overboard." This was only one of the dangers encountered on the long trail. There were turbulent rivers, floods, dangerous danger-ous rocks, wild and fierce animals. Through them all Sacagawea, her tiny baby on her back or in her arms, patiently pa-tiently made her way. The little fellow fel-low seemed to take his adventurous entry into life as a matter of course and somehow we are glad that he was along. He was a care', of course, and added another to the burdens which Sacagawea must bear. And yet. there were moments when she could hold him close and love him beautiful little lit-tle interludes in the long, perilous journey, when her baby's bright eyes gave her new courage. The first band of the Shoshoni had been reached. The chief came to welcome wel-come his white visitors, and Sacagawea Sacaga-wea was sent out to meet him as interpreter. in-terpreter. No doubt she had wondered if she would know any of his band, and it must have surprised her to see her brother at its head. Lewis wrote afterward, however, that she showed no emotion at the meeting. Why should she? Life was crammed with adventures, adven-tures, dangers, and surprises for her. This was just one more experience to be endured. Their meeting came about at an hour of great need for the expedition. Horses and supplies were indispensable. indispens-able. Without the good words spoken for them by Sacagawea, they might not have obtained either, but she counseled her brother to help the explorers, ex-plorers, and they were enable to go on across the divide. On the return journey, the resourceful resource-ful woman again saved them. Clark's party was lost In the mountain passes of Montana; but she guided them to safety. When they reached the Shoshoni In Wyoming, she stopped. Here was the end of the trail for her. These were her people, and although she had been a fountain of strength, she felt the need of rest. The Wind River reservation reserva-tion was created at about this time, and she and her son took up their abode within its borders. Charhonneau went back to the Hidatsa. He was seen, an old man, in 1S.1S, In the Hidatsa country, but his history ceases there. In 1SS0, an ,old, old woman sat among her people, recalling memories. She was nearly a hundred years old, but she had been young and strong once, when the great white explorers had trusted themselves to her. She sighed, remembering, ner eyes shut. Ended now were her days on earth. But Sacagawea had gone on another vpyage of discovery. (. 1932, Western Newspaper Union.) |