Interpreters with Lewis and Clark: The Story of Sacagawea and Toussaint CharbonneauWhen interpreter Toussaint Charbonneau, a French Canadian fur trader living among the Hidatsas, and his Shoshone Indian wife, Sacagawea, joined the Lewis and Clark expedition in 1804, they headed into country largely unknown to them, as it was to Thomas Jefferson's hand-picked explorers. There is little doubt as to the importance of Sacagawea's presence on the journey. She has become a near-legendary figure for her role as interpreter, guide, and "token of peace." Toussaint, however, has been maligned in both fiction and nonfiction alike--Lewis himself called him "a man of no peculiar merit." W. Dale Nelson offers a frank and honest portrayal of Toussaint, suggesting his character has perhaps been judged too harshly. He was indeed valuable as an interpreter and no doubt helpful with his knowledge of the Indian tribes the group encountered. For example, Toussaint proved his worth in negotiations with the Shoshones for much-needed horses, and with his experience as a fur trader, he always seemed to strike a better bargain than his companions. During the expedition Sacagawea gave birth to a son, Jean Baptiste. With her death in 1812, Clark assumed custody of her son and Toussaint returned to his life on the upper Missouri. Surviving his wife by almost three decades, Toussaint worked under Clark (then Superintendent of Indian Affairs in St. Louis) as an interpreter for government officials, explorers, artists, and visiting dignitaries. Jean Baptiste traveled the Rocky Mountains as a mountain man, was a scout during the Mexican American War, and served as mayor and judge for the San Luis Rey Mission. |
Contents
1 | |
5 | |
CHAPTER TWO Winter | 16 |
CHAPTER THREE Against the Current | 25 |
CHAPTER FOUR Over the Top | 41 |
CHAPTER FIVE Fort Clatsop | 47 |
CHAPTER SIX Homeward Bound | 55 |
CHAPTER SEVEN Afterward | 68 |
CHAPTER TEN The Prince and the Frontiersman | 85 |
CHAPTER ELEVEN Glimpses of Baptiste | 92 |
CHAPTER TWELVE Desolation on the Missouri | 96 |
CHAPTER THIRTEEN Westward Once More | 106 |
CHAPTER FOURTEEN John B Charbonneau | 117 |
Epilogue | 123 |
Notes | 133 |
157 | |
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Common terms and phrases
Abel American Fur Arikaras Arthur H August Baptiste’s Bieber boat buffalo Calif California camp canoes captains Chardon chief Chouteau Clatsop commanders Cooke days later Drouillard Duke Paul explorers Fort Clark Fort Clatsop Fort Mandan Frémont Fur Company Fur Trade Glendale Grace Raymond Hebard Hafen Hebard papers Hidatsa village Historical Society horses Hunter hunting Idaho interpreter Jackson James Jean Baptiste Charbonneau John Journal Joyce Miller Nelson July Laroque Lemhi Lewis and Clark Louis Luttig Mandan and Hidatsa Mandan villages Manuel Lisa March Maximilian meat Meriwether miles Missouri River Montana Mormon Battalion Moulton Mountain Nebraska Press North Dakota North West Company Number Oklahoma Press Ottoson Pacific party Photo by Joyce prince returned Reuben Gold Thwaites robes Rocky Ronda Sacagawea Sakakawea Shoshone South Dakota History told Toussaint and Sacagawea Toussaint Charbonneau Travels tribes trip University of Nebraska Upper Missouri wife William Clark woman Wood and Thiessen Wyoming York
References to this book
Divided Loyalties in a Doomed Empire: The French in the West : from New ... Daniel Royot Limited preview - 2007 |
In this Remote Country: French Colonial Culture in the Anglo-American ... Edward Watts Limited preview - 2006 |