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Sacajewea

by Katie from Tennessee

<a href=http://www.windriverhistory.org/exhibits/sacajawea/images/sacajawea%20guide.jpg>Sacajewea</a>
Sacajewea

Sacajawea was a Shoshone Indian who lived up north. The Shoshones loved horses. They used bows and arrows to hunt. Other tribes had guns. From time to time, other Indians came and stole their horses. One day Sacajawea was picking berries. Suddenly she heard a gunfire. She ran across the river but did not get far. A warrior grabbed her and carried her off.

Sacajawea grew up as a captive for the enemy chief. A fur trader came into camp one day. His name was Charbonneau. People called him Char. He and the chief gambled. When the game was over, Char won Sacajawea. She was only a teenager but now she was Char's wife.

Char & Sacajawea made their way to North Dakota. One day American explorers appeared on the river. They came in a big barge and two small boats. They even brought along their pet dog, Seaman. Curious Indians lined the bank to watch.

President Thomas Jefferson had asked the explorers to find a route from the Missouri river to the Pacific Ocean, which was the reason they were there.

The group of explorers was lead by two men. Their names were Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. The Indians called Clark Red-headed Chief. Lewis & Clark knew how to talk to the Indians. He asked Sacajawea and Char to join the group they were going to make to go back to Native America. But unfortunately , Char could not go. Ice formed on the river. The explorers built a log fort and waited till spring. In the evening men would sing & dance. Sacajawea did not dance because of her pregnancy. One day in February 1805, she started to give birth. The pain went on for hours. Finally Lewis gave her some medicine. Ten minutes later she had a son. She named him Jean Baptist Charbonneau, but called him Pomp. By April, the ice had melted but when they got across the ocean they needed horses. So everyone except Sacajawea, the explorers and of course little Pomp on Sacajawea's back. They were carrying a wooden boat and survival tools.

They had to walk. Then when they came to arrive they set up the boat in the water, the survival tools fell out. Then later they came to a water fall. They had to make it to land.

One day, they came to a mountain. To make matters worse it started to rain.

Next they came to Beaver's Head. There they met three Shoshone women. The women were scared. Sacajawea put red paint on their faces. That meant peace. The explorers found a tent. There was an Indian chief inside. They all went in. The chief was Sacajawea's brother. She ran to his side. He agreed to sell them horses to climb the Rocky Mountains. They couldn't find food so they killed the horse. Sacajawea ate bark. Next they came to another tribe of Indians. They had a baby too. They let the two babies play together while they made an agreement to take care of the horses.

Then came to Indians ready to aim until they saw Sacajawea and Pomp. One day in January 1806, a whale washed up on the beach. So they had whale for diner that night. At one point, Pomp had a huge neck rash. Lewis made a neck cream out of bear fat. It worked. They had made it to the West coast of America. Sacajawea 's son was two years old. Later in life she had a another child. They called her Lisette and Sacajawea is believed by some to have lived to be almost 100 years old.

Page created on 2/2/2007 12:00:00 AM

Last edited 2/2/2007 12:00:00 AM

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