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During the summer of 1805, Lewis and Clark were desperate to find the Shoshone. They needed to buy horses to get them over the Rocky Mountains before winter.
On July 22, Sacagawea began to recognize landmarks. She told the captains that up ahead were the three forks of the Missouri, where three smaller rivers come together to form the Missouri. This news made the group happy. A few days later, they reached the three forks. Sacagawea told them this was where her people had been camped when she was kidnapped by the Hidatsa. Lewis wrote in his journal, “She does not... show any distress at these recollections, or any joy at the prospect of being restored to her country.” He would soon see how wrong he was.
◀ The Corps of Discovery left Fort Mandan on April 7. They didn’t see another human being until August 11. That’s when Lewis led a scouting party that spotted a lone Shoshone on horseback. But the horseman rode off, probably in fear.
▲ On August 15, Sacagawea, Charbonneau, and Clark were walking through high grass. Suddenly, Sacagawea began to jump up and down, dancing with joy. She pointed to approaching Indians and sucked her fingers. This was a sign that they were her people.
◀ Cameahwait told Sacagawea that most of her family was dead. Only two brothers and her oldest sister’s child were alive. Sacagawea immediately adopted the little boy. Cameahwait enjoyed a piece of dried squash the expedition brought from the Mandans and a lump of sugar Sacagawea had saved for a treat.
▲ It is amazing that Lewis and Clark were able to communicate at all with the Shoshone, since every spoken word had to go through a chain of interpreters. Lewis and Clark spoke English to one of their men, Labiche. He translated their words into French for Charbonneau, who spoke in Hidatsa to Sacagawea. She then translated the words into Shoshone. When the Shoshone replied, the process had to be done again, but in reverse. The expedition got the horses they needed. But there was still a lot of hard traveling to do before they reached the Pacific Ocean.
▲ Sacagawea was successful in getting the Shoshone to trade horses to the Corps and to provide guides. Why did she go on with the journey instead of staying with her people? Perhaps she went out of loyalty to the Corps. Or perhaps she was caught up in the spirit of discovery. All we know for sure is that when Lewis and Clark left the Shoshone, Sacagawea went with them.
