The Best Reunion

August 18, 1805

Probably the best part of meeting the Shoshones was bringing in Sacagawea into a meeting with Chief Cameahwait. She was very humble at the meeting, but was there to help translate. As she finally raised her head to translate, she saw Chief Cameahwait ------it was ------her brother!!! Well, any suspicion the Shoshones had about the Corps was gone in that instant, and the siblings were reunited in a tearful, but joyful, moment! That wasn’t the only Shoshone she reunited with. She also ran into her old good friend Jumping Fish. That was a joyful day for all of us…even Capt. Clark and Capt. Lewis were extremely grateful to get the horses they needed.

This is a picture of Sacagawea reuniting with Jumping Fish.

Meeting the Shoshones

August 1805

There was a moment when Lewis thought the opportunity to meet the Shoshones was lost, because of Shields not being aware of what was happening…that there was a Shoshone near. Fortunately, the appearance of some young and old woman Shoshones, and the gifts of blue beads, opened the way to meet the rest of the tribe. The most effective way to improve our friendship was for us to paint vermilion on the Indians faces, and for them to tie seashells in our men’s hair. Both being signs of peace.

Shoshone Men

The Stress of the Mid-way Point

July 1805

We’ve come to the point where we will need Sacagawea’s help. Moving over the land where she was kidnapped was emotional. She told of when she twisted her ankle, how she couldn’t get away, and thought her brother was probably killed. It was a tough time for her to talk about the event. It was a tough time for Capt. Clark, too, who was sick and had very hurt feet. And, it was rough on Capt. Lewis, for he had the responsibility of finding and befriending the Shoshones. Finally, Charbonneau was frustrating and did not want to continue the trek across the mountains. His attempt to get Capt. Lewis to order Sacagawea to stay back fortunately did not work. Charbonneau continues to be such a wimp!

Sacagawea showing that we are getting near her village.

A Special Birthday

May 2, 1805

Today was my birthday. I didn't ask for much and got just what I wanted. I had a great feast and extra whiskey. We even did gambling and I won some fur. It was an excellent party and I thank the whole Corps.

A Hurt Animal

Week 12 Corps of Rediscovery 2002

I did not choose to discover animals when I wrote the blog about what I wanted to discover and what my talents would be on the trip, but today I was forced to. Not to long after the time of my last journal entrie did I run into a limping animal. I was riding my bike casually until Roxy pointed out an animal in the dog family. It was limping and he was licking his wounds on his leg. I wanted to help it but when I got near it just slowly trodded away. The saddest part was that it looked fairly young and was completely alone besides us there. I wish I could have helped the sad creature.

The Prickly Pear

Week 12 Corps of Rediscovery 2002

Today we ran into some cacti. Instantly after seeing them we realized the type of cacti we were looking at was the prickly pear (the same cacti that the Corps of Discovery hated). I decided to take some pictures with it and don't worry... I was acting in all the pictures.

Bodies Taking a Beating

May 28th 1805

Prickly Pear Cacti covered the ground causing havoc for our men and the poor Captain’s dog. All the walking over sharp rocks puncturing our moccasins was bad enough…but the thorns of the Prickly Pear hurt much more brutally. Besides the cacti there were also giant hailstones to ruin our day. After many injuries from the cacti we figured out a valuable use for them. We cut up the leaf and made a stew out of it. We also took the fruit of the cactus and peeled it carefully then ate it plain.