Interpreters with Lewis and Clark: The Story of Sacagawea and Toussaint Charbonneau

by W. Dale Nelson, W. Dale Nelson

When 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.

184 pages, Paperback

First published July 25, 2003

Reviews

[Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation]

When I started this book, I was looking forward to learning more about Toussaint and Sacagawea Charbonneau. I was a little concerned about what I was going to learn after seeing the map at the beginning showing a section of the Missouri River in North Dakota labeled as Fort Clatsop which is clearly not in North Dakota. Reading in further, I enjoyed the author's easy reading style. However, I am deeply concerned with the author's clear bias toward Toussaint shown throughout the book. The author frequently illustrates some of the more dubious sides of Charbonneau's personality only then to make a short statement disregarding the remarks. In one such scene, the author brings up a rape that Charbonneau was accused of stating "he was beaten with a canoe-carving tool by a woman who said she caught him raping her daughter." The author's dismissal of this states "but nobody knows what really happened."
So did I learn something from this book? I would have to say yes I did. I found the section on Jean Baptiste towards the end very intriguing and will be looking into further reading on that subject. I would recommend this book with a warning that other books on the topic that are not so heavily biased should be read also.

[Eric Nickelson]

Not great. History of solid but someone is trying too hard to make Toussaint Charbonneau relevant and trying to diminish Sacajawea’s involvement.