Path to the Pacific: The Story of Sacajawea

by Neta Lohnes Frazier

Seldom given the credit she deserves, Sacajawea is one of America’s true heroines. Without her help, the Lewis and Clark Expedition would never have crossed the Rockies and reached the Pacific Northwest?and the course of U.S. history would have been changed forever. Master Western storyteller Neta Frazier, author of The Stout-Hearted Orphaned on the Oregon Trail , tells the story of this courageous Native American, from when she was kidnapped as a young girl from her Shoshone tribal home, through her amazing journey with Lewis and Clark, and finally to the mystery surrounding her final years and death.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Womens

177 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2007

About the author

Neta Lohnes Frazier (1890 – 1990) was a children's author. Known for her books about the Pacific Northwest, she published 14 books between 1947 and 1973, most notably Stout-Hearted Seven, The Magic Ring, Secret Friend, My Love Is a Gypsy, and Little Rhody.

She was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma at the University of Montana, Missoula.

Reviews

[Mykl · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading "A Journey Across the Pacific: The Story of Sacagawea," I learned more about the history of the U.S. In 1803, a large amount of land acquired from France was bought by Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the U.S. The 828,00 sq mile land costed over fifteen million dollars. Although Americans were finally building on to their vast amount of land, they needed people to discover it. Thomas Jefferson ended up choosing two captains, Lewis and Clark, who would later lead the Lewis and Clark expedition. Lewis and Clark knew that there were going to be a large number of Indians in the area Jefferson had just bought, so they concluded that they would need and interpreter. The two agreed on picking a girl named Sacagawea who was currently pregnant with her soon to be baby, Pomp. She traveled with her husband Charbonneau and interpreted throughout the journey. She made a big impact on girls, seeing that most men don't choose girls as an interpreter unless it's their last resort. I wouldn't consider this my favorite book, but if you like history you might.

[Dennis Steussy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book about Sacagawea or Sacajawea is an easy to read and
helpful primer into the life and adventures of Sacagawea. I think
it does a very good job of showing how she helped the Lewis and
Clark expedition and what personal and physical hardships she
had to overcome during the journey. It does a nice job in helping
us understand her life prior to the expedition and how she had to
make some very tough decisions about her future and dreams in
deciding to assist the expedition. It is nice to read about about
her from a Pacific Northwest author too.

[Ulana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading another book about Sacagawea. Really I just read one by Emma Carlson Berne. Goodreads would not let me click on that book. I have read other books about her in the past. I admire her. She accompanied Lewis and Clark on their expedition to find a Northwest Passage and a route to the Pacific Ocean from St. Louis. I don't think they could have accomplished this this feat of traveling across the west that well without her. She was an amazing young woman who had a baby along the way.

[Leigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's not *really* the story of Sacagawea, because so little is known about her. It's the story of the expedition, lite version.

[Liz F. · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting book, but not amazingly entertaining. Written in a more monotone voice...
3 stars! :)

[Samantha Jiao · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book consists of diary entries of Captain Lewis and Captain Clark. It shows what they are thinking during the voyage, who they are thankful for, and their plans to make the journey successful. Since Sacagawea couldn't write, she did not keep a journal, therefore, historians have no idea what she is thinking throughout the trip. Something I really enjoy about this book is that despite having no information on what Sacagawea thought, the author, Neta Lohnes Frazier makes educated guesses on what she may have thought. For example, when Sacagawea was reunited with her tribe, the Shoshones, and was forced to betray her brother to stay loyal to Lewis and Clark, the author writes that she may have felt devastated that her brother probably wouldn't talk to her again, but she also felt that she did the right thing since Lewis and Clark had been so kind to her. Also, I really like how the author didn't focus the entire story on only Sacagawea, but she wrote about other crew members' feelings.

[N B · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading about the era that this book was in; the Lewis and Clark era. It was very interesting to read about how much Sacagawea did for the expedition crew, all while carrying baby on her back! I enjoyed seeing how the author had to guess how Sacagawea was feeling because she didn't keep a journal entry. However, this book did seem a bit monotone. I wished there were more details about some of the events that happened, but this isn't entirely the authors fault, since Sacagawea didn't have a journal entry. Either way, this book was a very interesting read and I highly recommend it.

[Mr · Rating 5 out of 5]

192-This is a great book in learning about american history and how the English people ended up apreciating the indians and there culture.
-Zazzi Lopez

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

pretty good - young adult "novel" based on conjecture and diary accounts of lewis, clark and others