SeaMan by Gail Langer Karwoski

Author:Gail Langer Karwoski
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: ebook, book
ISBN: 9781561456123
Publisher: Peachtree Publishing Company
Published: 2011-05-14T16:00:00+00:00

The Great Chief of this nation proved to be the brother of the Woman with us and is a man of Influence Sence &…Cincerity.

—JOURNAL OF CAPTAIN WILLIAM CLARK, August 17, 1805

After a while, Sacagawea returned quietly to her seat in the circle. Seaman crept to her side. She laid a hand on the dog’s broad back as if to steady herself. The men resumed their talk, and Sacagawea translated. Tears streamed down her cheeks, and several times her face crumpled. She had to pause and hold her hand in front of her eyes, struggling to compose herself. Finally, she nodded at the captains, and the meeting continued.

Cameahwait remained calm, as befitted the leader of his people. But his eyes looked lovingly on this young woman who had been a little girl when last they called each other brother and sister.

The Shoshone Indians helped the explorers carry their baggage over the first high pass in the Rockies. Seaman ran alongside the Indians and the explorers on the steep trail, wearing his saddlebags packed full of goods. Food was scarce, but the two groups shared what little they had. By August 26, the work was complete. That night, the explorers held a party in camp to thank the Indians. Cruzatte played his fiddle and the men danced. York danced a jig, and the Indians called out their appreciation for his nimble feet.

It was a merry evening, but the leaders of both groups were nervous. Early that morning, there had been frost. The Shoshones were eager to reach the buffalo hunting grounds on the Plains to lay in a store of meat for the winter. Without this food supply, their band would starve in the coming months. The explorers had to get enough horses to carry them across the mountains before the snows came, or their group would also starve to death.

Over the next few days, horse trading occupied most of the leaders’ time. Seaman sat near the captains as they haggled for horses. At first, bargaining was easy. The Indians were delighted to trade such a common item as a horse for novelties like cloth shirts or mirrors. But soon the Indians realized the explorers were desperate to acquire horses and would pay whatever they could. In just a few days, the price of Shoshone horses greatly increased. The explorers bargained away some of their dearest possessions—knives, guns, and ammunition. In the end, they got their horses, twenty-nine of them, but the animals did not come cheaply.

It was not the Shoshone custom to travel west toward the Pacific Ocean. But one older man in their band, Old Toby, had made this journey years ago. He knew the way through the mountains, and he agreed to guide the expedition.

Both the Indians and the explorers were keenly aware that winter was closing in. It was critical to be on their separate ways. For Sacagawea, this was a painful thought. She had been torn away from her family, friends, and homeland when she was only a girl of twelve.

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