Sacagawea by Peter Roop

Author:Peter Roop
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781504010115
Publisher: Open Road Media

chapter 17

I wished to begin in the morning, but the captains decided they had too many things to carry. They had planned to send men downstream with more things for Mr. Jefferson, but changed their minds. Instead, they would leave much behind, things that would be a burden to carry over the mountains.

Monsieur Cruzatte showed them how fur trappers hid things from their enemies in an underground cache.

First, a small circle of grass is cut from the earth. A shallow hole as deep as your arm is dug. Then the hole is widened and made much deeper, taller than a man. This hole is lined with elk skins.

Into this the captains placed many things. The skins of our bears and beaver, axes, kegs of Mandan maize, tin cups, beaver traps, spare rifles, and heavy tools. The skins were folded over the cache. The small circle was placed back again. All signs of the cache were brushed away and the earth dumped into the stream. Unless you had seen the men digging, you would not have guessed what things lay in the earth.

The red pirogue was taken to an island in the river and tied with the best elk-skin ropes. Captain Lewis burned his marks into some trees with a hot iron so he would recognize this place once again.

As I watched these preparations, I understood the captains cached things to avoid carrying them and they planned to return home to their country this way.

The men prepared from dawn to sunset. I thought we would leave when the sun rose again. However, Captain Lewis became very sick that evening. To ease his pain I broke many small chokecherry twigs into boiling water. This black water I signed would be good for his intestines. Instead, he chose to take his medicines. His powders worked a little, but not enough for him to join the celebration at the fires that evening when Monsieur Cruzatte played his fiddle and the men danced until the moon stood overhead.

In the morning, even though he was still suffering, Captain Lewis and four men walked overland to the great falls the Hidatsa had described. When he found the falls, Captain Lewis would send a man back to Captain Clark, who followed along the river. The Hidatsa said it was only a half day’s portage around the falls.

For us, Pomp, we traveled the river with Captain Clark, still in the heavy white pirogue.

Later I learned what happened to Captain Lewis as he made his way to the falls. I had no knowledge of the next days, for this is when I came close to joining my ancestors.

“You almost died, Mama?” Pomp asked. “You never told me this before.”

“There are many things I am telling you now for the first time. You are growing older and will soon stop being a young boy. You are going to join the tribe of Captain Clark, not as a child, but as what The People call ‘a becoming man.’ This is why I

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