Clash of the Tetons

The Teton Indian tribers were fierce warriors, expert hunters, horsemen, and the terrorists of the Great Plains at this point in American history.  They would demand payment in exchange for safe passage from the French and Spanish fur traders who passed through the plains region.  No surprise that they should demand the same from the Corps of Discovery expedition.

After a council from the keelboat with Lewis and Clark, the Indians surrounded the men, drawing their arrows.  Captain Clark drew his sword in anger while the rest of the exploration party cocked their rifles.  Seeing their disadvantage the Teton withdrew.  News of their weakness spread throughout the Plains, earning Lewis and Clark respect and making their passage through the area much easier and safer.

The Corps of Discovery wintered in North Dakota among the Mandan Indians.  Although frozen in for five months, the Indians were hospitable.  They met a French fur trader while there named Toussant Charbonneau.  Charbonneau had a wife named Sacajawea, a Shoshone from the west, taken captive in 1800 and sent back east.  The couple offered to join the Corps expedition and serves as guides and interpreters. 

Mr. Charbonneau proved to be a lazy man and totally not useful, but Sacajawea would prove to be of great value as the expedition goes on.

Next time ..Sacajawea quells disturbances
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On this Day in Pioneer History: "On December 14,1911, Norwegian Roald Amundsen becomes the first explorer to reach the South Pole.  Amundsen, born in Borge, near Oslo, in 1872, planned to be the first man to the North Pole, and he was about to embark in 1909 when he learned that the American Robert Peary had achieved the feat. Amundsen sailed instead for Antarctica.