Part 2

Sacajawea ran into the stream. An Indian caught her. He took her up on his horse. He carried her away to the East, to the country of the Mandans. There she married the Frenchman. There the Americans found her. She was glad when her husband said he would go West with Lewis and Clark. She thought she would see her own tribe again.

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AT FORT MANDAN.

The soldiers called their winter camp Fort Mandan. They had a hard winter there. It was so cold that many men were ill. They had no time to be ill. They had to work to be ready to go West when Spring opened. The captains wrote in their books about the Indians and animals and plants they had seen. They made maps of the country they had come through. They had long talks with the Indian chiefs. They made friends with the Indians by giving them medicine. An Indian boy had his feet frozen near the soldiers' camp. The captains kept him until his feet were well again. His people all came and thanked the captains.

The Indians told each other about the white men's medicine. They said, "The white men's medicine is better than our sweat-house." So they came for miles to the white camp to get the medicine. They gave the captains food. They wanted to be friends with them.

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The soldiers hunted animals for food and for their skins. One soldier cut an old stove into pieces. The Indians wanted these pieces to make arrows and knives. They would give eight gallons of corn for one piece. The Indians did not know what money was. The captains did not carry money with them. They took flags and medals, knives and blankets, looking-glasses and beads, and many other things. With these they could get food from the Indians. On Christmas Day, 1804, the soldiers put the American flag up over the fort. They told the Indians not to come to see them on that day. They said it was the best day of their year. It was a cold day, with much ice and snow. They had a good dinner and after dinner the soldiers danced. On New Year's Day, 1805, they fired off all their guns. The captains let the soldiers go to the Mandan camp. They took their fiddle and danced for the Indians. One soldier danced on his hands with his head down. The Indians liked this dancing very much. They gave the soldiers some corn and some skins.

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THE BLACK MAN.

Captain Clark had his black man, York, with him. The Indians were always surprised to see the black man. They thought he was stranger than the white men. One Mandan chief said, "This is a white man painted black." He wet his finger and tried to wash the black off York's skin. The black would not come off. Then York took off his hat. The chief had not seen such hair before. Then the chief said, "You are not like a white man. You are a black man." The Indians told each other of this black man. They came from far to see him. York helped make them friends with the whites. The captains named a river for York. The river had only a little water in it. They named it York's Dry River.

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SACAJAWEA'S BABY.

At Fort Mandan, Sacajawea's baby boy was born. He was only eight weeks old when the white men began to go to the far West. Sacajawea made a basket of skins for her baby. She put it on her back. The baby could sleep in the basket as Sacajawea walked. The soldiers liked the baby. They gave it sugar. They made it playthings of wood. They danced to make it laugh. Indian babies do not laugh much and they do not cry much. Once in the West the baby was ill. Then the soldiers camped for some days. They were very still. Captain Lewis gave the baby medicine. This made the baby well again. Then the men laughed. They said, "Let us sing and dance for the baby." The baby laughed as it looked at the men.

A pril par ty shot broke shoot warm

The warm April sun broke up the ice in the Missouri River. Then the party got into their boats and rowed on up the river. From this time on, Sacajawea and her baby were a help to the soldiers. When the Indians saw a woman and a baby with the men, they knew it was not a war party. Indians would not take a woman and baby to war. Only men go to war. The Indians did not shoot at the men. They came up to see what they wanted. If Sacajawea had not been there, they would have shot the white men. The Indians thought that all strangers wanted war. They thought this until the strangers showed that they were friends.

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MAKING FRIENDS WITH THE INDIANS.

Sacajawea showed the captains how to make friends with the Indians. The Indians on the upper Missouri River and in the Rocky Mountains showed that they wanted to be friends in the same way. When they saw strangers, they stood still and talked to each other. If they wished to be friends, the chief walked out ahead of his people. He took off his blanket. He took hold of it by two corners. He threw it up high. Then he put it on the ground. This showed that he was putting down a skin for a friend to sit on. He did this three times. Then the strangers came up to him. They sat down together. They took off their moccasins. This showed that they wished to be true friends. If they were not true friends, they would go barefooted all their days. They thought it hard to go barefooted. The ground was covered with prickly pears. The prickly pears would hurt their feet.

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When the strangers had their moccasins off, they smoked some pipes together. Then they gave each other presents. Then they told each other why they had come together. Captain Lewis and Captain Clark always told the Indians:

"We have come from the Great Father in Washington. He sends you these presents. He wants you to be friends with the white men. He wants you to be friends with the other Indians. When you all are friends, the men can get many animals and the women can get many roots. The Great Father will send you out the white men's goods when you are all friends."

The Indians always said to Lewis and Clark:

"We are glad to hear from the Great Father in Washington. We like his presents. We shall be glad to get the white men's goods. We will be friends with all men with Indians and with white men."

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SACAJAWEA SAVES THE CAPTAINS' GOODS.

Going up the Missouri, the compass, the books, and the maps were in one canoe. The captains had the compass to find the West. One day a big wind hit this canoe and turned it nearly over. Sacajawea's husband was at the rudder. He was afraid and let go. The water came into the canoe. The maps and books came up to the top of the water. Sacajawea saw them going out into the river. She took the compass into her lap. She caught the books. She called to her husband. He took the rudder again. He straightened the boat again. Then Sacajawea caught the maps that were on top of the river.

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SACAJAWEA'S RIVER.