Sacagawea Comes to the Rescue
It was during the winter when the explorers decided it would be constructive to have some local help, and so they hired Sacagawea, a Shoshone woman, and her husband, Toussaint Charbonneau, who was a French fur trader.
Sacajawea guiding the expedition from Mandan through the Rocky Mountains. Painting by Alfred Russell. Color slide. (Photo Credit: Getty Images)
Sacagawea’s help proved immensely helpful, as she acted as an interpreter with her people who lived close to the headwaters of the Missouri River. When spring came, Lewis sent the keelboat down the river with a few men and a report for Jefferson, as well as samples of soil, plants, Indian items, and even a prairie dog, which was unheard of in the East.