ommunication is generally not a problem as the Lewis & Clark party travel up the Missouri because they travel with Frenchmen who know some of the native languages. At least this is the case until they encounter the Teton Sioux, and soon "discover our interpreters do not Speak the language well." (Clark, from Moulton V.3, 111) William Clark reports that "Cap Lewis proceeded to Deliver a speech which we oblige to curtail for want of a good interpreter." (Clark, from Moulton V.3, 128)

State Historical Society of North Dakota

At Fort Mandan their interpreters are two Frenchmen who have been living with the Indians. The first to serve as interpreter and the one who moves into Fort Mandan with them and serves the party throughout the winter is a Mr. Jessomee. The second interpreter is "a French man by Name Chabonah, who Speaks the Big Belley language..." (Clark, from Moulton V.3,228) They hire Touissant Charbonneau and one of his Shoshone wives to interpret for them when they meet the Shoshones. The Hidatsa call her Sakakawea, or Bird Woman and the Shoshones call Sacagawea.

Charles McKenzie, a Canadian trader, describes communication efforts of the Lewis & Clark party as he observes them in the Mandan Country in the spring of 1805:

The woman who answered the purpose of wife to Charbonneau, was of the Serpent Nation and lately taken prisoner by a war party:- She understood a little Gros Ventres, in which she had to converse with her husband, who was a Canadian, and who did not understand English- A Mulatto, who spoke bad French and worse English served as interpreter to the Captains- So that a single word to be understood by the party required to pass from the Natives to the woman, from the woman to the husband, and from the husband to the Mulatto, from the Mulatto to the Captain. I was once present when vocabularies were making of the languages of the Mandane Villages. The two Frenchmen who happened to be the medium of information had warm disputes upon the meaning of every word that was taken down by the Expedition - as the Indians could not well comprehend the intention of recording their words, they concluded that the Americans had a wicked design upon their Country (McKenzie, from Wood & Thiessen 238-9).

Not a pretty image! As they travel up the Missouri River they find themselves with other communication challenges. On August 4th, 1805, Captain Meriwether Lewis explores the Three Forks of the Missouri headwaters:

this is a bold rappid and Clear Stream, it's bed so much broken and obstructed by gravley bars and it's waters so much subdivided by Islands that it appears to me utterly impossible to navigate it with safety. the middle fork is gentle and possesses about 2/3rds as much water as this stream. it's course so far as I can observe it is about S. W., and from the opening of the valley.

(Catlin:1891)

I beleive it still bears more to the West above it may be safely navigated. it's water is much warmer then the rapid fork and it's water more turbid; from which I conjecture that it has it's sources at a greater distance in the mountains and passes through an opener country than the other. under this impression I wrote a note to Capt Clark, recommending his taking the middle fork povided he should arrive at this place before my return, which I expect will be the day after tomorrow. this note I left on a pole at the forks of the river, and having refreshed ourselves and eat heartily of some venison which we killed this morning we continued our rout up the rapid fork on the Stard side, resolving to pursue this stream untill noon tomorrow and then pass over to the middle fork and come down it to their junctionor untill I meet Capt Clark...

...at 4 P.M. they arrived at the confluence of the two rivers where I had left the note. This note had unfortunately been placed on a green pole which the beaver had cut and carried off together with the note; the possibility of such an occurrence never onc occurred to me when I placed it on the green pole. This accident deprived Capt. Clark of any information with ripect to the country and supposing that the rapid fork was most in the direction which it was proper we should pursue, or West, he took that stream and ascended it with much difficulty...( Lewis, from Moulton V.5, 41-2)

Even among themselves communication is no easy task. The challenges that lie ahead are even greater because they don't know the languages of the people they will meet. How will the Expedition communicate with native people beyond the Mandan villages? How will they communicate if they encounter people other than the Shoshone?

[Excerpted from "Miscommunication along the Lewis & Clark Trail", Sally Thompson.]