When interpreter Toussaint Charbonneau, a French Canadian fur 
trader living among the Hidatsas, and his Shoshone Indian wife, 
Sacagawea, joined the Lewis and Clark expedition in 1803, they 
headed into country largely unknown to them, as it was to Thomas 
Jefferson’s hand-picked explorers. There is little doubt as to the 
importance of Sacagawea’s presence on the journey. She has 
become a near-legendary figure for her role as interpreter, guide, 
and “token of peace.” Toussaint, however, has been maligned in 
both fiction and nonfiction alike—Lewis himself called him “a man of 
no peculiar merit.”

    W. Dale Nelson offers a frank and honest portrayal of Toussaint, 
suggesting his character has perhaps been judged too harshly. He 
was indeed valuable as an interpreter and no doubt helpful with his 
knowledge of the Indian tribes the group encountered. For 
example, Toussaint proved his worth in negotiations with the 
Shoshones for much-needed horses, and with his experience as a 
fur trader, he always seemed to strike a better bargain than his 
companions.

    During the expedition Sacagawea gave birth to a son, Jean 
Baptiste. With her death in 1812, Clark assumed custody of her son 
and Toussaint returned to his life on the upper Missouri. Surviving 
his wife by almost three decades, Toussaint worked under Clark 
(then superintendent of Indian Affairs in St. Louis) as an interpreter 
for government officials, explorers, artists, and visiting dignitaries. 
Jean Baptiste traveled the Rocky Mountains as a mountain man, 
was a scout during the Mexican American War, and served as 
mayor and judge for the San Luis Rey Mission.
_________________________________________________________

W. DALE NELSON spent forty years with the Associated Press, 
first in western bureaus and then in Washington, D.C., where he 
was honored with the Aldo Beckman Award, given annually by the 
White House Correspondents Association for excellence in 
reporting about the presidency. He is the author of two books and 
holds a master’s degree in library science from the University of 
Washington. He lives in Laramie, Wyoming.



What people are saying about this book

“Quite useful to scholars and lay people alike as an enthusiastic 
public seeks the best biographies available on the men and women 
of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Nelson incorporates many fine 
primary sources and gives the reader a sense of Charbonneau, the 
person, lacking in present treatments.”—William Swagerty, editor,
Scholars and the Indian Experience

“An epic story of a family that is involved in a broad spectrum of 
Western history in the first two-thirds of the 19th century. It is 
amazing just how many prominent explorers, artists, European 
visitors, military figures, etc. that they encounter. This is the kind of 
history that used to be written when people read history for fun.”
—R. David  Edmunds, author, Tecumseh and the Quest for Indian 
Leadership

"A page-turner that will hold the reader's interest late into the night."
—Roundup Magazine

"An insightful, honestly presented, superbly written study that 
offers the truth behind the myths."—Midwest Book Review