Louis, Missouri. A group of about 50 young men, including Lewis and Clark, began to travel up the Missouri River. This was a difficult task due to harsh weather conditions, rough waters, illnesses, and injuries. While stopped in Dakota Toussaint Charbonneau and his wife Sacagawea offered themselves to be guides for the men of the expedition. Lewis and Clark accepted the offer, and once the expedition continued the team headed west. They followed the Missouri River west until they reached the Great Falls. Here, the water was too rough and they had to carry their canoes around the falls. Despite this back-breaking one-month delay, they pressed on.
Soon, they were in Shoshone territory. Sacagawea's communication skills came in handy. Communication between Lewis and Clark and the Shoshone proved difficult but not impossible. Sacagawea would listen to what her fellow Shoshone were saying, then tell her husband what they said in Hidatsa, another Native American language. Charbonneau, who also spoke Hidatsa, would translate into French and tell expedition member Francois Labiche, who would translate into English for the team leaders.
Lewis’s life after the