The Bird-Woman of the Lewis and Clark Expedition | Page 8

was glad that the white men had been kind to her. He would help them over the mountains. He would talk to his men about it. He said to Captain Clark: "You have been kind to Sacajawea. I am your friend until my days are over. You shall own my house. You shall sit on my blanket. You shall have what I kill. You shall bear my name. My name belonged to me only, but now it is yours. You are Cameahwait." After that, all this tribe called Captain Clark "Cameahwait."

Ah hi e! death oars pleased bought nev er sad dles
SACAJAWEA'S PEOPLE WILL SHOW THE WAY.
Cameahwait told his people how good the white men were. He told them what good things they had. He said, "If we sell them horses and take them over the mountains, they can get back soon. No goods will come to us until they go back to their home. If we do not help them, they cannot cross the mountains. They do not know the way. They cannot carry food enough. They will meet death in the mountains. Then we shall never get their goods. Shall we help them, my brothers?"
And the people said, "Ah hi e! Ah hi e!" That means, "We are pleased." They got horses to carry the goods. They could not get enough horses to give the men to ride. The captains bought a horse for Sacajawea to ride. The soldiers made saddles from the oars tied together with pieces of skins. Then they started up the steep mountain.

heard must to-night slipped
THE INDIANS TRY TO LEAVE THE WHITES.
When they were in the mountain tops, Sacajawea overheard some Indians talking. They said: "We do not want to go across the mountains with the whites. We want to go down to the plains and hunt buffalo. We are hungry here. On the plains are many buffalo. We must hunt them now for our winter food. We do not care for the white men's goods. Our fathers lived without their goods. We can live without them. We will go off to-night and leave them. They will meet death in the mountains. In the Spring we can come back and get their goods."
Sacajawea went to Captain Lewis. She told him what she had heard. He called the chiefs together. They smoked a pipe together. Sacajawea slipped a piece of sugar into Cameahwait's hand. As he sucked it, she said, "You will get this good thing from the white men if you are friends with them."
gone land word keep prom ise yes
Then Captain Lewis said, "Are you men of your word?"
The Indians said, "Yes."
He said, "Did you not promise to carry our goods over the mountains?"
The Indians said, "Yes."
"Then," he said, "why are you going to leave us now? If you had not promised, we would have gone back down the Missouri. Then no other white man would come to your land. You wish the whites to be your friends. You want them to give you goods. You should keep you promise to them. I will keep my promise to you. You seem afraid to keep your promise."
The chiefs said, "We are not afraid. We will keep our promise."
They sent out word to all their men to keep their promise. Captain Lewis thanked Sacajawea. If she had not told him, the Indians would have gone off in the night. The whites would have been left in the steep Rocky Mountains with no horses and no way of getting food.

stiff Pa cif ic O cean melt sharp trip
CROSSING THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS.
The trip across the mountains was very hard. The mountain tops were steep. There was no road. The ground was made of sharp rocks. The horses slipped and fell down. The men's feet were cut and black and blue. It rained many days and snowed nights. They had no houses. Before they could start on each day, they had to melt the snow off their goods. The men grew stiff from the wet and the cold. The only way they could get warm was to keep on walking. They had little food. They had only a little corn when they started across the mountains. This was soon gone. There were no animals, no fish, and no roots on the way. They had to kill their horses. They had only horsemeat to eat. The soldiers grew sick. Some could hardly stand. But they did not want to turn back. They knew the Indians could find the way down to the Columbia River. Then they could get to the Pacific Ocean without the Indians. So they went on.

sud den ly fun salm on watch
AT THE COLUMBIA RIVER.
At last they got across the mountains and down on the Columbia River. The Indians who had showed them the way went home