Toussaint Charbonneau
Encyclopedia
Toussaint Charbonneau was a French-Canadian explorer and trader, and a member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition
. He is also known as the husband of Sacagawea
.
(near Montréal), a community with strong links to exploration and the fur
trade. Contrary to popular belief, Charbonneau was a full-blooded French-Canadian and not a mix of European and native, or Métis
. His paternal great grandmother Marguerite De Noyon
was the sister of Jacques de Noyon
, who had explored the region around Kaministiquia (Thunder Bay
) prior to 1700.
Charbonneau worked for a time as a fur trapper with the North West Company
(NWC), founded by Britain. John MacDonell
, recorder of one of their expeditions, first noted Charbonneau in their historical journal. After several routine mentions of Charbonneau, MacDonell wrote on May 30, 1795: "Tousst. Charbonneau was stabbed at the Manitou-a-banc end of the Portage la Prairie, Manitoba
in the act of committing a Rape upon her Daughter by an old Saultier
woman with a Canoe Awl—a fate he highly deserved for his brutality— It was with difficulty he could walk back over the portage."
It was likely that it was while working with the North West Company that Charbonneau encountered the established settlement of Mandan and Hidatsa
tribes on the upper Missouri River
, near present-day Bismarck, North Dakota
. He settled amongst these tribes, according to his own report around 1797. The area would remain his home for the rest of his life. Charbonneau became a free agent, working on his own and for several different fur companies operating in the area, as a trapper, laborer, and an interpreter of the Hidatsa language.
Charbonneau is said to have been married to two women at the same time. This came about when he purchased two captive Shoshone
women: Sacagawea (Bird Woman) and "Otter Woman", from the Hidatsa. The Hidatsa had captured these two young women on one of their annual raiding and hunting parties to the west. Charbonneau eventually considered these women to be his wives, though whether they were bound through Native American
custom or simply through common-law marriage
is indeterminate.
In 1804 Sacagawea became pregnant with their first child. It was during this year that Meriwether Lewis
and William Clark came to the area, built Fort Mandan
, and recruited members to the Corps of Discovery. Charbonneau was interviewed to interpret Hidatsa. Lewis and Clark, however, were not overly impressed with him; Charbonneau spoke no English. Although several in the expedition party could translate from French, Charbonneau did not appear to know Hidatsa all that well. (By his own admission, over thirty years later, he still could not speak the language well although he had lived with the Hidatsa nearly continuously.) However, when Lewis and Clark learned that his wives were Shoshone, they were eager to have them interpret this language as well. Sacagawea spoke Shoshone and Hidatsa, and Charbonneau Hidatsa and French. They hired Charbonneau on November 4, and he and Sacagawea moved into Fort Mandan a week later.
During the winter, Charbonneau communicated with members of the North West Company, and brought information back to Lewis and Clark's company. The situation between Britain
and the United States
was tense, and the group was concerned about how the British presence in the area would affect their group. During the winter at the fort, Charbonneau's and Sacagawea's son Jean-Baptiste
was born on February 11, 1805.
His performance during the journey was mixed: Meriwether Lewis called him "a man of no peculiar , and many historians have painted Charbonneau in a distinctly unfavorable light (these historians may have been influenced by his earlier attempted rape of a girl in 1795).
Most of Charbonneau's positive contributions to the expedition itself were overshadowed by the incident with the "white pirogue
." The party noted that on May 14, 1805, the pirogue guided by Charbonneau was hit by a gust of wind, to which he turned broadside. He lost control to the point that Pierre Cruzatte
, in the boat with him, threatened to shoot him if he did not regain his composure, but to no avail. Charbonneau nearly capsized the boat, which would have meant the loss of valuable equipment and papers. Meriwether Lewis was irate, writing that Charbonneau was "perhaps the most timid waterman in the world."
Charbonneau, however, did make several contributions to the success of the expedition. He was helpful when the expedition encountered French trappers from Canada
. He served as a cook; his recipe for boudin blanc (a sausage
made from bison
meat) was praised by several members of the party. Additionally, his skill in striking a bargain came in handy when the expedition acquired much-needed horses at the Shoshone encampment.
William Clark was particularly taken with Charbonneau's son, young Jean Baptiste
(whom he nicknamed "pomp"), and by extension the entire Charbonneau family, including Toussaint. Despite having had to reprimand Charbonneau with regard to his duties (October 27, 1805) and having intervened in a marital dispute in which Charbonneau hit his wife (Sacagawea) (August 14 of that year), Clark offered to set up Charbonneau and his family in St. Louis
after the expedition. His offer included providing for the education of Jean-Baptiste.
He then took a job with Manuel Lisa
's Missouri Fur Company
, and was stationed at Fort Manuel Lisa Trading Post in present-day North Dakota
. Evidence suggests that, while Charbonneau was on an expedition with the company in 1812, Sacagawea died at the fort. The following year Charbonneau signed over formal custody of his son Jean Baptiste and daughter Lisette to William Clark.
During the period of 1811-1838, Charbonneau also worked for the Upper Missouri Agency's Indian Bureau (a federal agency) as a translator. He earned from $300 to $400 per year from the government. He may have gained this position by the patronage of William Clark, who was from 1813 the governor of the Missouri Territory
; upon Clark's death, Charbonneau's employment with the government came to an abrupt halt.
Surviving records show that Charbonneau was widely disliked by others in the Missouri Territory
. Part of the reason for this may be his casual attitude toward employment: he was variously hired by Lisa's Missouri Fur Company and by John Jacob Astor
's American Fur Company
, bitter rivals. He is also said to have abandoned another employer, James Kipp, while on a fur expedition in 1834. Perhaps because of this, Charbonneau gained much of his work as a guide for people from outside the area, among whom were Karl Bodmer
and Maximilian zu Wied-Neuwied. For them he played up his experience with Lewis and Clark to its best advantage.
Charbonneau is known to have had a total of five wives, all young Native American women whom he married when they were sixteen years old or younger, which was not unusual for the time. He may have had more wives who have been lost to the record. His last known wife, an Assiniboine girl, was 14 when she married him in 1837; he was more than 70 years old.
He is said to have died at Fort Mandan.
's tetralogy The Berrybender Narratives
include Charbonneau and his son Jean Baptiste as important characters.
He was portrayed by Alan Reed
in The Far Horizons (1955).
In The Simpsons
episode "Margical History Tour
", the story of Sacagawea is re-enacted, with Charbonneau played by Milhouse van Houten
.
Lewis and Clark Expedition
The Lewis and Clark Expedition, or ″Corps of Discovery Expedition" was the first transcontinental expedition to the Pacific Coast by the United States. Commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson and led by two Virginia-born veterans of Indian wars in the Ohio Valley, Meriwether Lewis and William...
. He is also known as the husband of Sacagawea
Sacagawea
Sacagawea ; was a Lemhi Shoshone woman, who accompanied the Lewis and Clark Expedition, acting as an interpreter and guide, in their exploration of the Western United States...
.
Early years
Charbonneau was born in Boucherville, QuebecBoucherville, Quebec
Boucherville is a city in the Montérégie region in Quebec, Canada. It is a suburb of Montreal on the South shore of the Saint Lawrence River....
(near Montréal), a community with strong links to exploration and the fur
Fur
Fur is a synonym for hair, used more in reference to non-human animals, usually mammals; particularly those with extensives body hair coverage. The term is sometimes used to refer to the body hair of an animal as a complete coat, also known as the "pelage". Fur is also used to refer to animal...
trade. Contrary to popular belief, Charbonneau was a full-blooded French-Canadian and not a mix of European and native, or Métis
Métis people (Canada)
The Métis are one of the Aboriginal peoples in Canada who trace their descent to mixed First Nations parentage. The term was historically a catch-all describing the offspring of any such union, but within generations the culture syncretised into what is today a distinct aboriginal group, with...
. His paternal great grandmother Marguerite De Noyon
was the sister of Jacques de Noyon
Jacques de Noyon
Jacques de Noyon was a French Canadian explorer and coureur des bois. He is the first known European to visit the Boundary Waters region west of Lake Superior.Jacques de Noyon was born on February 12, 1668, in Trois-Rivières, New France...
, who had explored the region around Kaministiquia (Thunder Bay
Thunder Bay
-In Canada:Thunder Bay is the name of three places in the province of Ontario, Canada along Lake Superior:*Thunder Bay District, Ontario, a district in Northwestern Ontario*Thunder Bay, a city in Thunder Bay District*Thunder Bay, Unorganized, Ontario...
) prior to 1700.
Charbonneau worked for a time as a fur trapper with the North West Company
North West Company
The North West Company was a fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in what was to become Western Canada...
(NWC), founded by Britain. John MacDonell
John Macdonell
Lieutenant Colonel John Macdonell of Greenfield was an aide-de-camp to British Major General Sir Isaac Brock during the War of 1812, dying in the Battle of Queenston Heights. He was born on 19 April 1785 in Scotland near Aberchalder and came to Canada when he was seven years old...
, recorder of one of their expeditions, first noted Charbonneau in their historical journal. After several routine mentions of Charbonneau, MacDonell wrote on May 30, 1795: "Tousst. Charbonneau was stabbed at the Manitou-a-banc end of the Portage la Prairie, Manitoba
Portage la Prairie, Manitoba
-Transportation:Portage la Prairie railway station is served by Via Rail with both The Canadian and Winnipeg – Churchill trains calling at the station....
in the act of committing a Rape upon her Daughter by an old Saultier
Saulteaux
The Saulteaux are a First Nation in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, Canada.-Ethnic classification:The Saulteaux are a branch of the Ojibwe nations. They are sometimes also called Anihšināpē . Saulteaux is a French term meaning "people of the rapids," referring to...
woman with a Canoe Awl—a fate he highly deserved for his brutality— It was with difficulty he could walk back over the portage."
It was likely that it was while working with the North West Company that Charbonneau encountered the established settlement of Mandan and Hidatsa
Hidatsa
The Hidatsa are a Siouan people, a part of the Three Affiliated Tribes. The Hidatsa's autonym is Hiraacá. According to the tribal tradition, the word hiraacá derives from the word "willow"; however, the etymology is not transparent and the similarity to mirahací ‘willows’ inconclusive...
tribes on the upper Missouri River
Missouri River
The Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...
, near present-day Bismarck, North Dakota
Bismarck, North Dakota
Bismarck is the capital of the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Burleigh County. It is the second most populous city in North Dakota after Fargo. The city's population was 61,272 at the 2010 census, while its metropolitan population was 108,779...
. He settled amongst these tribes, according to his own report around 1797. The area would remain his home for the rest of his life. Charbonneau became a free agent, working on his own and for several different fur companies operating in the area, as a trapper, laborer, and an interpreter of the Hidatsa language.
Charbonneau is said to have been married to two women at the same time. This came about when he purchased two captive Shoshone
Shoshone
The Shoshone or Shoshoni are a Native American tribe in the United States with three large divisions: the Northern, the Western and the Eastern....
women: Sacagawea (Bird Woman) and "Otter Woman", from the Hidatsa. The Hidatsa had captured these two young women on one of their annual raiding and hunting parties to the west. Charbonneau eventually considered these women to be his wives, though whether they were bound through Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
custom or simply through common-law marriage
Common-law marriage
Common-law marriage, sometimes called sui juris marriage, informal marriage or marriage by habit and repute, is a form of interpersonal status that is legally recognized in limited jurisdictions as a marriage even though no legally recognized marriage ceremony is performed or civil marriage...
is indeterminate.
In 1804 Sacagawea became pregnant with their first child. It was during this year that Meriwether Lewis
Meriwether Lewis
Meriwether Lewis was an American explorer, soldier, and public administrator, best known for his role as the leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition also known as the Corps of Discovery, with William Clark...
and William Clark came to the area, built Fort Mandan
Fort Mandan
Fort Mandan was the name of the encampment at which the Lewis and Clark Expedition wintered in 1804-1805. The encampment was located on the Missouri River approximately twelve miles from Washburn, North Dakota, though the precise location is not known for certain and may be under the nearby...
, and recruited members to the Corps of Discovery. Charbonneau was interviewed to interpret Hidatsa. Lewis and Clark, however, were not overly impressed with him; Charbonneau spoke no English. Although several in the expedition party could translate from French, Charbonneau did not appear to know Hidatsa all that well. (By his own admission, over thirty years later, he still could not speak the language well although he had lived with the Hidatsa nearly continuously.) However, when Lewis and Clark learned that his wives were Shoshone, they were eager to have them interpret this language as well. Sacagawea spoke Shoshone and Hidatsa, and Charbonneau Hidatsa and French. They hired Charbonneau on November 4, and he and Sacagawea moved into Fort Mandan a week later.
During the winter, Charbonneau communicated with members of the North West Company, and brought information back to Lewis and Clark's company. The situation between Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
was tense, and the group was concerned about how the British presence in the area would affect their group. During the winter at the fort, Charbonneau's and Sacagawea's son Jean-Baptiste
Jean Baptiste Charbonneau
Jean Baptiste Charbonneau was an American explorer and guide, fur trapper and trader, military scout during the Mexican-American War, alcalde of Mission San Luis Rey de Francia, and a gold prospector and hotel operator in California. He spoke French and English, and learned German and Spanish...
was born on February 11, 1805.
On the Lewis and Clark Trail
In the winter, as the expedition was preparing toy, Charbonneau had second thoughts about his role. He quit the expedition, having said he was dissatisfied that he would be required to stand guard, perform manual labor, etc. But, on March 17 he returned and apologized, saying he would like to re-join the company; he was re-hired the following day.His performance during the journey was mixed: Meriwether Lewis called him "a man of no peculiar , and many historians have painted Charbonneau in a distinctly unfavorable light (these historians may have been influenced by his earlier attempted rape of a girl in 1795).
Most of Charbonneau's positive contributions to the expedition itself were overshadowed by the incident with the "white pirogue
Pirogue
A pirogue is a small, flat-bottomed boat of a design associated particularly with the Cajuns of the Louisiana marsh. In West Africa they were used as traditional fishing boats. These boats are not usually intended for overnight travel but are light and small enough to be easily taken onto land...
." The party noted that on May 14, 1805, the pirogue guided by Charbonneau was hit by a gust of wind, to which he turned broadside. He lost control to the point that Pierre Cruzatte
Pierre Cruzatte
Private Pierre Cruzatte was a member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. He was of French and Omaha tribe Indian heritage. He enlisted with Lewis and Clark on May 16, 1804, at St. Charles, Missouri. Cruzatte had formerly been a trader on the Missouri River for the Chouteau fur interests...
, in the boat with him, threatened to shoot him if he did not regain his composure, but to no avail. Charbonneau nearly capsized the boat, which would have meant the loss of valuable equipment and papers. Meriwether Lewis was irate, writing that Charbonneau was "perhaps the most timid waterman in the world."
Charbonneau, however, did make several contributions to the success of the expedition. He was helpful when the expedition encountered French trappers from Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. He served as a cook; his recipe for boudin blanc (a sausage
Sausage
A sausage is a food usually made from ground meat , mixed with salt, herbs, and other spices, although vegetarian sausages are available. The word sausage is derived from Old French saussiche, from the Latin word salsus, meaning salted.Typically, a sausage is formed in a casing traditionally made...
made from bison
American Bison
The American bison , also commonly known as the American buffalo, is a North American species of bison that once roamed the grasslands of North America in massive herds...
meat) was praised by several members of the party. Additionally, his skill in striking a bargain came in handy when the expedition acquired much-needed horses at the Shoshone encampment.
William Clark was particularly taken with Charbonneau's son, young Jean Baptiste
Jean Baptiste Charbonneau
Jean Baptiste Charbonneau was an American explorer and guide, fur trapper and trader, military scout during the Mexican-American War, alcalde of Mission San Luis Rey de Francia, and a gold prospector and hotel operator in California. He spoke French and English, and learned German and Spanish...
(whom he nicknamed "pomp"), and by extension the entire Charbonneau family, including Toussaint. Despite having had to reprimand Charbonneau with regard to his duties (October 27, 1805) and having intervened in a marital dispute in which Charbonneau hit his wife (Sacagawea) (August 14 of that year), Clark offered to set up Charbonneau and his family in St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
after the expedition. His offer included providing for the education of Jean-Baptiste.
After the expedition
Charbonneau initially declined Clark's offer to relocate to St. Louis, as he preferred life with the Mandan and Hidatsa. He was paid $503.03 for his nineteen months with the expedition, and remained in the upper Missouri area for some time. However, by 1809, the family had indeed relocated to St. Louis. Charbonneau briefly took up farming for a living. He gave it up after a few months, leaving with Sacagawea and entrusting the care of Jean-Baptiste to William Clark. He sold Clark his 320-acre (1.3 km²) grant for $100.He then took a job with Manuel Lisa
Manuel Lisa
Manuel Lisa, also known as Manuel de Lisa , was a Spanish-American fur trader, explorer, and United States Indian agent. He was among the founders in St. Louis of the Missouri Fur Company, an early fur trading company...
's Missouri Fur Company
Missouri Fur Company
The Missouri Fur Company was one of the earliest fur trading companies in St. Louis, Missouri. Dissolved and reorganized several times, it operated under various names from 1809 until its final dissolution in 1830. It was created by a group of fur traders and merchants from St...
, and was stationed at Fort Manuel Lisa Trading Post in present-day North Dakota
North Dakota
North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
. Evidence suggests that, while Charbonneau was on an expedition with the company in 1812, Sacagawea died at the fort. The following year Charbonneau signed over formal custody of his son Jean Baptiste and daughter Lisette to William Clark.
During the period of 1811-1838, Charbonneau also worked for the Upper Missouri Agency's Indian Bureau (a federal agency) as a translator. He earned from $300 to $400 per year from the government. He may have gained this position by the patronage of William Clark, who was from 1813 the governor of the Missouri Territory
Missouri Territory
The Territory of Missouri was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from June 4, 1812 until August 10, 1821, when the southeastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Missouri.-History:...
; upon Clark's death, Charbonneau's employment with the government came to an abrupt halt.
Surviving records show that Charbonneau was widely disliked by others in the Missouri Territory
Missouri Territory
The Territory of Missouri was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from June 4, 1812 until August 10, 1821, when the southeastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Missouri.-History:...
. Part of the reason for this may be his casual attitude toward employment: he was variously hired by Lisa's Missouri Fur Company and by John Jacob Astor
John Jacob Astor
John Jacob Astor , born Johann Jakob Astor, was a German-American business magnate and investor who was the first prominent member of the Astor family and the first multi-millionaire in the United States...
's American Fur Company
American Fur Company
The American Fur Company was founded by John Jacob Astor in 1808. The company grew to monopolize the fur trade in the United States by 1830, and became one of the largest businesses in the country. The company was one the first great trusts in American business...
, bitter rivals. He is also said to have abandoned another employer, James Kipp, while on a fur expedition in 1834. Perhaps because of this, Charbonneau gained much of his work as a guide for people from outside the area, among whom were Karl Bodmer
Karl Bodmer
Karl Bodmer was a Swiss painter of the American West. He accompanied German explorer Maximilian zu Wied-Neuwied from 1832 through 1834 on his Missouri River expedition...
and Maximilian zu Wied-Neuwied. For them he played up his experience with Lewis and Clark to its best advantage.
Charbonneau is known to have had a total of five wives, all young Native American women whom he married when they were sixteen years old or younger, which was not unusual for the time. He may have had more wives who have been lost to the record. His last known wife, an Assiniboine girl, was 14 when she married him in 1837; he was more than 70 years old.
He is said to have died at Fort Mandan.
In popular culture
Larry McMurtryLarry McMurtry
Larry Jeff McMurtry is an American novelist, essayist, bookseller and screenwriter whose work is predominantly set in either the old West or in contemporary Texas...
's tetralogy The Berrybender Narratives
The Berrybender Narratives
The Berrybender Narratives is a series of novels written by Larry McMurtry. It tells the story of an ill-fated hunting expedition lasting several years and covering much of the early American West...
include Charbonneau and his son Jean Baptiste as important characters.
He was portrayed by Alan Reed
Alan Reed
Alan Reed was an American actor and voice actor, best known as the original voice of Fred Flintstone on The Flintstones and various spinoff series...
in The Far Horizons (1955).
In The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
episode "Margical History Tour
Margical History Tour
"Margical History Tour" is the eleventh episode of The Simpsons fifteenth season. The episode was first broadcast on February 8, 2004. This is one of several Simpsons episodes that features mini-stories.-Plot:...
", the story of Sacagawea is re-enacted, with Charbonneau played by Milhouse van Houten
Milhouse Van Houten
Milhouse Mussolini Van Houten is a fictional character featured in the animated television series The Simpsons, voiced by Pamela Hayden. He is Bart Simpson's best friend in Mrs. Krabappel's fourth grade class at Springfield Elementary School....
.