Near Tendoy in Lemhi County, Idaho — The American West (Mountains)
Sacajawea Comes Home
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, June 24, 2017
1. Sacajawea Comes Home Marker
Lewis and Clark gave Sacajawea a miracle: a return home for the first time since her kidnapping several years earlier. She gave them as much: a Lemhi Shoshone interpreter and an advocate for the Expedition in buying Lemhi horses.
It was a bittersweet homecoming. Yes, she was reunited with her brother, Cameahwait. But she learned that of the rest of her family, all but one other brother and a nephew were dead.
She helped lead the effort to portage the explorers' baggage across Lemhi Pass. When the path was decided, she followed it with her husband, son, and new friends.
"I left our interpreter and his woman to accompany the Indians to Capt Lewis tomorrow, the Day they told me they would Set out." - William Clark, August 20, 1805
Erected by Bureau of Land Management.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Exploration • Native Americans • Women. In addition, it is included in the Lewis & Clark Expedition series list. A significant historical date for this entry is August 20, 1805.
Location. 45° 0.226′ N, 113° 37.937′ W. Marker is near Tendoy, Idaho, in Lemhi County. Marker is on Warm Springs Road (Forest Road 185) near Back Road (County Highway 28), on the left when traveling
this page online
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. The Withington Caldera (here, next to this marker); Lewis Learns from the Lemhi Shoshone (here, next to this marker); William Clark's Scouting Mission (here, next to this marker); Meriwether Lewis Makes Contact (here, next to this marker); Rheumatism and Recreation (approx. 1.1 miles away); The Salmon River Mission (approx. 1˝ miles away); a different marker also named Salmon River Mission (approx. 1˝ miles away); First Irrigation Project (approx. 1˝ miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Tendoy.
More about this marker. This marker is on the Lewis and Clark National Back Country Byway and Adventure Road. The Byway is a 36 mile loop from Tendoy, Idaho to Lemhi Pass and back to Tendoy over gravel roads with a 4000 foot gain and loss in elevation. There are 10 designated stops with pullouts on the Byway and over two dozen information panels and markers on route. Estimated travel time is about 3 hours.
Also see . . . Wikipedia entry for Sacagawea. Excerpt:
By August 1805, the corps had located a Shoshone tribe and was attempting to trade(Submitted on August 17, 2019.)for horses to cross the Rocky Mountains. They used Sacagawea to interpret and discovered that the tribe’s chief, Cameahwait, was her brother.Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, June 24, 20172. Sacajawea Comes Home and other markers
Lewis recorded their reunion in his journal:Shortly after Capt. Clark arrived with the Interpreter Charbono, and the Indian woman, who proved to be a sister of the Chief Cameahwait. The meeting of those people was really affecting, particularly between Sah cah-gar-we-ah and an Indian woman, who had been taken prisoner at the same time with her, and who had afterwards escaped from the Minnetares and rejoined her nation....
The Shoshone agreed to barter horses to the group, and to provide guides to lead them over the cold and barren Rocky Mountains.
Detail of mural by Edgar Samuel Paxson, via Wikipedia Commons
3. Sacagawea (right) with Lewis and Clark
Detail of the mural “Lewis & Clark at Three Forks” in the lobby of the Montana House of Representatives.
Credits. This page was last revised on August 18, 2019. It was originally submitted on October 31, 2017, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 841 times since then and 86 times this year. It was the Marker of the Week August 18, 2019. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on October 31, 2017, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. 3. submitted on August 17, 2019, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio.
