Distinctly Montana Magazine

D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA N A • W I N T E R 2 0 1 9 84 e tale is set in 1742. e critical part of the lengthy Tribune story describes the brothers working their way up along the Mis- souri. "ey made a portage of the series of falls, their description of which tallies almost exactly with the description of the same given by Lewis and Clarke 62 years later…At the point which is now well-known as the 'Gateway of the mountains,' they ascended the mountains in January, 1743." e Tribune went into much greater detail, but perhaps the important paragraph is a plausible explanation for why we do not routinely enjoy a fresh croissant for breakfast. "Had they made the discovery of precious metals in the Rockies at that time, the whole history of this western country would have been changed. France would doubtless have secured so firm a hold upon the vast Terri- tory of Louisiana that to have purchased it from her except at the price of blood would have been impossible." As for that broken astrolabe, despite the weeks the younger Verendryes spent on their explorations, their broken astrolabe made it impossible to map the exact latitude of their journey, and they returned east. Another reason to speculate on early French explorations into Montana was the establishment of a French and Indian com- munity in Pembina, North Dakota, in the 1770s. Charles Baptiste Chaboillez built a trading post there in 1797 which included lodging for travelers. It was roughly 200 miles north of Lewis and Clark's winter camp with the Mandan in 1804. Had the Corps of Discovery discovered the post, they might have passed a more comfortable winter and learned much about the route ahead. It is reasonable to conjecture that trappers and traders of that era went west as well as east. One member of the Lewis and Clark expedi- tion could boast a unique distinction. Sacagawea, kidnapped from her Idaho home, was taken to North Dakota by the Hidatsa. Sold to the dissolute French trader and soi-disant expedition guide, Charbon- neau, the path of the expedition took her back through Montana, thus enabling her to rediscover it. Regardless of who came "first" (a per- petually debatable claim), the French presence in Montana didn't vanish with the Verendryes. A few examples follow. • Nez Perce and Pend d'Oreille are just two of the names used by early French trappers for tribes who called themselves Nimiipuu (e People) and Kalispel (Camas People). • Pierre Choteau, born in St. Louis in 1789, was an entrepreneur who made much of his fortune in the "FRANCE WOULD DOUBTLESS HAVE SECURED SO FIRM A HOLD UPON THE VAST TERRITORY OF LOUISIANA THAT TO HAVE PURCHASED IT FROM HER EXCEPT AT THE PRICE OF BLOOD WOULD HAVE BEEN IMPOSSIBLE." French exploration of North America www.distinctlymontana.com/french191 DISTINCTLY MONTANA | DIGITAL The sextant, invented in England and the American colonies in the mid-1700s, was not in widespread use in time for the Verendrye broth- ers. It had replaced the astrolabe in time for Lewis and Clark's epic explora- tion in 1804 to 1806. Michand Oxarart, posing with a bust of Shakespeare, is far too elegant to be a horse thief. SMITHSONIAN PHOTO MEDICINE HAT MUSEUM, ALBERTA

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