Distinctly Montana Magazine

D I S T I N C T L Y M O N T A N A M A G A Z I N E • S U M M E R 2 0 2 2 50 The next day is when the captains got down to the busi- ness of trading for horses. As mentioned, communication was exceedingly difficult, as the Salish language was foreign to them. However, as luck would have it, a Shoshone youth lived amongst the tribe. He could translate the Salish into Shoshone for Sacagawea, who then passed the message on to her husband, Charbonneau, in Hidatsa. He then translat- ed the message into French for Labiche, who was then able to translate it into English for the captains. Along the way, Drouilliard, fluent in Indian sign language, was probably used to augment the translation. The reverse process was used to translate the captains' English back down the chain to Salish. That's six languages for every exchange! This must have been both a comical and frustrating event to witness, and, of course, prone to misunderstandings, but eventually a deal was struck. The Salish would give the expe- dition the 11 horses, as well as a few colts for possible food along the way. The Salish would take seven of the Shoshone horses Lewis and Clark had gotten earlier from Sacagawea's brother, Cameahwait, plus a few "trinkets ."Often non-Indian commentators remark that this was shrewd bargaining, and if the Salish had known just how bad off the Corps were, they could have got a better "deal." Oral history tells a different story. Yes, there was an ex- change, but not a "deal." From the Salish perspective, like the returned buffalo robes, these were gifts. Also not men- tioned in the journals were also ten saddles, precious items, as saddles represented hours and hours of work through the summer by the Salish women. As Ordway duly noted: "they are the likelyest and honestest we have seen and are verry friendly to us. They Swaped to us Some of their good horses and took our worn out horses, and appeared to wish to help us as much as lay in their power." By September 6, they were back on their way. Chief Three Eagles had appointed a small contingent of Salish to accom- pany them to the edge of Salish land to ensure their safe Oral history te s a different story. YES, THERE WAS AN EXCHANGE, BUT NOT A "DEAL." FROM THE SALISH PERSPECTIVE, LIKE THE RETURNED BUFFALO ROBES, THESE WERE GIFTS. East Fork of the Bitterroot River, near the 1805 Salish encampment

• Cover