Jean Baptiste Charbonneau
Jean Baptiste Charbonneau was born to Toussaint Charbonneau and his Shoshoni wife, Sacagawea, on Feb. 11, 1805, at Ft. Mandan. His parents, interpreters for Lewis and Clark, took him along on the journey to find a water route to the Pacific, when he was two months old.
The baby, generally known as Baptiste, was sometimes called Toussaint, as we would refer to a son as Junior, today. Captain Clark became very fond of the boy, whom he nicknamed Pomp, which means First Born, in Shoshoni. Following the Corps of Discovery’s return to Ft. Mandan, Baptiste’s parents agreed to bring him to Clark’s home in St. Louis to be educated. He was there at least until 1820, for in that year Clark’s papers show payments for his tuition, school supplies, and clothing.
In 1823, Prince Paul of Wuttemburg met Baptiste and his father on an expedition up the Missouri, for which the older Charbonneau served as guide and interpreter. The young men became friends and Baptiste accompanied the prince back to Europe, where he remained until the two came back to America in 1829, for another excursion into Indian Country.
Although fluent in German, Spanish and French, as well as English, Baptiste chose the life of a mountain man. His contemporaries were men like Joe Meek, Jim Bridger, Fitzpatrick, Sublette, Vasquez, and Bent, and his abilities and personality made him popular among his comrades. One account referred to him as, "the best man on foot on the Plains or Rocky Mountains."
Baptiste eventually wound up in California where he remained for a time, but in 1866 he left for the gold fields of Montana. Records show he died en-route, at a stage station near what is now Danner, Oregon.
However, as with his mother, there are conflicting accounts of Baptiste’s later years. Oral tradition of the Shoshoni people has him living into the 1880’s on the Wind River Reservation, along with his mother and adopted brother. There are grave markers on the reservation for all three.
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