Frances Hunter

blog of the author To the Ends of the Earth

 

Frances Hunter's Journal
August 2007

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August 30, 2007: Too Sexy for Their Hats

Hi, everyone! We just got back from a fantastic trip to Montana and Idaho, where we rewarded ourselves for all our hard work by walking in the footsteps of Lewis and Clark for two weeks.

It was a great trip, and next week I'll start a series of blog posts about the trip with photos and ideas about Lewis and Clark and some of the things we saw.

In the meantime, a post over on Unusual Historicals got me to thinking about historical fiction writing and how we authors try to visualize our characters by mentally casting famous actors in the roles. These actors infuse sex appeal, power, and vitality into historical characters who we otherwise know only from what Lewis might have called "fusty, musty" old portraits.

In the case of Lewis and Clark, they were certainly young and virile, and they must have been physical hunks to do what they did. But almost nothing survives that would convey any of that to writers, readers, or buffs. The best life portraits of Lewis and Clark were painted by Charles Willson Peale shortly after their return from the Expedition:

William Clark	Meriwether Lewis

 

Peale was a great portraitist, and he did much more than capture their features. He conveys a great deal of personality. His Clark is rugged, solid, and macho. He looks you right in the eyes with a confident, knowing expression. Peale's Lewis, by contrast, is introspective. He gazes off into the distance with a dreamy intensity, his far-seeing gray eyes contrasting sharply with the hard, purposeful set of his mouth. Despite their gentlemanly attire, I wouldn't necessarily want to meet either one of them in a dark alley.

There are a number of current artists who have painted scenes of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, and a few who have done portraits. I think Bill and Karen Carr did an amazing job of capturing some of the captains' energetic, pulse-quickening life force for their work for the Illinois Lewis & Clark State Historical Site. Go to Karen's web site to check out:

William Clark with map

Meriwether Lewis with dog

I also loved the Lewis and Clark stamps by Michael Deas issued in 2004 for the Bicentennial, in which they look like characters on a daytime soap:

Lewis and Clark: They're free this afternoon.

August 8, 2007: A Little Something About Pomp

Toussaint Charbonneau would be surprised to be remembered by history. The ne'er-do-well French trapper spent his days among the Indians of the upper Missouri, where he had a number of wives. He signed on with the Lewis & Clark expedition as an interpreter at the Mandan villages in present-day North Dakota, agreeing to bring along one young wife to interpret with her people, the Shoshone Indians. And thus he enters the history books as Mr. Sacagawea.

Sacagawea, by all account a likeable young woman of good character, endeared herself to the men of the expedition with her good sense, helpfulness, and devotion to her newborn, a boy named Jean Baptiste whom Captain Clark nicknamed Pomp. Indeed, Clark became very attached to the family, often inviting them to accompany him on his scouting missions. When the expedition arrived back in the Mandan villages in 1806 and had to leave the Charbonneaus behind, Clark was palpably distraught. He immediately fired off a letter to Charbonneau offering to raise and educate Pomp, "my little dancing boy," who was not even yet weaned.

In 1809, the Charbonneaus moved near St. Louis, where Clark tried to help them make a living and saw to the baptism of Jean Baptiste. In 1811, when Jean Baptiste was six years old, his parents decided they'd had enough of civilization. They left the boy in Clark's care to begin his education. Tragically, Sacagawea died in December 1812 at the fur trading post of Fort Manuel in modern-day Nebraska. She never saw her son again.

Sacagawea had another child sometime in 1811 or 1812, a girl named Lisette. Officials at Fort Manuel, thinking that Charbonneau had been killed in an Indian massacre, took Lisette to St. Louis to Clark. Not much is known about her. Some sources say she lived to young adulthood, but the lack of mention of her in Clark's letters or papers casts doubt upon this idea. Charbonneau turned out not to be dead. He lived on, working as a guide in the west until his death in 1843, about 80 years of age.

As for Jean Baptiste, he ended up living a very adventurous and, considering his lifestyle, long life. Clark gave him the best available education, at both Catholic and Baptist schools. In the classical tradition, he learned not only English, but Latin and Greek. He was especially fond of Shakespeare and was a talented violinist. As a youngster, Pomp hung around Clark's Indian Museum in St. Louis and told visitors stories about the expedition, often saying that he was "born in a canoe."

It was thought for some time that Baptiste actually lived with the Clarks, but this doesn't seem to have been the case. Instead, he seems to have lived at a boarding school where other half-Indian children were also being educated. Historians like James Holmberg have speculated that Clark's wife, Julia, may not have been too keen on taking in another woman's child, especially a half-Indian.

Not surprisingly, Jean Baptiste liked to roam. When he was 16, Clark gave him permission to go up the Missouri as a fur trader. There Baptiste met a German prince who had come to the United States to hunt and study plant and animal life. The prince took Baptiste back to Europe, where he led hunting expeditions for German royalty. While in Europe, Baptiste played the violin for Ludwig van Beethoven and learned German, Spanish, and French. He also fathered a child, a circumstance which may have hastened his return to the United States in 1829.

Pomp then embarked on a career as a mountain man. Anyone who met him never forgot the Shakespeare-quoting half-Indian trapper. Baptiste earned a reputation for being courageous, hospitable, and funny. He even showed off his years in civilization by making a mean mint julep out of wild mint leaves.

In later years, Baptiste worked as a guide, including a stint guiding the Mormons in 1846. He got caught up in the California Gold Rush and apparently got a permanent case of gold fever. He died in 1866, age 61, on his way to newly opened gold fields in Montana.

I got most of this information from an E-book about Sacagawea and Jean Baptiste. Some other good articles can be found at the Discovering Lewis & Clark site, including Sacagawea's Story and
My Boy Pomp: About that Name.

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