Rebecca Olney

Pierre Dorion

On the 12 of June, 1804 while carrying furs, peltries, and buffalo tallow, the last of which is used to repel mosquitoes, I met up with Lewis and Clark as they were coming up the Missouri. After they had purchased 300 pounds of buffalo grease we conversed late into the night. They told me how they were commissioned by Jefferson, current president of the United States, to scout the territory of Louisiana, which was being purchased from France. I informed them that I was a native of Quebec and of Canadian heritage and for more than twenty years I have been living with the Lakota, having married Holy Rainbow, a Yankton Sioux squaw, with whom I had twelve children. By morning they had convinced me to join them as an interpreter and guide.

The 27 of August, while on the James River we met several Indian boys of the Yankton and Omaha tribes and told us there was a Yankton village. Sergeant Nathaniel Pryor, Pierre Cruzatte and myself were sent to meet with the chiefs and invite them to a council at Calumet Bluffs. Close to evening we reached the village where some of the braves wanted to carry us into camp on a buffalo robe, this being a tremendous honor, I informed the Indians that we were not the owners of the boats and did not wish to be carried. Not to be denied they did offer us a feast of a fat dog. Three days later at the council Lewis gave a speech which I translated for the chiefs. Lewis told them that America wanted peace, that they had a new “father” in Washington and asked if they would travel there to meet him with me the following spring, they agreed, and we handed out medals to five of the Yankton chiefs. Later, I gladly received a commission to help the neighboring tribes make peace with each other and to take the chiefs to Washington where they would be President Jefferson. I was so anxious that I forgot my camp kettle when the expedition left and had to send for it.

A month later Clark was able to obtain 48 Omaha prisoners of war from Chief Black Buffalo on the conditions that they be released into my custody, and I then helped them find their families. I remained with the Natives till the following spring, when I escorted chiefs of the Yankton, Omaha, Oto, and Missouri tribes to St. Louis and from there to Washington where we met President Jefferson. In 1806 I received the honor of being commissioned as a subagent on the Missouri and its western tributaries from the U.S. War Department. (Dorion died in July of 1810).

Sources

Bakeless, John. Lewis and Clark: Partners In Discovery. A helpful source but I found more information in some other books. It was the first source I got, other than the PBS website, and was a good place to start.

Ronda, James P. Lewis and Clark among the Indians. This source was one of the better ones. It has an index, helpful when looking for something specific. I found more in this book than on the PBS website.

Jones, Landon Y. The Essential Lewis and Clark. This source only mentions Dorion once and then has a chapter endnote that just has a brief explanation on who he was and why he was with the expedition. I didn't find it helpful at all.

The Lewis and Clark Rediscovery Project. www.13-lewisandclark.com. I found this website through answers.com. This was by far the most helpful source. Through this source I was able to find out how old Dorion was during the expedition (64), just by knowing this I was able to understand him a little better.

PBS Website. www.pbs.org/lewisandclark/. PBS did an excellent job of summarizing who Dorion was and what part he played in the expedition. It is only a four paragraph summary though and found a different website (above) that was more helpful.