Sacagawea (c. 1787-c. 1812) was a Shoshone who was captured as a 
child by Minnetaree Indians. She was later sold to Toussaint 
Charbonneau, a French-Canadian who had been living among the 
Minnetaree in the Dakota Territory for five years. They married in 
1804, the same year in which the Lewis and Clark Expedition hired 
them as guides. Sacagawea, the only woman on the journey, acted as 
interpreter for the explorers during their encounters with Indians. 
She was dedicated to the mission-in one instance, she had the 
presence of mind to salvage the records of the trip when one of the 
expedition's canoes was sinking. On the journey back east, she and 
her husband returned to the Minnetarees. It is not known for certain 
when she died-some historians believe she may have lived until 
1855. Here, Sacagawea is guiding Meriwether Lewis and William 
Clark at Three Forks in what is now Montana.