and all hustled on, for an Indian camp.

By the time that the hurrying canoes arrived, Sacagawea and another
woman had rushed into each other's arms. Presently they and the
captain and Chaboneau had entered a large lodge, built of willow
branches. The Captain Lewis squad was here, too. The men had come
down out of the mountains, by a pass, with the Snakes. The Snakes had
been afraid of them--the first white men ever seen by the band. Old
Drouillard the hunter had argued with them in the sign language and
with a few Shoshoni words that he knew.

It had looked like war--it had looked like peace--and it had looked
like war, and death, again. Finally, before he could persuade them,
the captain had delivered over his guns, and had promised them to be
their prisoner if they did not find, down below, one of their own women
acting as the white men's guide.

But now all was well. The token of Sacagawea saved the day. The other
woman, whom she hugged, had been captured by the Minnetarees, at the
same time with herself, and had escaped.

And the chief of the band was Sacagawea's brother. He had mourned her
as dead, but now he and she wept together under a blanket. Truly, he
had reason to be grateful to these white strangers who had treated her
so well.

Much relieved by this good fortune at last, the captains bought horses
and hired guides. The Snakes were very friendly; even engaged not to
disturb the canoes, which were sunk with rocks in the river to await
the return trip.

There was little delay. The mountains should be crossed at once,
before winter closed the trails. To the surprise and delight of all
the company, Sacagawea announced that she was going with them, to see
the Great Salt Water. Somehow, she preferred the white men to her own
people. She had been weeping constantly. Most of her relatives and
old friends had died or had been killed, during her absence. Her new
friends she loved. They were a wonderful set, these white men--and the
Red Head, Captain Clark, was the finest of all.

Six horses had been bought. Five were packed with the supplies;
Sacagawea and little Toussaint were mounted upon the sixth, and the
whole company, escorted by the Snakes, marched over the pass to Chief
Ca-me-ah-wait's principal camp.

From there, with twenty-seven horses and one mule, with the happy
Bird-woman and the beady-eyed Toussaint, the two captains and their men
took the trail for the Great Salt Water, o