George Drouillard and Pierre Cruzatte

Not all interaction between Natives and Whites was antagonistic.  Interracial relationships, usually between male Settlers and Native women, were common.  The children of those couples could function in their father's world, but they more often preferred that of their mother.  They could serve as bridges between the two worlds by being interpreters, scouts and guides.  Without such men, early exploration of North America and trade between Natives and Whites would have been more difficult than it was.  Yet, the contributions of these mixed-race individuals are often little known and overlooked.  While Sacagawea has taken her rightful place in the history of the Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1804-1806, few people outside of frontier buffs or local historians have heard of George Drouillard and Pierre Cruzatte.

George Drouillard (1773-1810) was born of a Shawnee mother and a French-Canadian father.  He learned how to read and write, was proficient at hunting and trapping, and acquired some skill as a cartographer or map-maker.  In addition to his mother's language, he also spoke Huron, an Iroquoian language.  He also knew the Native sign language which permitted tribes who did not speak each other language to communicate when no interpreter was available.  His first job as an interpreter was with the British Indian Department, as a Huron interpreter and guide.  As such, he received a captain's commission in the British army. 

In 1803, he was hired by Meriwether Lewis as a hunter, guide and interpreter for the Lewis and Clark Expedition.  It was not uncommon on the frontier for men with specialized skills to work for both British and American authorities.  Lewis and Clark soon appreciated the hunting expertise of the young man Lewis referred to as "Drewyer" in his journal.  Drouillard helped keep the Corps of Discovery supplied with fresh meat, one time bringing down eleven elk in a day.  During the hard winter of 1804-1805, Drouillard helped Lewis and Clark to establish good relations with the Mandan people, who allowed them to build Fort Mandan on their land and assisted with food supplies.  Further along in the expedition, Drouillard used his ability at sign language during first contact with the Shoshone. 

After the Expedition, Drouillard went to work for fur trader Manuel Lisa.  He also assisted William Clark by visiting the Crow people in the Big Horn mountains.  Drouillard's information helped Clark improve his own maps of the region.  Drouillard went to work for Lisa's Missouri Fur Trading Company in 1809.  In 1810, when he did not return from a beaver-hunting expedition, his comrades went in search of him.  They found him and his horse dead.  Drouillard had been beheaded and mutilated, possibly by Gros Ventre or Blackfoot, though no one knows for sure.  He was buried in a hasty grave.  Mount Drouillard (Drewyer) in Teton County, Montana is named for him.  A group of Shawnee Natives established a museum in his honor in Bellefontaine, Ohio. 

Pierre Cruzatte (?-1825-28), was the son of an Omaha mother and a French Canadian Father.  The Omaha people at the this time lived in the region of the Upper Missouri River.  Cruzatte could speak his mother's language, as well as some other languages of peoples along the Missouri.  He could also use sign language and had excellent skills as a pilot.  Also important, he had picked up some ability on the fiddle and kept the group entertained around lonely campfires.  For these reasons, 'Crusat' as Clark spelled the name in his journal, was a valued member of the Expedition.  There was just a few drawbacks to this useful character.  He had sight in only one eye.  Whether this was a product of accident or disease no one knows.  He was known by his comrades as "the Old Frenchman", so he could have been considerably older than the rest of the men.  He was also called "St. Peter".  It was a tradition among boatmen to bestow a nickname on a person opposite to their character traits, meaning that he may have been somewhat hard to get along with.

Cruzatte and Drouillard proved their worth in a meeting with Brule Teton Sioux, who were reluctant to let the Corps pass through their territory.  The two men spoke with the Sioux leaders, presented gifts, and negotiated the return of one of the Expedition's pirogues.  On another occasion, when a rough wind caught the sail of the heavy keelboat that carried the Expeditions maps and instruments, panic ensued.  With the keelboat heeling over fast and Sacagawea's husband Charbonneau ready to jump ship and abandon her and their infant son, Cruzatte took charge.  He ordered men to take down the sail and right the boat, told Charbonneau that if he didn't be quiet, Cruzatte would find a gun and shoot him, and then Cruzatte brought the keelboat safely to land.  Sacagawea also kept her head, swimming around with the child in his cradleboard on her back, gathering items and documents that had washed overboard.  But things weren't always so heroic.  During a hunting party in August, 1806, Cruzatte accidently shot Meriwether Lewis in the thigh.  He was at first reluctant to admit the mistake until other members of the crew began looking for possible Natives in the area.  Cruzatte then came forward, confessed and begged forgiveness, which Lewis gave. 

After the Expedition, Cruzatte moved on and worked for various fur trading companies.  Clark kept track of the men of the Corps as best he could and listed Cruzatte as being dead by 1825-1828, but the circumstances were unknown. 

There may have been other mixed-race men who contributed their skills to the Expedition, including one who may have been of Sioux heritage, since he spoke some of their languages and was familiar with their territory and ways, but little is known about him.