When Lewis and Clark's Corps of Discovery set out in the fall of 1803, everyone knew they were embarking on an unprecedented, extremely dangerous journey. It would be the adventure of a lifetime.

Unlike others in the group, two key members did not choose to join the hazardous expedition. York, William Clark's African American servant, was the only slave in the group. Sacajawea was considered to be the property of her husband, Charbonneau, the expedition's translator, who had bought her after she had been kidnapped from her Shoshone tribe.

Sacajawea and York were essential to the success of the trip. Sacajawea's knowledge of the land helped prevent the men from starving and enabled her to lead them to her tribal home, where they traded for horses. York's superior skills as a hunter proved invaluable to the Corps.

Read what Spokane journalist Sheri Boggs has to say about the book in The Inlander

Excerpt from the Book
They call me Sacagawea, Birdwoman. But I am Sacajawea, one who carries a burden. My family gave me this name when I was only three. The Hidatsa of the Great Plains stole me far away from my Lemhi Shoshoni people when I was only a girl of twelve winters. I worked in their fields until they sold me to Charbonneau, a French Canadian trader who lived in their village. Now, in the time of falling leaves, a baby kicks inside me as I watch huge boats approach. Many men with faces paler than ashes, one with skin like brown earth, and a dog as big as a baby buffalo land on our shores.

They call me York, after my pappy Old York and the York River. On the plantation in Kentucky, Cap’n Clark and I used to play in the fields and go fishing. In my eleventh summer Master moved me into the Big House and gave me to his son. I’ve been by Cap’n Clark’s side ever since. On this long journey west to find a route to the Pacific Ocean, I am the only black man.

Higgins Bond’s beautifully rendered illustrations depict the glory of the American West and the valiant adventurers who explored it.