Jean-Baptiste Charboneau: Man of Two Worlds

Jean-Baptiste Charboneau was born in 1805, the son of Sacagawea and Toussaint Charboneau.  He had hardly been born when Toussaint and Sacagawea were recruited by Lewis and Clark on their Voyage of Discovery.  During the 2-year adventure, William Clark grew very fond of Jean-Baptiste, whom he affectionately called "Pomp."  At the journey's end, Clark asked to raise the boy as his own in St. Louis, promising to provide an excellent education and far more opportunities than he would have in the Upper Missouri (what would become North Dakota).  This was agreed.  Clark went on to be the territorial governor and the Indian agent for the West.  He did provide an excellent education and many opportunities for Jean-Baptiste.  When Jean was 18, he met a German royal and was invited to travel to Europe.  He went to Europe for 5 years, where he learned French and German.  When he returned from a life of luxury, he embraced a life as a mountain man.  He hunted and trapped in the dangerous wilds of the West.  He was occasionally hired as a guide for military expeditions and even encountered Captain Fremont and Kit Carson during one of their famous expeditions.  In 1846, he was working as a hunter at Bent's Fort in Southeast Colorado when the Mexican-American War was declared.  His talents needed, he was soon guiding the Mormon Battalion across the deserts of New Mexico, Arizona, and California.  He remained in California and soon joined the Gold Rush.  He lived in Auburn, CA, for the next 15 years.  Word of a new gold strike in Montana lured him back on the trail.  Sadly, he died on the way in Southeast Oregon.  He was 61.

The book is an enjoyable read that gives a good overview of the era in which JB Charboneau lived.  Ritter provides an excellent background for the environs in which Charboneau lived.  He also offered details about what the life of a trapper or guide or mountain man.  However, Charboneau himself is still something of a mystery.  There is very little from the man himself.  No diary, no correspondence, no records of his statements and views.  We know the kind of life he lived, but not why he chose this path.  Also, he never married though he did have two children.  One, born in Germany, died in infancy.  The other, born in California, probably lived to adulthood and had children of her own.

Very good book and definitely recommended for anyone interested in the ante-bellum American West.  One of the interesting comments from the author was that Kit Carson only became famous because Fremont selected him.  Charboneau, and many others, were equally qualified and might have become legendary figures but for the chance that brought Fremont to Carson instead.