Sacagawea, you’re making me feel bad.

by Amy M.

I’ve never been one to sit around and watch TV during the day, but sometimes it’s the easiest way to entertain Eliza and myself simultaneously (especially when I’m really tired).  And thank heaven for Netflix…daytime cable TV is THE WORST. I’ve begun watching this documentary about Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery.  I’m only about 1/3 of the way through, but WOW.  I didn’t learn much about this little piece of American history in school, and it’s fascinating.

Those dudes had some gumption.  Can you imagine being one of the first people (aside from the nearby Native Americans) to encounter a freaking grizzly bear?   If you contracted a venereal disease, no worries!  Meriwether Lewis would treat it with mercury.  AWESOME!  I can’t even begin to list all of their impressive adventures thus far, but I did just get to the part where they met Sacagawea.  And let me tell you–she puts moms of 2013 to shame.

Man up, Woman!

She became acquainted with Meriwether Lewis while he and his men were encamped in her Indian village during the harsh winter.  Since Lewis had some sort of vague medical background, he was called upon to assist her during labor, which was “excruciatingly slow” and painful.  According to Lewis, someone suggested that crushed up rattlesnake tails mixed with water would help speed up labor, so he gave the concoction to Sacagawea.  She drank it, and BAM–baby boy popped out 10 minutes later.  And now we know what Pitocin is made of:)

Oh yeah–Sacagawea was 16 years old and one of two wives.  Just to clarify.

Since Lewis and Clark needed her interpretation skills, they asked her, the baby, and her husband to join them when their journey resumed in the spring.  Their goal was to explore territory that had literally never been mapped by anyone.  “Sounds great!” said Sacagawea, and she put that baby in a backpack-style papoose and hiked thousands miles with the Corp of Discovery.

She probably didn’t even have one of these.

Maybe I should stop whining about going to HEB.