Gravesite Jean Baptiste Charbonneau, Danner, Oregon, 9-21-06

Buried in this beautiful spot is Jean Baptiste Charbonneau-also known as Pomp. As a baby, this fellow had more impact on American history than most adults. He was born to Sacajawea on the Lewis and Clark Expedition, so the Indians knew that any group of men traveling with a woman and and infant would not be a war party, so they let them pass. Sacajawea was captured by a rival tribe and sold to Charbonneau the French trapper when she was a teenager. She had the baby on the trail, by herself, and still a teenager. Either Lewis or Clark semi adopted him after the Expedition and saw to his education. He spent several years in Europe, and died here in Oregon after returning to the West. The site is tended by his Native American descendants. I wonder if he ever thought he would end up on a US coin?????