Wilmont Kreis

Reaching the large village of the Mandan Indians in October during a blinding snowstorm, Jacques and Drouillard find the inebriated Toussaint Charbonneau along with his Indian wife who is at that moment giving birth. One of the most outrageous characters from history, Toussaint makes this already interesting voyage much more so. His wife, Sacagawea who he claims to have won in a poker game, is more help to the voyage than her voyageur husband. She and her then newborn son, Jean-Baptiste are immortalized on the one-dollar American coin. The best and most interesting account of them can be found in the wonderful book, Sacagawea’s Child by Susan M. Colby. You can get it on Amazon. Read More 

Book five follows the famous voyage of Lewis and Clark as seen through the eyes of old Jacques Allard. Beginning in Lake St. Clair, they travel to Lake Erie, down the Ohio River to the Mississippi River and St. Louis then up the Missouri River where they meet the expedition. From there they continue up the Missouri and westward through terrain never seen by white men. (Well, maybe one). Encountering brutal winter, giant waterfalls, attacks by bears and encounters with natives hostile and friendly, they finally arrive in view of the Pacific Ocean. Read More 

Although he is facing his 58th birthday, Jacques Allard is as active as ever. So when his friend, the great Indian translator, Georges Drouillard, appears with prospects for the greatest adventure in American history, Jacques agrees instantly. Against his wife’s judgment, he proposes to take his young son, Louis-Pierre, and his two metis or mixed-blood friends Lucien and Michel de Baptiste. The story of their travels with Lewis and Clark follow closely the descriptions in Lewis’s excellent diary. With some fun added by yours truly. Read More