By the time the expedition entered Western Montana, the Shoshone had been driven west, well into and across the Rockies, by the arrival of guns. Pushed off of the plains and away from their traditional buffalo hunting grounds, they were short of food and necessities. They were very cautious about entering Montana and the expedition was fortunate to find them. Frequent raids by the Blackfeet and Hidatsa had reduced their numbers. It was during one of these raids that Sacagawea was taken from her people.
The Shoshone both benefited and suffered from contact with the Spanish. They acquired horses from the Spanish and bred them into some of the finest on the plains, but lacked firearms. The Spanish had always denied guns to indigenous people in lands they claimed. The Lemhi Band of the Shoshone was subsisting on berries, roots and small game when the expedition met them. Their first encounter with the tribe came on August 13, 1805. Lewis and his party were the first whites the tribe had seen. Lewis laid his gun aside, approached a foraging party of women, and presented them with gifts to still their fears.
Their meeting with the band's leader, Cameahwait went very well. As Sacagawea sat down to translate, she recognized him as her brother. They traded successfully for the horses the Corps needed to cross the Rockies. They also obtained vital information about the journey ahead.
Along with the usual gifts and medals, the expedition presented the Shoshone with their first taste of corn, brought from the east. Lewis demonstrated his airgun, which to his great satisfaction amazed them. Lewis described the meeting:
"They had, indeed, abundant sources of surprise in all they saw - the appearance of the men, their arms, their clothing, the canoes, the strange looks of the negro (Clark's slave York), and the sagacity of our dog, all in turn shared their admiration, which was raised to astonishment by a shot from the air-gun."
Today
Most of the enrolled Shoshone now live on reservations outside of Montana.
