George Drouillard
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
George Drouillard was a member of Lewis and Clark's Voyage of Discovery. He grew up in the Detroit River region, son of French settler Pierre Drouillard and a Shawnee woman of the Flat Head sept named Asoundechris. A hunter, trapper, cartographer, and a master of many languages (Indian as well as French and English), he was hired by Captain Lewis for the expedition into the newly acquired Louisiana Territory in early 1804. Lewis, who referred to him as "Drewyer," praised him highly as the most skilled hunter among the men. During the expedition's stay at Fort Clampet Drouillard hunted and killed elk for food. He often brought in six elk a day and one day he killed eleven elk (Stephen Ambrose "Undaunted Courage" p. 327). Hunting was the main food supply for the group at the fort since they could not farm and had no trade with the local tribes.
He was one of the only non-military members of the Corps to complete the Lewis and Clark Expedition from camp Dubois to the Pacific Ocean and back.
He was killed by Blackfeet in 1810 while trapping in response for Drouillard leading Louis and Clark through Blackfoot territory many years previous, Drouillard had assumed that they had forgotten/forgiven over this matter however it was obvious when they burned him at the stake that they had not. Mount Drouillard (formerly Mount Drewyer) in Pondera County, Montana, is named in his honor.