George Drouillard
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George Drouillard was a civilian interpreter for the Lewis and Clark's Voyage of Discovery.
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[edit] Biography
George Drouillard was born in the Detroit River region, son of Pierre Drouillard and a Shawnee woman of the Flat Head sept named Asoundechris[1]. His father Pierre was employed by the British Indian Department as an interpreter of the Huron language at the time of the Revolutionary War, and is credited with saving the life of Simon Kenton, a prisoner of the Indians at Sandusky, in 1778[2].
[edit] Lewis and Clark
George Drouillard, a hunter, trapper, cartographer, and a master of many languages (Indian as well as French and English) was hired by Captain Lewis for the expedition into the newly acquired Louisiana Territory in early 1804. Lewis, who mentioned him often in the journals referring to him as "Drewyer," praised him highly as the most skilled hunter among the men. He often brought in six elk a day and one day he killed eleven elk[3].
Drouillard was one of the non-military members of the Corps to complete the Lewis and Clark Expedition from Camp Dubois to the Pacific Ocean and back.
[edit] Post-expedition
With John Potts and Peter Weise, who were also on the Lewis & Clark expedition, Drouillard traveled back up the Missouri River in 1807 as part of an expedition led by Manuel Lisa. During the winter of 1807-1808 he traveled the lands of the Crow Indians, and gave the information he had gleaned from the Crow to the knowledge of western lands. In 1809 he joined the Missouri Fur Company, in which after he failed to return one day during the expedition, a search party found his remains, severely mangled by an Indian attack. His head had been cut off and his entrails were spewed about. His comrades later praised him for his bravery, saying that he must have fought and killed several Indians until his own demise. He was hastily buried in an unmarked grave.[3]
Mount Drouillard (formerly Mount Drewyer) in Pondera County, Montana, is named in his honor.
[edit] External links
[edit] Further reading
- Thom, James Alexander. (2000). Sign-Talker. New York, Ballantine Books. ISBN 0-345-39003-2. (A novelized biography of George Drouillard.)
[edit] References
- ^ Denissen, Christian. (1987). Genealogy of the French Families of the Detroit River Region. Detroit Society for Genealogical Research. ISBN 0-943112-02-8
- ^ http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/parks/explore/magazine/fallwin2003/simonkenton.htm
- ^ http://lewisandclarktrail.com/drouillard.htm Interpreter George Drouillard accessed June 21, 2007
