izzybells+and+camears+script

Bonjour everyone! My name is Pierre Cruzatte and I am a member of Lewis and Clark's great expedition into unknown land of the west! I guess you are wondering why I was invited to join this exploration, well the answer is because I am a skilled boatman and excellent fiddler if I say so myself. So, welcome to Fort Mandan! We built this fort to protect us from the Sioux Indians. To put it nicely, they did not like us very much. We are always afraid they will attack us, but there is no getting past Fort Mandan! Well, let's take a look at this wonderful fort. Look over there. There is Merriweather Lewis. Right now he is having a very important conversation with Sacagawea and her husband Toussaint Charbonneau. Toussaint is a as a trapper, a laborer, and an interpreter of the Hidatsa language. A funny fact is that Toussaint does not speak any English! But, Lewis and Clark see his wife a great asset, so they recently moved into Fort Mandan. Sacagawea is actually pregnant!

Well, it wasn't like Fort Mandan was made in a day! First of all, sixteen men were assigned to make 6 new canoes for the expedition, and guess how long it took them? Well, those are all close, but it took them 22 days! Isn't that a lot! Well, it was not like the rest of us just sat on our backsides no we did not. We made new leather mocassins, cured meat, made battle axes to trade for corn, and prepared botanical, zoological, and mineralogical for shipping back to Jefferson. Clark even started to work on a new map.

But you know what, even though we are all so friendly hear, it gets lonely around here, especially around the holiday times. We all start to miss our family since we were so far away from home. But then, I whip out my dandy fiddle, and everyone's spirit jumps right up and dance along with all of us! Some people might think that one eye would keep me from doing things I love, like playing the fiddle, but I've never let it get in the way!

We learned so many new things from the Indians! The Big White Grand Chief took us along with his tribe to hunt the buffalo! We learned some of their customs, such as the buffalo dance. Everything seemed so new to us and we were so excited! The Indians even taught us ways to survive through the frigid temperatures. Our poor keelboat is frozen in the Missouri River, that is just how cold it is here!

Even though we have had our hard times at Fort Mandan we really do like it a lot here. So far, We have met Sacagewa, learned many new skills, befriended the Indians, learned their customs, and are currently enjoying a nice little Christmas season. Without Fort Mandan we might not have survived this far through our journey. We can't wait to come back to Fort Mandan on the journey home! Fort Mandan is an amazing place to stay!