Charbonneau's Gold

I'd never ready any of Rita Cleary's books before but was well aware that her work has long been highly regarded among the members of the WWA, the Western Writers Association. After reading Charbonneau's Gold, it is easy to see why the other Western writers hold her in such high esteem. Above all else this is the story of the incredibly difficult journey west made by the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The story is told mostly through the eyes of the less famous members of the trip, the scouts and hunters. Reading this book I was many times reminded of some of the excellent Westerns by Larry McMurtry...Cleary's book is funny, sad, always interesting, at times even sexy, and as a good novel does, it keeps you reading and turning pages. I realized on reading this book how little I actually knew about the first official crossing of America. Lewis, who killed himself some time after the expedition, is in this book an amazing character, often brilliant and as often quite mad. Clark is the steady one, the second in command, but the leader who held the group together. In all, it is one amazing journey they are on, often lost, usually hungry and almost starving, always needing the help of the Natives...but held togther with a common purpose and a toughness not seen much these days. The Indian woman, the little Sacagawea, is also an important character in this fine read, as is her selfish French trader husband, Toussaint Charbonneau. All in all, an excellent book...highly recommended.