SEEING
THE WORLD
Charbonneau refused, explaining that Pomp was still too young to leave his mother. Clark understood, but he sent Charbonneau a note three days later. In it, he asked Pomp’s father to remember his proposal. Clark also promised that if Charbonneau brought the boy to St. Louis, he would give Charbonneau some land and a few horses, cows, and pigs to raise. Clark added that if Charbonneau later decided to return to fur trading, he would give the trader plenty of supplies, provided that Pomp were left with him. In signing off his letter, Clark wrote, “With anxious expectations of seeing my little dancing boy Baptiste, I shall remain your friend.”
For the next three years, Pomp lived with his mother and father in a Mandan Indian village on the Missouri River. But in late 1809, his parents decided to take William Clark up on his offer and moved to St. Louis. True to his word, Clark gave Charbonneau a beautiful tract of land on the Mississippi River. There, the former fur trader set about trying his hand at farming.
Charbonneau’s new career, however, didn’t last long. In the spring of 1811, he sold his land to Clark. Then he and Sacagawea left Pomp in their old friend’s care and headed back up the Missouri. A fellow traveler later wrote that Sacagawea “had become sickly, and longed to revisit her native country; her husband, also, who had spent many years among the Indians, [had] become weary of a civilized life.” Pomp’s parents settled at Fort Manuel, a trading post where Clark arranged for Charbonneau to work as an interpreter.
Sadly, Pomp would never see his mother again. A year after leaving St. Louis, Sacagawea had a second child, a girl named Lizette. Soon, the young mother became very ill. On December 20, 1812, she died at Fort Manuel at the age of twenty-four. The post’s clerk, John C. Luttig, wrote of her death in his journal. He said she was “a fine Indian girl” who was “the best woman in the fort.”
At the time, Fort Manuel was under attack by Blackfoot Indians who did not like traders living on their lands. During the turmoil, Charbonneau disappeared while on a trading expedition. Six months passed, and no one heard from him. Assuming Charbonneau had been killed, Luttig took his baby daughter Lizette to St. Louis. There, Pomp met his sister for the first time. Clark believed the children were orphans, so he arranged to become their legal guardian.
Nothing is known about what happened to Lizette after she came to live in St. Louis. Historical records, however, do show that Pomp’s father was not killed by Indians as his friends had feared. He continued to live as a trader and an interpreter for almost thirty more years.
Growing up in St. Louis was exciting for Pomp. The city was bustling with activity and attracted visitors from all over the world. Many came to meet Clark, who had been named governor of Missouri Territory. Others wanted to see the huge museum Clark built onto his house. It contained more than two hundred objects given to him by Indians he had met. Pomp often told museum-goers that he had been born in a bark canoe in the collection. Although the story probably wasn’t true, it gave Pomp a chance to entertain guests with tales of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
As the years passed, Clark’s house became full of family as well as friends. In 1808, the explorer married Julia Hancock. The couple had five children. The oldest, Meriwether Lewis Clark, must have reminded Clark of another baby boy he had known: Soon after his son’s birth, Clark started calling the infant Pomp after his young ward.
While living in St. Louis, Pomp received the best education money could buy. He studied at a school operated by Catholic priests and one run by a Baptist minister. Unlike most Indian boys of the time, Pomp was taught to read and write in English. He also learned to read classical Greek and Latin, ancient languages that well-educated white gentlemen were then expected to study.
By the time he was sixteen, Pomp—now known by his middle name Baptiste—was ready to set out on his own. He decided that, like his father, he wanted to seek his fortune as a fur trader. Possibly with his guardian’s help, Baptiste found a job with the Missouri Fur Company, a leading fur trading firm in which William Clark had invested money.
In 1823, Baptiste was living in a trading village near the spot where the Missouri and Kansas rivers meet. There, he met a twenty-five-year old visitor from Germany. The man had traveled thousands of miles to study the wild plants and animals of North America. Sharing a love of the wilderness, the young German and Baptiste became fast friends.
Baptiste soon discovered his new companion was not just any tourist. He was Duke Paul Wilhelm, better known as Prince Paul. His uncle was the king of Württemberg, an area in what is now southwestern Germany. Paul’s family wanted him to become a great soldier, but he was more interested in the study of living things. His passion for natural history would eventually take him around the globe.
As Paul prepared to return home, he asked William Clark if Baptiste could come with him. With his guardian’s permission, Baptiste joined Paul on a voyage down the Mississippi River and across the Atlantic Ocean to the coast of France. The pair then made their way over land through western Europe to Paul’s homeland. Once in Württemberg, they traveled from castle to castle, where Baptiste dined and visited with German royalty and their friends. At one gathering, Pomp played the violin for Ludwig van Beethoven, perhaps the greatest composer of the day.
Under pressure from his family, Paul married Princess Sophie Von Turn und Taxis in 1827. Pomp was one of the more than four hundred guests who attended their lavish wedding. After the ceremony, the couple set up house at Deutschmeister Schloss, a six-hundred-year-old castle. Paul spend a small fortune turning it into one of the most magnificent homes in Europe.
At Paul’s invitation, Baptiste came to live in elegant quarters at Deutschmeister. Baptiste, however, was far more impressed by the rich green forests that surrounded the castle. Paul called Baptiste a “hunter extraordinary,” because he loved to track the wild beasts of the German woods. Baptiste also spent his time studying languages. In addition to English, French, and the several Indian languages he already knew, Baptiste learned to speak German, Spanish, and Italian.
Despite the comforts of his castle, Paul always wanted to head off in search of new places and new experiences. He later wrote, “In the atmosphere of a palace I would feel like a wild thing that is imprisoned in a gilded cage.…My heart would never cease to hunger for the vast silent places and the simple life.” Baptiste shared Paul’s restlessness. He happily accompanied the duke on trips that took them to sites throughout Germany, France, England, and northern Africa.
Paul enjoyed Baptiste’s company far more than his wife’s. When the couple separated in 1829, Paul was desperate for a change of scenery. The two friends decided to leave Europe and head back to the land where Baptiste was born. After again crossing the Atlantic, they organized an expedition that sailed up the Missouri River. Baptiste then realized how much he had missed living in the wilderness. When Paul prepared to go back to Germany, Baptiste told his friend that he would be traveling alone. Although Baptiste had enjoyed living among royalty, he had a new plan for his future: He would travel through the West and live as a mountain man.
Learn about Pomp's adventures as a fur trader in
Chapter 4: Man of the Mountains
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© 2000 Liz Sonneborn. All Rights Reserved.