George Drouillard
George Drouillard was a French-Canadian and Shawnee métis frontiersman who served as the expedition's primary hunter, interpreter, and sign language specialist. Considered by many historians as the most valuable member of the Corps after Lewis and Clark themselves, Drouillard supplied more game meat than any other hunter and facilitated critical diplomatic encounters using Plains Indian sign language. Lewis described him as "a man of much merit" and relied on his wilderness expertise throughout the journey. He was killed by Blackfeet warriors in 1810 while trapping on the upper Missouri.
Biography
George Drouillard (c. 1773-1810) was the expedition’s most skilled hunter and one of its most valuable members. Half French-Canadian, half Shawnee, Drouillard served as the primary interpreter through sign language — the lingua franca of the Plains tribes — and as the expedition’s best marksman.
Lewis recruited Drouillard at Fort Massac in November 1803, offering him $25 per month — the highest salary of any enlisted member. This reflected his extraordinary skill set: fluency in sign language, French, English, and several Native languages, combined with exceptional tracking and hunting abilities.
Throughout the journey, when game was scarce and the expedition faced starvation, it was often Drouillard who saved them. During the bitter Bitterroot crossing, his hunting skills kept the party alive. Lewis frequently singled him out for praise, writing that Drouillard was “a man of much merit” and “the best hunter in the party.”
After the expedition, Drouillard joined Manuel Lisa’s fur trading venture on the upper Missouri. He was killed by Blackfeet warriors near Three Forks, Montana in 1810 — one of several expedition veterans who met violent ends in the fur trade.
Related Locations
Note: the longest gap between tagged appearances is about 5 months (Oct 28, 1804 → Apr 8, 1805). George Drouillard may have been present in the corps during that span but is not named in the journals.
Journal Entries (390)
Wildlife (1)
Weapons (1)
Cross-Narrator Analyses
Analyses that cite or discuss George Drouillard — showing 24 of the most recent matches.
George Drouillard: Hunter, Interpreter, and Sign-Talker of the Corps
IntroductionNo member of the Corps of Discovery save the captains themselves appears more frequently in the journals than George Drouillard — variously…
A Boy’s Toes and a Hunter’s Pleurisy: Three Voices at Fort Mandan
The journal entries for January 31, 1805 offer an unusually clear demonstration of how rank, role, and writerly purpose shaped what each…
A New Sergeant and a Hill of Little People: Four Voices on August 26, 1804
August 26, 1804 produced four overlapping accounts that, taken together, reveal how differently the expedition's narrators handled the same twenty-four hours. The…
A Uniform Coat for a Canoe: Departure Preparations at Fort Clatsop
The entries of March 17, 1806 capture the Corps of Discovery in the final, restless days before abandoning Fort Clatsop. Three narrators…
An Empty Village and the Shape of a Day at White Catfish Camp
July 25, 1804 finds the Corps of Discovery encamped at the place Clark christened White Catfish Camp, a few miles below the…
An Indifferent Canoe and a Laced Uniform Coat: Trade, Game, and Salmon Trout at Fort Clatsop
The journal entries for March 14, 1806, offer a useful case study in how four men sharing the same fort, the same…
At the Forks of an Unknown River: Four Voices Approach the Marias
The expedition's arrival at the mouth of what they would later name the Marias River represents one of the more consequential geographic…
Awaiting Drouillard: Three Pens at a Camp on the Missouri
August 17, 1804, a waiting camp on the Missouri. Three published journals in this corpus record the day: Clark, Ordway, and Floyd.…
Chalk Bluffs, Cobalt, and a Signal Fire on the Prairie
The entries for August 27, 1804 capture a single day on which the expedition passed a striking white bluff, set the prairie…
Council, Punishment, and a Deserter Returned: Three Enlisted Men Record August 18, 1804
August 18, 1804. Three enlisted journals in this corpus record the day: Whitehouse, Ordway, and Floyd. No Clark journal is cited here…
Drouillard’s Seven Elk and a New Rationing System
The journal entries for January 12, 1806 offer an unusually clear case study in how the four Fort Clatsop narrators — Lewis,…
Four Pens at Council Bluff: Diplomacy, Venison, and a White Heron
The entries of August 2, 1804, offer a rare convergence: four narrators — Patrick Gass, Joseph Whitehouse, Meriwether Lewis, and William Clark…
Four Pens, Two Errands: The Whale Road and the Beaver Bait
The journals for January 7, 1806 split the Corps of Discovery into two narrative theaters. William Clark leads a party of fourteen…
Ice on the Missouri: Three Voices at the Threshold of Winter
The journal entries dated 15 November 1804 capture the Corps of Discovery in a transitional moment: hunters were scattered downriver, ice was…
Marksmen, Medicine, and Barefoot Visitors: Four Views from Fort Clatsop
The events of January 24, 1806 at Fort Clatsop were straightforward: George Drouillard and Jean-Baptiste Lepage returned by canoe with the Clatsop…
On the Eve of the Snowy Crossing: Four Voices Pack for the Bitterroots
June 14, 1806 found the Corps of Discovery encamped on the eastern slope of the Bitterroots, packing their baggage for a second…
Painted Prairies and a Sunstruck Man: Four Pens on the Missouri
The journal entries for July 7, 1804 offer one of the clearest early demonstrations of how information moved among the expedition's writers.…
Rain, Spoiling Meat, and a Misplaced Memory at Fort Clatsop
The entries dated December 22, 1805, present a revealing contrast among three expedition narrators. William Clark and John Ordway both record a…
Seven Elk, One Bushel of Salt: Provisioning Anxieties at Fort Clatsop
The journal entries of February 3, 1806, capture a routine but revealing day at Fort Clatsop: hunter George Drouillard and Jean Baptiste…
Smoke on the Plains: Two Views from Fort Mandan
The entries for March 6, 1805 from Fort Mandan offer a useful study in narrator divergence. William Clark and John Ordway both…
Snow, Sovereignty, and a Misplaced Memory at Fort Mandan
The journal entries dated 28 November 1804 offer a striking case study in how the Lewis and Clark narratives diverge — not…
Stone for Chimneys, A River Still Open: Three Voices at Fort Mandan
The entries dated 21 November 1804 from Fort Mandan present a striking puzzle for readers of the expedition journals. Two of the…
White Catfish Camp: Sand, Sutures, and the Beaver-Rich Bottom
The 26th of July 1804 found the Corps of Discovery still encamped at the place Clark christened "White Catfish Camp," near the…
John Colter: The Hunter Who Walked Away From Home
Enlistment and First Mess AssignmentJohn Colter first appears in the official record on May 26, 1804, when Meriwether Lewis issued detachment orders…
From the Heacock Memorial Archive
2 lewis-clark.org articles that mention George Drouillard, preserved here for Robert Heacock’s photography. The articles were written by that site’s contributing authors.
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