Heritage

The dominant theme of the novel is heritage—where one comes from and how one lives. The novel features three principle individuals and explores their heritage in great detail. First and foremost is the heritage of Jean Baptiste Charbonneau, whose life literally began with the Corps of Discovery. As a weeks-old infant, Jean Baptists informally joined the exploration as a babe-in-arms. He completed the voyage to the Pacific Ocean and completed the return voyage to the Mandan Indian villages, the place of his birth, becoming in the progress surely the most widely-traveled newborn of the time. Jean Baptiste, as participant, derives his heritage from the exploration—but does not remember any of it because of his age. It is for this reason that he seeks out the stories told by his mother Sacajawea, his father Toussaint Charbonneau, and his so-called uncle William Clark. In the novel...