There is much unknown about the life of Sacagawea before Meriwether Lewis and William Clark arrived in her village on their way to the Pacific Ocean. Their Corps of Discovery was mapping the vast expanse of land the United States had recently purchased from France. They took her husband on as a translator, and Sacagawea accompanied them. She became an important member of the expedition, teaching the Corps how to gather plants for food, make leather clothes and moccasins, and helping them obtain horses to cross the Rocky Mountains.