- Private Pierre Cruzatte was of French and Omaha Indian extraction. He enlisted with Lewis and Clark on May 16, 1804, at St. Charles (Missouri). Before enlisting, Cruzatte had formerly been a trader on the Missouri for the Chouteau fur interests. He could speak the Omaha language and was skilled in sign language, so was of valuable assistance to the captains at the Indian councils and encounters ...www.pbs.org/lewisandclark/inside/pcruz.html