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Historical Background

Saltmaking operations

By this time, Lewis and Clark decided they could spare three men for the vital function of setting up a saltmaking camp. Enough of this commodity would need to be produced to last until the cache at Camp Fortunate could be recovered. On December 28 Joseph Field, Bratton, and Gibson, accompanied temporarily by Willard and Wiser, left with five of the largest kettles available. Based on Clark's opinion that the direct westward route to the coast was too difficult to traverse, the group headed southwestward. As the days passed and Willard and Wiser did not come back, everyone grew concerned. Finally, on January 5, the two men arrived with some salt. They reported that 3 days earlier a suitable spot for the camp had been found about 15 miles by trail to the southwest. It was located near the mouth of the Necanicum River not far from some Killamuck lodges, at present Seaside, Oreg.

Subsequently the number of personnel at the saltmaking camp varied, though it usually consisted of three. Illness caused some of the men to be replaced, and others were rotated. They lived on game they killed or meat brought from Fort Clatsop. Boiling the ocean water was a slow and tedious operation. On February 3 a party from the camp brought to the fort about a bushel of salt, all that had been accumulated. Two weeks later, Joseph Field arrived and reported that 2 kegs, or about 3 bushels, had been obtained. This, together with what was on hand at the fort, was considered to be all that was needed. On February 19 Sergeant Ordway took six men to bring back the salt and the kettles; closing the camp, they returned 2 days later. About 3 bushels of salt were packed in two ironbound kegs for the eastward journey.

Conjectural drawing of the method by which the men at the salt camp boiled down seawater. (Watercolor by an unknown artist. Oregon Historical Society.)

Dietary problems

Obtaining and preserving enough meat to flavor with the salt was a problem. Four or five of the best hunters were active daily. Between December 1, 1805, and March 20, 1806, they bagged 131 elk, 20 deer, a few beaver and otter, and one raccoon. These were supplemented with occasional waterfowl and fish. As game near the fort became exhausted and the animals shifted forage ground, the hunters had to range as far as 20 miles from the fort and stay out for as much as 2 days at a time. This worsened the job of transporting meat to the fort, especially when carcasses were located several miles from the nearest water transportation. Sometimes predatory animals or Indians reached them first.

Procuring the meat was hard enough. Curing and preserving it in the humid weather created extreme difficulty. Only a few days' supply could usually be maintained. Because of the lack of the large quantities of salt required to preserve the meat, it had to be smoked for long periods. Even then, it often deteriorated. To complicate matters, hardwood was scarce. Furthermore, most of the available timber was wet and only smoldered, not smoking properly.

As a result, palatable food was often scarce and the diet monotonous. Berries, roots, dried fish, and dogs continued to be purchased from the Indians. Dog meat was especially valued for the sick and the feeble. Lewis, who noted the highly beneficial effect of its consumption on the strength and health of the men, vastly preferred it to lean venison or elk. Clark could not stand it.

Other adversities

Other negative morale factors were numerous. One was the damp and chilly weather. It was much milder than it had been at Fort Mandan the winter before, but the continual rain, fog, and murky skies were depressing. From November 4, 1805, to March 25, 1806, rain fell every day except 12 and only half of those were clear. The dampness damaged the gunpowder and mildewed and rotted clothing, bedding, and trade goods, which had to be dried by the fire. Many of the men suffered from rheumatism, colds, and influenza. Fleas pestered everyone.

Another recurrent complaint was the shortage of tobacco, exhausted by the end of March, after which for a substitute chewers used crabtree bark and smokers the bark of the red willow and sacacommis (bearberry). Boredom was another problem, created by the sedentary routine in the wake of months of strenuous activity and danger on the westbound journey. Homesickness was a natural concomitant. The commanders did all they could to keep everyone busy, but this was not always possible, and onerous chores were resented. This was particularly true of the task of dressing elk hides and making clothes and moccasins, which the men considered to be women's work. By March 13 about 338 pairs of moccasins had been made, an average of about 10 pairs per person, considered sufficient for the eastward trip.