Sample Pages
Chapter 21
In a Nutshell
At the start of this book the questions were asked, “What did the Expedition eat? How were their foods prepared? What equipment did the cooks use to prepare it?”
We have traced through the records including the journals written during the journey along with other primary documents prepared just before and just after the Expedition. We find very little recorded about preparation methods or equipment. The few times cooking methods or equipment was referred to was when they were unusual or in combination with situations that were worthy of recording, such as a new way of food preparation or a new food such as camas or cous roots was discussed. Most of the equipment references are deduced from the food they mention eating. Lewis comments that they caught a trout and fried it in a little bear oil. We were able to develop a reasonably complete list of foods eaten and where they came from, but all else was quite sketchy.
To fill in the gaps in the documented record created by journal keepers who did not record the common activities or those that they deemed unimportant, we turned to secondary documents and field-testing. As a result we were able to make logical conclusions and develop several theories which gave us a pretty good picture of what these people ate, where they got the food, who cooked, how they cooked, what equipment was used and what a person who “walked into the Corps camp” would likely expect to find. Along the way we were able to dispel several commonly heard myths that cleared some of the confusion surrounding the Expeditions food and cooking habits.
We floundered for direction a good bit until we realized that the keys to the Expedition’s cooking and eating habits were the element of time and simplicity and the fact that food did not play the same role in their lives as it does ours today. They viewed it as basic for survival and were very unconcerned about variety and the myriad of attributes we give food today. They merely wanted something to put in their bellies to fill them up so they could continue their work at hand.
We cannot overemphasize the value of our field-testing to fill the gaps in the recorded data. These tests can be favorably compared to laboratory experiments since situations were duplicated and the variables were controlled to find the outcomes as each single variable was allowed to vary.
As we worked through testing various possibilities, we eventually came upon the methods that showed to be the most probable. To determine “most probable” we had to consider the Corps’ military and civilian mindset. We had to also understand their background, knowledge and abilities as well as availability of required materials needed, ease of performing tasks, frequency of task done during the journey, time required to complete and time available, number of people involved, and the number of people being fed.
Our job was more difficult, and probably much more controversial, because there could be several ways of doing the related tasks or methods for cooking. Similarly, there could be several different kinds of equipment used in the preparation. We had to test and try to determine what were the most likely methods and equipment the Corps used. That is what we have presented in this book.
During the seasons that plants were edible or in locations of abundant game animals people who live a subsistence lifestyle eat plentifully. At other times they vary from adequate to barely surviving. Death from starvation is not uncommon. For this lifestyle great amounts of time are spent in the daily quest for food. We see all of these facets of life in the journals of the Corps of Discovery’s trek.
As the exploring party worked its way upriver from St. Louis to Fort Mandan the season was right to harvest substantial quantities of plants. Therefore their diet was rich and varied. As fall turned to winter then spring, they had a much greater dependence on meat from game animals they may discover.
Winter in the Rocky Mountains and a very different environment to the west, reduced the Corps to a basic survival lifestyle. Their diet consisted, in a large part, of foods they were unaccustomed to and their bodies reacted accordingly. Only the very best hunters were able to take what red meat was available. The Corps survived only because of the planning, preparation and training that preceded the journey.
One of the more intriguing elements of the planning process was for a military unit to “extend the hand of peace” to a traditional enemy—Indians. (While this may be a routine role for the military today, it was something new for the American army of 1800) Jefferson was obviously looking at the prospects of establishing trade by telling the Corps of Discovery to trade (for food) and establish peace throughout the region they would travel. But with the Expedition’s food source depending on their treating the natives more as equals than as enemies, they made large strides in staving off starvation during much of the journey. Several tribes made substantial food gifts to the Corps.
The Expedition left many volumes of records that help us understand their work. We complain about the absence of detail in some aspects of what they wrote or what may have been left out. However, the biggest hole in documenting the Lewis and Clark Expedition remains the lack of information on the selection methods used to select the members of the Corps of Discovery. How the Captains were able to get people to form a cohesive team, trained as the journey required, and had the abilities needed to survive and complete the job at hand remains a mystery.
In a Nutshell
At the start of this book the questions were asked, “What did the Expedition eat? How were their foods prepared? What equipment did the cooks use to prepare it?”
We have traced through the records including the journals written during the journey along with other primary documents prepared just before and just after the Expedition. We find very little recorded about preparation methods or equipment. The few times cooking methods or equipment was referred to was when they were unusual or in combination with situations that were worthy of recording, such as a new way of food preparation or a new food such as camas or cous roots was discussed. Most of the equipment references are deduced from the food they mention eating. Lewis comments that they caught a trout and fried it in a little bear oil. We were able to develop a reasonably complete list of foods eaten and where they came from, but all else was quite sketchy.
To fill in the gaps in the documented record created by journal keepers who did not record the common activities or those that they deemed unimportant, we turned to secondary documents and field-testing. As a result we were able to make logical conclusions and develop several theories which gave us a pretty good picture of what these people ate, where they got the food, who cooked, how they cooked, what equipment was used and what a person who “walked into the Corps camp” would likely expect to find. Along the way we were able to dispel several commonly heard myths that cleared some of the confusion surrounding the Expeditions food and cooking habits.
We floundered for direction a good bit until we realized that the keys to the Expedition’s cooking and eating habits were the element of time and simplicity and the fact that food did not play the same role in their lives as it does ours today. They viewed it as basic for survival and were very unconcerned about variety and the myriad of attributes we give food today. They merely wanted something to put in their bellies to fill them up so they could continue their work at hand.
We cannot overemphasize the value of our field-testing to fill the gaps in the recorded data. These tests can be favorably compared to laboratory experiments since situations were duplicated and the variables were controlled to find the outcomes as each single variable was allowed to vary.
As we worked through testing various possibilities, we eventually came upon the methods that showed to be the most probable. To determine “most probable” we had to consider the Corps’ military and civilian mindset. We had to also understand their background, knowledge and abilities as well as availability of required materials needed, ease of performing tasks, frequency of task done during the journey, time required to complete and time available, number of people involved, and the number of people being fed.
Our job was more difficult, and probably much more controversial, because there could be several ways of doing the related tasks or methods for cooking. Similarly, there could be several different kinds of equipment used in the preparation. We had to test and try to determine what were the most likely methods and equipment the Corps used. That is what we have presented in this book.
During the seasons that plants were edible or in locations of abundant game animals people who live a subsistence lifestyle eat plentifully. At other times they vary from adequate to barely surviving. Death from starvation is not uncommon. For this lifestyle great amounts of time are spent in the daily quest for food. We see all of these facets of life in the journals of the Corps of Discovery’s trek.
As the exploring party worked its way upriver from St. Louis to Fort Mandan the season was right to harvest substantial quantities of plants. Therefore their diet was rich and varied. As fall turned to winter then spring, they had a much greater dependence on meat from game animals they may discover.
Winter in the Rocky Mountains and a very different environment to the west, reduced the Corps to a basic survival lifestyle. Their diet consisted, in a large part, of foods they were unaccustomed to and their bodies reacted accordingly. Only the very best hunters were able to take what red meat was available. The Corps survived only because of the planning, preparation and training that preceded the journey.
One of the more intriguing elements of the planning process was for a military unit to “extend the hand of peace” to a traditional enemy—Indians. (While this may be a routine role for the military today, it was something new for the American army of 1800) Jefferson was obviously looking at the prospects of establishing trade by telling the Corps of Discovery to trade (for food) and establish peace throughout the region they would travel. But with the Expedition’s food source depending on their treating the natives more as equals than as enemies, they made large strides in staving off starvation during much of the journey. Several tribes made substantial food gifts to the Corps.
The Expedition left many volumes of records that help us understand their work. We complain about the absence of detail in some aspects of what they wrote or what may have been left out. However, the biggest hole in documenting the Lewis and Clark Expedition remains the lack of information on the selection methods used to select the members of the Corps of Discovery. How the Captains were able to get people to form a cohesive team, trained as the journey required, and had the abilities needed to survive and complete the job at hand remains a mystery.