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Celebrating The Corps of Discovery
Expedition Bicentennial
Originally Published January 31, 2003 |
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Botanical Discoveries: Blue Elderberry (Sambucus
mexicana)
Fort Clatsop, Oregon on February 2,
1806
We don't know what attracted Captain Lewis to
Blue Elderberry (Sambucus
mexicana). It is a handsome, deciduous shrub with multiple stems,
reaches 6-12.’ A little later in the year, the leaves would appear
followed by the flowers and then the berries. But logic indicates the
good Captain was introduced to Sambucus mexicana by his native visitors
who value it highly. Very similar to it's sister, the
Red Elderberry (Sambucus
racemosa), the Blue and Red shrubs are used in the same ways.
In her website titled Native American Indian: Art,
Culture, Education, History, Science (www.kstrom.net/isk/), Paula Giese
gives us uses for the Red Elderberry, sister of Blue. She says:
"There is a name for the tree, for the flowers for
tea, for the flowers just to cook, and 3 names for the berries.
not-ripe, ready (raw) and dried. This tree flowers in July, big bunches
of sweetish white flowers. You can easily pick them by the stems of
bunches (they make a better tea if taken when fresh, before the berries
set).
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Fresh elder flowers can be fried into breakfast or
dessert fritters. Batter:
1 cup
flour
1
tablespoon white granulated sugar
1 teaspoon
baking powder
2 eggs
1/2 cup
milk
2 oranges
cut in quarters
Heat fat to medium, 375°. Remove coarse stems from
flower clusters, but keep small ones to hold it together. Dip into
batter whole, fry for about 4 minutes till golden, squeeze orange juice
over them while hot, roll in sugar. Keep warm in oven on paper towels
until all are done. Eat by picking up, discard "bones" (stems). Kids
especially love to do this."
Of Original People's philosophy
about the shrub, Paula says elder is a woman's
plant--men or boys should not pick the flowers:
Elderberry is used for physical problems of women. If
you're female and need "medicine," find your tree this
way: Go to the elderberry shrubs and walk around them
until you feel attracted to one. This will be
"ogimauikwe," the headwoman tree for the group. Talk to
her about your troubles and leave some tobacco
(kinnikinnik, native shrub with scientific name
Arctostaphlos uva-ursi) as a sign of respect.
When flowers bloom, come back to her and talk again
about the problem. Do not pick anything from her, gather
flowers from sister trees in the group. Do not to tell
men or boys about Elderberries. Native peoples are very
circumspect in discussing "women's" or "men's" personal
issues and this is "women's medicine." |
Above: Blue
Elderberry (Sambucus mexicana). Below: Red Elderberry
(Sambucus racemosa). |
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The Expedition's Journey
Continues:
At this time in 1806,
Expedition members are enjoying their warm houses and the Northwest
winter in their camp at Fort Clatsop. They are not idle, though. Captain
Lewis is scouting the area for plants (he found around 50 in this area!)
and documenting his discoveries. Captain Clark uses the time to catch up
on his cartography:
I completed a map of the country through
which we have been passing from the Mississippi, at the mouth of the
Missouri, to this place. On the map, the Missouri, Jefferson's River,
the S.E. branch of the Columbia or Lewis's River, Kooskooskee, and
Columbia from the entrance of the S.E. fork to the Pacific Ocean, as
well as a part of Clark's River and our track across the Rocky
Mountains, are laid down by celestial observations and survey. The
rivers are also connected at their sources with other rivers, agreeably
to the information of the natives and the most probable conjecture,
arising from their capacities and the relative positions of their
respective entrances, which last have, with but few exceptions, been
established by celestial observations.
Captain Clark, Fort Clatsop, 14 February 1806
Native People continue to visit
the Captains and the Corps. A note Captain Clark made after a December
visit:
In the evening, two canoes of Clatsops
visited us. They brought with them wappato, a black sweet root they call
shanataque, and a small sea-otter skin, all of which we purchased for a
few fishing hooks and a small sack of Indian tobacco which was given us
by the Snake Indians.
Those Indians appear well disposed. We gave a
medal to the Principal Chief, named Connyau or Commowol, and treated
those with him with as much attention as we could. I can readily
discover that they are close dealers, and stickle for a very little,
never close a bargain except they think they have the advantage. Value
blue beads highly, white they also prize, but no other color do they
value in the least.
Captain Clark, Fort Clatsop, 12 December 1805
We'll use our time until next week's edition to
prepare a list of all the plants Captain Lewis found at Fort Clatsop.
Go to our Corps of Discovery Expedition
Bicentennial Index page
to see all links in this series. Or click
here
to go directly to the next installment of our
journey.
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Bringing history
alive: Wapato (Sagittaria latifolia) |
"Indian women collected wapato in shallow
water from a canoe, or waded into ponds or marshes in the late
summer and loosened the roots with their toes. The roots would rise
to the top of the water where they were gathered and tossed into
floating baskets. Today, the tubers are harvested with a hoe,
pitchfork, or rake. Tubers are baked in fire embers, boiled, or
roasted in the ashes. Tubers are skinned and eaten whole or mashed.
After cooking, some tubers were dried and stored for winter use. The
Chippewa gathered the "Indian potatoes" in the fall, strung them,
and hung them overhead in the wigwam to dry. Later, they were boiled
for use."
From the United States Department of Agriculture
Natural Resources Conservation Service: www.plants.usda.gov/plantguide/pdf/cs_sacu.pdf |
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