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The Expedition's Journey
Continues:
May 11 and 12 were eventful days for the Corps, and the following
journal entries illustrate the manner in which Captains Lewis and Clark
worked together to maintain a friendly relationship with the native
peoples.
At 8 A.M. a chief of great note among these
people arrived from his village or lodge on the south side of Lewis's
River. This is a stout fellow of good countenance, about 40 years of age,
and has lost the left eye. His name is Yoomparkkartim. To this man we gave
a medal of the small kind. Those with the likeness of Mr. Jefferson have
all been disposed of except one of the largest size, which we reserve for
some great chief on the Yellow Rock River.
We now pretty fully informed ourselves that
Tunnachemootoolt, Neeshneparkkeook, Yoomparkkartirn, and Hohastillpilp
were the principal chiefs of the Chopunnish nation and rank in the order
here mentioned. As all those chiefs were present in our lodge, we thought
it a favorable time to repeat what had been said yesterday and to enter
more minutely into the views of our government with respect to the
inhabitants of this western part of the continent; their intention of
establishing trading houses for their relief; their wish to restore peace
and harmony among the natives; the strength, power, and wealth of our
nation, etc. To this end we drew a map of the country, with a coal on a
mat in their way, and, by the assistance of the Snake boy and our
interpreters, were enabled to make ourselves understood by them, although
it had to pass through the French, Minnetaree, Shoshone, and Chopunnish
languages. The interpretation being tedious, it occupied nearly half the
day before we had communicated to them what we wished. They appeared
highly pleased. After this council was over we amused ourselves with
showing them the power of magnetism, the spyglass, compass, watch, air
gun, and sundry other articles equally novel and incomprehensible to them.
Captain Lewis, 11 May 1806
After breakfast I began to administer
eye-water and in a few minutes had near 40 applicants with sore eyes, and
many others with other complaints most common rheumatic disorders and
weaknesses in the back and loins, particularly the women. The Indians had
a grand council this morning, after which we were presented each with a
horse by two young men at the instance of the nation. We caused the chiefs
to be seated and gave them each a flag, a pint of powder, and 50 balls, to
the two young men who had presented the horses we also gave powder and
ball. The Broken Arm, or Tunnachemootoolt, pulled off his leather shirt,
and gave me. In return, I gave him a shirt.
We retired into the lodge, and the natives
spoke to the following purpose: i.e., they had listened to our advice and
that the whole nation were determined to follow it; that they had only one
heart and one tongue on this subject. Explained the cause of the war with
the Shoshones. They wished to be at peace with all nations, etc. Some
of their men would accompany us to the Missouri, etc. as a
great number of men, women, and children were waiting and requesting
medical assistance, many of them with the most simple complaints which
could be easily relieved, independent of many with disorders entirely out
of the power of medicine -- all requesting something!
We agreed that I should administer, and
Captain Lewis hear and answer the Indians. I was closely employed until 2
P.M., administering eye-water to about 40 grown persons, some simple
cooling medicines to the disabled chief, to several women with rheumatic
affections, and a man who had a swelled hip, etc. In the
evening, three of our horses were brought all in fine order.
Captain Clark, 12 May 1806
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: On the
Discovering Lewis and Clark website (see link below), there
is so much information! The notations in the journals about
the eye-water Captain Clark administered to the native
peoples aroused my curiosity so I went to this website (font
of knowledge!) and found a section with this title:
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Keys to the Medicine Chest
Meriwether Lewis's
Drug Purchases in Philadelphia
by
Gregory J. Higby, Ph.D., R.Ph.,
Executive Director
American Institute of the History of
Pharmacy
University of Wisconsin--Madison |
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Directly below this heading is an
"Invoice for the Medical Supplies Lewis Ordered through
Israel Whelan." For the sum of $90.69--no small change in
1804!--all the medical supplies that were anticipated to be
neccesary for the coming expedition: 29 botanical and
chemical medicines plus some related equipment and supplies.
Each item on this list is linked to the detailed
description.
The 'Medicine Chest' section
includes the diseases that were expected, details of the
botanicals (with illustrations), the chemicals, the
equipment and supplies--gum elastic, india ink, copperas,
containers, chests, kits, lancets, syringes, etc. This is
the explanation of eye-wash:
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Zinc Sulfate aka White Vitriol
Acetatesm.jpg)
Lead acetate, lead diacetate,
plumbous acetate, sugar of lead, lead sugar, salt of Saturn,
and Goulard's powder |
Eye Wash as Currency (Sugar
of Lead and
White Vitriol)
-- Oddly
enough, one could argue that the small quantities of
sugar of lead (lead acetate) and white vitriol (zinc
sulfate) carried by the Corps were among their most
precious cargo. Whelan spent less than a dollar on these
ingredients, which were dissolved in water to make eye
wash, or "eye water," but their value skyrocketed when
it came to bargaining for food and horses to get them
back across the Rockies in the spring of 1806. By that
time the captains had no more than a handful of bona
fide trade goods left, and medical ministrations were
all they could offer. On the Columbia River below the
mouth of the Snake, the captains gave the Walula Indians
some eye water which, Clark believed, would "render them
more esential Sirvece than any other article in the
Medical way which we had in our power to bestow on
them." Lewis concluded, after they reached Nez Perce
territory again a few days later, "sore eyes is an
universal complaint with all the natives we have seen on
the west side of the Rocky mountains."
www.lewis-clark.org/content/content-article.asp?ArticleID=2561 |
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