Salt's Importance to Lewis and Clark

Living on the Oregon Coast, we have a distinct relationship with the ocean and with salt water. Its effects on the Umpqua River are felt as far east as Scottsburg.

Even still -- we take salt for granted in our modern lives. Persons in earlier times, however, considered salt to be an essential commodity. It was not only a flavorizer, it was used as a preservative for meats, vegetables, and fruit. The term "salary" actually comes from the Latin word for "salt." If you couldn't get it at Safeway, you had to find it on your own. One of the straightforward ways was to take seawater and boil it dry. The residue would be mostly salt. When Lewis and Clark arrived at Fort Clatsop, making salt was one of their priorities. They set up a cairn in what is now Seaside and kept the kettles boiling day and night. As you walk down the Promenade, you can see a monument on the site.

To cognize more fully what it meant to them to have salt, think about how they used salt to preserve their food. Meats were cured with it and vegetables were flavored with it. Without it, many would have starved.