Tools and Techniques / Cooking / Salt and the Expedition

Salt and the Expedition

Salt played a critical role in the Lewis and Clark Expedition as dietary supplement, meat preservative, and even a soldier’s pay. President Jefferson instructed Lewis to look for sources of saline and while wintering at Fort Clatsop, considerable man-power and time was given to making salt from sea-water. Lewis seemed to crave it, Clark not so much.

Experience the Lewis and Clark Trail

The Lewis and Clark Trail Experience—our sister site at lewisandclark.travel—connects the world to people and places on the Lewis and Clark Trail.

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Discover More

  • The Lewis and Clark Expedition: Day by Day by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 2018). The story in prose, 14 May 1804–23 September 1806.
  • The Lewis and Clark Journals: An American Epic of Discovery (abridged) by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 2003). Selected journal excerpts, 14 May 1804–23 September 1806.
  • The Lewis and Clark Journals. by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 1983–2001). The complete story in 13 volumes.