Making Candles

Early in 1806 while wintering at Fort Clatsop, Lewis informs us that they are making tallow candles:

this evening we exhausted the last four candles, but fortunately had taken the precaution to bring with us moulds and wick, by means of which and some Elk‘s tallow in our possession we do not yet consider ourselves destitute of this necessary article; the Elk we have killed have a very small portion of tallow.
—Meriwether Lewis, 13 January 1806

Because of the above journal entry, living history programs at Lewis and Clark National Historic Park, Fort Clatsop, have for many years demonstrated making candles from rendered tallow. Additionally, the Fort Clatsop Historical Association sells tin candle molds and wicking.

Beeswax

If it was available, beeswax was added to tallow so that the candles would burn better. Because the honey bee was not native to North America, the expedition’s only source of beeswax was from trade ships, either from eastern American ports or ships that traded and wrecked along the Pacific northwest coast. On the expedition, beeswax was used for a variety of purposes including waxing sinew and thread to make sewing easier and to seal the lead canisters that held gunpowder. Above the Great Falls of the Missouri, at Upper Portage Camp, beeswax was mixed with tallow in the failed attempt to seal the seams of the ill-fated iron-framed boat‘s skin cover.^[1]See 5 July 1805 through 9 July 1805.

We do not have any evidence that the expedition had beeswax when they made their candles at Fort Clatsop. Shortly before leaving Fort Clatsop, on 9 March 1806, Joseph Whitehouse reports that their supply was replenished:

Several of the Natives came to the fort. They brought with them Some Small fish, Bees Wax &ca to trade with us.

This beeswax came from a wrecked Spanish galleon. La Follette argues the ship was “most likely the Santo Cristo de Burgos which left Manila in the Philippines in the summer of 1693, and was never seen again.”^[2]Cameron La Follette, “‘Bear’s wax’ and the Wreck of a Spanish Galleon on the Oregon Coast,” We Proceeded On, November 2019, vol. 45 no. 1, page 26. For hundreds of years, natives and settlers gathered the wax from that wreck. The expedition was carrying at least some beeswax on its 1806 return journey for at Long Camp with the Nez Perces, Clark made a salve from pine pitch, beeswax, and bear grease to treat young Jean Baptiste Charbonneau‘s swollen neck:

I applied a plaster of Sarve made of the Rozen of the long leafed pine, Beas wax and Beare oil mixed, which has Subsided the inflomation entirely, the part is Considerably Swelled and hard—.
Clark, 5 June 1806

In an undated brochure, the National Historic Park at Fort Clatsop explains the process for rendering tallow and making candles. The brochure is no longer published because, perhaps, rendering tallow is very dangerous and must be conducted with proper care and supervision. The brochure includes this warning:^[3]Tallow Candles (Date unknown) accessed at http://www.npshistory.com/brochures/brochures-l.htm#lewi on 15 Sep 2020.

We strongly suggest that the rendering be done outside. There are two major reasons for this. Most important is the extremely high potential for fire. Second, the boiling fat will leave a greasy coating which is difficult to remove.

Care should be taken to not overfill the pot and to keep the tallow away from high flames and flying embers. If a pot of tallow flames up, it is best to put a lid over it to cut off the oxygen to the fire. Do not try to put out a tallow fire with cold water.

Steps for Making Candles

The Park’s steps for making candles continues below, slightly modified:^[4]The order of the sections as been changed and each section’s title has been re-phrased.

Wick the Molds

Cut 100% cotton wicking or twine (8-12 ply) into approximately 18 to 20-inch sections. Tie a knot about two inches from one end of each string. On the same end, rub a bit of tallow [or wax] and twist to a point (this helps the string go through the small hole). With the knotted end first, lower each string into one of the larger holes of the mold and down through the smaller hole in the bottom. Tie a larger knot outside of (and next to) the bottom hole. The inner single knot helps pull the candles out. The outside knot seals the bottom hole. Across the top of the mold tie each pair of strings to a small, pencil-sized stick. Make sure they are tight and centered.

Render the Tallow

Fill a big pot 3/4 full of chopped beef fat (chunks should be no larger than 1/2″-1″ in size). Cover the fat with water. Bring to a rolling boil and maintain until the water has evaporated and the fat rendered. As long as there is a lot of water in the pot, only a little tallow will be produced. It is only when most of the water is gone, and the fat is sitting in a shallow layer of liquid that most of the tallow is extracted from the fat.

When most of the water has boiled away, several changes will rapidly occur. You will need to watch the pot closely. The bubbles of the mixture will become smaller and less violent. The color of the liquid changes from a light, muddy-brown color, to a dark, clear liquid. The fat is rendered when it turns into brown crisps which have the appearance of bacon. Also, a scent of bacon becomes very strong. It may take about three hours to reach this point.

If the tallow is left on the fire after the water has completely evaporated, it could reach the flash point and burst into flames. You will know when this is about to happen if a light, white smoke is given off. At this point the tallow should be taken off the fire. Use extreme caution when removing the pot from the heat. Spilled tallow can cause an explosive, highly dangerous fire.

Let it cool about ten minutes then strain the impurities from the tallow. Add 33% paraffin to the tallow, so the candles will hold their shape. The elk, deer, and buffalo tallow used by the Lewis and Clark Expedition was firmer and didn’t need the added paraffin.

The tallow is ready to pour into your wicked molds.

Before pouring tallow, remove it from the fire and place it away from all beat sources. It’s best to let the mixture cool a little.

Carefully pour the warm tallow into the wicked molds. Fill the molds, and partially fill the flat reservoir on the top. This is necessary because the wicking absorbs some tallow and the tallow shrinks as it cools. Make sure the wicks are still centered in the candles.

Let filled molds set for approximately one hour. Cracks throughout the tallow in the reservoir is one indication the candles are ready to remove from the molds.

To remove the candles from the molds, you must first cut the knots off the bottom of the molds. Be careful not to cut into the molds. Remove the tallow from the reservoir. Use the sticks as handles to pull the candles from the molds. Cut the sticks off the candles. Cut the knot off the tip of the candle if it is exposed. Your candles are now ready for use.

Helpful Tips

• Placing your candles in the freezer for 24 hours before using will make them burn longer. We have found that a good quality candle will usually last about 5–6 hours.
• The molds sold by the Fort Clatsop Historical Association are tin. If a seam needs to be sealed or repairs need to be made, use tin solder.
• If using candle wax, beeswax, or straight paraffin instead of tallow, spray the inside cf the mold with a release agent, such as PAM.