Did Lewis and Clark bring their medicine or did the Native Americans give them it?
After consulting with Dr. Benjamin Rush of Philadelphia, a
leading physician of the day, one of the chief medicines were
purgative or cleansing tablets known as Dr. Rush's patented pills
or "Thunderclappers." The Voyage of Discovery took along 600 of
these tablets. Stephen Ambrose wrote in his book "Undaunted
Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson and the Opening of the
West" that "Dr. Rush thought these pills would cure any number of
ills." They were made with calomel (six parts mercury to one part
chlorine) and jalap (think jalapeno pepper, used as a
purgative).
The medical supplies, bought in St. Louis, totaled $90.69.
They included: lancets, forceps, tourniquets, clysters (enema)
syringes, gonorrhea syringes, Peruvian bark (quinine), calomel,
jalap, laudanum/opium, Glauber salts (sodium sulfide, a mild
laxative), niter (potassium nitrate/saltpeter, a diuretic), tartar
emetic (produces vomiting) and mercurial ointment (mercury/fat to
soothe irritations).
The list suggests gastro-intestinal complaints were common and
expected. The poor flow of bile was believed to cause many
infirmities, including constipation and headaches. Dr. Rush's
tablets were anti-bilous tablets.
In addition to pains from the hard labor, the explorers suffered
wounds from gunshot, snakebite, scalded feet, dysentery, and other
injuries and ailments. Besides internal treatment, they used
saltpeter for wounds, using bark to make a poultice. Dr. Rush's
advice was often prevantative in scope, advising to wash their feet
with cold water, to purge the body, to wear flannel next to the
skin and other theories. While the medicines and techniques may
sound primitive by today's standards (not to mention ignorant about
concerns of mercury poisoning), only one man died on the
journey.
