Beeswax

Honeybees were an important part of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. But maybe not for the reason you’re thinking!

Beeswax has been used for hundreds, even thousands, of years before European honeybees were introduced to the United States of America. Though European honeybees were introduced to what would become the United States in the 1600s, around the time of the Lewis and Clark Expedition in 1803, honeybees were fairly new to the young country. One of the more common sub-species, the Italian honeybee, was not introduced to North America until approximately 50 years after the Expedition. Therefore, the only way for the expedition to purchase beeswax was through trade ships on the coast. The men of the expedition had noted on their way back home from their stay at Fort Clatsop that their supply of beeswax had been restocked through local tribes. The beeswax that was given to the members of the expedition was likely to have been collected from a wrecked ship from the 17th century. Since then, local tribes foraged for the beeswax from the ship, allowing some to end up in the hands of the Lewis and Clark Expedition; a rare and welcomed find!

One of most crucial beeswax uses on the Lewis and Clark Expedition was as a natural remedy for illness or injuries. Although Meriwether Lewis had a vast supply of medicine he had brought for the expedition, almost all of it was a natural remedy, including items like plant roots, peppermint, and even cinnamon. Along with those remedies, beeswax was also used for medicinal purposes. The Expedition’s journals detail and incident in which Sacajawea’s son, Jean Baptiste, had what seemed like an abscess around his neck. Originally, the wound was treated with an onion poultice, which is boiled onion put into a cloth and placed on a wound. Onion was and is still seen today as having antibacterial and inflammatory properties. What William Clark would later use to help the swelling of Jean Baptistes neck was a mixture of pine sap, bear grease, and beeswax, which would be the key to the child’s recovery:
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—.
William Clark, June 5th, 1806

Learn more about how the Expedition used beeswax and other medicinal treatments by reading the articles below!

Making Candles | Discovering Lewis & Clark ® (lewis-clark.org)

The Iron-framed Boat | Discovering Lewis & Clark ® (lewis-clark.org)

June 3, 1806 | Discovering Lewis & Clark ® (lewis-clark.org)

Chemical Drugs |Discovering Lewis & Clark ® (lewis-clark.org)

Medicine on the Trail | Discovering Lewis & Clark ® (lewis-clark.org)