Folks,

    I'm working on a story about the Lewis and Clark expedition at the
Pacific Ocean. Part of their expedition set up a camp on the beach to boil
salt water to extract the salt. Nearby an Indian tribe was harvesting a
beached whale by boiling down the blubber. Of course these didn't happen in
Virginia, but I wonder if either activities took place in Virginia and if
so, could someone answer some questions:

1) Salt: What would have the salt been packed in to keep it dry in the
coming months. Leather pouches, earthen jars, or something else.

2) Blubber: Does the term refer to the meat and the fat or one/the other.
Was the oil boiled off and discarded? I know later whale oil was used in
lamps, but not yet in 1805. Was it used in making candles perhaps? Was the
skin used or discarded? I assume the bones would have been used to make
tools and such.

Thanks for any help anyone can provide.

Anne

Anne Pemberton
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http://www.erols.com/stevepem
http://www.educationalsynthesis.org

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