Spanning from St. Louis all the way to present day Seaside, Oregan, the Lewis and Clark expedition was the first American expedition to cross the western portion of the United States, and is undoubtedly one of the most famous. Lasting 28 months, the expedition made stops in over 600 sites, and despite extensive journals and maps, historians and hobbyists alike have had a hard time locating all of them. That is, until a group of archeologists found an interesting way to identify one particular campsite in Montana: latrine analysis.
The supplies were plentiful for the Lewis and Clark expedition, and among those supplies were a considerable quantity of very potent laxatives called “Dr. Rush’s Bilious Pill.” These pills were so effective that they were commonly referred to as “thunderclappers” or “thunderbolts.” The laxatives, however, served a second purpose: They were a treatment for syphilis, which according to records was widespread among the expedition’s men.
The use of the pills aside, they’re particularly notable for their content. Each pill contained 10 grains of calomel, also known as mercurous chloride. The mercury would pass through the body, and as the men moved on they left behind particularly high mercury levels in the latrines. So far a handful of campsites have been discovered this way, with likely plenty more to come.
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