This PNW Wild Plant, Now Sold as a Fiber Supplement, Destroyed the Lewis & Clark Expedition

When I first heard about this story, I couldn’t help but think of the movie, Blazing Saddles, and the iconic bean-eating scene. The difference here is, this tooting tale is based on real events from the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

It was September of 1805, and the Corps of Discovery had just finished a long trek through the Rocky Mountains and had the plains near Weippe Prairie in Idaho in sight.

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As it was reported, everyone in the Corps of Discovery was starving. They had spent months without consistent food, and Captain Lewis was worried he could lose men if they didn’t find game to hunt or some other plentiful food source soon.

Well, the universe was watching over them that September, and as luck would have it, their travel had put them in the path of the Nez Perce Indian Tribe.

The Nez Perce were known for being friendly and welcomed them into their camp, and when they discovered the expedition crew was suffering from hunger (it wasn’t hard to notice, as nearly everyone was skinny), they offered them an abundance of food to eat, which included dried fish and roots – the camas root.

What is camas root, and how did the Nez Perce tribe prepare it?

The camas root comes from the camas plant (Camassia), part of the asparagus family. The Nez Perce tribe in the Pacific Northwest actively harvested camas, and it was part of their regular diet in the region. The roots were pit-boiled for up to two days before being smashed into a paste. Those who have eaten the root say it tastes like a sweet potato, only sweeter.

Lewis & Clark’s Camas Catastrophe: The Night the Corps Blew Up

Back to the story at hand, it turns out the camas root contains a carbohydrate that isn’t easy on the digestive system, especially for those who haven’t consumed the root before.

Everyone in the Corps of Discovery, including Lewis & Clark, graciously accepted the Nez Perce tribe’s offer of food and began to eat, and eat, and eat. They consumed mass quantities of camas root, which, unbeknownst to them, was about to put a rumble like no other in their digestive tracts.

The camas root contains inulin. Which, by all accounts, is a laxative. It’s so high in fiber that it’s sold as a supplement on Amazon.

There’s only one way to describe what happened to the men of the Corps of Discovery. They got gas, putrid, foul, raging gas.

Things were so bad that Lewis & Clark noted men were groaning and cursing all night. Many suffered explosive diarrhea.

Gas, Guts & Gratitude: How a Native Root Wrecked the Corps of Discovery

From the Lewis & Clark Journals:

Captain William Clark recorded in his journal: “I found myself very unwell this morning owing, I presume, to the quantity of roots I had eaten yesterday…”

Private Joseph Whitehouse added: “The men are sick, with violent purging and griping in the bowels.”

Lewis would note in his journal that when prepared properly and eaten in small portions, the root was quite good, something the Nez Perce already knew, of course.

The camas plant still grows wild throughout the Pacific Northwest, and yes, if prepared correctly or incorrectly, it’s edible – but you’ve been warned.