What We Got For Our Money

I purchased 193 lbs. of "portable soup" from Francois Baillet, a cook inPhiladelphia in May 1803 at $1.50 per pound. Portable soup was either a dry bouillon or a thick liquid-type substance made from beef and stored in cans for the expedition. The soup was reconstituted by adding water. We cordially hated it, and the starvation time in the Bitterroot Mountains in September 1805 was one of the only times we ever ate it. I also bought 2 pounds of Hyson Tea and 30 gallons of strong wine.

From the army's contractor for rations Major Rumsey, we got 14 flour kegs and 19 pork kegs. Our supplies also included 45 kegs of pork, 50 of flour, 18 of whisky and 7 of corn. We received what we tallied as 4175 complete rations @14 1/2 cents, 5555 Rations of flour at 4 1/2 cents, 25 Casks of Corn @ 50 Cents, 12 casks of Salt, 100 gallons of Whiskey, and 4000 rations of pork @ 4 1/2 cents, 1 Keg of Hogs Lard, 1 bag of Coffee 50 weight, 2 ditto of Sugar, 1 ditto of Beans, 7 bags of Biscuit, 4 Barrels of Biscuit, 44 Kegs of Pork packed w. 3115, 6 Half barrels of pork ditto, weight 590.