07/22/2026
Hot/cold therapy on the expedition!
Of all the injuries or illnesses suffered throughout the Expedition, William Bratton’s was one of the worst. While assigned to the Salt Camp on the Pacific coast during the winter of 1805-06, about 15 miles from Fort Clatsop, Bratton suffered an injury that was nearly debilitating – severe low-back pain. Even today, it is often a malady that is difficult to diagnose and even harder to cure without surgery. And surgery for such this type of injury in the early 19th century was unheard of.
Bratton’s pain would continue for months and became so severe that he found it difficult to sit up, and impossible to walk. The Captains gave him huge doses of Peruvian (chichona) bark (which contains quinine) and laxatives, but these treatments seemed to do nothing.
In March 1806, when the Corps started paddling up the Columbia River, the private’s back appeared to have improved. But it was only temporary. By April 11, Meriwether Lewis noted that Bratton “...is yet so weak he is unable to work... .” By April 20, when the party prepared to tackle the Rocky Mountains on horseback, the pain grew worse and Lewis provided an update: “Bratton was compelled to ride as he was yet unable to walk.”
When the Corps stopped to rest in mid-May with the Nez Perce, near today’s Kamiah, Idaho, John Shields suggested an idea that he hoped would help his ailing colleague and friend. The blacksmith sunk a circular hole about three feet in diameter and four feet deep into the earth. After building a sizable fire to heat the hole for a period of time, he quickly removed the ashes. Then a willow branch hoop, covered with blankets, was placed over the hole and Bratton was stripped naked and carried inside. After 20 minutes, he was removed and plunged into a cold stream. This was repeated.
Amazingly, Bratton felt almost immediate improvement. William Clark wrote the next day, “bratten is walking about to day and is much better than he has been.” By June 8, Lewis declared, “we cannot well consider him an invalid any longer.” The Corps’ version of an Indian sweat lodge seemed to be the cure – an alternating hot and cold physical therapy treatment still practiced today.
Image: Shield’s miniature sweat lodge would have been similar to this Nez Perce sweat lodge, photographed in about 1910 by Edward S. Curtis. Within the Curtis Collection, Library of Congress.
Image Description: A black-and-white photograph shows a small domed structure in the foreground, partially covered with a dark blanket. It stands in a rocky valley with several grass-covered hills in the background.
