I enjoy reading this columnist, he often provides insight to our ancestors everyday lives. Salt supply was a common concern in olden days John Switzer, Sunday, March 10, 2013 The Columbus Dispatch There’s a saying dating to Roman times that a man “is worth his salt.” I’ve also heard it said that a man “is worth his weight in salt” or is “the salt of the Earth." All those sayings mean that a person has worth because salt was so valuable in olden days that it was sometimes used as currency. In pioneer days, for bartering purposes, a bushel of salt was worth a cow and a half. Salt was vital for preserving meat and flavoring food. Pioneers and American Indians alike obtained salt by boiling down water from a salt spring. It took 800 to 1,000 gallons of saltwater to make a bushel of salt. Daniel Boone once wrote to Virginia authorities that “we are almost destitute of the necessary article of salt.” Michael Bergman, who is a historian and farmer in Madison County as well as a buff on anything about Boone, told me this story about the great frontiersman and salt: Boone and 30 other men from the settlement of Boonesborough in Kentucky went to a place called Blue Lick on the Licking River to make salt on Jan. 1, 1778. After they made one pack-horse load of salt, three of the men took it back to Boonesborough. On Feb. 7, Shawnee Indians captured the 27 remaining salt makers and took them to their village near what is now Xenia in western Ohio. A historical marker along Rt. 68 tells of the plight of the salt makers. Boone was made to run the gantlet but later was adopted into the family of a chief named Blackfish. Eleven other salt makers also were adopted into Indian families, and 10 were taken to Fort Detroit to be held for ransom. The fate of the other captives is unknown. Boone’s Indian name was Shetowee, which meant “Big Turtle.” He was also sometimes called “Wide Mouth” because of his wide grin. While he was living with Blackfish, he was, ironically, taken to a salt spring along the Scioto River. I have heard there once was a salt spring the Indians used at the site of Griggs Reservoir. While making salt, Boone learned that the Shawnee planned to attack Boonesborough, where his family was living. Boone escaped from the Shawnee in June 1778 and followed the Bullskin Trail, a major Indian path that Rt. 68 now roughly follows, back to Kentucky, where he warned the settlers of the pending attack. One thing this story tells us is that salt was so prized that the pioneers would leave the safety of their fortified villages and risk the perils of the wilderness to obtain a supply. Retired weather columnist John Switzer writes a Sunday Metro column. jswitzer@dispatch.com

The term "lick" referred to an area of ground that animals would lick to get the salt minerals off the ground. The salt was brought up with the ground water that came to the surface. Pennsylvania has some salt deposits, I'm guessing that's why we have the names Black Lick, Two Lick and others in the area.   Also need our salt for pickles and Sauerkraut!   Marcia Fronk ________________________________ From: Lisa Baker <lisa_18406@msn.com> To: "pacambri@rootsweb.com" <pacambri@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, March 19, 2013 3:06 PM Subject: [PACAMBRI] Salt in 'olden' days I enjoy reading this columnist, he often provides insight to our ancestors everyday lives. Salt supply was a common concern in olden days John Switzer, Sunday, March 10, 2013 The Columbus Dispatch There’s a saying dating to Roman times that a man “is worth his salt.” I’ve also heard it said that a man “is worth his weight in salt” or is “the salt of the Earth." All those sayings mean that a person has worth because salt was so valuable in olden days that it was sometimes used as currency. In pioneer days, for bartering purposes, a bushel of salt was worth a cow and a half. Salt was vital for preserving meat and flavoring food. Pioneers and American Indians alike obtained salt by boiling down water from a salt spring. It took 800 to 1,000 gallons of saltwater to make a bushel of salt. Daniel Boone once wrote to Virginia authorities that “we are almost destitute of the necessary article of salt.” Michael Bergman, who is a historian and farmer in Madison County as well as a buff on anything about Boone, told me this story about the great frontiersman and salt: Boone and 30 other men from the settlement of Boonesborough in Kentucky went to a place called Blue Lick on the Licking River to make salt on Jan. 1, 1778. After they made one pack-horse load of salt, three of the men took it back to Boonesborough. On Feb. 7, Shawnee Indians captured the 27 remaining salt makers and took them to their village near what is now Xenia in western Ohio. A historical marker along Rt. 68 tells of the plight of the salt makers. Boone was made to run the gantlet but later was adopted into the family of a chief named Blackfish. Eleven other salt makers also were adopted into Indian families, and 10 were taken to Fort Detroit to be held for ransom. The fate of the other captives is unknown. Boone’s Indian name was Shetowee, which meant “Big Turtle.” He was also sometimes called “Wide Mouth” because of his wide grin. While he was living with Blackfish, he was, ironically, taken to a salt spring along the Scioto River. I have heard there once was a salt spring the Indians used at the site of Griggs Reservoir. While making salt, Boone learned that the Shawnee planned to attack Boonesborough, where his family was living. Boone escaped from the Shawnee in June 1778 and followed the Bullskin Trail, a major Indian path that Rt. 68 now roughly follows, back to Kentucky, where he warned the settlers of the pending attack. One thing this story tells us is that salt was so prized that the pioneers would leave the safety of their fortified villages and risk the perils of the wilderness to obtain a supply. Retired weather columnist John Switzer writes a Sunday Metro column. jswitzer@dispatch.com                         - - - - - - - - - - Search for more Cambria County information on our webpage: http://www.camgenpa.com/ ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to PACAMBRI-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Salt was used to preserve meat / fish for the winter so indeed it was very important to have salt. -----Original Message----- From: pacambri-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:pacambri-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Lisa Baker Sent: Tuesday, March 19, 2013 3:06 PM To: pacambri@rootsweb.com Subject: [PACAMBRI] Salt in 'olden' days I enjoy reading this columnist, he often provides insight to our ancestors everyday lives. Salt supply was a common concern in olden days John Switzer, Sunday, March 10, 2013 The Columbus Dispatch There's a saying dating to Roman times that a man "is worth his salt." I've also heard it said that a man "is worth his weight in salt" or is "the salt of the Earth." All those sayings mean that a person has worth because salt was so valuable in olden days that it was sometimes used as currency. In pioneer days, for bartering purposes, a bushel of salt was worth a cow and a half. Salt was vital for preserving meat and flavoring food. Pioneers and American Indians alike obtained salt by boiling down water from a salt spring. It took 800 to 1,000 gallons of saltwater to make a bushel of salt. Daniel Boone once wrote to Virginia authorities that "we are almost destitute of the necessary article of salt." Michael Bergman, who is a historian and farmer in Madison County as well as a buff on anything about Boone, told me this story about the great frontiersman and salt: Boone and 30 other men from the settlement of Boonesborough in Kentucky went to a place called Blue Lick on the Licking River to make salt on Jan. 1, 1778. After they made one pack-horse load of salt, three of the men took it back to Boonesborough. On Feb. 7, Shawnee Indians captured the 27 remaining salt makers and took them to their village near what is now Xenia in western Ohio. A historical marker along Rt. 68 tells of the plight of the salt makers. Boone was made to run the gantlet but later was adopted into the family of a chief named Blackfish. Eleven other salt makers also were adopted into Indian families, and 10 were taken to Fort Detroit to be held for ransom. The fate of the other captives is unknown. Boone's Indian name was Shetowee, which meant "Big Turtle." He was also sometimes called "Wide Mouth" because of his wide grin. While he was living with Blackfish, he was, ironically, taken to a salt spring along the Scioto River. I have heard there once was a salt spring the Indians used at the site of Griggs Reservoir. While making salt, Boone learned that the Shawnee planned to attack Boonesborough, where his family was living. Boone escaped from the Shawnee in June 1778 and followed the Bullskin Trail, a major Indian path that Rt. 68 now roughly follows, back to Kentucky, where he warned the settlers of the pending attack. One thing this story tells us is that salt was so prized that the pioneers would leave the safety of their fortified villages and risk the perils of the wilderness to obtain a supply. Retired weather columnist John Switzer writes a Sunday Metro column. jswitzer@dispatch.com - - - - - - - - - - Search for more Cambria County information on our webpage: http://www.camgenpa.com/ ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to PACAMBRI-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message