Enjoying the Baths

On June 29, 1806, once again on the east side of the Bitterroot Range of the Rockies, members of the expedition reached Lolo Hot Springs (near today’s Lolo, Montana). Here, area Indians had created pools by building stone dams where spring water ran off. Lewis wrote that all the party “enjoyed the baths” that evening.

Using terms that referred to fashionable spas of his day, Lewis went on to compare this hot springs with some back home. The largest spring was as hot as the “warmest baths” there in Virginia. Lewis was able to last 19 minutes “with difficulty” and in a “profuse sweat.” But two other springs here at Lolo were even hotter, and just dipping your hand in caused it to “smart extremely.”

Lewis noted that the Indians among the group soaked in the hot pools, then ran to a nearby creek that was “as cold as ice can make it” and, after cooling off, ran back to the hot pools again—several times in a row.

Since Lewis thought this was worth writing down, it seems that the whites did otherwise as they “enjoyed the baths.”