Kids make pens, ink like the pioneers

About 20 St. Louis area kids got a chance last month to see how Lewis and Clark kept their journals during the Journey of Discovery 200 years ago.

They found out the explorers didn't get their pens and ink from Office Depot or Wal-Mart. Some pens were homemade from turkey feathers. And inks were made from wild berries or walnut hulls.

Ten-year-old Matthew Kelpe said writing the alphabet with the homemade quill pen and blackberry ink "took almost two times as long."

He and other kids were taking part in a Turkey Pen and Ink class. The Missouri Department of Conservation sponsored the two-hour program Jay Henges Outdoor Education Center.

One hands-on exercise involved writing the alphabet first with a modern ballpoint pen and then with a pen and ink they made themselves. They timed themselves both times.

Matthew from Wildwood, Mo., said, "I had to keep dipping the quill pen into the ink about every two letters or so."

The kids started their exercise with fresh turkey feathers, for the pens, and whole blackberries, for the ink. First, they cut the end of the turkey feather into a point. Then, the point was split so it would hold the ink better.

To make the ink, the kids squished the berries. They filtered out the pulp with a strainer.

By adding vinegar, the juice ink was made to set up better on the paper. Without the vinegar, the ink might wash away if the paper got wet.

Naturalist Shanna Raeker directed the class. After the pens and ink were made, she had them practice writing a journal entry just like Lewis and Clark did.

A total of six original Lewis and Clark explorers kept journals of what they did and saw along the route. It's estimated the journals included over one million words.

Ms. Raeker showed them a sample of the fruit found by Lewis and Clark. She didn't give them the fruit's name. But, the kids were to describe the fruit in a journal entry.

Matthew's sister, 6-year-old Anna, wrote: "It's round, bumpy and smells like an apple. I name it 'round apple.'"

Brother Matthew wrote out his description in cursive. It said: "Today, I discovered a ball-shaped fruit that smells like an apple and is very bumpy. I will name it 'bumpy apple.'"

Seven-year-old Brandi Griffith's description was: "It smells like vegetables. It looks like a ball. A name: Dotty. The color green."

The Cedar Hill youngster explained she called it "dotty" because of the tiny black dots, which cover the outside of the fruit.

Six-year-old Travis Nixon came to the workshop from his home in south St. Louis County. He said the most interesting thing about the exercises "was the fact that Lewis and Clark used similar pens and ink on their journey."

He made up the name "greenel" to describe the fruit.

Lewis and Clark also had to describe the fruit without knowing the name. It was one of the first native plant samples Lewis and Clark collected. They found out later the plant is called either "Osage orange" or "hedge apple."

Their journals also included lots of "first-time" drawings. There were no cameras then.

Indians told Lewis and Clark that the fruit wasn't the most important part of the plant. They liked the wood because it made excellent hunting bows.

The kids had fun creating and using the writing materials. But, they didn't want to trade in their ballpoint pens. Travis Nixon said, "You had to dip the quill pen so often."

They also weren't too sure they'd have survived the two-year Lewis and Clark journey from St. Louis to the Pacific Ocean.

Matthew Kelpe noted how hard it was for Lewis and Clark when they "went over the Bitterroot Mountains and down the Columbia River to the Pacific." He noted they ran out of food in the mountains.

The Kelpe kids also brought a plastic container of walnut hulls. They were going make some walnut ink at home. To make walnut ink, hulls are crushed and soaked in water. The pulp is then strained out. Again, vinegar is added to help the ink set on the paper.

Another type of pioneer ink was made from egg whites, ashes or charcoal and honey.

For more about writing of the Lewis and Clark journals, visit the conservation department's website at http://mdc.mo.gov/kids/out-in/2001/04/1.htm.