Scientific Document
Benjamin Rush’s Questions for Lewis
A list of medical and ethnographic questions prepared by Dr. Benjamin Rush for Lewis to investigate during the expedition. Rush's questions about Native American health practices, diet, diseases, and customs represent an early systematic approach to ethnographic research and reflect Enlightenment-era scientific curiosity about human diversity.
Rush prepared detailed questions covering Native American medical practices, physical characteristics, diet, diseases, morals, and religion. He also provided Lewis with a list of health rules for the expedition members and assembled the medical supplies, including his famous mercury-based laxative pills. Rush’s questions reflected both genuine scientific inquiry and the cultural assumptions of his era, asking about topics ranging from pulse rates and longevity to religious beliefs and burial customs.
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