The Story of Common Salt

Ponds near Maras, Peru, fed from a mineral spring and used
for salt production since the time of the Incas.

       One of the most valuable and useful of minerals is Common Salt. No one knows when man first began its use.

       If we look at a list of the articles carried over the ancient caravan routes, we find salt listed with incense and spices. Those were the days when offerings were made to pagan gods, and salt was considered precious enough to be offered with gifts of cereals. In some parts of the Orient, it still has a sacred use. The Arabs use an old expression, "To eat salt" to mean there is a sacred bond of friendship between two persons, while in Persia, "Untrue to salt" means a person has been ungrateful.

       The Hopis and Zunis of our own country also have a sacred idea regarding salt. The Hopis had several salt deities. Hurung Wuhti, "The Woman of Hard Substances," was said to have been the sister of the rain gods. After being driven from heaven she was made goddess of salt. The Zunis' "salt mother" was "Mawe," the spirit of their sacred salt lake. At certain seasons, ceremonies are held there. Many wars were been waged between neighboring tribes to keep possession of that lake. It's salt was the finest to be found in the southwest, and had often been found in the ruins of cliff dwellings.

       In the Old Testament, there are thirty-five verses which mention salt. One of these mentions Lot's wife, who was turned into a pillar of salt when she looked back at the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19:26) as they were destroyed. When the judge Abimelech destroyed the city of Shechem, he is said to have "sown salt on it," probably as a curse on anyone who would re-inhabit it (Judges 9:45). The Book of Job contains the first mention of salt as a condiment. "Can that which is unsavoury be eaten without salt? or is there any taste in the white of an egg?" (Job 6:6). In the New Testament, six verses mention salt. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus referred to his followers as the "salt of the earth". The apostle Paul also encouraged Christians to "let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt" (Colossians 4:6). Salt is mandatory in the rite of the Tridentine Mass. Salt is used in the third item (which includes an Exorcism) of the Celtic Consecration (cf. Gallican Rite) that is employed in the consecration of a church. Salt may be added to the water "where it is customary" in the Roman Catholic rite of Holy water.

       In Judaism, it is recommended to have either a salty bread or to add salt to the bread if this bread is unsalted when doing Kiddush for Shabbat. It is customary to spread some salt over the bread or to dip the bread in a little salt when passing the bread around the table after the Kiddush. To preserve the covenant between their people and God, Jews dip the Sabbath bread in salt.

       Salt has been used to mark social positions. Stories of feudal days refer to great dinners of the nobles, and mention certain people as "sitting below the salt." Those of high positions sat between the salt and the lord or baron giving the dinner, while those of lower positions were placed below the dish of salt.

       One of the oldest of Italian roads is the Via Salaria‚ the salt road. Over it were carried the great quantities of salt for the Roman soldiers. Each man was given a certain allowance of salt. Later, the government gave him the money with which to purchase the salt needed. This money was called Salarium. Our word salary comes from it.

       In some places salt took the place of money, as in Tibet, Mongolia and Abyssinia. It was often highly taxed, in some lands so much so that only the wealthy could buy it. The poor must go without. China received a large revenue each year from its salt taxes.

       Many kinds of animals and most peoples should have salt to keep their bodies healthy. Animals in the wild visit salt springs or "salt licks" where the rocks contain salt. Man secures his salt, or sodium chloride‚ as the science books call it, from several sources.

       If he lives near the sea, he may evaporate the sea water, using the sun's heat or artificial heat. Inland peoples may obtain their salt from lakes and seas having no outlets, such as the Great Salt Lake in Utah, or the Dead Sea in western Asia, or it may come from brine wells and deep mines. Some of the world's finest salts come from mines. The most famous salt mine was at Wieliczka, Poland. It was almost an underground city with its 65 miles of galleries and more than 30 miles of railroad.

       Salt in the mineral form is known as "rock salt." Occasionally, it is found in a massive, fibrous form, called "hair salt" but usually it is in cube-shaped crystals. When tinted with red, brown or yellow, it has been colored by other kinds of minerals or vegetable matters seeping in during crystal growth. When pure, rock salt is colorless and transparent. It has several interesting scientific uses. Among them is its use for quickly transmitting heat waves. Especially large crystals are sometimes used in studying the infra-red rays from the sun. The United States and Galicia are said to produce the finest of rock salts.

       In past ages, lagoons and other bodies of sea water deposited their salts in various localities. Sometimes, it formed layers hundreds of feet thick; sometimes, it worked its way into crevices. Today, water flowing naturally through such areas dissolves bits of the salt and in time it reaches the surface, or is pumped up into pans and evaporated. The method of evaporation determines the purity, size of grains, and the different uses to which the salt may be put. We are most familiar with the fine "table salt." The coarser salts are of tremendous value to the makers of chemicals, glass, glazes, enamels and soaps, as well as to the fishermen, meat-packers and dairymen.

       The United States stands high in the production of salt, for it prepares more for the markets than any other land. The salt wells of Michigan are especially noted. Margaret M. Cornell

Redmond Salt Mine in America's Heartland.