Vaccinations
As for compelling or persuading any great number of Indians to submit to the insertion of a certainly diabolical medicine in a scratch on their arms, consult the records first…
1837 Mandan Cholera Epidemic
This was the second time smallpox had ravaged the Mandans, for it was an epidemic toward the end of the eighteenth century that had made them move from their old…
Cholera in 1835
At Bellevue there was an inexplicable delay in getting the train ready. Then there was a further delay and when the impatient watchers on the Green finally met their companions…
Mormon Emigration Numbers
It took three more years before all of them [Pottawatomie settlers] could be removed to Utah. In addition to the 500-600 wagons of 1849, about 700 went out in 1850,…
Mormon Cholera in 1849
Egan, traveling the south side in the midst of the fuirst great surge of the California gold rush, met company after company hurrying as if trying to outrace the taint…
Cholera During the Gold Rush
The secret enemy of the gold-seekers was cholera. It had appeared initially in the United States in 1832-34, dissipated, and then burst again in the winter of 1848-49. From 1849 until 1854,…
Mountain Fever
"And as [the emigrants] got to thinner air they encountered a new malady, a prostrating seizure of nausea and violent headaches, frequently complicated by still another kind of dysentery. Bryant,…
Emigrant Deaths
"Gold fever unleashed a white tsunami across native lands, eroding emigrant-Indian relations and muddying heretofore friendly waters. Hordes of emigrant cattle stripped grass from river valleys. Emigrant campfires burned up sparse wood supplies.…
Reasons for Emigrating
"What made people head west in rising numbers, even before the days of gold? One important factor was disease. Midwestern farmers, especially those in the swampy bottomlands along the Missouri and Mississippi…
Cholera Along the Platte
"The swampy drainage of the Platte extended several hundred yards from the main river channels. The expanse of standing pools of brackish water and salty, alkaline mudflats often began just a few…
Caches Disguised as Graves
"In 1849 Capt. Stansbury found one marked grave which, 'instead of containing the mortal remains of a human being, had been a safe receptacle for divers casks of brandy.' J.G.…
Trailside Graves
"[E]migrants 'had a horror of being buried without a coffin,' but this dismal piece of furniture was too cumbersome to take along 'just in case.' While still within reach of…
Trailside Graveyards
"While isolated graves were the rule, there would be 'many places with 12 to 15 graves in a row,' and Ezra Meeker once counted 57 at one campground. Such clusters…
Changing Attitude Toward Cholera Victims
"While families might grieve, the attitude of emigrants generally toward their fallen associates underwent gradual change as they moved westward. If death occurred during the first few weeks out, as…
Cholera Symptoms and Treatment
"Although some who contracted the disease lingered for many days, it usually struck suddenly, and often the victim was dead within hours, usually after 'great agony.' Diarrhea was such a…