Mountain Neurosis
Like Narcissa and Eliza the women were casting the lines that emigrant wives were to follow - botanizing, collecting curious pebbles, gaping at the scenery, putting on their nightgowns and…
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…
Whitman Massacre
The story of the Whitman massacre, next to the story of the Donner Party, was probably the most widely-circulated on the frontier. When Marcus Whitman treated children for measles, white children (more…
Prairie Medicine
"Captain Marcy outfits his prairie traveler with a 'little blue mass, quinine, opium, and some cathartic medicine put up in doses for adults.' I limited myself to the opium, which is invaluable when…
Dirty Water
"Strong coffee most likely was served always, and the enlightened cook with his coffee pot would waste no time in getting down to the draw for his water supply before the thirsty…
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…
Cholera Numbers
"'The road from Independence to Fort Laramie is a graveyard,' McCollum wrote, and he put the number of burials at 1,500 to 2,000, which would be an overall mortality rate…
Spread of Cholera
"All of these complaints and illnesses of the Great Migration pale into insignificance, however, beside the great killer Asiatic cholera. Variously spelled in diaries colory, chollery, of coleramer, this virulent…
Diseases on the Trail
"The gamut of contagious diseases associated associated with childhood are indicated as causes of adult death on the Trail: whooping cough, measles or vareloid, mumps, and smallpox. Other serious conditions…
Disease and Death
"While the journey up the Platte River Road may have been a joy and tonic for some, far too often it was an ordeal in which, after running the gauntlet…