In an early chapter of my novel Equal and Alike,I describe the fear of Cholera in Independence, Missouri. That city was the “jumping-off place” for many gold seeking pilgrims in the 1840s and 1850s inroute to California. Just the mention of the word “Cholera” was enough in centuries past to cause people to break and run.
There have been as many as 10 pandemics of the dread disease. The first recorded cholera pandemic occurred in 1817 near Calcutta,India. The condition spread as people traveled from India to Southeast Asia, the Middle East, eastern Africa and, the Mediterranean coast. Hundreds of thousands died.
Repeated outbreaks leading to pandemics broke out in various places around the world.Millions and millions of people lost their lives to this horrendous malady.
It is argued that the cholera epidemic that hit the United States, just about the time of the gold rush, was transported by the Irish who abandoned their homeland due to the Potato Famine.
More than one million Irish weighed almost certain starvation if they remained in Ireland, versus possible death by disease, starvation or violence if they sailed to the Americas. A multitude chose immigration to the New World.
The voyages by ship were fraught with fetid conditions and malnutrition. It is said that those in steerage were stuffed into holds of ships where they existed for up to twelve weeks, often without toilet facilities. Serious illness and death were common.
Hundreds of thousands arrived in Canada. Many immigrated into the United States and some joined in the race for gold in California.
The probable cause of cholera was not established until 1854. That year a physician in London hypothesized that contaminated water may be the source. It was not until 1861 that medical professionals worldwide began to believe the method of cholera transmission was due to consuming fetid water.
In my story, Joshua the main character experiences some of the radical methods to stifle the dread disease. Mention is made of septic conditions prevalent in pilgrim camps at the edge of Independence, Missouri.
San Francisco, a very important location in my novel. had its share of cholera, particularly after the devastating fires that destroyed virtually the entire city on multiple occasions. The squalor, endemic with massive increases in population, brought on many deadly diseases including, cholera, and other maladies like the plague and
typhoid. In Equal and AlikeI discuss conditions in San Francisco that contributed to the outbreak of cholera.
I believe it is worthwhile to dwell on living conditions in mid-19th century. The good old days were not always that good. As they say, “History repeats itself.” Will we see a reprise in the 21st Century, considering the state of affairs in San Francisco today, in many ways resembling the circumstances described in Equal and Alike? Is there a possibility of a reoccurrenceof old and almost forgotten diseases? I cannot help but ponder the point.
For discussions of Cholera in Mid-19th Century, read my novel Equal and Alike