Careful where you step.....

[No-till Boss]

In the 'more information than you'd ever want to know' category: I've been reading a bunch lately about my region's history in the ealry 1800s. Been looking mainly at journals and such. One thing that'll strike you immediately is that what historians write about an era is largely bullshit. And secondly how many fucking people died in those times every single year. The number of times I've read about a flood wiping out every home in a river bottom or cholera or typhus killing every child in a family is just heartbreaking. Those really were some strong souls to hang in there like they did.

BKB

Bad water killed and maimed more than almost anything else.

[BarryBobPosthole]

I was just reading last night about this naturalist that came down the Mississippi on a flatboat in about 1817 in the area where I think it is you live, NoTill. Because of the earthquake, in many places the elevation changed ten or eleven feet and many homes, okay that a relative term but many for the time, were flooded in the following years. People got their shit wiped out often it seems like from reading these journals.
This naturalist's name was Nutall. a good read if you're into that stuff.

BKB

Here's the poop on his book.

A Journal of Travels Into the Arkansas Territory: During the Year 1819. By Thomas Nuttall

[Big Muddy]

[QUOTE=No-till Boss.Bad water killed and maimed more than almost anything else.[/QUOTE]

Yep, that and insect pests, which carried so many dreaded diseases....mosquitos were the main hosts and vectors for most contagious diseases.
Btw, the dreaded "flesh-eating" bacteria is the first cousin of cholera.

[BarryBobPosthole]

My ex-wife had an aunt that was in her 90's when I knew her and had moved to Oklahoma prior to statehood. She lost a daughter to cholera in Oklahoma in the 20's and spoke of it as common in her time. She thought it was from contaminated water. She blamed it on outhouse and wells built too close together.
bKB

[Thumper]

I had cholera in Thailand in the 70's. It is some VERY, VERY nasty shit (no pun intended). I think I lost about 10 lbs/day! I was going and blowing from both ends, non-stop about every 1/2 hour. Just the smell of food or the taste of water even would make me barf. My Thai girlfriend at the time was pulling nasty sheets out from under me, sliding clean ones under me and repeating constantly. I couldn't even get out of bed to go to the crapper and I'd just shit the bed.

My well was within 10 feet of the ... heck, I don't know if the village had septic tanks or not ... anyway, the drain for the crapper went into the ground ... no clue what it ran into ... besides my well! I'd strain the skeeter's out of the well water through a t-shirt, then boil the water ... but I guess I got careless once and let some bugs get through. Then again, it could have been any of the street food. What'cha think they washed the veggies, etc. in?

In the very early stages, the frigging Army doctor gave me some antibiotics to treat me for gastritis. I went back and told him I thought I was dying and he told me not to come back in until I'd taken all the pills. The whole time the villiagers were telling me I had "ahua' (no clue how to spell it - Thai for cholera). The Thais kept trying to get me to a Thai doctor, but we'd be given an Article 15 if we went to a non-military doctor. I was on my death bed when one of the villagers carried me down a flight of stairs (my bungalo was on stilts for the rainy season), loaded me into a taxi and took me to the Air Force Base. He turned me over to the AP's at the main gate and they rushed me to the hospital. The AF docs said I was totally dehydrated and most likely wouldn't have lived another day. That was the sickest I've ever been in my life. Everytime I'd start to pass out, I wasn't worried I'd die ... I was worried I WOULDN'T die! Seriously.

[No-till Boss]

I was just reading last night about this naturalist that came down the Mississippi on a flatboat in about 1817 in the area where I think it is you live, NoTill. Because of the earthquake, in many places the elevation changed ten or eleven feet and many homes, okay that a relative term but many for the time, were flooded in the following years. People got their shit wiped out often it seems like from reading these journals.
This naturalist's name was Nutall. a good read if you're into that stuff.

BKB

Here's the poop on his book.

A Journal of Travels Into the Arkansas Territory: During the Year 1819. By Thomas Nuttall

Thanks, I do read about it, it was a incredible interesting period of time. I can't imagine the Mississippi river running backwards for days. I live about 10 miles West of Crowley's Ridge, which is a very strangle hill/ridge line in the middle of ground so flat you can watch your dog run off for days.

[Arty]

I can't imagine the Mississippi river running backwards for days.

Isn't that how reelfoot lake in Tennessee was formed?

[Thumper]

Yeah Arty. I used to swim, camp and fish on Reelfoot. If I remember correctly, it's actually a fault line and the river flowed backwards and filled in the lake after a big earthquake. I may have that a little mixed up ... it's been a long time.

[Arty]

Yeah Arty. I used to swim, camp and fish on Reelfoot. If I remember correctly, it's actually a fault line and the river flowed backwards and filled in the lake after a big earthquake. I may have that a little mixed up ... it's been a long time.

That sounds correct. I used to camp there with my family when I was a teenager.

Most of that lake was actually an Indian reservation. Can you imagine the artifacts at the bottom of that lake!?

[Thumper]

Dang straight! Not lost or discarded items, but EVERYTHING in use at that particular time. I'd sure have to think divers have already been exploring that area. But then again, being a fault line, I have no clue how deep that lake is.