w w w . d i s t i n c t l y m o n t a n a . c o m
49
THE LEGACY
OF POOR HYGIENE
Not everyone in the Old West was
disgusting. In fact, the farther you
found yourself from town, the better
chance you had of maintaining a
level of cleanliness that approached
acceptability by modern standards.
Most Native Americans had it down
pat, camping near water sources
whenever possible—lakes, rivers,
hot springs—so that bathing was
easy and routine. A varied diet of
fresh meat, roots, and berries helped
maintain digestive health and largely
avoid the diarrhea, constipation, and
dysentery that plagued the average
miner or soldier who subsisted on
hardtack and booze. Additionally,
nomadic tribes moved to new camps
often enough that accumulated
trash and human waste rarely
proved to be the health hazard
it was in town.
A lot can be learned about
the character of a nation from
its past, but only when
the past is acknowl-
edged as a whole rather
than cherry-picked for
its most attractive parts.
Thankfully, in terms of
personal hygiene we have
come a long way. All the
same, perhaps future
generations will look
back at us and lament
our abysmal hygiene
habits. Only time
will tell.
Charlie Russell Chew-Choo Dinner Train
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A full beard WAS RECOMMENDED BY
VICTORIAN-ERA DOCTORS AS A WAY TO
STAVE OFF DISEASE, THE LOGIC BEING THAT
it acted as a sort of air Filter.
