What Was Hygiene Like In The Wild West?

[Music] hygiene in the old west was about what you'd expect which is to say practically non-existent people who made their way west across the continent contended with harsh terrain and often harsher weather survival was the number one concern and finding a nice spot to bathe just couldn't be much of a priority today we're going to take a look at what hygiene was like in the wild west but before we get started be sure to subscribe to the weird history channel and let us know in the comments below what other wild west topics you would like to hear about now quit your fussing because we're gonna get knobby on the necessaries dust was everywhere in the wild west and heavy winds and dust storms were common they would send clouds of dirt and grime into homes and businesses alike while threatening the lives of both settlers and their livestock according to one sarah raymond herndon a young girl who made the journey from missouri to the montana territory in the late 1860s the dust along the trail was almost knee-deep in some places on one occasion after walking 20 miles in one day her party camped for the night sarah observed that the boys faces were covered in so much dirt one could just see the apertures where eyes nose and mouth were through the dust [Music] being that the wild west was wild many people just relieved themselves in the woods however outhouses were also a common part of frontier life typically built close to houses and homesteads for reason of safety and convenience the average outhouse was just a hole with a wooden structure erected above it when the hole filled up it was covered with dirt and then the wooden structure would be re-situated over a new hole typically dug nearby outhouses as you probably imagined were not pleasant smelling and people would often try to mask the foul odors with lime or lie bugs were commonly found inside out houses including flies and black widow spiders the latter of which tended to bite people as they sat down to do their business have fun thinking about that next time you visit the loo modern toilet paper didn't exist yet so people had to use whatever was available this often included leaves grass and corn cobs youch that's a real painful clean while not all beds in the american west were made from hay and straw most were this being the case the bedding material wasn't changed often which typically led to infestations by lice and other things you probably wouldn't want to share your bed with known as seams squirrels such infestations made sleeping less than hygienic and if that isn't bad enough flies commonly found their way into foodstuffs and human waste and poorly insulated buildings were usually swimming in mosquitoes screens on windows were rare so bugs could follow people from their homes to the outhouses and back carrying with them particles of anything they'd pick up along the way surviving in the wild west meant having a supply of clean water and it wasn't always easy homesteaders would often build out houses that would leak into the ground and contaminate the water for those who live downstream from them something that wasn't always known by the people who used the water rain would often be collected in cisterns but that had its own issues dust and other contaminants were easily mixed in making the problem worse was that stagnant water would attract flies and other insects that would leave waste and excrement behind as they hovered over the water in the interest of preserving the water they did have people would often refrain from washing clothes or dishes if they did clean such household goods it would often be with used bath water speaking of which when it came to bathing entire families would often reuse the same tub of water over and over again for a week sometimes even longer there's nothing better than ending a long hard day's work than sitting back and relaxing in a warm tub of family filth dirty family bathwater stew frank clifford was an associate of billy the kid who was also known to go by the names john menom whiteman and john francis wallace clifford wrote a memoir about his time in the american west that is notable for providing details of the soap weed mexican women use to wash their hair made from the yucca plant soap weed left the hair soft and clean and lustrous and clifford said he used it many times himself those who didn't favor soap weed made soap from animal fat which was harsh and was known to cause skin irritation luckily there wasn't much of an emphasis on washing body odor was just considered a natural part of life in fact it was widely believed that too much cleanliness endangered one's health by opening the pores to germs and diseases so people had little motivation to bathe frank clifford may have washed his hair with soap weed but there were other forms of shampoo available for example whiskey yep some cowboys were so tough they literally had their hair done by jim beam but as it turns out whiskey had many uses in the wild west including everything from disinfecting to pain relief when mixed with lavender and castor oil it made for a fairly effective shampoo that was rinsed with rainwater or water softened with borax as for the women after a good brushing or combing they would often curl their hair using heated pencils spit was a thing back in the wild west first off the bars in most saloons had a rail or series of hooks that held towels patrons would use to wash excess beer foam off of their mouths hygiene not being much of a priority the towels weren't washed between uses by different people so they passed saliva from one patron to the next and aided in the spread of germs and diseases but an even greater problem was that chewing tobacco was incredibly popular the fronts of bars were also typically lined with spittoons and cuspadores for those who wanted to spit the spit would be covered in sawdust which seems like a common sense way to dry it out but it didn't actually work that well diseases like pneumonia and tuberculosis ran rampant moreover the sawdust itself became a breeding ground for germs and since saloons often rented their floors to weary travelers people would actually sleep right on the diseased muck things got so bad some municipalities were moved to try and curb the excessive spinning or outright ban the practice spitting on trained platforms and in train stations was made illegal and was punishable by a 500 fine a year in prison or maybe even both being a cowboy in the wild west usually meant spending long days out on the range without bathing for most cowboys soldiers and other men their lack of cleanliness would only be interrupted by the occasional dip in a local river or stream for obvious reasons this was usually done during the warmer months which meant that in winter most guys just skipped bathing all together women on the other hand were usually a little better emphasis on a little they would typically wash their hands and faces in the morning however a lack of privacy coupled with the average western woman's sense of modesty usually prevented much more than that when it came to laundry men usually went longer periods without washing their clothes as well when they did bother clothes were usually just rinsed in a river stream or whatever the closest water source was [Music] laundry plumbing and dishwashing in the old west were usually accomplished with water that was also used for drinking so it was very common for diseases to break out at camps and settlements cholera for example was both common and deadly often ending the lives of settlers and native americans alike in the 19th century a series of cholera outbreaks among the mormons claimed untold thousands of lives the mormons saw it as punishment from god and a test of their faith at the same time the disease was spreading from overland trails to tribal communities where it was wiping out large numbers of natives in 1873 there were cholera outbreaks in at least 18 states and territories these outbreaks were often used as excuses to scapegoat unpopular communities such was the case in the dakota territory where russian immigrants were blamed by some from the medical community for bringing cholera to the territorial capital at yankton one doctor described the russians as lower class peasants who were filthy in their persons and their habits they were blamed for the outbreak though and of course it was actually part of a much larger epidemic [Music] it's important to note that the hygiene practices in the old west weren't monolithic different people from different cultures often took very different approaches to cleanliness and grooming for example while westerns favored the straight razor for shaving not everyone followed suit archaeological evidence found at deadwood south dakota in 2005 supports the idea that the large population of chinese immigrants who lived and worked there didn't shave at all rather they would use tweezers to pluck their hairs out one by one out out [Music] when visiting a town your average cowboy was likely to treat themselves to a haircut shave and maybe if they were feeling extravagant some scented hair tonic like katie's glam rock stars some of the most well-known figures from the wild west were their hair long among those with luxurious locks were james butler hickok aka wild bill as well as the notorious general george armstrong custer custer is even said to have scented his hair with cinnamon oil the trends would turn back to shorter hair in the late 19th century [Music] tooth care in the old west was a relatively primitive affair toothbrushes were uncommon people would frequently use their knives to pick out food from between their teeth and some stagecoach stops and public establishments would offer community toothbrushes ah no thanks i'll pass if a tooth became problematic it would usually just be pulled despite the existence of famous gunslinging dentist john henry doc holliday oral care professionals were incredibly rare those who needed a tooth pulled usually turned to barbers or blacksmiths who would remove the sawtooth with tools that were basically fancy pliers no anesthetic was used but for pain management patients were prone to taking a shot of whiskey or two or maybe three make that four so what do you think how long will your modern day sensibilities last in the wild west let us know in the comments below and while you're at it check out some of these other videos from our weird history

Channel: Weird History

Views: 911,627

Rating: 4.9341335 out of 5

Keywords: Wild West Hygiene, The Wild West, Keep Clean Wild West, America during the Wild West Era, Weird History, Weird History Wild West, American History, History of Hygiene, 1880s, outhouses, Bed Bugs, infectious diseases, unsanitary conditions Old West, dusty American west, Cholera outbreaks, epidemic diseases, soap-weed, Hygiene Health America, wild west bathing practices, dental history, tooth extraction, Wild West Sanitation, Drunk History, Absolute History, Today I Learned, USA

Id: nOg00Q08Wek

Length: 11min 3sec (663 seconds)

Published: Sun Oct 04 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/DolanUser]

Yes, we often don't appreciate what luxus we live in and how actually young it is.

[u/AwShootMe]

A quick dip in a mountain stream and a can of pomade will set you right! Maybe carry some herbs in your satchel.

[u/John_Hick]

A "deluxe" bath