You do not want to know how many rodent droppings and hairs are allowed in spices today. Bob Doerr in the beautiful Missouri Ozarks Please see http://www.rollanet.org/~bdoerr/state.htm ----- Original Message ----- From: <SReif1956@aol.com> To: <MO-STLOUIS-METRO-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, September 13, 2003 7:10 PM Subject: [StL-Metro] RE: More Cholera > I don't know this to be totally true, but I heard that the rat droppings were > the culprit in large cities regarding Cholera. > > The rats tended to live in the filthy dirty roadway gutters (fancy sewer > systems were not invented yet in the mid 1800s) and alleyways where trash and rain > runoff and sewage usually landed. When someone used a bucket of water to mop > their wooden floors, the dirty water was thrown into the streets. The runoff > water usually went downhill to a spot where it would collect, and sometimes > seep into areas where people may be drawing their water for drinking. They > would not have know where this water originated. > > These little rat varmits ate whatever they could, and didn't bother to wash > their little paws either. Lets face it, garbage was thrown where ever people > wanted to throw it. Food scraps were sometimes used for compost for those who > knew how to use it in their small gardens, but restaurants and eateries, I am > sure did not have to follow strict guidelines when it came to cleanliness. Or > at least they did not have inspectors on their backs like they do today. I > am sure that there were dumping grounds in just about every neighborhood, > whether in the US or Europe. Rats loved that stuff, and kept coming back to where > the scraps originated...where the people were. > > Disinfectant sprays and soaps were not available like today. Rats could run > along kitchen and store shelves and leave their droppings everywhere. They > could have climbed in amongst the produce and other food stuffs and left their > calling card. By daybreak, they were snug in their holes asleep until the next > night when it was time to go looking for stuff that people threw out. Water > was not purified, unless boiled. But did people boil their drinking water? > Probably not, especially if it was drawn from a well. Sometimes people got > their water from the river, too. St. Louis is a prime spot for getting all the > water you want from 2 major rivers. But would you want to bathe in it or drink > it? Maybe some people were educated enough that they knew drinking water > needed to be purified. Others right off the boat would not have been so smart. > Just because water came from a jack pump in the kitchen tub did not mean it > was clean enough to drink. The people just followed the ways of their old > country. > > Thank goodness for the plumbing industry. God save the Jacuzzi!!! > > Sharon > > > ==== MO-STLOUIS-METRO Mailing List ==== > A complete Genealogy just can't be...there's always more. > > >