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