Horse Flu: The Great Epizootic of 1872

Transcript
0:00 this episode of the history Guy brought
0:02 to you by ground news the world's first
0:04 news comparison platform
0:11 slightly the price of eggs has gone up
0:13 or sometimes it's hard to find chicken
0:14 at the grocery store and that's because
0:16 last year there was a major outbreak of
0:18 avian flu we spent a lot of time talking
0:21 about human illnesses like flu and gosh
0:23 covid-19 but the price of eggs tell us
0:26 that outbreaks among animals called
0:28 episodics impact us too and one in 1872
0:31 caused a lot more inconvenience than
0:34 just a rise in the price of eggs in fact
0:35 much like covid-19 it caused major
0:38 economic and social upheaval because
0:40 before the Advent of motorized
0:42 Transportation horses were the backbone
0:45 of Transportation in America in a major
0:47 flu outbreak among horses nearly
0:49 crippled the nation
0:50 the great episodic Of 1872 deserves to
0:55 be remembered
0:56 [embedded ad script redacted]
2:20 historyguy
2:21 the influenza A virus is quite
2:24 interesting because it infects humans
2:25 but also various animals including bats
2:28 Birds pigs horses sheep ferrets cats
2:31 dogs whales and even seals humans can
2:34 infect animals animals can infect humans
2:36 and one species of animal can infect a
2:38 completely different species these are
2:40 called variant influenza viruses and
2:42 therefore the common with approximately
2:43 one case of swine flu infecting a human
2:45 every year a strain of horse flu jumped
2:48 to dogs at a racetrack used for both
2:49 events in 2004.
2:52 because of cross-species infection
2:54 people with pets should be careful to
2:55 wash their hands when sick with seasonal
2:57 influenza to protect not only other
2:59 human household members but also their
3:01 animal friends according to CDC it is
3:03 not at all uncommon for cats to catch
3:05 seasonal flu from their owners and in
3:07 2016 a veterinarian contracted bird flu
3:09 from a cat
3:11 the relationship between animal and
3:13 human influenza has been known since at
3:15 least the 19th century with the 1872
3:17 report of the United States Commissioner
3:19 of Agriculture noting that the frequent
3:21 coexistence of an episodic Qatar in man
3:24 and horse and to lesser extent in other
3:26 animals lends some color to the
3:29 hypothesis that they are due to closely
3:31 Allied pauses
3:32 this report continues to suggest that
3:34 although Veterinary records throughout
3:36 history are few and imperfect records of
3:38 human influenza epidemics May shed some
3:40 light on possible equine epidemics
3:43 we know that as far back as 415 BC
3:45 Hippocrates and Olivia's mentioned an
3:47 extraordinary number of mucosal maladies
3:49 presumed to be the flu in the human
3:51 population of Greece and Rome and also
3:54 in the Athenian Army in Sicily but the
3:57 first record of flu-like symptoms in
3:58 horses is from the Greek veterinarian
4:00 absurdists in approximately 330 A.D then
4:03 in 1299 an equine influenza swept
4:06 through Europe being described by
4:07 laurentius russius an Italian
4:09 veterinarian who wrote the first printed
4:11 book on horses as such the horses
4:14 carried his head drooping would eat
4:16 nothing ran from the eyes and there was
4:18 a hurried beating of the flanks the
4:20 malady was epidemic and in that year one
4:22 thousand horses died
4:24 horses have played an integral role in
4:26 humanity for Millennia but a 2012 study
4:29 in the proceedings of the National
4:30 Academy of Sciences notes that despite
4:32 Decades of research across multiple
4:34 disciplines the early history of horse
4:36 domestication remains poorly understood
4:38 studying the mitochondrial DNA of modern
4:41 horses the study's authors conclude that
4:42 horses were most likely domesticated in
4:45 the western Eurasian steps some six
4:46 thousand years ago they conclude that by
4:49 showing that horse domestication was
4:50 initiated in the western Eurasian step
4:52 and that the spread of domestic herds
4:54 across Eurasia involved extensive into
4:56 aggression from the wild the scenario of
4:58 horse domestication proposed here unites
5:00 evidence from archeology mitochondrial
5:02 DNA and why chromosome DNA but a 2012
5:06 edition of science cautions not all
5:08 researchers are convinced however
5:10 archaeologist Marcia Levine of the
5:12 University of Cambridge thinks that
5:13 using modern genetic samples to retrace
5:15 horses evolution is a dead end there's
5:17 been a mixing of cultures and a mixing
5:19 of horses in this region for many
5:20 thousands of years she said and so when
5:22 you're looking at any modern horse you
5:24 just don't know where it's from
5:26 despite their undetermined Origins the
5:28 domestication of horses directly
5:29 impacted human history it allowed
5:31 further and faster travel and Military
5:33 advantages it affected the transmission
5:35 of languages and disease the use of
5:37 horses made agricultural easier and
5:39 increased trade and thus early
5:41 veterinarian studies prioritize horses
5:43 and how to keep them healthy As Cities
5:46 grew horses became integral to their
5:47 operation and the great flow of goods
5:49 that drove the Commerce both within and
5:51 between metropolises
5:53 most modern medical experts agree that
5:55 flu viruses spread through contact with
5:57 viral particles in droplets from an
5:59 infected individual on average about
6:01 eight percent of the US human population
6:02 contracts the virus each year today
6:05 we're cautioned to wash our hands and
6:06 cover our mouths but in 1872 prior to
6:09 widespread acceptance of germ Theory and
6:11 20 years before viruses were discovered
6:13 horse owners were unaware of how to stop
6:15 the spread of infection
6:16 Smithsonian Magazine noted in 2020 horse
6:19 owners had a few good options for
6:20 staving off infection they disinfected
6:22 their Staples and proved the animal's
6:24 feed and covered them in new blankets
6:25 one wag wrote in a Chicago Tribune that
6:28 the nation's many abused and overworked
6:30 horses were bound to die of shock from
6:32 this sudden outpouring of kindness
6:35 in late September 1872 the first cases
6:37 of an outbreak of horse flu were
6:39 reported about 15 miles outside of
6:40 Toronto Canada in the townships of York
6:43 Scarborough and Markham equine influenza
6:46 has an infection rate of almost 100
6:47 percent in unvaccinated horse
6:49 populations in a short incubation period
6:51 of just one to three days by October 1st
6:54 it had spread to Toronto within three
6:55 days it infected all major stables in
6:57 the city
6:58 the October 9th edition of the Ottawa
7:00 Daily Citizen stated that there are
7:02 generally plenty of horses to be seen
7:04 about the streets of the city but
7:05 yesterday very few were to be met with
7:07 and more than one person who had to
7:09 leave town early found that a cab was
7:11 almost impossible of attainment
7:13 the article continues the cause of this
7:15 dearth of the means of locomotion is a
7:18 ketural fever of an episodic nature
7:20 accompanied by sore throat hacking cough
7:23 redness of the nasal mucous membrane hot
7:25 mouth stirring coat and cold extremities
7:28 all symptoms sufficiently alarming the
7:31 writer ends with let us hope in the
7:32 present case that there is nothing more
7:34 serious than a severe General influenza
7:36 amongst the horses now we shall have
7:38 experienced about a brief period the
7:39 inconvenience of a partial deprival of
7:41 the services of the noble animal it
7:44 should be noted that the recovery time
7:46 from equine influenza is usually around
7:48 two to three weeks with veterinarians
7:50 generally recommending a week of rest
7:51 per day of fever in at least three days
7:54 minimum rest so the disruption was not
7:57 going to be brief
7:59 the virus spread onward having infected
8:01 Montreal and Quebec by October 18th and
8:04 entering the U.S within the month
8:05 presumably from several sick horses
8:07 brought into Detroit on October 10th or
8:09 11th there it was known as the Canadian
8:12 horse disease and was reported in
8:13 Buffalo New York on October 14th
8:15 on October 20th it had reached
8:17 Pennsylvania the next day reports came
8:19 from New Hampshire
8:20 Boston Jersey City Brooklyn New York
8:22 reported cases on October 22nd the next
8:24 day Connecticut Rhode Island Vermont
8:26 Maine Ohio and Illinois on October 24th
8:29 the New York Herald reported 15 000
8:31 horses stricken with chills and fever on
8:33 October 26 they listed the number as
8:35 thirty thousand an entire page the
8:38 newspaper described the conditions at
8:39 various Stables that day and noted soon
8:41 New Yorkers it is to be feared will have
8:43 to cry with almost as much earnestness
8:45 as Richard III my kingdom for a horse
8:48 and will be gladdened by no response a
8:52 poem written by a dmj was published in
8:55 the Indianapolis journal on November
8:57 22nd not a sound was heard in the silent
9:00 street is home from the concert we
9:01 hurried we found Not A Streetcar
9:03 Carriage nor bus and we felt
9:05 considerably worried we hailed a driver
9:07 we used to know and hurriedly ask him
9:09 the reason he said as he sadly lowered
9:12 his head the horses
9:14 were all a sneezing
9:17 Experts of the day were befuddled James
9:19 law professor of veterinary science at
9:21 Cornell University wrote in the 1872
9:23 report by the United States Commissioner
9:25 of Agriculture that neither temperature
9:27 nor climate nor electricity nor magnetic
9:30 conditions nor even remarkably acrid or
9:32 fetid fogs affected the transmission of
9:34 the equine influenza the equine
9:37 population fell swiftly to the infection
9:38 the cost being heard throughout the
9:40 street until the owners were forced to
9:41 stop using them for fear of working them
9:43 to death in the Boston Globe Daniel
9:46 Doherty of Beverly Street sent 25
9:48 healthy horses out at noon and by
9:49 Nightfall all were reported sick
9:52 this forced immobilization of entire
9:54 fleets of horses and brought cities to a
9:56 temporary halt
9:58 streets were described as empty and
9:59 deserted storehouses at docks were
10:01 brimming with cargo and goods that were
10:03 not being distributed by horse and cart
10:04 as quickly as they were arriving by boat
10:07 street car companies were forced to take
10:09 fewer trips and so the cars that were
10:10 running were overly full stressing the
10:12 animals that were still able to work
10:14 the economic impact was instantaneous
10:16 with the New York Herald reporting that
10:17 it cost more to transport Goods than the
10:20 cost of the goods themselves
10:21 the New York send further detailed that
10:23 one Daemon demanded and received 42
10:26 dollars approximately the equivalent to
10:28 a thousand dollars today for one load of
10:30 cotton a job taking no more than an hour
10:32 and a half
10:33 the editors of the Richmond Virginia
10:35 daily State Journal alleged that the
10:37 horse disease is a Calamity seriously
10:39 affecting the business interest of the
10:40 city it is worse it is the excuse for
10:44 extortion
10:45 The Baltimore Sun claimed that the
10:46 Washington Market was losing nearly
10:48 fifty thousand dollars a day in October
10:50 the Montpelier Vermont daily State
10:52 Journal wrote the episodic has already
10:54 cost the country Millions Professor Sean
10:57 karaj of York University in Toronto
10:59 wrote in a 2013 edition of the journal
11:01 environmental history whether on the
11:03 streets of Boston or the streets of New
11:05 Orleans horses powered the flow of goods
11:07 and people within Urban environments
11:09 they also biologically linked those
11:11 environments to one another the sudden
11:13 loss of that power revealed the common
11:14 characteristic and vulnerability of
11:16 North American cities as equine habitat
11:19 and the transportation Network that
11:20 could bind cities into a single disease
11:23 pool
11:24 by rail by water and by hoof Professor
11:27 karage concludes
11:28 the great episodic flowed through the
11:30 North American Urban Network as if
11:32 through blood vessels revealing the
11:34 intimate material interconnections among
11:36 cities that tied their ecologies
11:38 together although not particularly
11:40 deadly fatalities range from less than
11:42 one percent in many rural areas up to
11:44 five and even 10 percent in some urban
11:46 areas it's made a drastic impact on the
11:48 workforce where populations exceeded a
11:50 hundred thousand there was an average of
11:52 one horse for every 15 people the 1870
11:54 United States census recorded 7.1
11:57 million horses 1.1 million mules and 39
12:00 million people
12:02 in 1880 New York's horse car ridership
12:04 was approximately 161 million passengers
12:07 pulled by over 11 000 horses and mules
12:10 on 136 miles of track
12:12 it is estimated that prior to 1910 90
12:15 percent of all Public Works Agriculture
12:17 and resource Industries utilized
12:18 horsepower they were used not only for
12:20 moving goods and people including the
12:22 mail doctors milk and hearses but to
12:24 power ferry boats they drove gears and
12:26 Mills and factories to saw wood and pump
12:28 water they worked underground in mines
12:30 to lift coal out
12:32 without horses in the mines that loomed
12:34 the threat of a fuel shortage fuel
12:35 prices skyrocketed produce that wasn't
12:38 being distributed right at the Docks so
12:40 steamships cut back their Freight which
12:42 affected the wages of the Dock Workers
12:44 mail went out more slowly via
12:46 wheelbarrows and social events dwindled
12:48 who wants to walk to a wedding or a
12:50 funeral
12:51 the Boston Globe noted a sad falling off
12:54 for churches is none but the most devout
12:55 appeared at services
12:57 sale of disinfectants and various
12:59 remedies however flourished some stable
13:02 hands declared that a fair mixture of
13:03 good Common Sense was essential and a
13:05 stimulating liniment to the threats of
13:07 the horse other options included
13:09 tinctures of arsenic or gin and Ginger
13:12 some suggested using a bucket of hot
13:14 water with chamomile under the animal's
13:15 nose and placing a blanket over the head
13:17 for a steaming effect
13:18 an apothecary by the name of Mr Hollis
13:20 created a mixture which appeared to be
13:22 hot drops with a tincture of tansy
13:25 burning tar was thought to dispose the
13:27 male order CeCe Potter of number 243
13:30 friend Street added a burnt boot to the
13:32 mix for good measure or supposedly a
13:35 happy combination of both expectorant
13:37 and fumigation
13:39 some offered little food to the sick who
13:41 didn't have much of an appetite anyway
13:42 While others thought that to be
13:43 ridiculous food after all is energy
13:46 the sanitary superintendent in Chicago
13:48 reminded owners that not working sick
13:50 animals is not only Humane but
13:52 economical since they will recover
13:54 sooner
13:55 suffice it to say that opinions were
13:57 across the board some didn't believe the
13:58 epidemic to even be real and not every
14:00 horse was sick and some Stables seem to
14:02 have avoided it altogether
14:04 one stable hand claimed to be able to
14:06 treat his sick charges as well as any
14:07 Vagabond Veterinary surgeon in the
14:09 United States
14:11 some unusual changes were found quite
14:13 amusing Boston seem to have quite the
14:15 sense of humor when the Metropolitan
14:17 band Led three teams of 200 men pulling
14:19 loads of cabinet organs to the docks a
14:22 team of oxen pulled a carriage causing
14:23 much amusement and a reprieve from the
14:25 Sullen mood on November 9th the outbreak
14:27 of the Great Boston fire the engines had
14:29 to be hauled by men rather than horses a
14:31 job for which the fire department's
14:33 chief engineer had preemptively hired
14:34 Extra Man and investigations conclude
14:36 that their response was delayed by only
14:38 minutes
14:39 the front page of the Baltimore Sun on
14:41 October 31st covered the epidemic in
14:43 detail
14:44 stating that hundreds of mules were
14:45 brought in to substitute for disabled
14:47 horses in that 50 cows had recently died
14:49 from the same illness
14:51 the Alton Telegraph on December 20th
14:53 added a new little ditty Mary had a
14:55 little lamb she asked a man to shoot it
14:57 and when he went to kill the lamb it had
15:00 the episodic
15:01 the disease ended up spreading from Nova
15:03 Scotia down to Florida across the
15:05 country along Rail lines even to Mexico
15:07 Cuba and Central America there were
15:09 outbreaks along the west coast in the
15:11 spring of 73. the impact of the great
15:13 episodic Of 1872 was enormous
15:16 Smithsonian Magazine opined that the
15:18 pandemic caused economic and social
15:20 paralysis comparable to what would
15:22 happen today if the gas pumps went dry
15:24 and the electrical grid went down and
15:27 it's kind of hard to imagine that we
15:28 could have had a gas crisis before we
15:30 had automobiles but what that really
15:32 says is is that commerce was so
15:34 interconnected at the time that a
15:36 problem in one place could easily spread
15:38 to other places and then reveal
15:40 vulnerabilities throughout the entire
15:41 system which is very much like the
15:44 supply chain crisis that we've been
15:45 dealing with recently
15:47 but like all epidemics the illness did
15:49 slowly fade and the economy slowly
15:51 recovered you might have thought that
15:52 this would have compelled cities to move
15:53 to Alternative forms of transportation
15:55 but the technology just wasn't there yet
15:57 the first electric street car wasn't
15:58 installed in America until 1885 and
16:01 motorized buses and trucks weren't
16:03 really available until the turn of the
16:04 century and for the most part life went
16:06 on after the great episodic pretty much
16:08 the way that it had before perhaps its
16:10 greatest impact though was to remind us
16:12 all of how important these animals were
16:14 to society which bolstered public
16:16 support for the nation to animal rights
16:19 movement which was seeking legislation
16:20 for the protection and care of animals
16:25 I hope you enjoyed this episode of the
16:27 history guide check out our community on
16:29 the
16:30 historyguyguild.mocals.com our webpage
16:32 at thehistoryguy.com and our merchandise
16:35 at teespring.com or book a special
16:37 message from the history guy on Cameo
16:39 and if you'd like more episodes of
16:41 Forgotten history all you have to do is
16:43 subscribe
16:44 [Music]
16:49 [Applause]
16:56 [Music]

Two things -- the time index is set to 2:20 to skip THG's paid ad, and the 1872-73 flu outbreak was one of the bad, killer flu strains in the 19th century. This new vid got me wondering about it, as the cemetery out here in The Boonies got fattened up by it, including with family members from long before I was born.

That was very interesting. I checked some other sources and luckily only 1-2 percent of horses died but this outbreak brought the nation to a complete halt.

It's interesting that, due to the mechanization of agriculture (thanks in large part to Henry Ford), and despite a large increase in the US population, the amount of land under cultivation declined overall in the first half of the 20th century, since the horses didn't have to be fed whether working or not.

The History Guy has a very good channel with interesting videos. And not political or woke.

I also love his fashion sense.

After I watched this one (and some other non-history vids) I watched his vid on the 1962 Sino-Indian War, very good!

I love it when these vids *trot* out obscure events.

Oh, what a doofus, I set the time index to t=140 instead of t=240. [blush]

Oh, what a doofus, 140 is 2:20, which is correct after all. [blush]

I remember that around Y2K, the Boston Globe was laughing at predictions that never came true from 1900. They only revealed their stupidity with this one:

The eradication of the house fly from our streets.

Or something to that effect.

What they’re really showing is that they don’t understand like in 1900. Flies were in incredible swarms because the streets were literally lined in horse poop. Not a little; a LOT. With the flies came typhus, cholera, dysentery, consumption...

Switching to gas-power prevented all those diseases.

THG has 12 more flu vids:

https://www.youtube.com/@TheHistoryGuyChannel/search?query=flu

Oh, and few dozen show up this way:

https://www.youtube.com/@TheHistoryGuyChannel/search?query=influenza

toldinstone has one:

https://www.youtube.com/@toldinstone/search?query=flu

Penn Museum has one:

https://www.youtube.com/@pennmuseum/search?query=flu

...the streets were literally lined in horse poop.

And dead horses. They had crews that patrolled the street for them and hauled them off. Our sustainable, carbon-neutral future.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=influenza+19th+century

I never saw this on Gunsmoke.

I still remember the VEE (Venezuelan equine encephalitis ) back in 1962-1964. Lots of people also got it and according to news sources back then it caused a change in personality in the survivors.

It’s remarkable how many ways there are to croak out.

https://search.brave.com/search?q=Venezuelan+equine+encephalitis

Gina Kolata in her book “Flu” notes that the 1890s killer flu was apparently similar to the 1918 “Spanish Lady” in that, anyone who’d survived the earlier outbreak didn’t even get the sniffles during the 1916-1920 version.

Years ago I asked some old relatives about it, one of them asked what I meant, and when reminded, said, “oh yeah, that was a bad one.” And that’s it. “that was a bad one.” Heh...

https://www.aspentimes.com/news/a-19th-century-influenza-presages-the-20th-century-pandemic/

Transcript
0:00	this episode of the history Guy brought
0:02	to you by ground news the world's first
0:04	news comparison platform
0:11	slightly the price of eggs has gone up
0:13	or sometimes it's hard to find chicken
0:14	at the grocery store and that's because
0:16	last year there was a major outbreak of
0:18	avian flu we spent a lot of time talking
0:21	about human illnesses like flu and gosh
0:23	covid-19 but the price of eggs tell us
0:26	that outbreaks among animals called
0:28	episodics impact us too and one in 1872
0:31	caused a lot more inconvenience than
0:34	just a rise in the price of eggs in fact
0:35	much like covid-19 it caused major
0:38	economic and social upheaval because
0:40	before the Advent of motorized
0:42	Transportation horses were the backbone
0:45	of Transportation in America in a major
0:47	flu outbreak among horses nearly
0:49	crippled the nation
0:50	the great episodic Of 1872 deserves to
0:55	be remembered
0:56	[embedded ad script redacted]
2:20	historyguy
2:21	the influenza A virus is quite
2:24	interesting because it infects humans
2:25	but also various animals including bats
2:28	Birds pigs horses sheep ferrets cats
2:31	dogs whales and even seals humans can
2:34	infect animals animals can infect humans
2:36	and one species of animal can infect a
2:38	completely different species these are
2:40	called variant influenza viruses and
2:42	therefore the common with approximately
2:43	one case of swine flu infecting a human
2:45	every year a strain of horse flu jumped
2:48	to dogs at a racetrack used for both
2:49	events in 2004.
2:52	because of cross-species infection
2:54	people with pets should be careful to
2:55	wash their hands when sick with seasonal
2:57	influenza to protect not only other
2:59	human household members but also their
3:01	animal friends according to CDC it is
3:03	not at all uncommon for cats to catch
3:05	seasonal flu from their owners and in
3:07	2016 a veterinarian contracted bird flu
3:09	from a cat
3:11	the relationship between animal and
3:13	human influenza has been known since at
3:15	least the 19th century with the 1872
3:17	report of the United States Commissioner
3:19	of Agriculture noting that the frequent
3:21	coexistence of an episodic Qatar in man
3:24	and horse and to lesser extent in other
3:26	animals lends some color to the
3:29	hypothesis that they are due to closely
3:31	Allied pauses
3:32	this report continues to suggest that
3:34	although Veterinary records throughout
3:36	history are few and imperfect records of
3:38	human influenza epidemics May shed some
3:40	light on possible equine epidemics
3:43	we know that as far back as 415 BC
3:45	Hippocrates and Olivia's mentioned an
3:47	extraordinary number of mucosal maladies
3:49	presumed to be the flu in the human
3:51	population of Greece and Rome and also
3:54	in the Athenian Army in Sicily but the
3:57	first record of flu-like symptoms in
3:58	horses is from the Greek veterinarian
4:00	absurdists in approximately 330 A.D then
4:03	in 1299 an equine influenza swept
4:06	through Europe being described by
4:07	laurentius russius an Italian
4:09	veterinarian who wrote the first printed
4:11	book on horses as such the horses
4:14	carried his head drooping would eat
4:16	nothing ran from the eyes and there was
4:18	a hurried beating of the flanks the
4:20	malady was epidemic and in that year one
4:22	thousand horses died
4:24	horses have played an integral role in
4:26	humanity for Millennia but a 2012 study
4:29	in the proceedings of the National
4:30	Academy of Sciences notes that despite
4:32	Decades of research across multiple
4:34	disciplines the early history of horse
4:36	domestication remains poorly understood
4:38	studying the mitochondrial DNA of modern
4:41	horses the study's authors conclude that
4:42	horses were most likely domesticated in
4:45	the western Eurasian steps some six
4:46	thousand years ago they conclude that by
4:49	showing that horse domestication was
4:50	initiated in the western Eurasian step
4:52	and that the spread of domestic herds
4:54	across Eurasia involved extensive into
4:56	aggression from the wild the scenario of
4:58	horse domestication proposed here unites
5:00	evidence from archeology mitochondrial
5:02	DNA and why chromosome DNA but a 2012
5:06	edition of science cautions not all
5:08	researchers are convinced however
5:10	archaeologist Marcia Levine of the
5:12	University of Cambridge thinks that
5:13	using modern genetic samples to retrace
5:15	horses evolution is a dead end there's
5:17	been a mixing of cultures and a mixing
5:19	of horses in this region for many
5:20	thousands of years she said and so when
5:22	you're looking at any modern horse you
5:24	just don't know where it's from
5:26	despite their undetermined Origins the
5:28	domestication of horses directly
5:29	impacted human history it allowed
5:31	further and faster travel and Military
5:33	advantages it affected the transmission
5:35	of languages and disease the use of
5:37	horses made agricultural easier and
5:39	increased trade and thus early
5:41	veterinarian studies prioritize horses
5:43	and how to keep them healthy As Cities
5:46	grew horses became integral to their
5:47	operation and the great flow of goods
5:49	that drove the Commerce both within and
5:51	between metropolises
5:53	most modern medical experts agree that
5:55	flu viruses spread through contact with
5:57	viral particles in droplets from an
5:59	infected individual on average about
6:01	eight percent of the US human population
6:02	contracts the virus each year today
6:05	we're cautioned to wash our hands and
6:06	cover our mouths but in 1872 prior to
6:09	widespread acceptance of germ Theory and
6:11	20 years before viruses were discovered
6:13	horse owners were unaware of how to stop
6:15	the spread of infection
6:16	Smithsonian Magazine noted in 2020 horse
6:19	owners had a few good options for
6:20	staving off infection they disinfected
6:22	their Staples and proved the animal's
6:24	feed and covered them in new blankets
6:25	one wag wrote in a Chicago Tribune that
6:28	the nation's many abused and overworked
6:30	horses were bound to die of shock from
6:32	this sudden outpouring of kindness
6:35	in late September 1872 the first cases
6:37	of an outbreak of horse flu were
6:39	reported about 15 miles outside of
6:40	Toronto Canada in the townships of York
6:43	Scarborough and Markham equine influenza
6:46	has an infection rate of almost 100
6:47	percent in unvaccinated horse
6:49	populations in a short incubation period
6:51	of just one to three days by October 1st
6:54	it had spread to Toronto within three
6:55	days it infected all major stables in
6:57	the city
6:58	the October 9th edition of the Ottawa
7:00	Daily Citizen stated that there are
7:02	generally plenty of horses to be seen
7:04	about the streets of the city but
7:05	yesterday very few were to be met with
7:07	and more than one person who had to
7:09	leave town early found that a cab was
7:11	almost impossible of attainment
7:13	the article continues the cause of this
7:15	dearth of the means of locomotion is a
7:18	ketural fever of an episodic nature
7:20	accompanied by sore throat hacking cough
7:23	redness of the nasal mucous membrane hot
7:25	mouth stirring coat and cold extremities
7:28	all symptoms sufficiently alarming the
7:31	writer ends with let us hope in the
7:32	present case that there is nothing more
7:34	serious than a severe General influenza
7:36	amongst the horses now we shall have
7:38	experienced about a brief period the
7:39	inconvenience of a partial deprival of
7:41	the services of the noble animal it
7:44	should be noted that the recovery time
7:46	from equine influenza is usually around
7:48	two to three weeks with veterinarians
7:50	generally recommending a week of rest
7:51	per day of fever in at least three days
7:54	minimum rest so the disruption was not
7:57	going to be brief
7:59	the virus spread onward having infected
8:01	Montreal and Quebec by October 18th and
8:04	entering the U.S within the month
8:05	presumably from several sick horses
8:07	brought into Detroit on October 10th or
8:09	11th there it was known as the Canadian
8:12	horse disease and was reported in
8:13	Buffalo New York on October 14th
8:15	on October 20th it had reached
8:17	Pennsylvania the next day reports came
8:19	from New Hampshire
8:20	Boston Jersey City Brooklyn New York
8:22	reported cases on October 22nd the next
8:24	day Connecticut Rhode Island Vermont
8:26	Maine Ohio and Illinois on October 24th
8:29	the New York Herald reported 15 000
8:31	horses stricken with chills and fever on
8:33	October 26 they listed the number as
8:35	thirty thousand an entire page the
8:38	newspaper described the conditions at
8:39	various Stables that day and noted soon
8:41	New Yorkers it is to be feared will have
8:43	to cry with almost as much earnestness
8:45	as Richard III my kingdom for a horse
8:48	and will be gladdened by no response a
8:52	poem written by a dmj was published in
8:55	the Indianapolis journal on November
8:57	22nd not a sound was heard in the silent
9:00	street is home from the concert we
9:01	hurried we found Not A Streetcar
9:03	Carriage nor bus and we felt
9:05	considerably worried we hailed a driver
9:07	we used to know and hurriedly ask him
9:09	the reason he said as he sadly lowered
9:12	his head the horses
9:14	were all a sneezing
9:17	Experts of the day were befuddled James
9:19	law professor of veterinary science at
9:21	Cornell University wrote in the 1872
9:23	report by the United States Commissioner
9:25	of Agriculture that neither temperature
9:27	nor climate nor electricity nor magnetic
9:30	conditions nor even remarkably acrid or
9:32	fetid fogs affected the transmission of
9:34	the equine influenza the equine
9:37	population fell swiftly to the infection
9:38	the cost being heard throughout the
9:40	street until the owners were forced to
9:41	stop using them for fear of working them
9:43	to death in the Boston Globe Daniel
9:46	Doherty of Beverly Street sent 25
9:48	healthy horses out at noon and by
9:49	Nightfall all were reported sick
9:52	this forced immobilization of entire
9:54	fleets of horses and brought cities to a
9:56	temporary halt
9:58	streets were described as empty and
9:59	deserted storehouses at docks were
10:01	brimming with cargo and goods that were
10:03	not being distributed by horse and cart
10:04	as quickly as they were arriving by boat
10:07	street car companies were forced to take
10:09	fewer trips and so the cars that were
10:10	running were overly full stressing the
10:12	animals that were still able to work
10:14	the economic impact was instantaneous
10:16	with the New York Herald reporting that
10:17	it cost more to transport Goods than the
10:20	cost of the goods themselves
10:21	the New York send further detailed that
10:23	one Daemon demanded and received 42
10:26	dollars approximately the equivalent to
10:28	a thousand dollars today for one load of
10:30	cotton a job taking no more than an hour
10:32	and a half
10:33	the editors of the Richmond Virginia
10:35	daily State Journal alleged that the
10:37	horse disease is a Calamity seriously
10:39	affecting the business interest of the
10:40	city it is worse it is the excuse for
10:44	extortion
10:45	The Baltimore Sun claimed that the
10:46	Washington Market was losing nearly
10:48	fifty thousand dollars a day in October
10:50	the Montpelier Vermont daily State
10:52	Journal wrote the episodic has already
10:54	cost the country Millions Professor Sean
10:57	karaj of York University in Toronto
10:59	wrote in a 2013 edition of the journal
11:01	environmental history whether on the
11:03	streets of Boston or the streets of New
11:05	Orleans horses powered the flow of goods
11:07	and people within Urban environments
11:09	they also biologically linked those
11:11	environments to one another the sudden
11:13	loss of that power revealed the common
11:14	characteristic and vulnerability of
11:16	North American cities as equine habitat
11:19	and the transportation Network that
11:20	could bind cities into a single disease
11:23	pool
11:24	by rail by water and by hoof Professor
11:27	karage concludes
11:28	the great episodic flowed through the
11:30	North American Urban Network as if
11:32	through blood vessels revealing the
11:34	intimate material interconnections among
11:36	cities that tied their ecologies
11:38	together although not particularly
11:40	deadly fatalities range from less than
11:42	one percent in many rural areas up to
11:44	five and even 10 percent in some urban
11:46	areas it's made a drastic impact on the
11:48	workforce where populations exceeded a
11:50	hundred thousand there was an average of
11:52	one horse for every 15 people the 1870
11:54	United States census recorded 7.1
11:57	million horses 1.1 million mules and 39
12:00	million people
12:02	in 1880 New York's horse car ridership
12:04	was approximately 161 million passengers
12:07	pulled by over 11 000 horses and mules
12:10	on 136 miles of track
12:12	it is estimated that prior to 1910 90
12:15	percent of all Public Works Agriculture
12:17	and resource Industries utilized
12:18	horsepower they were used not only for
12:20	moving goods and people including the
12:22	mail doctors milk and hearses but to
12:24	power ferry boats they drove gears and
12:26	Mills and factories to saw wood and pump
12:28	water they worked underground in mines
12:30	to lift coal out
12:32	without horses in the mines that loomed
12:34	the threat of a fuel shortage fuel
12:35	prices skyrocketed produce that wasn't
12:38	being distributed right at the Docks so
12:40	steamships cut back their Freight which
12:42	affected the wages of the Dock Workers
12:44	mail went out more slowly via
12:46	wheelbarrows and social events dwindled
12:48	who wants to walk to a wedding or a
12:50	funeral
12:51	the Boston Globe noted a sad falling off
12:54	for churches is none but the most devout
12:55	appeared at services
12:57	sale of disinfectants and various
12:59	remedies however flourished some stable
13:02	hands declared that a fair mixture of
13:03	good Common Sense was essential and a
13:05	stimulating liniment to the threats of
13:07	the horse other options included
13:09	tinctures of arsenic or gin and Ginger
13:12	some suggested using a bucket of hot
13:14	water with chamomile under the animal's
13:15	nose and placing a blanket over the head
13:17	for a steaming effect
13:18	an apothecary by the name of Mr Hollis
13:20	created a mixture which appeared to be
13:22	hot drops with a tincture of tansy
13:25	burning tar was thought to dispose the
13:27	male order CeCe Potter of number 243
13:30	friend Street added a burnt boot to the
13:32	mix for good measure or supposedly a
13:35	happy combination of both expectorant
13:37	and fumigation
13:39	some offered little food to the sick who
13:41	didn't have much of an appetite anyway
13:42	While others thought that to be
13:43	ridiculous food after all is energy
13:46	the sanitary superintendent in Chicago
13:48	reminded owners that not working sick
13:50	animals is not only Humane but
13:52	economical since they will recover
13:54	sooner
13:55	suffice it to say that opinions were
13:57	across the board some didn't believe the
13:58	epidemic to even be real and not every
14:00	horse was sick and some Stables seem to
14:02	have avoided it altogether
14:04	one stable hand claimed to be able to
14:06	treat his sick charges as well as any
14:07	Vagabond Veterinary surgeon in the
14:09	United States
14:11	some unusual changes were found quite
14:13	amusing Boston seem to have quite the
14:15	sense of humor when the Metropolitan
14:17	band Led three teams of 200 men pulling
14:19	loads of cabinet organs to the docks a
14:22	team of oxen pulled a carriage causing
14:23	much amusement and a reprieve from the
14:25	Sullen mood on November 9th the outbreak
14:27	of the Great Boston fire the engines had
14:29	to be hauled by men rather than horses a
14:31	job for which the fire department's
14:33	chief engineer had preemptively hired
14:34	Extra Man and investigations conclude
14:36	that their response was delayed by only
14:38	minutes
14:39	the front page of the Baltimore Sun on
14:41	October 31st covered the epidemic in
14:43	detail
14:44	stating that hundreds of mules were
14:45	brought in to substitute for disabled
14:47	horses in that 50 cows had recently died
14:49	from the same illness
14:51	the Alton Telegraph on December 20th
14:53	added a new little ditty Mary had a
14:55	little lamb she asked a man to shoot it
14:57	and when he went to kill the lamb it had
15:00	the episodic
15:01	the disease ended up spreading from Nova
15:03	Scotia down to Florida across the
15:05	country along Rail lines even to Mexico
15:07	Cuba and Central America there were
15:09	outbreaks along the west coast in the
15:11	spring of 73. the impact of the great
15:13	episodic Of 1872 was enormous
15:16	Smithsonian Magazine opined that the
15:18	pandemic caused economic and social
15:20	paralysis comparable to what would
15:22	happen today if the gas pumps went dry
15:24	and the electrical grid went down and
15:27	it's kind of hard to imagine that we
15:28	could have had a gas crisis before we
15:30	had automobiles but what that really
15:32	says is is that commerce was so
15:34	interconnected at the time that a
15:36	problem in one place could easily spread
15:38	to other places and then reveal
15:40	vulnerabilities throughout the entire
15:41	system which is very much like the
15:44	supply chain crisis that we've been
15:45	dealing with recently
15:47	but like all epidemics the illness did
15:49	slowly fade and the economy slowly
15:51	recovered you might have thought that
15:52	this would have compelled cities to move
15:53	to Alternative forms of transportation
15:55	but the technology just wasn't there yet
15:57	the first electric street car wasn't
15:58	installed in America until 1885 and
16:01	motorized buses and trucks weren't
16:03	really available until the turn of the
16:04	century and for the most part life went
16:06	on after the great episodic pretty much
16:08	the way that it had before perhaps its
16:10	greatest impact though was to remind us
16:12	all of how important these animals were
16:14	to society which bolstered public
16:16	support for the nation to animal rights
16:19	movement which was seeking legislation
16:20	for the protection and care of animals
16:25	I hope you enjoyed this episode of the
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16:44	[Music]
16:49	[Applause]
16:56	[Music]