The Great Horse Epizootic of 1872: “Living Machines” and Technology
Introduction
The second industrial revolution (1870-1914) transformed the urban landscape of the United States.[1] This urbanization and subsequent migration of people across the United States required a massive investment in transportation. Although the railroad quickly transformed itself into the principal means of distance transportation by the 1870s, horses remained the primary means of transportation, distribution, and labor in all significant urban areas.[2] Many would view horses as a "living machine" to be used instead of technology.[3] This reliance on horses permeated every aspect of the economy, and the subsequent overcrowding and overuse of horses created an environment conducive to spreading disease. In September 1872, as few as fourteen horses in Canada contracted symptoms of equine influenza.[4] Within fifty weeks, nearly every horse in all major cities across the United States suffered from equine influenza with a mortality rate of nearly five percent. This resulted in a near stoppage of transportation and distribution as well as deaths of people in at least one city due to the inability to transport heavy fire equipment during a major fire.[5] The Great Epizootic of 1872, as it became known, receded and left urban planners facing the challenge of ensuring it would not happen again. Technological advances, although slow to catch on, eventually replaced horses as the primary means of transportation. Again, this was partially due to The Great Horse Epizootic of 1872.
The Great Horse Epizootic of 1872:
“Living Machines” and Technology
By the 1870s, the horse was the "living machine." [6] This apex of the golden age of horses continued to grow and intertwine with the economy. Horses augmented human strength, productivity, and achievements in the late nineteenth century. Every aspect of the horse stimulated the economy in all facets of urban living. Horses pulled carts, worked in coal mines, were the primary means of public transportation, pulled heavy fire equipment, powered textile mills, and were the backbone of agricultural production. Coal, the primary energy source, relied on horses to transport from the mines and distribute them to cities. The significant developments in steam transportation on land and water increased the reliance on horses through the 1870s.[7] The economy of horses in the cities included leather shops, bridlers, horseshoe makers, fertilizer manufacturers, and streetcar makers. In addition, the large quantities of food to feed horses drove agriculture. In the 1870s, nearly three-fourths of Americans lived in rural areas, and the horse was the mainstay of this existence. The importance of the horse changed the landscape of urban streets. Streets were designed to maximize horses pulling streetcars. This included experimenting with different paving of streets to ensure horses could be more efficient. [8] Horses provided jobs for people in the urban environment and were a cheaper alternative power source for large businesses. For this reason, replacing the horse created an economic quagmire.[9]
Although horses helped build cities, and these cities were built around horses, the Epizootic of 1872 solidified the thought that horses, while indispensable, presented many problems and would remain only until better substitutes could be found.[10] In the census of 1870, 7.1 million horses were counted. This is nearly one horse for every five people in America.[11] New York alone had as many as fourteen thousand horses working daily.[12] Streetcars, the primary use of horses in New York, used the majority of these horses.[13] Although directly tied to the economy, horses also created significant issues in the urban environment.
In Georgia, the number of horses in the state was valued at over half a million dollars, and the glue industry related to horses was nearly 18 thousand per year. [14] Overworked horses that died were left in the streets. Horse manure piled up in the streets and contributed to the spread of disease. The overwork, overcrowding, and poor sanitation created the perfect environment for disease in people and animals. The horse created many problems for the city. This included noise, manure pollution, unsanitary conditions, and problems with the disposal of dead horses. Overworked horses that died would be left in the streets. In 1880, New York City removed 15,000 dead horses from the streets.[15]
Equine influenza was not a new occurrence, but tracing the history of animal illness becomes more complex as earlier accounts of the disease are hard to identify as influenza.[16] Horse influenza dates back to Hippocrates and Livius 330CE. Great Britain and the European Continent saw the appearance of horse influenza several times in the 1700s. [17] Highly contagious and having a rapid incubation period of one to three days, infected horses quickly become weak and have a high fever. The infection renders the horse unusable from two weeks to six months.[18] During this time, the horse cannot work at the same level of efficiency, and without rest, the morbidity rate increases. The spread of the disease is so fast that great tracts of the country are overcome almost instantly. [19] The conditions of overwork and the proximity of horses in stables in the city created the perfect environment for horse influenza to spread. Also, the transportation and overcrowding of horses in rail cars to all major urban areas made the spread rapid across North America. This overcrowding of horses in the streets and overcrowding in stalls created some localized diseases such as spinal meningitis or pink eye during the early 1870s, but this remained localized.[20] In early 1872, equine influenza infected horses and could not be contained.
On November 30, 1872, fourteen horses in Toronto, Canada, showed signs of horse influenza. [21] According to a newspaper article from October 1872, readers started to become alarmed about the initial onset of the horse epidemic. Horse owners and business owners needed help understanding the magnitude of what was to occur in the next month. Rail lines and city transportation were already slowing down in New York. Locals feared all transportation and labor would end without being understood or controlled. [22] The city, already plagued with the daily deaths of horses and increased pollution from horse feces, failed to recognize how the impact would quickly overtake the economy and shut down transportation.
New York, unaware that the epidemic would continue, thought the worst of the disease was over by October 25. They reported no fatal cases. Streetcars were disrupted, but not enough to cause serious issues. [23] In Baltimore, the epidemic had disturbed businesses and halted shipments four days later. In addition, nearly one million bushels of grain were left undelivered due to the shortage of horses. [24] By November, 150 cars and stages were not operational in New York, with an estimated seven thousand horses infected. [25] Estimates show the infection rates for American horses at 80 to 99 percent. [26] Even as early as November 14, businesses began to see a slowdown in receiving and delivery in Louisville. [27]
As it became known, the horse epizootic continued to spread fast, and on November 4, the entire fire department of Boston was struggling to keep sick horses from healthy ones. With the horses down with the Epizootic, businesses were blocked, and the fire department was crippled. Then, on November 9, 1872, at 7:20 pm, the first alarms were sounded for a fire in the business district.[28] This fire increased public outrage and resulted in a reorganization of the fire department the following year. This restructuring led to many changes in how the fire department responded, as well as how the fire department cared for horses used in pulling heavy equipment. Fire engines, designed to be pulled by horses, needed to be faster in arriving as men had to pull them.[29] Steam alternatives were sought to replace horses in many fire departments.
The halt in transportation permeated every aspect of urban life. Street railways and stage lines stopped. Weddings and funerals were delayed due to the lack of horses for transportation.[30] Doctors, reliant on horses for transportation, stopped house calls.[31] Even mail delivery was suspended in some areas.[32] The forges in Pittsburg could not get coal supplies and stopped operations. As a result, housing construction stopped while laborers remained idle.[33] During the Epizootic, cities began seeking alternatives to horses for transportation. Oxen were used but provided little relief. Goods were carried by hand or by wheelbarrow. Idle workers and even boys were used for pulling wagons. During the Epizootic, men were used for pulling streetcars.[34]
Major railways used to transport new horses into urban areas catalyzed the spread of the disease. By January, citizens of Nevada were becoming alarmed by the Epizootic. The epizootic spread across the United States within fifty weeks, and even small towns were impacted. To prepare for the possible twenty to thirty-day transportation stoppage, Pioche suggested oxen should be used to transport water. The Mexican transport of wood from donkeys would not be affected. The advanced notice allowed grocery stores and mining companies to stockpile large goods before the disease. Even with oxen, one freighter of ore in Pioche lost twelve animals to horse influenza.[35]
An impact report, created in 1873, traced the spread of the disease and attempted to advise how to best impede any spread in the future. According to Dr. Judson, who compiled this history and impact report for public health in 1873, the Great Epizootic originated with a few Canadian horses in September 1872 and quickly spread across the Eastern seaboard. It then moved west through the transportation of horses over overcrowded rail lines. Several maps depicted the rapid spread. [36] By the end of the Epizootic, all major urban areas directly impacted businesses and transportation. Although the direct cause of the spread of the disease was unknown at the time, most analytical research suggested that the proximity of horses in an urban environment and the use of horses for transportation aided in the rapid spread. The effects of influenza on commerce and the general welfare of the community are highly injurious.[37] One major issue was the overuse of horses, even after the disease started. Economic pressures made it almost impossible for horses to be given time to recoup. As a result, overworked horses continued to work through the Epizootic at the expense of fatigue and illness.[38] A common misunderstanding at the time reported the cures for infected horses. Some cures involve complex remedies. The best remedy was warmth and comfort with a restrain for heavy labor.[39]
During the Epizootic, almost all significant cities reported severe economic distress from the epidemic, yet afterward, cities were still slow to embrace new technologies. Horses were kept as the primary means of labor and transportation overnight. Instead, they were replaced function by function. Cities, slow to react to The Great Epizootic, began looking to technology and medicine to eliminate the possibility of this occurring again. Although the horse competed with the steam engine at the time, the horse remained a constant source of power and transportation through the end of the century.
The use of electricity to power streetcars hastened the demise of the use of horses after 1888. Cities like Philadelphia outlawed steam-powered vehicles until the epizootic required a temporary lift on the ban during the crisis. Some cities began using the once-banned dummy engines, steam locomotives resembling railroad cars, as a relief.[40]
Although horses created pollution in the form of dung in the streets, people were leery of utilizing steam-powered vehicles due to the smoke and noise pollution. As a result, the use of electric and cable streetcars continued to increase in popularity and cost-effectiveness throughout the 1870s. The Great Epizootic eroded the position of the horse as the primary means of labor and transportation in the urban area. However, the process could have been faster due to the overwhelming cost of replacement with new technology.[41] City councils that banned light steam engines before 1872 halted the bans temporarily during the Epizootic. The initial reason for the ban was probably due to the environmental impact they would have on existing systems. This changed after The Great Epizootic as Boston adopted steam engines and New York authorized light steam engines for thirty days. However, steam-powered alternatives to pull railway cars continued to be slow to catch on.
The change from horsepower to mechanical power remained slow in the western portion of America. The early evolution of transportation in Los Angeles relied upon horses, mules, and donkeys until the gasoline motor and electricity overcame horsepower after mechanical innovations. Mechanical issues of the day slowed the progress of replacing horses. Electricity eventually took over horses as the primary means of streetcar operation.[42] Although steam-powered vehicles had advanced to a practical and cost-effective means of mechanical labor by the mid-1850s and some cities such as New York experimented with steam-powered vehicles in the 1860s, the horse remained the primary means of mechanical production and transportation in 1872.[43] The first prominent steam-powered streetcar opened in 1860 and operated from Third and Market Streets to 16th and Valencia Streets. Although popular, it proved to be a financial failure by 1867 due to the cheap labor provided by horses.[44]
By the 1890s, the slow demise of the horse was hastened by new advances in electric streetcars. The Great Horse Epizootic spurred some entrepreneurs to look for alternatives, but the transportation cost eventually changed large businesses’ use of horses. In 1890, a report compared horse costs to electric streetcars. Horses cost .0372 per mile compared to .02371 for electric streetcars.[45] This is compared to the 1860s, when the steam engine cost 42 percent more per day than the use of horses. [46] The cost of horses decreased between the years 1868 to 1873 from $75.16 to $74.36. [47]
The populous began to look at the horse as a temporary means of labor. As the Epizootic receded, alternatives to horsepower were discussed in several large cities. People began to view the horse as too slow and fallible.[48] The fledgling A.S.P.CA.S.P.C.A. Took notice of the continued mistreatment of horses and created a campaign to replace horses. The goal of the organization sought to reduce the overworked and atrocious conditions surrounding horses as cheap labor. Also, changing attitudes toward the treatment of animals dramatically changed after the 1900s.[49]
Cheap and practical, the horse permeated all aspects of the economy and remained the mainstay of economic growth through the end of the second industrial revolution. For some, utilizing the horse for production was embedded in America's social and traditional culture. However, the rapid growth of the cities, combined with the power that large corporations had over the economy, limited the ability of competition and entrepreneurs. Removing the horse as the primary means of transportation meant changing many aspects of the urban environment and economy. This created an atmosphere where machines and inventions took precedence in the economy. The horse, an integral part of that economy, was slow to be replaced until large corporations took the lead in embracing new technology as the cost decreased.[50] Replacing the horse took time and effort. Americans flirted with replacing horses, but steam engines failed to gain popularity. In addition, steam-powered transportation requires time to build up pressure. This is ineffective for rapidly transporting machinery such as heavy fire equipment.
The Great Epizootic of 1872, even after shutting down transportation across North America, did not lead to an overnight technological revolution. It did, however, start the long process of understanding how horses could only partially sustain economic and industrial growth in the urban environment. Steam power competed with horsepower initially, and even during the Epizootic, people viewed horsepower as more cost-effective and efficient than steam power. As a result, horses maintained a "living machine" status until the advent of electric cable cars and gasoline engines that could compete in the economy.
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