Sanitation Problems

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"The constant presence of living, breathing, defecating, and sometimes dying animals was a constant reminder of nature, even in cities, the most 
artificial of environments."   -Clay McShane, The Horse in the City

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"Dead End: 1905." Shorpy Historical Photo Archive. Detroit Publishing Company.

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"Each year, 20,000 New Yorkers died from 'maladies that fly in the dust, created mainly by horse manure.'"       
                             -Harold Bolce, Appleton Magazine, 1908    

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Dead Horses
In the late 1800s, urban horses worked very hard and typically lived only two years. Disposing of their bodies proved no easy feat.  Hundreds of horses were left on the streets until they were malleable enough to cut and dispose of in pieces.

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"Appleton's for June." Galactic Central. 1908.

"Street-Cleaning and the Disposal of a City's Wastes." George E. Waring. 1987.

Horse Manure
During the summer, manure dried on the streets and created dust; in the winter, the streets turned swampy. Manure attracted millions of flies that carried dozens of diseases, causing a spike in typhoid deaths and infant mortality.  Vacant lots were filled with up to 65 feet of manure. Streets were piled so high with manure that paths had to be dug, so women in long dresses could cross.  This led to "crossing sweepers" on every corner who accepted tips from pedestrians.   

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"Crossing-sweepers depicted in a London cartoon." CartoonStock.

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