American West: Problems for Homesteaders

Problems homesteaders faced:

1. Building a house There was little wood to build log cabins.

Solutions: Settlers built 'sod houses', while they lived out of doors - people did their cooking on an open fire.

2. Dirt and disease Outdoor toilets and open wells. The sod houses leaked, and fleas and bedbugs lived in them 'by the million'. It was impossible to disinfect the floor. As a result the death rate, especially from diphtheria, was high.

Solutions: A 'good thick coat of whitewash' killed bedbugs. 'A layer of clay' stopped leaks. Homesteaders eventually built more modern houses.

3. Housework There was no wood for fuel,…