Lions, Monkeys, and Cholera in Galt

Every so often I come across a story or an historical event that just seems so bizarre, or so unbelievable, that I can’t believe that I haven’t heard of it already – such is the excitement of research. This is the story of how a travelling menagerie did or didn't bring cholera to Galt in 1834.

One of the showmen arrived in the village a couple days ahead of the menagerie, and claiming to feel ill was seen by a local doctor and determined to be suffering from “Asiatic cholera”. (Young, 99) Dr. Miller had had some experience with the disease in Montreal in 1832, and was concerned that it had spread further into the Canadas. Authorities in the village were loath to cancel the upcoming event despite the showman’s illness as the promise of increased revenue and heightened community stature was just too sweet to pass up.

1830 Advertisement for a similar attraction (minus the cholera) from Illinois, United States.

The exhibition took place as planned on Monday July 28, 1834. Despite the reportedly malodourous conditions of the animals and their cages, crowds were drawn from across Dumfries Township, as well as from “Waterloo, Beverly, Woolwich, [and] Blenheim”. (Young, 98) Once arrived, visitors became privy to the gossip regarding the ill showman. One attendee mentions in a letter bound for Hamilton that such talk was “hushed down lest it might injure the Show, or hurt the stir of the tavern”. (Young, 101)

On Tuesday, the exhibition, as well as village life seemed to go on as usual; however, by Wednesday it was clear that something was terribly wrong. The doctor was reportedly much busier than usual, and by sundown five persons were dead and many more were complaining of symptoms. On Thursday the village effectively shut down – businesses were closed, and people remained in their homes, save for the 33 who were now buried. Occurrences of the cholera pandemic began to subside by the end of the week, and survivors were giving the rest of the community further hope that the pestilence had passed. (Young, 101-102)

In 1834, the village of Galt had approximately 200 residents – nearly 1/5 of which fell victim to the disease. (WREM) Modern claims that the village was nearly depopulated as a result of the outbreak seem a little exaggerated (Kohn, 58), especially considering that the population not only bounced back but grew to 1000 people only six years later (Campey, 139).

This story certainly deserves, and needs, more research. How is a disease that is spread through contaminated food or drinking water brought to a small village by a single showman? What was the fate of that showman? Was it simply co-incidence that cholera hit just as the menagerie was arriving, and that a contaminated water source is really to blame? A year later (1835) it was released that there were cholera-related deaths as close as 12 miles southwest of the village, four days prior to the showman’s arrival (Stimson, 12). I will note as well that in 1835, it was believed that the pestilence was spread through the foul and hot airs circulating within the enclosed menagerie tent, and was made worse by the stench of the animals on display.

Sources

James Young's 1880, Reminisces of the Early History of Galt and the Settlement of Dumfries in the Province of Ontario.

Waterloo Region Emergency Management (WREM), 2011, "History Book"

George C. Kohn’s 2008, Encyclopedia of Plague and Pestilence: From Ancient Times to the Present.

Lucille H. Campey’s 2005, The Scottish Pioneers of Upper Canada, 1784-1855: Glengarry and Beyond.

Elam Stimson’s 1835, The Cholera Beacon: Being a Treatise on the Epidemic Cholera: As it Appeared in Upper Canada 1832-4.

Further Reading

Marian A. Patterson’s 1958, “The Cholera Epidemic of 1832 in York, Upper Canada”