Now that you mention it.....

Ya know, after yesterday's post concerning HORSES, as a means of transportation, I just sorta let my mind drift along on it's own meandering path (I guess when I'm a little older, they'll call that dementia!) and I thought of all those westerns I've watched on TV over the years. Never, Ever, in not nary a one of them, did they EVER show horse dung (road apples) ANYWHERE. Now you & I know dang well, that when EVERYONE rode a horse, there HAD to be horse dung all over the place! Guess that would've been a little too much realism for TV (Ha!! talk about your 'reality' shows!) BUT....now that I've broached the subject....just think about it! WHO TOOK CARE OF REMOVING IT?? Did the town pay some guy to shovel it up into his wagon & cart it to the edge of town?? And how far would he have to haul it to make the townspeople happy? What would a job like that have paid back then?? And what would you call that person? 'Dung Deputy' ?? Gosh, and then when he did get to the "dumping area", he had to shovel it all OUT of the wagon. (the tilt bed had not yet been invented) Can you imagine the flies?? Geez!! (I would certainly hope he didn't use that wagon for anything else!!) Something tells me this guy probably didn't have many friends...and he certainly would NOT have had a wife! I would imagine NO ONE would be able to get close to the guy for the stench. Poor fella!
Well, since my mind continues moving in this bizarre direction....wonder what facilities were available for the PEOPLE in town? I'm sure every homestead probably had their own outhouse....but what about in town?? Did the Hotel have an outhouse, or just chamberpots under the beds?? Geez!! Here we are again...WHO'S GONNA EMPTY THE CHAMBER POTS?? The Dung Deputy?? How 'bout the general store?? The shopkeeper & his family generally lived above the store. They had private quarters, so it's not like you could just ask 'can I use your bathroom'?? (Hell, I think "bathrooms" came into existence many years later) And what about the SALOON??? If any of you are beer drinkers...you KNOW how many trips to the potty you make in just one night of revelry. And if we are to believe the movies....the Saloon was always full of patrons....all drinking. Where did they "GO"?? Most, I'm guessing, simply relieved themselves outside the back door. (Is this why town councils were created?? SOMETHING had to be done to deal with the odorous conditions!) I can just see it now....the first town council meeting to discuss the cesspool at the back of the "Dead Dog Saloon". The council members were evenly split on the issue & tempers were rising. Some thought things should just remain the way they had 'always been', and others considered it with an idealistic, and futuristic point of view. If the town was EVER to become a thriving metropolis, this matter had to be dealt with once and for all! Why, rumor had it that the railroad was surveying for a new line of track! Didn't they want the new railroad & the business it would bring??
Oh, but I'm forgetting myself & going off on a tangent. Just proves, though, that anytime you start getting political, SHIT STILL STINKS!!