Natalee Caple's Blog - Posts Tagged "immunization-in-the-old-west"

Hey so I was reading some of the reviews of In Calamity's Wake and I noticed one person had a question about whether or not Calamity Jane could have known that eating scabs could potentially immunize her against small pox. In fact immunization (or variolation) goes back at least to the 15th century in China and Africa and came to the US around the 17th century but was unpopular for religious reasons. The earliest forms were of inhaling powdered scabs. Could Calamity have known this? I don't know. I was looking for a reason why she felt comfortable caring for people with smallpox and why she never became infected. I propose two reasons why she would risk her life this way: that she had had it and survived but some loved ones had not survived and so she felt compelled to care for others going through what she remembered from her childhood. 2) that she had been told by someone (she has friends who are former slaves and friends in Chinatown and friends who are doctors) that this form of immunization exists even if it is not popular.