u/Neverendingcirclez

I've been enjoying the little house books more as an adult than when I read them as a kid. They offer a window into a world that doesn't exist anymore. I love the way the books describe the minutia of every day life of ordinary people. It's those every-day details which so often disappear from our collective memory. They were obviously written as children's books, so obviously subjects that were a real part of her life like (attempted) SA, menstruation or alcoholism aren't covered. But there is one thing I keep thinking about as I read the books. I know this is going to sound like a joke, but I'm honestly curious, where did they poop?

When they're traveling in the great plains, she describes a landscape so flat you can see for miles, so where did they go to poop? Did they just do it in front of everyone else. Did they walk out into the distance? Did they do it behind the wagon while everyone else looked away? Did they have toilet paper? They would sometimes go days without a source of water. Did they have water to wash their hands after pooping? In On Plum Creek, they were stuck together in a one room sod cutout. I don't remember her mentioning an outhouse. Was there one? During the blizzard, did risk life and limb to go out through the snow to the outhouse? If they stayed at home, did they have a chamber pot? If so, did you have to use it in the same room as everyone else? Did it just get chucked out the front door afterwards? I have so many unanswered questions about pooping in settler times.