In 1820, “OSCAR” wrote to the Arkansas Gazette at Arkansas Post, blaming the general sickness of inhabitants on something other than mosquitoes or “bad air. The fever and ague, which has heretofore been prevalent among the people, was, doubtless, rather owing to their mode of living than to any baneful properties of the atmosphere.” He spoke with several neighbors, who claimed that they “uniformly enjoyed better health in this country, than in the middle or southern states, where they formerly resided.” For Oscar anyone saying that Arkansas had bad soil and sickly air was simply spreading rumors so that they could buy land in the territory at reduced prices. Another Arkansawyer agreed, “The country back from the river has remained quite healthy, especially families living right out on the prairie, so far as I have observed, have been entirely healthy.”[1]
[1] “For the Arkansas Gazette,” The Arkansas Gazette (Arkansas Post), May 27, 1820, 3.
Arkansas Wildlife History 