Hog Cholera Pamphlet

Dr. Hummer had one advantage at the Canton Asylum for Insane Indians that his counterpart at St. Elizabeths didn’t: acreage to raise livestock. Hummer walked into his job knowing nothing about agriculture or animal husbandry, but he soon learned the advantages of growing his own supplies.

When Hummer took over the facility in 1908, he had three dairy cows and no bull. He wanted to build up his herd so that it could supply all the facility’s milk. By 1923, he increased his holdings of dairy cattle to 17; he routinely sold or slaughtered extra calves. Hummer continually asked for more grazing land so he could increase his herd.

Hogs were a little easier to manage than cattle, and when his herd of hogs increased sufficiently, Hummer was able to cut his beef consumption in half. In the fall of 1923, however, hog cholera struck. Hummer immediately shipped four healthy hogs to the Sioux Falls market, and braced himself to lose the rest. He typically used 200 pounds of fresh pork each week, so it was a blow to lose his  home-grown supply of meat. Hummer asked for funds to buy 12-15 brood sows the next spring, to start a new herd.

Hog Buyer in the Middle of a Hog Pen, 1921, courtesy Library of Congress

USDA Scientists Examine a Pig

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