We hear and read much on the Great Influenza Pandemic of the early 20th century with several theories about its origins. Some researchers suggested that it derived from illnesses recorded in China and in France. Conversely, a writer named John Barry presented a traceable hypothesis. Barry illustrated how the genesis of this globally raging disease could be traced back to Haskell County in Southwest Kansas. The “Great Influenza” raged around the world and killed more than one million people.
In his book, The Great Influenza, Barry recounts a series of cases, treated by Dr. Loring Miner, during the devastating winter of 1918.
More than a country doctor, Miner graduated from Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. Dr. Miner, well-educated in the classics, also sported a reputation of being an expert in many fields, which made him a legend for choosing to practice on the prairie.
When Dr. Miner saw the number of influenza cases in 1918 increasing in Haskell County, and when he saw that this strain was more virulent, violent, and deadly than any other influenza he had treated, he turned all his energies to this disease. Miner began his career before the germ theory of disease had been established; he quickly took to new techniques and advances in his profession. He developed a laboratory in his office and kept abreast of new antitoxins for diphtheria and tetanus. But his scientific knowledge, tests, and inquiries to other colleagues gave no answers for the severity of this new flu strain, or for new treatment beyond bed rest, fluids, and isolation. His concern led him to contact the U.S. Public Health Service, which did not offer assistance or advice, other than to include it in a worldwide journal that listed the severe influenza strains noted in Western Kansas.
While Dr. Miner spent his days treating illnesses and his nights trying to find a cure, life went on for the residents of Haskell County. The nation was in the midst of WW I, and many young men were answering their call to duty, including those who lived in Southwest Kansas. In January and February of 1918 several young men made trips between Haskell County and Camp Funston, a training camp for 56,000 new troops located on the vast military campus of Fort Riley in Eastern Kansas.
The camp had been hastily erected the previous year, and in this record-breaking cold winter, and in violation of army regulations, the barracks and tents were overcrowded and inadequately heated. The troops were not provided with adequate clothing or bedding and were forced to huddle together around camp stoves for warmth. On March 4, a cook at the camp reported ill with influenza at sick call. Within three weeks more than one thousand soldiers were hospitalized, and thousands more needed treatment at infirmaries. During this medical red-flag event, seemingly overlooked, the war raged on and troops were sent to other bases and then overseas, bringing with them not only the possibility of death by gunfire in Europe, but an eventual trail of death world-wide by a disease that had been warned of by a country doctor in Haskell County, Kansas. Interred in Garden City, Dr. Miner’s descendants remain in Finney and Hamilton counties.
Information used for this story came from John M. Barry’s book, The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History. Also, thanks to the Haskell County Historical Museum staff for their assistance. For High Plains Public radio, I’m Debra Bolton in Manhattan KS.
Special thanks to Lynn Boitano for additional production assistance.
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High Plains History is a production of High Plains Public Radio.
