Miriam Berry Whitcher Speaks Her Mind [ 49 ] women here to shut themselves up for about three or four months, & groan with back-ache & "such a pain in the side, & such distressed feelings in the head, it seems as if they should die'.' Hence they regard me with perfect astonishment. I have no back ache, no pain in the side, nor any where else, & I see no use in pretending to have any. Jane says that often when ladies come to call, they say to her at the door "Is Mrs Whitcher up? I do'nt want to disturb her if she's lying down!' "Up?" says Jane "She's never anything else— you could'nt coax her to go to bed in the day time" In the same letter, Miriam related that she had spoken to one of these women callers of her good health and freedom, which provoked the caller to remark, "O I've heard of such cases before, but they're always the sickest in the end— they seldom live'' So that was all the consolation I got from her. Another one on the same day, said to me, "How wonderfully you keep up Mrs Whitcher— well—you're having your easy time now—you're just the build to be awful sick.53 Before Alice was a year old, Miriam's health began to deteriorate rapidly with tuberculosis. The Whitchers spent their time between Whitesboro and Saratoga Springs, the latter a famous resort area since the beginning of the century, well-known for its mineral springs. It was eighty miles east of Whitesboro, a day's trip by rail via Utica, and was the Berrys' traditional vacation spot. The Whitchers had honeymooned there. Miriam hoped that prolonged stays in Saratoga would restore her health. Her literary efforts diminished, but her letters continued to provide a picture of the times. Health was one of the main themes in Miriam's letters, increasingly so as she became preoccupied with her own health. Doctors at that time believed that illness resulted from impurities or imbalances in the body's fluids, or from tensions in the body's nervous system. Cures and remedies took many extraordinary directions. With her various illnesses, Miriam saw more than her share of outlandish prescriptions, and she passed some of these along to us in the voice of Widow Bedott advising Elder Sniffles. O, reverend elder, I intreat you to take care o' yer preshus health. I send you herewith a paper o' boneset, you must make some good stiff tea out, and drink about a quart to-night afore you retire. Molasses and vinegar's a good 53 M. Whitcher to sister, February 25,1848.