"Citizens must look out for themselves and each other in order to not simply survive, but also overcome these events."

That was a recognized fact during the Overland Migration to Calif and OR back in the middle of the 1800s.

The pioneers consisted of people from every walk of life in America. Some didn't have enough horses or oxen for the trip, so they tried to cut down on weight (like food). Some didn't have the experience, and had to learn the hard way or die.

But overall, most recognized that they had to take care of themselves. They would work together to get something done, such as getting wagons across the rivers, and pulling stuck wagons out of sloughs, but they really were dependent on themselves and their immediate families.

There were mentions in diaries of one 12-year-old girl who found a baby amid a family dead of cholera. She picked it up and carried it the rest of the way (OR, I think). At every stop, she would go through the people, find a nursing mother, and ask if she would please nurse the baby. NOT ONCE, they say, was she refused.

Sue