Imagine the sunburn you'd get from being outside from sunup to sundown every day for six months. No sunblock. No lotion. That was reality for the California-bound 49ers -- most wound up with leathery, sunbaked skin. But that was just the beginning.

Imagine sweating profusely in 90 degree heat day after day -- but never taking a bath or shower. That too was typical of life on the trail.

And remember, this was before the days of t-shirts and shorts. Women wore long dresses for the most part, and men wore long pants. And there wasn't even much changing of clothes. They wore the same clothes day after day.

Could it get any worse? Yes. They often had no choice but to drink rancid water, which had the inevitable result: diarrhea. For many, it was a chronic condition.

All these factors combined to create some rather deplorable hygienic conditions. Even the native tribes were repulsed by the smell. The Native Americans, who bathed regularly, thought the emigrants were uncivilized because of their poor hygiene.