I agree it seems a little silly to downvote especially if you follow the instance. If I had to make a guess, if you don’t follow this instance and this post appears in your “All” or “local” feed, then some users might downvote because it’s not relevant to them or they don’t like the topic of cannibalism…or maybe their finger slipped.
My favorite Vic scene is when he sings “The Best is Yet to Come” with Sisko, Avery Brooks is such a great singer.
However, the scene is contrasted with the fact that in the scene previous O’Brian was strip searched by a hologram guard. Julian asks him what happened to which O’Brian retorts “I don’t want to talk about it”. The rest of the crew join in the musical ensemble but I can’t imagine O’Brian was really in the singing mood after that ordeal.
Yea the cannibalism is the hook but the whole story is enthralling. Thanks for the rec, I see this book is listed in “further reading”, I gotta check it out!
One aspect that struck me too was that American law did not apply west of the continental divide, so justice within the wagon train was decided by the group. Also, families within the wagons had a hierarchy and carried debts between one another if they borrowed one another’s supplies. I never really thought about the economics and different classes of people traveling together. Even when they were dying in the cabins (which were separated by miles) at Truckee lake, one family member coughed up $25 ($1000 today) to buy the ox carcass from another family… it’s crazy they didn’t pool resources and try to survive together.