Cuba, to inspect the productions of those places.

On returning from her travels among the islands she settled down again
to nurse her mother's invalid boarders, and before long married one of
them, a Mr. Seacole. Her married life was, however, short for Mr.
Seacole died a few months after the wedding. A little later her mother
passed away, and Mary Seacole was left without relatives in Jamaica.
She continued to manage the boarding-house; but her generosity to the
poor was so unlimited that when she had a bad season she was without
money to support herself. However, she struggled on until her
boarding-house was once more filled with well-paying invalids. But in
1843 she had a very serious loss; her house was burnt in a fire which
destroyed a large portion of Kingston. The boarding-house was,
however, rebuilt, and prosperity returned. Many a white man asked her
to become his wife, but she refused every offer, and devoted all her
spare time to the task of adding to her store of medical knowledge.
Several naval and military surgeons, surprised to find that her
knowledge of medical matters was, for a woman, great, assisted her with
her studies.

In 1850 cholera broke out in Jamaica, and raged for a greater portion
of the year, and a doctor who was living at Mary Seacole's house gave
her many valuable hints concerning the treatment of cholera cases.
Before long the knowledge thus obtained proved to be the means of
saving many lives.

Shortly after the cholera had ceased to rage in Jamaica Mary Seacole
proceeded on a visit to her brother, who owned a large, prosperous
store at Cruces in California. On arriving there, she found the place
crowded with a mixed mob of gold-diggers and speculators, some
proceeding to the gold-fields, others returning. The men returning
were drinking, gambling and "treating" those who were bound for the
gold-fields. It was a degrading sight, and Mary Seacole wished that
she had not left Jamaica. There was nowhere for her to sleep, wash or
change her travel-stained clothes, for every room in her brother's
house was engaged by the homeward-bound gold-diggers. Until they
departed she had to manage to exist without a bed.

These parties of miners arrived at Cruces weekly, and the scenes of
dissipation were the same on each occasion.

Quarrels which ended in the death of one of the combatants were
frequent and little noticed, but the very sudden death of a Spaniard
who resided at Cruces