These widespread practices in the Far West demonstrate how very wild the times were
Sleep in sawdust
Perhaps in part because so many people were chewing and spitting tobacco, the floors of the saloons were covered with a layer of sawdust. Not everyone could afford to rent a room to sleep. The floors were covered in sawdust, but this turned out to be problematic because of the widespread increase in respiratory diseases like pneumonia and tuberculosis. People lived in sawdust because saloons rented out their floors to travellers.
As we have just seen, spittoons were installed on the ground. As you can imagine, cowboys weren’t bothered with the details, and they didn’t really have to worry about spitting on the side. This is why sawdust covered the floor of the saloons. And as if it wasn’t disgusting enough to walk on this stuff, travellers staying in these taverns had to lie on this filth as well. This was how life was: rowing with what you had and setting your mind to zero. After sleeping on the floor for the night, the travellers could look for a place to wash their hands.