Kid Cole and Sister Ruth bicker about stopping for meals during the stagecoach trip from Philadelphia to California. Meal stops on public stagecoach routes were not dictated by the passengers. The meal stops were dictated and scheduled by the stagecoach companies. There were prearranged stops with restaurants prepared to serve quick meals.
Dr Mike's hairstyles have nothing to do with the 1870s.
Kid Cole is said to be dying of consumption, which is what Tuberculosis used to be called. It was called this because weight loss and the so-called 'wasting away' associated with it made it seem as though the disease was consuming the individual. Yet in all of Kid Cole's appearances, he doesn't seem to be losing weight at all.