1837-38 smallpox epidemic
Encyclopedia
The smallpox epidemic that ravaged the people of the Great Plains
in 1837 and 1838 was believed to have begun in spring of 1837 when a deckhand became ill aboard an American Fur Company
steamboat
, the S.S. St. Peter. The steamboat traveling up the Missouri River to Fort Union from St. Louis, docked at Fort Clark near the two earth-lodge villages of the Mandan people on June 18, 1837. The disease spread to the Mandan people. In July 1837, the Mandan numbered no more than 2,000, by October that number had dwindled to 138. On August 11, Francis Chadron, a trader at Fort Clark, wrote,“I Keep no a/c of the dead, as they die so fast it is impossible."
By the time the S.S. St. Peter made it to Fort Union several deck hands had died, but only Jacob Halsey, an American Fur Company clerk, showed visible signs of the disease. In an attempt to stop the spread of the disease fort personnel performed primitive inoculations. Pus from Halsey's skin eruptions were used to inoculate approximately thirty Native American women and several white men living in or around the fort. Within two weeks, the women who received the inoculations began dying from the disease.
As the disease reached a peak at Fort Union bands of Native Americans continued to arrive at the fort for trade.
Halsey wrote:
Later, a longboat was sent to Fort McKenzie via the Marias River
. At Fort McKenzie the disease spread among the Blackfoot
people housed there. The epidemic continued to spread into the Great Plains killing thousands during the fall of 1837, but largely died out that winter. In the end, it is estimated that two-thirds of the Blackfoot population died along with half of the Assiniboines and Arikaras, a third of the Crows, and a quarter of the Pawnees.
reviewed a claim by Ward Churchill
, comparing to the cited source his claim that in 1837 the United States Army
deliberately infected Mandan Indians by distributing blankets that had been exposed to smallpox, and reported "Professor Churchill therefore misrepresents what Thornton says." Most other historians who have looked at the same event disagree with Churchill's interpretation of the historical evidence, and believe no deliberate introduction of smallpox occurred at the time and place Churchill claimed it had.
Great Plains
The Great Plains are a broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, which lies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S...
in 1837 and 1838 was believed to have begun in spring of 1837 when a deckhand became ill aboard an American Fur Company
American Fur Company
The American Fur Company was founded by John Jacob Astor in 1808. The company grew to monopolize the fur trade in the United States by 1830, and became one of the largest businesses in the country. The company was one the first great trusts in American business...
steamboat
Steamboat
A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...
, the S.S. St. Peter. The steamboat traveling up the Missouri River to Fort Union from St. Louis, docked at Fort Clark near the two earth-lodge villages of the Mandan people on June 18, 1837. The disease spread to the Mandan people. In July 1837, the Mandan numbered no more than 2,000, by October that number had dwindled to 138. On August 11, Francis Chadron, a trader at Fort Clark, wrote,“I Keep no a/c of the dead, as they die so fast it is impossible."
By the time the S.S. St. Peter made it to Fort Union several deck hands had died, but only Jacob Halsey, an American Fur Company clerk, showed visible signs of the disease. In an attempt to stop the spread of the disease fort personnel performed primitive inoculations. Pus from Halsey's skin eruptions were used to inoculate approximately thirty Native American women and several white men living in or around the fort. Within two weeks, the women who received the inoculations began dying from the disease.
As the disease reached a peak at Fort Union bands of Native Americans continued to arrive at the fort for trade.
Halsey wrote:
- I sent our interpreter to meet them on every occasion, who represented our situation to them and requested them to return immediately from whence they came however all our endeavors proved fruitless, I could not prevent them from camping round the Fort-they have caught the disease, notwithstanding I have never allowed an Indian to enter the Fort, or any communication between them & the Sick; but I presume the air was infected with it for a half mile...:
Later, a longboat was sent to Fort McKenzie via the Marias River
Marias River
The Marias River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately 210 mi long, in the U.S. state of Montana. It is formed in the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Glacier County, in northwestern Montana, by the confluence of the Cut Bank Creek and the Two Medicine River...
. At Fort McKenzie the disease spread among the Blackfoot
Blackfoot
The Blackfoot Confederacy or Niitsítapi is the collective name of three First Nations in Alberta and one Native American tribe in Montana....
people housed there. The epidemic continued to spread into the Great Plains killing thousands during the fall of 1837, but largely died out that winter. In the end, it is estimated that two-thirds of the Blackfoot population died along with half of the Assiniboines and Arikaras, a third of the Crows, and a quarter of the Pawnees.
Claims by Churchill
The Investigative Committee of the Standing Committee on Research Misconduct at the University of Colorado at BoulderUniversity of Colorado at Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado...
reviewed a claim by Ward Churchill
Ward Churchill
Ward LeRoy Churchill is an author and political activist. He was a professor of ethnic studies at the University of Colorado at Boulder from 1990 to 2007. The primary focus of his work is on the historical treatment of political dissenters and Native Americans by the United States government...
, comparing to the cited source his claim that in 1837 the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
deliberately infected Mandan Indians by distributing blankets that had been exposed to smallpox, and reported "Professor Churchill therefore misrepresents what Thornton says." Most other historians who have looked at the same event disagree with Churchill's interpretation of the historical evidence, and believe no deliberate introduction of smallpox occurred at the time and place Churchill claimed it had.