Small Pox and Covid-19

            There is a lot of talk today about covid 19. It got me to thinking about another sickness that had rampaged through the Yesah/Esaw people in previous generations – the Small Pox. In the early days of European colonists on America’s soil, there were several factors that saw and helped cause the downfall of our first nations. But everything came back to one cause – small pox. 

Trade interactions brought interaction between the indigenous population and colonists. No one know then why, but these interactions caused small pox epidemics amongst Native peoples. But trade was not the only activity that caused interactions – so did the Native slave trade. Colonists realized there were many things that would make home life easier for the Native people of America. These things included cooking wear, pots and pans, bowls and plates, spoons, knives and forks. Some species of animals such as the horse, would change the lives of many people. 

To obtain these luxuries, the people had to have something in return that the colonists wanted in return for its trade value. The only thing that fulfilled this need was deer and other animal hides. Unfortunately for the indigenous people, this trade was always one sided. Soon the people found themselves with huge debts they couldn’t hope to pay. But the traders found a way to keep the trade income coming in. Native culture was partially based on hatred of their enemies. Traders would tell one tribal nation that their debt might be forgiven if they made slaves of their enemies. So one tribe or band would make war with their natural enemies to gather slaves. In this way then, they could pay off their debt to the various traders.

This brings us to a third type of interaction – warfare. These slave raids on their neighboring tribes brought many tribes of the interior in contact with tribes nearer the East Coast of America. Often these tribes had been bitter enemies for a long time, and some people had been enslaving others for a long time anyway. But the scale of the enslavement changed. The numbers of the enslaved increased dramatically.

In all of these interactions, during active trading expeditions, the slave trade, and warfare, native peoples came in contact with the Colonists. Occasionally a trader had been in contact with a diseased individual might spread an infectious disease to a native population that had never seen it. Small Pox was especially virulent.

The French and Indian War

Since my initial research started with studying the history of the Catawban and Yesah (or Esaw) people, I will continue in that direction. I have read of small pox epidemics in 1697, 1738, 1758, and about 1780 or so, during the American Revolution. Now the Spanish expeditions had also recorded Small Pox epidemics affecting the Native populations of the American at a scale far more deadly that for their European counterparts. English settlers knew of these previous epidemics. No one knew the causes of these epidemics, but Europeans knew contact was a part of it. By the time of the French and Indian War they knew that someone with the disease could spread it to others who came in contact with them, or even if the sick came in contact with something they had held or used, they could catch it.

With this background, let us speed forward to the story of Christopher Gist. Since I descend from Christopher’s brother, named Nathaniel, I am curious about him anyway. This relationship has been proven true through DNA testing. Christopher had a son named Nathaniel also. His son named Nathaniel is often suggested as the father of Sequoyah (there is NO proof of Nathaniel being Sequoyah's father, by the way -- there is just empirical evidence of this relationship.), I don’t want to leave the wrong impression. Nathaniel, brother of Christopher, also had a son named Nathaniel. Thus there is a father and son, Nathaniel Gist Jr and Sr. This shouldn’t be confused with the Nathaniel Gist said to be Sequoyah’s father. This can get confusing as the three men lived near one another they often get confused with one another. At the time of the F & I War, my Nathaniel lived in Cumberland County, North Carolina with a child also named Nathaniel, while Christopher, also with a child named Nathaniel, was fighting alongside George Washington at Fort Duquesne, which is near the present location of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This was before the founding of the city of Pittsburgh. In fact Christopher’s actions helped save George Washington’s life a time or two. 

Gaining the help of the Catawba

Both Washington and Gist realized that the French had a great advantage as long as the French had Indian allies and they didn’t. Both advocated for obtaining Indian allies to fight the war. The part paid by the Cherokee is well documented -- so I was interested in discovering what part the Catawba played. The governor of Virginia for the first half of the F & I War was Gov. Dinwiddie. He along with Washington and Gist, wanted to get Indian allies to help turn the tide in favor of the English. I have found an account of their meeting with the Catawba online (1)

Christopher Gist was sent into the South to invite the Cherokee and Catawba Indians to help drive the French from their hunting grounds. Governor Dinwiddie sent Gist's son, Nathaniel, to hurry them along. Young Gist, who by this time was quite well acquainted with Indian ways, was fairly successful.

A treaty held with the Catawba and Cherokee Indians, at the Catawba-Town and Broad-River, in the months of February and March 1756. : By virtue of a commission granted by the Honorable Robert Dinwiddie, Esquire, His Majesty's lieutenant-governor, and commander in chief of the colony and dominion of Virginia, to the Honorable Peter Randolph and William Byrd, Esquires, members of His Majesty's Council of the said colony. : Published by order of the governor.

Virginia., Cherokee Nation. Treaties, etc. United States, 1756 Mar. 17., Catawba Nation. Treaties, etc. United States, 1756 Mar. 17.

ROBERT DINWIDDIE, Esquire, His Majesty's Lieutenant-Governor, and Commander in Chief of the Colony and Dominion of Virginia.

To the King, Sachems, and Warriors, of the CATAWBA Nation, Wishing you Health and Prosperity. 

BROTHERS and FRIENDS,

THIS will be delivered you by the Honorable PETER RANDOLPH and WILLIAM BYRD, Esquires, two of His Majesty's Council of this Dominion, who will shake Hands with you, and are come this long and tedious Journey to assure you of our real Friendship and Love for you; they have my Commission to treat with you, and to brighten and strengthen the Chain of Friendship that has so long subsisted between you and your Brothers the English; and am in great Hopes the Treaty you are to make with the above Gentlemen in Behalf of this Dominion in particular, and all the English Inhabitants on this Continent, will continue as long as the Sun gives Light.

THE French, by their Emissaries are endeavouring all in their Power to gain over our friendly Indians to their Interest, I therefore advise you to be on your Guard against their invidious Insinuations, for their Speeches consist of Falsehoods and unjust Reports. The Six Nations have taken up the Hatchet against the French and their Indians, and have joined our Forces to drive the French from the Lands they have unjustly invaded, and have lately given them a remarkable Defeat, killed many of their People and taken several of their great Officers Prisoners; and I hope next Year they will be able to confine them to the barren Lands of Canada.

LATELY many of the French joined with the Shawnese came into our Country, robbed and murdered many of our Brethern: Our Friends and Brothers the Cherokees, knowing the Truth thereof, immediately took up the Hatchet against the French and Shawnese, and sent into our Country a Number of their Warriors to protect our Frontiers, and to war against those perfidious People.—And I hope Brothers you will also take up the Hatchet, against the French and their Indians; and as I have great Reason to expect many of the Cherokee Warriors on any Occasion, to go to War against your Enemies and ours, I therefore hope you will also assist with a Number of your brave Warriors.

THE Commissioners will also deliver you a Present sent from our Father the Great King, and this Dominion, to assure you of our Sincerity to continue in true Friendship with the Catawbas. Whatever the Commissioners tell you, you are to believe as spoke by myself, and I am in hopes you will conclude with them a Treaty of Peace and Friendship which may continue as long as the Rivers run and Trees grow, which will be confirmed by me, and transmitted to our Father the other Side of the great Water.

MAY you live long, and that we may always act with true Friendship for each other, is my sincere Wish.

GIVEN at Williamsburg, under my Hand and the Great-Seal of this Colony, this Twenty-Third Day of December, One Thousand Seven Hundred and Fifty Five. 

ROBERT DINWIDDIE.

In Confirmation of the above I give you a Belt of Wampum.

Governor Dinwiddie knows how to contact the people and he knows how to speak with them to gain their support. Notice Dinwiddie concludes with the words, “you will conclude with them a Treaty of Peace and Friendship which may continue as long as the Rivers run and Trees grow, which will be confirmed by me, and transmitted to our Father the other Side of the great Water.” In truth this “peace” was to last only so long as Dinwiddie was governor. When he is asking the Catawba to “take up the hatchet” he is asking them to go to war on the side of the English against the French and their Indian allies. How did the Catawba answer this request? The English called the Chief headman of the Catawba “King Haigler”.

King HAIGLER spoke as follows, 

“Brothers and friends, at the request of my brother the Governor of Virginia, I made him a visit last year. After much talk with him, I've treasured up in my breast, and hope he has done the same, he told me that he did not then want my assistance, but desired that I would hold my warriors in readiness, not doubting, but that he should have occasion for them soon. It was at the repeated requests of the Northern Governors, that we concluded a peace with their Indians, which we have hitherto strictly observed. But as the Shawnees and Delaware’s, have broke the chain of friendship, between them and our brethren the English, we think ourselves bound in gratitude to declare them our enemies, and shall immediately take up the hatchet against them, and you may be assured, never lay it down 'til we have sufficiently revenged the Blood of our Friends. We have always been supplied, with clothes, guns and ammunition, by the Great King, on the other side of the water, and have the most grateful remembrance of his kindness to us, which has link'd us to his Interest with a chain stronger than Iron. Our warriors delight in War, and our young Men are equally pleased that they have an opportunity of going to Battle. It is my resolution to lead them on whenever the Governor of Virginia thinks proper.

"We are in perfect Amity with the Cherokees, Cowetaws and Chickasaws. The Cherokees have ever been our friends, and as they are a numerous nation, we acknowledge them to be our elder Brother.

"WE hope they will shew a good example by sending a great number of their warriors to join us and our brethren of Virginia against the French and their Indian allies." Gave a belt of wampum.

KING Haigler, then desired his warriors to speak for themselves, upon which . . .
Prenchee-Uraw, spoke as followeth. “Friends and brothers, I am a young man, and have not yet distinguished myself in war, but I am not a little pleased, that I have an opportunity of doing it. If I should be so fortunate as to do any Thing that deserves commendation, I shall have the thanks of the great King George, and my brethren the English. But whether I am successful or not, my endeavors shall be such as to convince them of the Integrity of my intentions."

Chippapaw, then rose up and spoke as follows; “Brothers, you have put a bright hatchet in our hands, which we have accepted and hold fast. You have also directed us where to strike it. I am determined, either to plunge it in the blood of our enemies, or to lose my life in the attempt." 

          Hixa-Uraw, then spoke to the following purpose; “Brothers, I have listened attentively to what the King and warriors have said. Their readiness in complying with your request, has given me great Pleasure, and as I have Feet as well as they, I shall not stay at home, if they are able to support me."

THE other Warriors present said that the King and those who had already spoken had expressed their sentiments, and that they were ready whenever they were called on to hazard their Lives in Defense of their Brethren the English.

What was in that final treaty? It was agreed to in 1755 and signed early in 1756. It said;

A COPY of the ARTICLES

BE it KNOWN to all those to whom these presents shall come, that the honorable Robert Dinwiddie, Esquire, Lieutenant-Governor, and commander in chief of the colony and dominion of Virginia, and Arataswa King, Chupahaw, Prenchee-Uraw, Hixa-Uraw, Tannasee, Yeaputkee, and Tooksesey, Sachems and Warriors of the brave Nation of Catawba Indians, laying nothing more to Heart, than by new ties to strengthen the good correspondence established between the subjects of the King of Great-Britain, residing in North-America, and their brothers and faithful allies the Catawba's, and to prevent, by measures taken in time, the accidents that may excite a war, or cause a disunion: The Honorable Peter Randolph, Esquire, one of His Majesty's Council, Lieutenant of the county of Henrico, and surveyor-general of His Majesty's customs, and the Honorable William Byrd, Esquire, one of His Majesty's council, and Lieutenant of the county of Lunenburg, on the Part and Behalf of the said Robert Dinwiddie, Esquire, and the said Colony of VIRGINIA, and the said Arataswa King, Chupahaw, Prenchee-Uraw, Hixa-Uraw, Tannasee, Yeaputkee, and Tooksesey, Sachems and Warriors on the part and behalf of the Catawba Nation, having full power, do treat, accord, and conclude the following Articles.

I. THAT the ancient alliance between the English and Catawbas be renewed, and the old chain brightened.

II. THAT if the French King shall at any time wage war against the King of England, the Catawbas shall wage war with all their power against the French King, and all his Indian allies.

III. THAT the Catawbas shall march into Virginia, Forty or more able warriors, within forty days from the date of these presents, to such fort or place as the Governor of Virginia shall direct.

IV. THAT the men who shall be employed in the service of the English, in the colony of Virginia, as warriors, be found and provided with all necessary clothes, victuals, arms and Ammunition.

V. THAT neither the Catawbas nor Virginians, shall protect the disobedient subjects of the other, or entertain rebels, traitors or fugitives, but within twenty days after due requisition made, shall deliver them up.

VI. THAT if any Subject belonging to the King of Great-Britain, residing in Virginia, or any Indian belonging to the Catawba Nation, shall offend against this treaty, they shall be punished, without the treaty being any way thereby infringed.

Done and signed at the CATAWBA-TOWN, the 21st Day of February, 1756.

PETER RANDOLIH. [L. S.]

WILLIAM BYRD. [L. S.]

ARATASWA, (mark) or HEIGLER. [L. S.]

CHU•AHAW, (mark) [L. S.]

PRENCHEE-URAW, (mark) [L. S.]

HIXA-URAW, (mark) [L. S.]

TANNASEE, (mark) [L. S.]

YEAPUTKEE, (mark) [L. S.]

TOOKSESEY, (mark) [L. S.]

With the signing of the document above, the Catawba agreed to ally themselves with the English in the French and Indian War. (2)

Christopher Gist

I have been searching for the Catawba involvement with small pox. I haven’t forgotten about that. Be patient – I’ll get there. Fort Duquense was finally captured from the French, who burned it down prior to it’s capture. The English rebuilt it, and called it “Fort Pitt”, which eventually became the town of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, today.

In late August, 1757 in Chota, Overhill Cherokee capital, there was a council taking place. On July 25th, 1757 Christopher Gist was named Superintendent of Indian Affairs, Southern Divison. In September 1757 Christopher Gist went himself to discuss with the Southern Indians, sending more warriors to protect Virginia farmers and settlers on the frontier, from the French and their Indian allies. Three Catawbas were invited to talk with the Cherokee. 

A direct quote from a portion of their words says, “During their Green Corn Ceremony [the Cherokee] heard three invited Catawba give a powerful war talk against the French. “The Creeks, Chickasaws, Cherokees, Catawbas, Tuskeroras, Notowagas, the Sapony’s and the Six Nations,” the Catawba dignitaries recited, “we are all Brothers together; joined together against the French and the Indians.” (3) It is rare to see the Saponi mentioned at all in the 1750s and 1760s. They were considered practically extinct by then.

So in 1757 in a letter to South Carolina Governor William Lyttleton, there was a mention of the Saponi's participating in the French and Indian War, as well as Tuscarora and Notowego's (better known as Nottaways).

There is one estimate that says the Catawba might have contributed between three hundred and four hundred warriors to the English war effort. I think that was probably a high estimate, but yet, it is there. (4). Perhaps it was referring to the Catawba, Cheraw, Pedee and Saponi’s. In earlier times these four as well as others were referred to as Yesah/Esaw, but since the decline in numbers of these and other bands, it was common to refer to all these groups as simply “Catawba, the lone band that retained some of its former strength.

Now we are getting to the place where the small pox enters the picture. Christopher Gist died July 27th, 1759, while on the road between Williamsburg and Winchester, Virginia. There is another reference saying he died on the 25th. It said there were 62 Catawba with him (5), but another account says in April, 1758 there were 57 Catawba's amongst the Southern Indian contingent (6). We have other accounts of 25 and 95. They obviously sent different parties of warriors at different times. By the 1756 treaty agreement they agreed to send 40, but they sent far more than that amount. I suspect they rotated warriors like our military does today. I suspect some of the young men stayed home hunting, and drying meat while another group was in the field for a spell, then they would rotate, much like our military does today. What killed the elder Gist? Small Pox.

A short month after Colonel Bouquet and Gov. Fauquier have written Washington back and forth degrading skill of the Catawba Indian Warriors, we have Washington lamenting the deaths of two brave Catawba warriors. (7). “When the Convoy got within 6 Miles of this place 3 Cuttawba Men & 2 Squaws contrary to the Advice of the Officers, set on before the Convoy for this Garrison, and soon after were fired upon by about 10 or 12 of the Enemy who Killd Captn Bullen and Captn French, & wounded one of the Squaws. The loss we sustain by the death of these two Indian Warriors is at this Juncture very considerable as they were very remarkable for their bravery, and attachment to Our Interest—particularly poor Bullen, whom (and the other) we buried with Military Honours. The rest of the Cuttawbas, & what Nottoway’s and Tuscarora’s that are here sets out to Morrow with the Wagon’s for Rays Town.” There is no mention this time of the Saponi’s – perhaps they are listed with the Catawba, since they were in reality, the same people.

On the second of August, 1759: Col. George MERCER met the Catawba warriors near Winchester and urged them to go on and join the VA troops, but they said their Father Capt. Gist was dead and it was better for them to go home. (8). Some of the English officers had been insulting the Catawbas, and other tribes as well. 

Christopher Gist died of small pox. They say there was a great outbreak of small pox about this time, and it killed more that half of the Catawba Nation.

Small Pox 

Robert Ward asked elderly Chief Robert Lee Harris in 1940 about the Catawba, and Chief Harris Responded; “Once upon a time the Catawbas numbered many thousand braves, but the Small Pox killed many thousands of people.” (p86 Ibid) (9) When Lawson went through the Sewee town @1701, Brown says; “The Sewees . . . had once been a great nation, but when Lawson came upon them, they had already been greatly reduced by small pox . . .” (10) A few pages later we see a similar theme. (p 90, ibid) Lawson came upon the Congaree Indians, which they say is the location today of the state Capital of South Carolina, Columbia. Lawson says, “The Congarees were a comely sort of Indians who had already been much reduced in numbers by the Small Pox.” Brown, p. 154, Ibid) (11) Another time, Brown states some Indians were porters, delivering pelts in 1717 to Charlestown, South Carolina, but states they had trouble hiring enough help, saying “The burdeners were quickly sent back to the nation because of the danger of their getting Small Pox in our settlements.” (ibid, p 180). (12) Per Brown, the outbreak Lawson spoke of occurred in 1697. He talks of the 1738 epidemic, saying, the small pox; “was brought to Charles Town by a Guinea slave ship. The disease was spread to Indian tribes by the infected trade goods . . .” (13). We know the English knew the disease could be spread in this manner. I have to wonder if this was intentional. All of these bands were part of the greated Esaw/Yesah peoples, who later became known as the Catawba. These bands have disappeared from history, but at one time were in far greater numbers.

Of those who died in the French and Indian War of small pox, Maurice Moore wrote: “Their numbers were reduced to less than one half.” Another claim was that two-thirds of the nation had perished. “The tradition that I heard in my boyhood was that it was introduced through the avarice of some of the white men, to enable them to get more easy possession of the rich lands of the Indians.” Per Brown, the woods were full of corpses as there were not enough survivors to bury the dead.

(ibid p. 181 Brown). Part of the treatment of the Indian doctors was sweat the patient, then throw them into cold water. Moore said; “I remember being told by an eye-witness, a reliable man who lived among them at the time, that he had seen twenty-five a day, during the prevalence of the scourge, to be taken out of the river dead.”

The final destruction of these Indians is hinted at in the next paragraph. "In the Gazette of December 8th-15th, 1759, was this sad account of its [small pox] ravages; it is pretty certain that the small pox has lately raged with great violence among the Catawba Indians, and that it has carried off near one half of that nation . . . This distemper has since appeared among the inhabitants at the Charraws and Waterees." Immediately after this, Greggs says "The small pox went through the province in the year 1738." He continues "So destructive . . . had been this disease among the Indians . . .that its appearance brought on a spirit of . . . desperation." Later in the same paragraph we have; "About the time of the Revolution, some of the Catawba Warriors having visited Charleston, there contracted the disease again, and returning communicated it to their Nation." (14) We have a last account mentioning the Charraws. Gregg says, "It was after this, having been sorely thinned by disease, that they were advised by their friends to invite the Charraws to move up and live with them as one tribe. here spoken of by the writers of the day, must have been a part of the tribe which had maintained its independence probably in the region lower down the Pedee or on the coast, where they lead a proud but feeble existence.” (15)  Gregg goes on to say this small remnant of the Charraws went to live with the Catawba, as had their brethren before, thus disappearing from history.

It is interesting that mention is made of some of the Catawba were at Charleston. My own ancestor, Nevil Wayland Sr., served in the Revolutionary War. He was born in Cashel, County Tipperary, Ireland. His wife was Keziah Gibson. It was said that he was near the city of Charleston during the Revolution, and that he saw it burn to the ground. That was in 1780. I have heard of others claiming descent from the same Gibson family as Keziah saying they were Saponi Indians. The Saponi were a band of the Catawban peoples.  Discovering this was one of the first things that started me down my journey of research of the Esaw/Yesah history, probably a quarter of a century back. Nevil’s name is found in several documents as serving with the Quaarter Master units and that he was “a driver of horses and cattle.” There are documents I obtained from the archives of the state of South Carolina, and I obtained a copy of about thirty documents. Some were even letters that he had written. He was well educated and wrote well written letters asking for a pension. His ancestors were Englishmen who had settled in Ireland. His descendants were mixed race people who lived in a well known “Melungeon” community along the Virginia/Tennessee border for only about twenty years before moving to Arkansas. But this is off topic – it is time to get back to the topic of the tragedy of the Small Pox epidemics that ravaged through the Catawban peoples.

I have not discovered the date of the small pox epidemic during the Revolutionary War, but I have narrowed it down to two possible dates. (16.) Wikipedia speaks of a 1776 British attempt to capture Charleston, see Battle of Sullivan's Island (17). But a second event is mentioned. Wikipedia also says; The siege of Charleston was a major engagement and major British victory, fought between March 29 to May 12, 1780, during the Revolutionary War. 

So I suspect the small pox epidemic amongst the Catawba during the Revolutionary War was either 1776, or 1780. There was a war between Spain and England from 1739-1742, or rather between Georgia and South Carolina on the one hand, and Florida on the other. One small pox epidemic was 1738, just before this occurred. There were also the Tuscarora and Yamassee Wars  between 1710-1720. Maps between 1700 and 1720 show a great decrease in native cities in the Carolina’s. Often there were wars that corresponded with out breaks of small pox. Small pox epidemics also occurred about every twenty years. This is the only time there was a forty years lull between small pox epidemics. Perhaps there was a an epidemic that I found no references for. I did find a reference where they couldn't find porters for fear of small pox in 1717, so something was going on. 
Thought Experiment
We have small pox epidemics about 1697, maybe about 1717, 1738; 1759 and about 1780. If  compensating for births still leaves us with 50% loss of population, we have the following; Assume a population 20,000 in 1680; then we have 10,000 in 1700, 5,000 in 1720, 2,500 in 1740, 1,250 in 1760, and 625 in 1780. This approximation of effects of the disease appears to pretty accurately and describe what happened. Many tribes had similar genocidal experiences that are not written down. Multiply this times hundreds of tribes, and you'll begin to see what happened.

Germ Warfare

we hve a reference where it was said that a Guinea slave ship brought small pox to the Catawban peoples in 1738 through trade goods they obtained. I have also seen some disturbing writings about the time of the French and Indian War. I had heard of this before, but didn’t know where it came from. If you recall, Dinwiddie, Washington and Gist had been advocates for using Indian allies in their war against the French and their Indians. It appears half way through the conflict Virginia governors had changed, Gist died of small pox, and Washington became dissolutioned, and played a smaller role. The advocates for using the Indians had left the stage. Those left looked down on native peoples.

It has proven to be difficult for me to separate the stories of the Catawbas and their Allies from the story of Small Pox. I tried, but the two stories are joined at the hip, so to speak. (ibid p 181) Brown's research has led me to ask the same question he asked. Were the Indians given small pox on purpose? Brown says; "It is not inconceivable that such an atrocity was perpetrated. The story appeared on every frontier in Americaa.” When Sir Jeffrey Amherst, England's Commander in Chief in North America, heard of the outbreak of small pox during Pontiac's War, he instructed Col. Henry Bouquet, saying, "I wish to hear of no prisoners . . ." What else did these two men discuss?

Just who is Amherst? I hear this (18) about him:

“Lord Jeffery Amherst was commanding general of British forces in North America during the final battles of the French and Indian War (1754-1763). He won victories against the French to acquire Canada for England and helped make England the world's chief colonizer at the conclusion of the Seven Years War among the colonial powers (1756-1763). 

The town of Amherst, Massachusetts, was named for Lord Jeffrey even before he became a Lord. Amherst College was later named after the town. It is said the local inhabitants who formed the town preferred another name, Norwottuck, after the Indians whose land it had been; the colonial governor substituted his choice for theirs. Frank Prentice Rand, in his book, The Village of Amherst: A Landmark of Light [Amherst, MA: Amherst Historical Society, 1958], says that at the time of the naming, Amherst was "the most glamorous military hero in the New World. ... ...the name was so obvious in 1759 as to be almost inevitable." [p. 15]

Despite his fame, Jeffery Amherst's name also later became tarnished by stories of smallpox-infected blankets used as germ warfare against American Indians. These stories are reported, for example, in Carl Waldman's Atlas of the North American Indian [NY: Facts on File, 1985]. Waldman writes, in reference to a siege of Fort Pitt (Pittsburgh) by Chief Pontiac's forces during the summer of 1763:

... Captain Simeon Ecuyer had bought time by sending smallpox-infected blankets and handkerchiefs to the Indians surrounding the fort -- an early example of biological warfare -- which started an epidemic among them. Amherst himself had encouraged this tactic in a letter to Ecuyer. [p. 108] (19 & 20)

I had been wandering if Amherst and Bouquet might have participated in giving the small pox disease to the Catawba. But the Catawba, allied to the English, got the disease in 1759 whereas Amherst saw to it the disease spread in 1763.

What exactly did Amherst and Bouquet do? I’m glad you asked.

Part of Lord Jeffrey Amherst letters during Pontiac's Rebellion

The documents provided here are made available to set the record straight. These are images of microfilmed original letters written between General Amherst and his officers and others in his command during the summer of 1763, when the British were fighting what became known as Pontiac's Rebellion. 

Pontiac, an Ottawa chief who had sided with the French, led an uprising against the British after the French surrender in Canada. Indians were angered by Amherst's refusal to continue the French practice of providing supplies in exchange for Indian friendship and assistance, and by a generally imperious British attitude toward Indians and Indian land. As Waldman puts it:

... Lord Jeffrey Amherst, the British commander-in-chief for America, believed ... that the best way to control Indians was through a system of strict regulations and punishment when necessary, not "bribery," as he called the granting of provisions. [p. 106] (21)

Historian Francis Parkman, refers to a postscript in an earlier letter from Amherst to Bouquet wondering whether smallpox could not be spread among the Indians:

“Could it not be contrived to send the Small Pox among those disaffected tribes of Indians? We must on this occasion use every stratagem in our power to reduce them.” [Vol. II, p. 39 (6th edition)] (22)

I have not found this letter, but there is a letter from Bouquet to Amherst, dated 23 June 1763, three weeks before the discussion of giving small pox infected blankets to the Indians, stating that Captain Ecuyer at Fort Pitt (to which Bouquet would be heading with reinforcements) has reported smallpox in the Fort. This indicates at least that the writers knew the plan could be carried out. (23)

Several other letters from the summer of 1763 show the smallpox idea was not an anomaly. The letters are filled with comments that indicate a genocidal intent, with phrases such as: 

"...that Vermine ... have forfeited all claim to the rights of humanity" (Bouquet to Amherst, 25 June) (24)

"I would rather chuse the liberty to kill any Savage...." (Bouquet to Amherst, 25 June) 

"...Measures to be taken as would Bring about the Total Extirpation of those Indian Nations" (Amherst to Sir William Johnson, Superintendent of the Northern Indian Department, 9 July) (25)

"...their Total Extirpation is scarce sufficient Atonement...." (Amherst to George Croghan, Deputy Agent for Indian Affairs, 7 August) 

"...put a most Effectual Stop to their very Being" (Amherst to Johnson, 27 August (25); emphasis in original). (26)

Amherst's correspondence during this time includes many letters on routine matters, such as officers who are sick or want to be relieved of duty; accounts of provisions on hand, costs for supplies, number of people garrisoned; negotiations with provincial governors (the army is upset with the Pennsylvania assembly, for example, for refusing to draft men for service); and so on. None of his other letters show a deranged mind or an obsession with cruelty. Amherst's venom was strictly reserved for Indians.

In the Spring of 1763, there was a meeting with a Delaware Chief who demanded the surrender of the fort The English commander was a Swiss mercenary, Simeon Ecyyer. Instead of surrendering, he provided them with two blankets and a handkerchief. It was written that by mid-July the Delaware were dying at an alarming rate of Small Pox. That is about the same time as Bouquet and Amherst were writing letters to one another, back and forth, about using Small Pox and advocating usage of germ warfare (27). The blankets and handkerchief had been infected with small pox. 

Conclusion

World War One saw an abundance of germ warfare. If we could just find a name to blame or more than a shadow to hate. Rarely is it that simple. I just want to learn, and if I’m lucky, to teach. Any time you shine a torch into a dark space you must illuminate something. 
          They didn't know what was killing them, it kept coming back every twenty years, and they knew of no vaccine. I hope we find a vaccine against Covid 19 so that it won't keep coming back over and over. Will we? I hope there's no General Jeffrey Amherst out there who wants to make a weapon out of Covod-19. I hope history won't repeat itself. Will we learn from history? If we do; what will we learn? Okay, this was more about what happened in previous centuries than about Covid-19.  I have no idea how to get anyone to read this story -- that's whyI put "covid-19" in the title. Maybe no one will read it. But I do humbly offer it as a history lesson. Will we learn from the past, or will a fool living in a swamp way over his head let us drown? I don't know. That;s up for debate.

Addendum 1 -- Spainsh and English Maps
This is from a copy on Spanish maps. Notice how many villages there are. Where did they go? Records seem to indicate small pox was the culprit. Yssa is the same as "Yesah" or Esaw.  Guatari is the same as what the English called "Wateree". In Spanish, "Gua" is pronounced "Wa". I wander if "Tagaya" was the Spanish way of saying "Catawba"? On this map, it is pretty close to where the Catawba are today. The Saponi were in Virginia at the time of this 1586 map. Please know that had this Spanish expedition travelled down any other river or stream, it too, would probably be covered in villages and cities. This map covers only the settlements Juan Pardo passed through. Dozens of communities disappeared. This occurred from Canada to Mexico, from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

Here is a map of the Carolinas about 1720. The Catawbas, Saponi, and Cheraw, Pedees and a couple of others are still listed on the map. All the other Yesah communities had died off due to Small pox

Addendum 2 -- A Little About My Waylands
The earliest photo I have found of a Wayland said to be mixed race. His father's father was born in Ireland, and that  grandpa's wife was said to be Saponi Indian. 
My Wayland's went to Arkansas about 1815. I have already written about three migrations of Eastern Siouan peoples to Arkansas and Indian Territory (28). There is a book about the Early history of the Methodist Church in Arkansas. It just happens to include a photo of Jonathan Wayland. I have copied and pasted a  Xeroxed copy of the page containing his photo. This page is important because it maps a photo with a name. Jonathan was a son of Nevil Wayland Jr. Nevil Jr. had brothers and sisters. I descend from his brother, William. My direct ancestor was Sarah Ann Wayland, who was a first cousin of Jonathan. No photo exists of her. I am lucky that this photo of Jonathan exists. (29)

 

This is a zeroxed copy of a blown up of Jonathan Wayland, 1818-1882 from the photo above. His name is stated as Rev. Jonathan Wayland. If the story that his grandmother was Saponi Indian is true, his generation would have been about 1/4th Saponi. One DNA test I took said I am 03% Native. Not much, huh? That's 3/100 which is close to 3/96th's, which is 1/32nd. He is completely assimilated. His grandfather came from an English family that had immigrated to Ireland, and is recorded as fighting against the English in the Revolutionary War. Since no records in the 1770s exist of Saponi tribal rolls, nor do birth certificates, this relation is impossible to prove. We can only provide empirical evidence.

And lastly, here is a copy of the actual photograph used in the book (mentoned above) about the Methodist Church's origins in Arkansas. In the 1790s they were attending the church known as "Stoney Creek Primitive Baptist Church", often referred to as "the Melungeon Church", because the word "Melungeon" is first recorded there. The surnames of Gibson and Wayland run throughout the pages of those church minutes. In French the words "nous Melungeons" means "we mix", and there are records of some French Huguenots who married into the Catawban Nation. I remember dad saying he was told we had some French blood, but he didn't know where it came from, and our genealogical records carry no French surnames.

Citations

1. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/evans/N06056.0001.001/1:6?rgn=div1;view=fulltext   

2. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/evans/N06056.0001.001/1:6?rgn=div1;view=fulltext

 “To George Washington from Francis Fauquier, 20 July 1758,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified December 28, 2016, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/02-05-02-0248. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Colonial Series, vol. 5, 5 October 1757–3 September 1758, ed. W. W. Abbot. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1988, p. 303.]

3. Paul Demere to William Henry Lyttelton, Oct. 11, 1757, Lyttelton Papers

4. http://www.appalachiancherokeenation.net/images/The_British_and_Indian_War_Cherokee_Power_and_the_Fate_of_Empire.pdf ; With three hundred to four hundred warriors, the Catawbas played less of a role in influencing the outcome of events in the Ohio Valley. For an analysis of eighteenth-century estimates of Native population numbers, see Peter H. Wood, “The Changing Population of the Colonial South: An Overview by Race and Region, 

Christopher Gist died 7-25-1759 of smallpox while guiding Catawba warriors to

Winchester to guard the frontier against the French and other Indians.

5. The British’s April count included 57 Catawbas as well, bringing the total number of “southern Indians” to 652; see “A Return of the Southern Indians,” Apr. 21, 1758, Headquarters Papers of Forbes, reel no. 1, item 132. John Forbes gave his estimate in Forbes to John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun, June 17, 1758, in Alfred Procter James, ed., Writings of General John Forbes Relating to his Service in North America

6. https://founders.archives.gov/?q=Gist%20Catawba&s=1111311111&sa=&r=10&sr=

7. “From George Washington to Henry Bouquet, 24 August 1758,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified December 28, 2016, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/02-05-02-0336. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Colonial Series, vol. 5, 5 October 1757–3 September 1758, ed. W. W. Abbot. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1988, pp.

8. http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=adgedge&id=I7016    

9. “The Catawba Indians, The People of the River”; Douglas Summers Brown; University of South Carolina Press; © 1966

10. Ditto

11. Ditto

12. Ditto

13. Ditto

14. “History of the Old Cheraws”; Alexander Gregg; The State Company Columbia, S. C., 1905; Book Renaissance; www.ren-books.com

15. Ditto

16. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Charleston 

17. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Sullivan%27s_Island 

18.. “The Catawba Indians, The People of the River”; Douglas Summers Brown; University of 

19. South Carolina Press; © 1966; “The Catawba Indians, The People of the River”; Douglas Summers Brown; University of South Carolina Press; © 1966

“The Catawba Indians, The People of the River”; Douglas Summers Brown; University of South Carolina Press; © 1966

19. “Atlas of the North American Indian”; Carl Waldman.

20. The documents provided here are among Amherst's letters and other papers microfilmed as part of the British Manuscript Project, 1941-1945, undertaken by the United States Library of Congress during World War II. The project was designed to preserve British historical documents from possible war damage. There are almost three hundred reels of microfilm on Amherst alone. 

The microfilm is difficult to read, and paper copies even harder. Nonetheless, the images obtained by scanning the copies are sufficiently clear for online viewing. The images are of key excerpts from the letters. An index is provided to show by microfilm document number the location of the imaged documents in the microfilm set. Text files of the excerpts are also provided.

21. Historian Francis Parkman, in his book The Conspiracy of Pontiac and the Indian War after the Conquest of Canada [Boston: Little, Brown, 1886]

22. https://archive.org/details/papersofcolhenry00bouq ; The Papers of Colonel Bouquet.

23. Ditto

24. http://people.umass.edu/derrico/amherst/lord_jeff.html

25. http://www.history.org/foundation/journal/spring04/warfare.cfm

26. https://www.umass.edu/legal/derrico/amherst/lord_jeff.html
27. https://www.umass.edu/legal/derrico/amherst/lord_jeff.html
28. http://vancehawkins.blogspot.com/2019/  --  I discuss three migrations of Eastern people to Arkansas/Oklahoma (Indian Territory). The people were already mixed-blood and assimilated. when they moved west.