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."
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.
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
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.
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)
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.
“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.
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
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.
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.
