The union Democrat., 1870-08-06
suoCKIsG DEvgLoPAEsTs
Criminaf Di.arssutieu Of smaii-p-x-Rav.
ages Of she Disease Ameag the Indians
near Fsrs Bcnsen-FiendisL Designs
Frustrated.

Frustrated.
From the Omaha Herald Of July 2lst we
Gull the following horrible tale:
During the past summer the steam boat
TlaL Piled, we believe. between Sioux City
and Fort Berion. During cne OF her trips
the smallpox broke out among the passen-
gers and crew, and one death occurred On the
trip. The boat landed short distance be-
low. Milk river. where the corpse was hu-
ried. The burial was witnessed by a num-
Der of Indians Of the Gros Ventres tribe, and
as soon as the boat resumed its course the
body was disinterred and the clothing strip
ped from the -emains and distributed among
the party who had perpetrated the act Of des-
ecration. The consequences may be ina
g.ned. In proper course of time the contag-
ion broke out in its INST yiruleat form among
the savages. The devastation was so terri
bile that, out Of | 900 members of the tribe,
$50 died.
Ths Utah arrived at Fort Benton, bring
ing with il, perhaps. the most fearful cargo
that ever flnaied on the waters Ct the Missouri.
The people of that place. when they ascer-
tanned the danger tha. menaced them, were
indignant tn an extent never before known in
that country. A public meeting was held,
Place, and the most intense excitement pre-
vailed. There were many who proposed to
take the captain of the beat and hang him to the
nearest tree. as n punishment for having been
the cause Of pestilential danger among them.
But wiser counspls prevailed and the master
of the steamer was ordered. Mt the peril Of
his life. to convey the boat and cargo 10 the
other side of the river.
But, ms was afterwards ascertained. another
and n greater danger threatened them. The
disease among the tndiars spread with the
veloei.v Of The wind. Having remedies.
no PHYSICIANS and no care, the children nf the
forest died off like flock of infected sheep.
until the tribe was diminished to about half
lis former numbers.
The Indian burial ceremony is not such as
prevails among .he civilized worhl. lt is q
custom, without deviatinn, to Law the dead
upon the ground. in the robe which encased
the body white living. and cover up the re-
mains with brush. There are spaculatnrs in
the Indian country whose sole object in life
seems to he to make money. without the
slightest regard for the manner in which thev
do it. The robes which enclosed the dead
bodies were valuable. The specnla;ors,
aware Of this. detPrmin. d 10 profit by it. and.
with no compunctions of conscience as tG the
consequences. not seeming IN cnre in the
least for the terrible suffering which the net
would entail upon they knew not how many
innoccnt victims. these men did nos hesitate
to roam the ceurtrv in quest of the Infected
rohas and TO convev them for storage to
warehouse IN Fnrt Benton. Benjamin de
Roche. wHrEma, in the warehouse, was
the frat victim and il was hut short time
before nearly every house in Fort Benton was
u smallpox hospital MANY died. and the
most agonizirg suffering prevailed. In the
touse of De Roche. ut ono time, there were
10 persons in he'd afflicted with the contagion
which prevailed.
The business houses we're closed. and the
citv seemed n he doomed 70 dpsoation and
death. In the face of this horrible visits
tion. thnse WIN had engaged in the unhnlv
traffic did MT desiSt. They asserted that the
nlace was alive with small-rox. and that, as
il could he no worse, the arrival and storage Of
robes could make no difference. And thus.
IN the very midst Of death, desolation and
despair. these human vnhures continued their
restilence breeding, death-dcaling occupa.
ton
There il one incid ant connected with this
startling horror which places white victim
in mn attitude which. thoneh he may not
have known the full extent of the consequen-
ces of his act. wss certainly n ,nnst tiendi>h
one. and which was .he cause of gren.er
destruction of life than the circnmstanres we
have mentioned This man, while he waa
suffering with the disease. oL,a;ned two
Yeast cans. aud filled them both with srahs
A. s,nn n he was able to da So. he took an
old shirt. rubbed il thoroughly with the con-
tents of the haxes. and then placed the in
fected garment IN the tria! of the Piegans.
on !Iighrrod creek. where the Indians would
he sure to find it, They did so. and in n
short time afterwarj the most frishtful of
ealamties was visited npon that tribe. l.
snread with wonderful rarilify. among tho
Blackfeet, Bloo!s. and River Crows, until
the whole country. within radius of one
hundred miles from Fort Beoton. and ex-
tending along the river much greater dis
tanee. was infected with the disease, and
deaths occurred hy the ;housand.
From this awful source the speculators
reared rich harvest. Rnbss and blankets
were gathered in hv the Thousand. and con-
veved hy boats down the river. thus convey
ing and scattering the disease broadcast over
the land. The Government was finally in
| form ed of the matter. and Gen. Hancock was
prumpily ordered 10 prohibit the shipment Of
found to he in healthy condition. As there
were few in the country not infected. the
! abominahle traffic ceased. and the inhnman
wre,ches Sha were engaged in IL were. for -
time. deprived nf the benefits which their in
famous trade had conferred upoa them. But
they did MT DESPAIR The ingenuity of the
villain is, certainly. as an. as that of honest
men. Cot off from shipping the diseased
rabcs nv river. they determined to take them
overland, ana gain market nv means af
railroad communication. Thanks to the
vigilance Of the managers of the Union Pa
c6c Railroad, and to the rr,mrt assistance of
the military. this latter scheme has heen
,hrottled in its incipiencv. and M more robes
can pass over that road without first having
heen inspected by Government officer and
pronounced TO be in good condition. There
are now at Uinta Station 1900 robes which
have heen detained for examination. A dav
or two since Gen. Ruggles dsoatchei Cow
ernment officer. accompanied by surgeon, to
that point, to make thorough inspection Of
the suspected rnhes. II is believed thar the,
are all right. hut il is also known that the
r.