The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1870-08-04
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From the Omaha Herald, July Il.
Discovery of the Greatest Crime the World
has Ever Known.
Dnr;no the past wear, it has recently been
develoned. circumstances have transplred In the
Yellowstone country which will create indlg-
nation and alarm throughout the whole Union.
A crime has been committed which e1ceS III
diabolisn ANYTHING which the history of the
world has ever produced, and which places
such fiends rs Probst and his compeers in crime
in the light of moderate offenders. A few men,
for the purpose of accumulating fortunes have
attempted to scatter throughout the United
States buffalo robes which are known to be IN
fected with smallpox. This has been done
premeditatedly and knowingly, and with the full
knowledge that in doing so they have been the
means of spreading loathsome disease from
one end of the country to the other, and sacri-
fcing human lives in unknown numbers we
give the particulars of this, the most terrible
crime of the nineteenth century, as fully as we
have been enabled to obtain them.
During last summer the steamboat Utah Piled
between Sioux City and Fort Benton. During
one of her trips the smallpox broke out among
the passengers and crew. and one death occur
red on the trip. The boat landed a short dis
tance below Milk River, and there the corpse
was buried. The burial was witnessed by
number of Indians, of the Gros Ventres tribe,
and, as soon as the boat resumed its course, the
body was disinterred, and the clothing stripped
from the remains and distributed among the
party who had perpetrated the act OF deSecra-
tion: The consequence may be imagined. In
proper course of time the dreadful contaglon
broke out in its most virulent form among the
savages. The devastation was so terrible that,
out of 1900 members of the tribe, 75O died.
The Utah arrived at Fort Benton, bringing
with it perhaps the most fearful cargo that ever
hoated on the waters of the Missouri. The
people of that place, when they ascertained the
danger that menaced them, were indignant TO
an extent never before known in that country.
A public meeting was held, which was attended
by every man in the place, and the most intense
excitement prevailed. There were many who
proposed to take the captain of the boat and
hang him to the nearest tree, as punishment
for having been the cause of pestllcntlal danger
among them. But wiser counseis prevailed,
and the master of the steamer was ordered, at
the peril of his life, to convey the boat and
cargo to the other side of the river. But, as
was afterwards ascertained, another and great
er danger threatened them The diease among
the Indians spread with the velocity Of the
wind. Having no remedies, no physicians and
no care, the children of the forest died oil like
flock of infected sheep, until the tribe was
diminished to about half its former numbers
The Indian burial ceremony is not such as pre-
walls among the civilized world 1t IS custom,
without Deviation to lay the dead upon the
ground in the robe which incased the body
while living, and cover up the remains with
brush. There are spectators in the Indian
al OH in 20 IN
make. money, without the slightest regard for
the manner in which they do it. The robes
which enclosed the dead bodies were valuable
The speculators, aware of this, determined to
profit by it, and with no compunctions OF con-
science as to the consequences, not seeming TO
care in the least for the terrible suffering which
the act would entail upon they knew not how
many innocent victims, these men did not hes
itace to roam the country in quest of the infect
ed robes, and to convey them for storage to
warehouse in Fort Benton. Benjamin de Roche,
q workman in the warehouse, was the first VIC
tim, and it was but a short time before nearly
every house in Fort Benton was smallpox
hospital. Many died and the most agonizing
suffering prevailed. In the house of De Roche
at one time there were ten persons in bed af-
ficted with the contagon which prevailed
The business houses were closed, and the city
seemed to be doomed to desolation and death.
In the face of this horrible visitation, those
who had engaged in the unholy traffic did not
6esist. They asserted that the place was alive
with smallpox, and that, as it COULD be no
worse, the arrival and storage of robes could
make no difference. And thus, in the very
midst of death, desclation and despair, these
human vultures continued their pestilence-
breeding, death dealing occupation! There is
one incident connected with this startling hor-
II
which, though he may not have known the full
extent of the consequences of his act, was GER
tainly most fiendish one and which was the
cause of greater destruction of life than the
circumstances we have mentioned. This man,
while he was suffering with the disease, OBJ
tained two yeast-cans and filled them both with
scabS.
AS soon as he was able to do so, he took an
old shirt, rubbed it thoroughly with the contents
Of the boxes, and then placed the infected gar
ment on the trail of the Piegans, on Hghwood
Greek, where the Indians would be sure to find
it. They did so, and in short time afterwards
the most frightful of calamities was visited up
on that tribe. 1t spread with wonderful rapid
ity among the Blackfeet, Bloods and River
Crows, until the whole country within radius
of 100 miles from Fort Benton, and extending
along the river for q much greater distance was
infected with the disease, and deaths occurred
by the thousand From this awful source the
spectators reaped rich harvest. Robes and
blankets were gathered in by the thousand and
conveyed by boats down the river, thus convey
ing and scattering the disease broadcast over
the land. The government was finally informed
of the matter, and Gen. Hancock was promptly
ordered to prohibit the shipment of robes, un-
less they were first inspected and foundto be iii
healthy condition As there were few in the
countrv not infected, the abominable traffic
ceased, and. the inhuman wretches who were
engaged in it, were, for time, deprived of
the benefits which their infamous trade had
conferred upon them But they did not despair.