Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1941-07-18

he would be ashamed 10 De cauSnt az
Fort Union in it.
All the clerks were strangers to
me-" continues Larpenteur in Forty
Years Trader on the Upper Mis-
souri," land when the bell rang for
supper I saw them put on their coats,
for, as I found out afterward, they
were not allowed to go to table In
shirt sleeves. One of them, perceiving
that was coatless, was so kind as to
lend me a coat, and so we started for
supper On entering the eating hall,
I found a splendidly set table with
very white tablecloth, and two walters,
one a negro. Mr.. Mckenzie was sitting
at the head of the table, extremely well
dressed. Mr.. Mckenzie, who played the
nabob, went to bed late, and rose later,
and as nothing could be served till
he was ready. it was 9 o'clock before
we got to breakfast"
1t was here that one Of the most
desolating plaques of history ragged
the smallpox scourge of 1337-sweeping
from this fort and Fort Clark out over
the prairie, and, according to Audit
bon, taking a toll of 10000 lives. Every
day one or more carloads of corpSes
were dumped over the bluff into the
river.
Audubon. in his journal. gives vivid
description of the plague.
Death to Thousands
Early in the spring of 1887" he
writes. the steamer Assinniboine ar
rived at Fort Clark, with several cases
of smallpox on board. There an Indian
stole a blanket belonging to a watch
yt1,
the point of death. and took it away
to SOW the seeds of this disease among
his tribe, and which caused his own
death and the death of thousands OF
his nation. When it was known that
he had taken it, benevolent person
on the boat went to one of the chiefs,
told him the fatal consequences that
would follow. and offered to give a
new blanket and reward besides II
he would have it returned; but sus-
picion. fear and shame prevented the
man from giving it up, and the pesti-
lence broke out and began to spread
among the Mandans at first, to which
nation the chief belonged.
Most of the Indians were distant
80 miles at the time, killing buffaloes
and preparing their winter food and
them not to return to their villages,
and telling them of the fatal conse-
quences. The Indians sent back word
that they would return and face the
danger, which they thought was mag
mary. Word was again sent them that
certain destruction would attend their
return: but it was all in vain: come
back they would, and come back they
did. and the plague began in its most
malignant form, their habits and I'M
proper food making them ready
prey, and a few hours sometimes ter
minating the loathsome disease by
death.
Threaten Whites
The ,Mandans were enraged because
at first it was confined to them, and
they supposed the whites had caused
,, it. and saved themselves and the
Ricarees from the pestilence; and they
threatened the lives of all the former.
supposing they had a medicine to pre-
vent it, which they would not give
them. But by-and-by RicareeS and
whites died also; the disease increased
in malignity- hundreds died daily, and
their bodies were thrown beneath the
bluffs, and created an intolerable
stencil, which added to its fatality.
Men shot each other when they found
they were attacked; one man killed
his wife and children, and then loaded
his gun and, placing the muzzle IN
his mouth, touched the trigger with
his toe and blew out his own brains.
One young chief made his friends dig
grave for him, and putting on his
war robes. he tottered out to it, sing
ing his death song, and jumping in,
he cut his body nearly in two with
knife, and was buried there; and
others committed suicide after they
we're attacked, rather than die OF the
loathsome disease"
Rum HnU CrOD