United Nations Says Changing U.S. Marijuana Laws Violate International Drug Conventions

[happyslug]

84. Small Pox was highly contagious, you had problem with people taking in their own family members..

Transmission occurs through inhalation of airborne variola virus, usually droplets expressed from the oral, nasal, or pharyngeal mucosa of an infected person. It is transmitted from one person to another primarily through prolonged face-to-face contact with an infected person, usually within a distance of 6 feet (1.8 m), but can also be spread through direct contact with infected bodily fluids or contaminated objects (fomites) such as bedding or clothing

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smallpox#Transmission

Notice, Small Pox can be spread not only by being within six feet of someone that has it, but by touching bedding and due to the high rate of death tied in with it, Small Pox was the most fear disease of the time period. When Small pox broke out in a town, no one would go to the town for months afterward. People would refuse to take in their relatives who had it (including parents and children). It was THAT feared, thus the lack of records is mostly due to the inability to find anyone who was willing to handle those blankets, other then to burn them (and then quickly to minimize contacts).

One of the rules regarding the sick in Von Steuben's blue book (The book he wrote on how the US army units were to be formed and to fight) including boiling the sheets and burning the straw of the bed the sick had laid it (Notice this was almost 100 years before the concept of germs and how disease spread was accepted by medical doctors). The reason for the rule, was NO one wanted to sleep in that bed without confidence they would NOT get what the soldier who had been in the bed had.

Thus it is probably near zero the number of times blankets with Small Pox were given to the Indians, not from any care for the Indians, but the fear WHITES had when it came to small pox.

Side note: When the US Army did a study on Germ Warfare in the 1960s, it was determined the only time where it would be worth the effort is if the US Army was retreating down a Peninsula, to be evacuated when the Army reached the end of the Peninsula. Other then in that special circumstances, germs would spread not only among the troops of the other side, but one's own troops and without the ability to evacuate ALL of the troops they was no way the Germs would NOT do as much harm to US troops as to any enemy troops (Thus the US and the Soviet Union agreed to ban germ warfare in the early 1970s, both had determined it would cause more harm to the side that launched the germs then the side the germs were aimed at).

In many ways, earlier armies either accepted the same concept thus it was rare to see Germ Warfare used even in earlier times. Some exceptions, but in many ways the exceptions proved the rule. One was the Germans use of Anthrax on Romanian horses during WWI, At the time of the Germ Attack, it was an inactive front AND the actual germs were NOT used on the troops or their horses on the front lines but back in Romanian where the horses were being raised and then purchased for use by the Romanian Army. It increased the cost of horses for Romanian, but had little affect on their ability to fight on the front lines.

In the Middle ages, dead cattle and other animals (and other obnoxious material) were thrown into designed cities by the besiegers, but these seem to be more in the line of harassment then an attempt to spread disease among the city inhabitants. The reason was the same as with small pox Blankets, no one wanted to handle the disease animals unless they were sure it would NOT affect them (and when that was the case, it had little chance of spreading disease on the other side).

Thus the use of germs to kill people have been rare in history, more spoked of then actually done (and then spoke of more when it hit an enemy, as such diseases were know to do even when NOT spread by "blankets&quot .

Now, during the Siege of Ft Pitt in 1763, two blankets from the Small Pox Hospital were given to the besieging Native Americans. Again British Army Officials AND during Military operations, but no direct evidence that the blankets lead to any small pox among the Native Americans (The Native Americans did come down with small pox, but so did the civilians and soldiers in Fort Pitt, the "Siege" of Ft Pitt was NOT a battle where both sides continued to fire on each other, both sides waited in "safe areas" (The Fort for the British and Americans, the deep woods less then a mile away from the fort for the Native Americans). Both sides then sent patrols and even traders, to trade and talk to the other side. The Native America plan was to block any relief column, the British and Americans plan was to hold out till the relief column arrived. Thus you could go days without any fighting, in fact days where both sides traded with each other. Thus the two blankets MAY have spread small pox, but given how small pox is spread, it most likely occurred during one of the exchange of words during negotiations or trade then from the blankets.

Small Pox at Ft. Pitt:
http://www.history.org/Foundation/journal/Spring04/warfare.cfm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Fort_Pitt
http://www.politicsandthelifesciences.org/Biosecurity_course_folder/readings/fenn.html
http://www.umass.edu/legal/derrico/amherst/lord_jeff.html

Most of the above, take the little evidence we have and try to make it bigger then what it appears to be. Amherst hated American Indians is quite clear, but did he ordered Small Pox Blankets to be given out? During the Siege of Ft Pitt blankets were given out, but while it is possible to get Small Pox from infected blankets, you more likely spread it by coming near a person who already has it (i.e. spread by contact with an infected person NOT his blanket, i.e. get small pox from the person who gave you the blanket NOT the blanket itself).

Here is column on the actual nature of the Siege of Fort Pitt, and that little fighting occurred, there were NOT enough soldiers in Ft Pitt to break out and go over the Mountains to get supplies AND hold the fort. Thus the Commander of Ft Pitt had two choices, stay till relieve or abandon Ft Pitt. He decided to stay, which forced the Native Americans to maintain blocking positions. Thus both sides could NOT force the other out, thus little fighting but a lot of skirmishes between the sides:.

http://www.brooklineconnection.com/history/Facts/FortPitt.html

Now, the Siege of Fort Pitt took place in 1763, just six years earlier you had the Siege of Fort William Henry, an actual siege by the French of a British fort. During that Siege something similar to Ft Pitt occurred. During the siege the garrison surrendered to the French, and as part of the agreement to surrender the British Garrison were permitted to leave. The Native Americans claimed they had NOT been able to get enough booty under the terms of Surrender and thus attacked the British and Americans as they vacated the fort.

The French (in one of the few times when such massacres occurred when French Marines were around) tried to contain their allies, but the Massacre killed a lot of Americans and British. In many ways it was the last flash for the Native Americas east of the Hudson, for it their rush for booty (and scalps, mostly to sell to the French in Montreal) they dug up the bodies in the cemetery. The problem was the Cemetery contained bodies of people who died in a recent Small Pox Epidemic and they Native Americans contaminated themselves from the bodies they dug up. Thus small pox spread throughout the Native American tribes in New England and present day Quebec, that were allied with the French. This Epidemic killed off so many Native Americans in the area that they cease to be a factor in the French and Indian War from that point forward AND had NOT recovered enough to be that big of a problem during the Revolution.

After this debacle (In 1757) by the Native Americans in New England, Native America resistance to the westward movement of Americans shifted from New England to Ohio and the Mid West. This was due to how massive the kill off was due to this Small Pox epidemic. Upstate New York (Controlled by the Iroquois, allied to the British) remained quiet from a British and American point of view (The Iroquois gladly attacked the French) for the duration of the French and Indian war. While the Peace Treaty was NOT signed till 1763, it was over in North America by 1759 when Wolfe took Quebec, Montreal fell the following year, 1760. New England would remain quiet during the subsequent Pontiac Rebellion in 1763 (Which the Iroquois did NOT participate in).

Notice, it is clear how the Small Pox spread to the Native American Populations, it was by direct contact with people who had died of the disease, NOT they clothes or blankets. On the other hand, while it was known that direct contact spread small pox (and by direct contact I included being within six feet of a person who has small pox, even if that person is NOT yet showing the symptoms), blankets were suspected to spread the disease but blankets were NOT as affective a vector as just standing a person with small pox near the person you wanted to get small pox.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_William_Henry

During the Revolution, the Iroquois would see the destruction of their confederation, the Mohawks Seneca, Onondaga and Cayuga sided with the British, the Tuscarora and the Oneida sided with the colonists, thus leading some of the meanest battles in history (the Battle of Oriskey was noted for having one of the highest percentage of participates in the battle as a percentage of the total population of the area).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Oriskany

Allegations of small pox being spread during the Revolution were made (And at least one attempt seems to be by sending among the American Population two people with small pox. a more effective vector then sending blankets) but again the fear of the disease interfered with any effort to use it as a weapon.

Please note, I suspect some Americans on the Frontier would have spread small pox, if they were convinced it would NOT cause a back lash among the White population. The problem was such a backlash was not only foreseeable, but in many ways expected and for that reason alone, Americans on the Frontier would have OPPOSES the spread of Small Pox, but blankets or personal vectors. Thus I have to reject these reports as more speculation by officers, who would have loved to do it, but could NOT get their enlisted ranks (and their Civilian traders) to have anything to do with the plan, more due to their own fear of Small Pox then any respect for Native Americans.