Hi Tom.  Well, it may be a hoax some places, but not all.  Pequea, PA means
"out of the fire".  This is where the Smallpox blankets were given to one of
the Piquea and Miquon village here in Piquea.  Pequea is on Susquehanna
River at the mouth of Pequea Creek, in Lancaster County, Pa..  It is
beautiful here.  The story here goes like this... after the Indians became
infected with Smallpox after being given the blankets infected with
Smallpox... many died, and so the surviving members of the village burned
the village and all who died in hopes that no one else could catch it after
entering the village if left intact.  They did not bury their dead.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/801650/posts


http://www.realduesouth.net/WolfsRetreat/Shawnee-Info.htm shows that the
they were given out.

676.   Brilliant, L. [Letter to Wub-e-ke-niew and Clara NiiSka].
Notes: cited in Wub-e-ke-niew (1995)
The author acknowledges telephone discussion of these issues with
epidemiologist Larry Brilliant, who Howard Reingold recommended as "the
world's leading smallpox expert."  Dr. Brilliant helped clarify
understanding of the co-evolution of diseases.  Also acknowledged is Dr.
Paul Greenough of the University of Iowa, for his understanding of the
history of epidemics.
Dr. Brilliant mentioned a place called "Smallpox Acres" in the Atlantic
northeast.  "Smallpox blankets" are general knowledge in
Ahnishinahbæótjibway oral history.  In this context, Dr. Brilliant commented
that four hours exposure to sunlight will kill the smallpox organism.  This
is probably why the recipients of blankets from the Prairie du Chien treaty,
for example, were told "don't open these packages until you get home."


http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&rls=GGLG%2CGGLG%3A2006-04%2CGGLG%3Aen
&q=smallpox%2C+blankets%2C+fire%2C+infected%2C+indians&btnG=Search

Hope this helps.
Dolores


----- Original Message -----
From: "Tom Apple" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, March 08, 2006 10:39 AM
Subject: Re: [VA-HIST] Recovering Virginia Algonquian / Susquehanna dialect


> On Wed, 8 Mar 2006 09:46:47 -0500, doloresc.phifer wrote
> >  So, it is not a wonder why they were given the smallpox
> > laden blankets which almost wiped their entire population out.
>
> I'm pretty sure that that the use of infected blankets to spread smallpox
has
> proven to be a myth. The one instance of blankets given to the Indians
that
> alledgedly had been infected was at Fort Pitt during the French and Indian
> War. Some blankets from the hopsital were give as gifts because those were
> the only extra blankets available. The ability of a few blankets to even
be
> able to spread the pathogen has been questioned. The most likely cause of
> spread of smallpox in that instance occured when the Indians scalped those
> who had already died of smallpox putting them in direct contact with an
> active pathogen from the blood.
>
> Other than that one alledged incident where the Indians were given
blankets
> and there were people infected with smallpox present, there have been no
> other documented incidents that Indians were given infected blankets to
> deliberately spread the disease.
>
> Regards,
>
> Tom Apple
>
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