1st Smallpox Epidemic in Canada

Post #1025

“… of young and old not one in fifty of those Tribes are now living.”

The first smallpox epidemic on Canadian Plains was brutal. The quote above indicates that, for a few native tribes, it was estimated that at least 49 (at least 98%) out of 50 indigenous people died of smallpox. According to the following, it started to spread after the Snake tribe defeated some smallpox-infected Spaniards and took their scalps:

The evidence indicates that, when your baseline immunity to a communicable pathogen is low, then epidemics can happen.

Reference

Houston CS, Houston S. The first smallpox epidemic on the Canadian Plains: In the fur-traders' words. Can J Infect Dis. 2000 Mar;11(2):112-5. doi: 10.1155/2000/782978. PMID: 18159275; PMCID: PMC2094753. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2094753/