Upper Missouri Indians Scourged by Small-Pox

In a report to John Haverty, Esq., the Superintendent of Indian Affairs in St. Louis, the Indian Agent R. Baldwin wrote from Fort Benton on August 20, 1857 regarding smallpox that had taken the lives of approximately 1200 Assiniboines and 2000 members of the five other tribes. The Mandans once numbered 500; after the epidemic they were reduced to 30-40. Because of the ailment, the Assiniboines and the Crows were widely dispersed. More than 25% died from smallpox. On July 7, 1857 smallpox reached the Kickapoo village and many fled; 24 died. Drs. Knight and Campbell vaccinated the Kickapoos who either remained in the village or returned to it.