american-holocaust

PESTILENCE AND GENOCIDE 125had reduced these peoples' populations down to a fragment of what theyhad been prior to the coming of the Europeans.The story of the southeastern Indians, like that of the northeasterntribes, was repeated across the entire expanse of the North American continent,as far south as Mexico, as far north as Canada and the Arctic, asfar west as the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California. Just as wehave had to overlook many native peoples in Maryland, Pennsylvania, NewJersey, and elsewhere, who regularly suffered depopulation rates of 90 to95 percent and more-as well as numerous New England and southerntribes who passed into total extinction with less drama than did those wehave surveyed here--our references to the holocaust that swept the rest ofthe continent can be little more than suggestive of the devastation thatoccurred.We can speak of small but illustrative incidents. For example, the totaldestruction in 1792 of a far northwest coast Nootka Indian village calledOpitsatah, half a mile in diameter and containing more than 200 elaboratelycarved homes (and many times that number of people) under thecommand of a man who later said he "was in no ways tenacious of"carrying out such mass murder, and that he "was grieved to think" thathis commander "should let his passions go so far." But he did it anyway,because he was ordered to. Every door the American killers entered, hesaid, "was in resemblance to a human and beasts head, the passage beingthrough the mouth, besides which there was much more rude carved workabout the dwellings, some of which by no means inelegant. This fine village,the work of ages, was in a short time totally destroyed." 106 Or thereis the case of the Moravian Delaware Indians who had converted to Christianity,as demanded by their white conquerors, in order to save their lives.It didn't matter. After destroying their corn and reducing them to starvingscavengers, American troops under Colonel David Williamson rounded upthose tribal members who were still clinging to life and, as reported afterthe events,assured them of sympathy in their great hunger and their intention to escortthem to food and safety. Without suspicion ... the Christians agreed to gowith them and after consultations, hastened to the Salem fields to bring intheir friends. The militia relieved the Indians of their guns and knives, promisingto restore them later. The Christians felt safe with these friendly menwhose interest in their welfare seemed genuine. Too late they discoveredthe Americans' treachery. Once defenseless, they were bound and chargedwith being warriors, murderers, enemies and thieves . . . . After a shortnight of prayer and hymns . . . twenty-nine men, twenty-seven women,and thirty-four children were ruthlessly murdered. Pleas, in excellent English,from some of the kneeling Christians, failed to stop the massacre. Only twoescaped by feigning death before the butchers had completed their work ofscalping. 107