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The 1862 Smallpox Epidemic brought death to almost 1/2 of the province. Some settlers and Southern First Nations perished but Northern First Nations suffered catastrophic mortality, with 60 or 70% death rates. In March of 1862, a boatload of miners from San Francisco arrived in Victoria. One had smallpox. It takes 12 days to get symptoms and become infectious. The trip took four days. He stayed in a room with others who also became infected.
Governor James Douglas “recommended instant measures be adopted”, including reinstating quarantine of ships. The elected assembly refused. Douglas met with 30 local native leaders to convince them of the threat. With their support, 500 local native people were inoculated by Dr John Helmcken. The local Songhees and Esquimalt would be relatively unscathed. Douglas and Helmcken then sent vaccine around the province. A doctor spent a month vaccinating indigenous people along the Fraser and Nicola Rivers which Douglas reimbursed. A priest vaccinated dozens of communities in the Fraser Valley.
Anti Douglas settlers spread rumours that Douglas wanted to infect aboriginal people with blankets. This accusation continues today. It should be noted that Douglas had an aboriginal wife and children. The Germ Theory of Disease was only then being developed by Louis Pasteur. Most people believed smallpox was caused by bad air. The smallpox virus dies within 24 hours at room temperature with the relative humidity of Victoria.
Reverend Alexander Garrett and his assistant were the only ones to provide aid to the camp of Northern First Nations outside of Victoria. He lamented that “ they refused with few exceptions to be vaccinated”. Newspaper editor Amor De Cosmos, the champion of the Chinese Head Tax, criticized Douglas often for allowing native people to live near Victoria and in one editorial he accused the Governor of putting the City at risk. Later that day, while Douglas was in New Westminster, the police towed the Northerners to the ocean and sent them home. Many had smallpox and their return would create cascades of misery and death. Haida oral tradition recorded in Raven's Cry credits Douglas for his efforts to prevent infection.
Douglas incorporated the City of Victoria later that year as a way to better manage such crises. Some settlers and Southern First Nations died during the Smallpox Epidemic of 1862, but Northern First Nations suffered catastrophic losses.
Kumtuks is a Vancouver vlog that shares knowledge and explores new narratives. Some quotes and descriptors have been adjusted for clarity and brevity.
