Ethnohistorical accounts as a 



method of assessing health, disease, and 



population decline among Native Americans 



Marc A. Kelley 



Paleopathological inquiry, while typically relying on surviv- 

 ing hard and soft tissues, can also benefit from a variety of 

 other sources. These include artistic representations (paint- 

 ings, engravings, ceramics), coprolites, early medical texts 

 (e.g., Greek, Roman, Chinese) and, as in this study, eth- 

 nohistoric accounts. These accounts, when used in conjunc- 

 tion with skeletal samples, not only provide meaningful in- 

 sight into disease patterns present at time of contact between 

 two cultures, but also record natives' accounts of afflictions 

 and treatments existing prior to contact. I shall focus on the 

 Contact and early Historic periods of New England to dem- 

 onstrate the utility of this approach. 



European contact with New England natives 



As any American historian knows, the landing of the 

 Plymouth Pilgrims in 1620 was preceded by more than 120 

 years of exploration, trade, Indian abduction into slavery, 

 and foiled attempts at settlement on New England soil. Table 

 I lists the official voyages from Europe, as well as some of 

 the unofficial expeditions. The actual number of unofficial 

 journeys will never be known, but no doubt well exceeds the 

 documented trips. 



From an epidemiological point of view, certain events dur- 

 ing the exploratory period deserve closer attention. Hundreds 

 of fishing vessels were visiting areas south of Newfoundland 

 each year during the second half of the 16th century (Fite and 

 Reese 1965; Brasser 1978). In 1602 Gosnold encountered 

 natives wearing pieces of European clothing and understand- 

 ing a fair number of European words (Purchas 1625). Five 

 years later Popham and Gilbert attempted to establish a col- 

 ony on the Maine coast (Winship 1968). This was abandoned 

 a year later. In 1616 two different parties, headed by Vines 

 and Hawkins, respectively, wintered at coastal ItKations in 

 Maine (Gorges 1658; Howe 1942). One member of the 

 Gorges party. Richard Vines, observed the natives to be suf- 

 fering a plaguelike disease to which the English were 

 seemingly immune (Gorges 1658). A few years later large 



Zagreb Paleopathology Symp. 1988 



tracts of New England were nearly void of inhabitants, thus 

 paving the way for the Plymouth Pilgrims. 



Chronology of epidemics 



A close inspection of ethnohistorical documents suggests 

 that the devastating plague arising in 1616 in New England 

 was preceded by several pestilences in the second half of the 

 16th century. After an earthquake rocked New England in 

 1638 the founder of Rhode Island, Roger Williams, ques- 

 tioned the Narragansett elders regarding earlier earthquakes 

 and found that they not only remembered previous earth- 

 quakes but associated each one with an epidemic: 



The younger natives are ignorant of the like; but the elders 

 inform me that this is the fifth |carthquake] with these 4 

 score years in the land: the first about three score and ten 

 years since: the second some 3 score and four years since, 

 the third some 54 years since and the fourth some 46 since: 

 and they always observe either Plague or Pox or some other 

 epidemical disease followed; 3, 4 or 5 years after the earth- 

 quake. (LaFantasie 1988:159-160) 



While the earthquake/epidemic dualism may be a meta- 

 phor of Algonquian speech, the existence of epidemics is 

 not. According to the elders the date for these epidemics was 

 1572 ± I year, 1578 ± 1 year, and 1597 ± 1 year. However, 

 if the Narragansetts had been affected by four epidemics their 

 numbers were surprisingly robust by the early 17th century. 



The so-called plague which began in 1616 continued at 

 least until 1619 (Cook 1973b), perhaps until l622(Winslow 

 1841; Morton 1632), and swept away untold thousands of 

 Indians. Graphic accounts have been passed down to us by 

 several explorers and settlers. Thomas Morton (1632:18- 

 19), for example, described scenes near Boston as follows: 



They died on hcapes, as they lay in their houses and the liv- 

 ing; that were able to shift for themselves would runnc 

 away, and let they dy. and let there carkases ly above the 



III 



