1910: Pequot population falls to all-time low
According to the 1910 U.S. Census, there are 66 Pequot remaining from a population of 8,000 at the time of first contact with English settlers in the 1600s. Historically the Pequot population declined because of war, disease, and abduction into enslavement, usually to the West Indies, where conditions were harsh and escape difficult. Census workers find only a few Pequot families on the Mashantucket Reservation in Connecticut. Others live in nearby cities where they can get jobs.