THE OLD SANTA FE TRAIL, COLONEL HENRY INMAN [well read books .txt] 📗
- Author: COLONEL HENRY INMAN
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Smoky Hill, And Committed the Most Horrible Depredations
Upon The Scattered settlers In that Region. Upon This News,
General Hancock Issued the Following Order:--
"As A Punishment Of The Bad Faith Practised by The Cheyennes
And Sioux Who Occupied the Indian Village At This Place, And
As A Chastisement For Murders And Depredations Committed
Since The Arrival Of The Command At This Point, By The
People Of These Tribes, The Village Recently Occupied by
Them, Which Is Now In our Hands, Will Be Utterly Destroyed."
The Cheyennes, Arapahoes, And Apaches Had Been United under
One Agency; The Kiowas And Comanches Under Another.
As General Hancock'S Expedition Had Reference To All These
Tribes, He Had Invited both The Agents To Accompany Him
Into The Indian Country And Be Present At All Interviews
With The Representatives Of These Tribes, For The Purpose,
As The Invitation Stated, Of Showing The Indians "That The
Officers Of The Government Are Acting In harmony."
In conversation With The General The Agents Admitted that
Indians Had Been Guilty Of All The Outrages Charged against
Them, But Each Asserted the Innocence Of The Particular
Tribes Under His Charge, And Endeavoured to Lay Their Crimes
At The Door Of Their Neighbours.
Here Was Positive Evidence From The Agents Themselves That
The Indians Against Whom We Were Operating Were Deserving
Of Severe Punishment. The Only Conflicting Portion Of The
Testimony Was As To Which Tribe Was Most Guilty. Subsequent
Events Proved, However, That All Of The Five Tribes Named,
As Well As The Sioux, Had Combined for A General War
Throughout The Plains And Along Our Frontier. Such A War
Had Been Threatened to Our Post Commanders Along The
Arkansas On Many Occasions During The Winter. The Movement
Of The Sioux And Cheyennes Toward The North Indicated that
The Principal Theatre Of Military Operations During The
Summer Would Be Between The Smoky Hill And Platte Rivers.
General Hancock Accordingly Assembled the Principal Chiefs
Of The Kiowas And Arapahoes In council At Fort Dodge,
Hoping To Induce Them To Remain At Peace And Observe Their
Treaty Obligations.
The Most Prominent Chiefs In council Were Satanta, Lone Wolf,
And Kicking Bird Of The Kiowas, And Little Raven And Yellow
Bear Of The Arapahoes. During The Council Extravagant
Promises Of Future Good Behaviour Were Made By These Chiefs.
So Effective And Convincing Was The Oratorical Effort Of
Satanta, That At The Termination Of His Address, The
Department Commander And His Staff Presented him With The
Uniform Coat, Sash, And Hat Of A Major-General. In return
For This Compliment, Satanta, Within A Few Weeks, Attacked
The Post At Which The Council Was Held, Arrayed in his
New Uniform.
In The Spring Of 1878, The Indians Commenced a Series Of Depredations
Along The Santa Fe Trail And Against The Scattered settlers Of The
Frontier, That Were Unparalleled in their Barbarity. General Alfred
Sully, A Noted indian Fighter, Who Commanded the District Of The
Upper Arkansas, Early Concentrated a Portion Of The Seventh And Tenth
Cavalry And Third Infantry Along The Line Of The Old Santa Fe Trail,
And Kept Out Small Expeditions Of Scouting Parties To Protect The
Overland Coaches And Freight Caravans; But The Troops Effected very
Little In stopping The Devilish Acts Of The Indians, Who Were Now
Fully Determined to Carry Out Their Threats Of A General War, Which
Culminated in the Winter Expedition Of General Sheridan, Who Completely
Subdued them, And Forced all The Tribes On Reservations; Since Which
Time There Has Never Been Any Trouble With The Plains Indians Worthy
Of Mention.[69]
General Sully, About The 1St Of September, With Eight Companies Of
The Seventh Cavalry And Five Companies Of Infantry, Left Fort Dodge,
On The Arkansas, On A Hurried expedition Against The Kiowas, Arapahoes,
And Cheyennes. The Command Marched in a General Southeasterly
Direction, And Reached the Sand Hills Of The Beaver And Wolf Rivers,
By A Circuitous Route, On The Fifth Day. When Nearly Through That
Barren Region, They Were Attacked by A Force Of Eight Hundred of The
Allied tribes Under The Leadership Of The Famous Kiowa Chief, Satanta.
A Running Fight Was Kept Up With The Savages On The First Day,
In Which Two Of The Cavalry Were Killed and One Wounded.
That Night The Savages Came Close Enough To Camp To Fire Into It
(An Unusual Proceeding In indian Warfare, As They Rarely Molest
Troops During The Night), I Now Quote From Custer Again:
The Next Day General Sully Directed his March Down The
Valley Of The Beaver; But Just As His Troops Were Breaking
Camp, The Long Wagon-Train Having already "Pulled out," And
The Rear Guard Of The Command Having Barely Got Into Their
Saddles, A Party Of Between Two And Three Hundred warriors,
Who Had Evidently In some Inexplicable Manner Contrived to
Conceal Themselves Until The Proper Moment, Dashed into The
Deserted camp Within A Few Yards Of The Rear Of The Troops,
And Succeeded in cutting Off A Few Led horses And Two Of
The Cavalrymen Who, As Is Often The Case, Had Lingered a
Moment Behind The Column.
Fortunately, The Acting adjutant Of The Cavalry, Brevet
Captain A. E. Smith, Was Riding at The Rear Of The Column
And Witnessed the Attack Of The Indians. Captain Hamilton,[70]
Of The Seventh Cavalry, Was Also Present In command Of The
Rear Guard. Wheeling To The Rightabout, He At Once Prepared
To Charge The Indians And Attempt The Rescue Of The Two
Troopers Who Were Being Carried off Before His Very Eyes.
At The Same Time, Captain Smith, As Representative Of The
Commanding Officer Of The Cavalry, Promptly Took The
Responsibility Of Directing a Squadron Of The Cavalry To
Wheel Out Of Column And Advance In support Of Captain
Hamilton'S Guard. With This Hastily Formed detachment,
The Indians, Still Within Pistol-Range, But Moving Off With
Their Prisoners, Were Gallantly Charged and So Closely
Pressed that They Were Forced to Relinquish One Of Their
Prisoners, But Not Before Shooting Him Through The Body And
Leaving Him On The Ground, As They Supposed, Mortally Wounded.
The Troops Continued to Charge The Retreating Indians,
Upon Whom They Were Gaining, Determined, If Possible,
To Effect The Rescue Of Their Remaining Comrade. They Were
Advancing Down One Slope While The Indians, Just Across
A Ravine, Were Endeavouring To Escape With Their Prisoner
Up The Opposite Ascent, When A Peremptory Order Reached the
Officers Commanding The Pursuing Force To Withdraw Their Men
And Reform The Column At Once. The Terrible Fate Awaiting
The Unfortunate Trooper Carried off By The Indians Spread
A Deep Gloom Throughout The Command. All Were Too Familiar
With The Horrid Customs Of The Savages To Hope For A Moment
That The Captive Would Be Reserved for Aught But A Slow,
Lingering Death, From Tortures The Most Horrible And Painful
Which Blood-Thirsty Minds Could Suggest. Such Was The Truth
In his Case, As We Learned afterwards When Peace (?) Was
Established with The Tribes Then Engaged in war.
The Expedition Proceeded down The Valley Of The Beaver,
The Indians Contesting Every Step Of The Way. In the
Afternoon, About Three O'Clock, The Troops Arrived at
A Ridge Of Sand Hills A Few Miles Southeast Of The
Presentsite Of Camp Supply, Where Quite A Determined
Engagement Took Place Between The Command And The Three
Tribes, Cheyennes, Arapahoes, And Kiowas, The Indians
Being The Assailants. The Indians Seemed to Have Reserved
Their Strongest Efforts Until The Troops And Train Had
Advanced well Into The Sand Hills, When A Most Obstinate
Resistance--And Well Conducted, Too--Was Offered the
Farther Advance Of The Troops. It Was Evident That The
Troops Were Probably Nearing The Indian Villages, And That
This Opposition To Further Advance Was To Save Them. The
Character Of The Country Immediately About The Troops Was
Not Favourable To The Operations Of Cavalry; The Surface
Of The Rolling Plain Was Cut Up By Irregular And Closely
Located sand Hills, Too Steep And Sandy To Allow Cavalry
To Move With Freedom, Yet Capable Of Being Easily Cleared
Of Savages By Troops Fighting On Foot. The Indians Took
Post On The Hilltops And Began A Harassing Fire On The
Troops And Train. Captain Yates, With A Single Troop Of
Cavalry, Was Ordered forward To Drive Them Away. This Was
A Proceeding Which Did Not Seem To Meet With Favour From
The Savages. Captain Yates Could Drive Them Wherever He
Encountered them, But They Appeared in increased numbers
At Some Other Threatened point. After Contending In this
Non-Effective Manner For A Couple Of Hours, The Impression
Arose In the Minds Of Some That The Train Could Not Be
Conducted through The Sand Hills In the Face Of The Strong
Opposition Offered by The Indians. The Order Was Issued
To Turn About And Withdraw. The Order Was Executed, And
The Troop And Train, Followed by The Exultant Indians,
Retired a Few Miles To The Beaver, And Encamped for The
Night On The Ground Afterward Known As Camp Supply.
Captain Yates Had Caused to Be Brought Off The Field, When
His Troop Was Ordered to Retire, The Body Of One Of His Men,
Who Had Been Slain In the Fight. As The Troops Were To
Continue Their Backward March Next Day, And It Was Impossible
To Transport The Dead Body Further, Captain Yates Ordered
Preparations Made For Interring It In camp That Night.
Knowing That The Indians Would Thoroughly Search The Deserted
Camp-Ground Almost Before The Troops Should Get Out Of Sight,
And Would Be Quick, With Their Watchful Eyes, To Detect A
Grave, And, If Successful In discovering It, Would Unearth
The Body In order To Get The Scalp, Directions Were Given
To Prepare The Grave After Nightfall; And The Spot Selected
Would Have Baffled any One But An Indian. The Grave Was
Dug Under The Picket Line To Which The Seventy Or Eighty
Horses Of The Troop Would Be Tethered during The Night,
So That Their Constant Tramping and Pawing Should Completely
Cover Up And Obliterate All Traces. The Following Morning,
Even Those Who Had Performed the Sad Rites Of Burial To
Their Fallen Comrade Could Scarcely Have Indicated the Exact
Location Of The Grave. Yet When We Returned to That Point
A Few Weeks Later, It Was Discovered that The Wily Savages
Had Found The Place, Unearthed the Body, And Removed the
Scalp Of Their Victim On The Day Following The Interment.[71]
After Leaving The Camp At Supply, The Indians Gradually Increased
Their Force, Until They Mustered about Two Thousand Warriors.
For Four Days And Nights They Hovered around The Command, And By The
Time It Reached mulberry Creek There Were Not One Thousand Rounds Of
Ammunition Left In the Whole Force Of Troopers And Infantrymen.
At The Creek, The Incessant Charges Of The Now Infuriated savages
Compelled the Troops To Use This Small Amount Held In reserve, And
They Found Themselves Almost At The Mercy Of The Indians. But Before
They Were Absolutely Defenceless, Colonel Keogh Had Sent A Trusty
Messenger In the Night To Fort Dodge For A Supply Of Cartridges To
Meet The Command At The Creek, Which Fortunately Arrived there
In Time To Save That Spot From Being a Veritable "Last Ditch."
The Savages, In the Little But Exciting Encounter At The Creek Before
The Ammunition Arrived, Would Ride Up Boldly Toward The Squadrons Of
Cavalry, Discharge The Shots From Their Revolvers, And Then, In their
Rage, Throw Them At The Skirmishers On The Flanks Of The Supply-Train,
While The Latter, Nearly Out Of Ammunition, Were Compelled to Sit
Quietly In their Saddles, Idle Spectators Of The Extraordinary Scene.[72]
Many Of The Indians Were Killed on Their Ponies, However, By Those
Who Were Fortunate Enough To Have A Few Cartridges Left; But None
Were Captured, As The Savages Had Taken Their Usual Precaution To
Tie Themselves To Their Animals, And As Soon As Dead Were Dragged
Away By Them.
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