History of Colorado; Volume I, Part 11

Author: Stone, Wilbur Fiske, 1833-1920, ed
Publication date: 1918
Publisher: Chicago, S. J. Clarke
Number of Pages: 954

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Colonel Kearney strongly advocated placing the entire Indian country under martial law; in fact, he believed in controlling the Indians with threats, and with brute force, in general with an iron hand. The relative value of the Kearney and Dodge theories of Indian government is a matter of debate, but the prepon- derance of opinion seems to be in favor of Dodge's conciliatory methods, for ultimate ends if not for immediate.

In 1846 Colonel Kearney was again present upon Colorado soil, but with a different purpose. He had with him the forces which he employed in the "blood- less" conquest of New Mexico in August of that year. The soldiers marched from Leavenworth to a point nine miles below Fort Bent, where all were assembled. The army thus gathered went into New Mexico by way of the Raton Pass. Shortly after, Colonel Price's command, consisting of 1700 men, followed practically the same route and crossed Colorado ground.

BEGINNING OF DEPREDATIONS

The presence of such great bodies of United States troops upon the plains thor- oughly aroused the militant spirit of the Indians of the central and south west. The Comanches, Kiowas, Apaches, Osages and Pawnees soon began to attack the wagon trains on the Santa Fé Trail. The depredations committed along this great highway, the cold and ruthless murders and the accompanying atrocities were many during the summer and autumn of 1847. The Utes and Navajoes, also the Apaches, began to don their war-paint in northern New Mexico and make trouble. Troops from New Mexico were despatched in detachments to drive out these bands of Indians and were more or less successful.

One particularly successful command was given to Lieut .- Col. William Gilpin, afterwards the first governor of Colorado Territory. Gilpin had taken part in the conquest of New Mexico and the march to Chihuahua City as a. major in the First Missouri Volunteer Cavalry. He returned to Missouri in 1847 and then was given the command of a volunteer force organized for the purpose of

VIEW OF A SMALL PART OF THE CLIFF DWELLERS' "CLIFF PALACE," IN THE MESA VERDE DISTRICT, IN THE FAR SOUTHWESTERN SECTION OF COLORADO

HISTORY OF COLORADO

suppressing the Indians who were committing the depredations along the Santa Fé Trail. There were three companies of infantry and two of cavalry, com- prising about eight hundred and fifty men, in Gilpin's new command. The expedition started from Fort Leavenworth in October and on November Ist reached a point where Walnut Creek enters the Arkansas. Colonel Gilpin stated in his report that "By careful inquiry, I estimated the losses sustained from Indian attacks during the summer of 1847 to have been: Americans, killed, 47; wagons destroyed, 330; stock plundered, 6,500. The greater amount of these losses were sustained by government trains, passing with supplies to and from Santa Fé. *

* Such had been the losses sustained from the Pawnees, and from the allied tribes and Camanches and Kiowas, upon the Arkansas and the Cimaron, and from the Apaches, upon the Canadian River, farther west. Rumors reached me from all directions, that. inflamed by these excesses, an arrangement was negotiating between the latter people, and the powerful tribes of the Cheyennes and Arapahoes to carry on the war with their united strength, as the season of 1848 should open."

Gilpin decided that the best strategy would be to enter the Cheyenne and Arapaho country boldly. He proceeded to the abandoned Fort Mann, where the Santa Fé Trail crossed the Arkansas, there left a portion of his troops as a garrison, and then took the remainder of the command directly into the hostile country. He encamped on the north side of the upper Arkansas, near what is now Pueblo City. "Being without provisions and transportation, my command, dismounted for the most part, endured in tents the rigors of the long winter, subsisting the men upon such provisions as could be procured from New Mexico and the Indians, and the horses upon the dead winter grass. The Indians were, however, overawed by this immediate contrast of a military force, abandoned all intercourse with the southern tribes, and invited the Kiowas to withdraw from the Camanche alliance; to unite with them in pacific relations with the Americans." The Kiowas obeyed the request of the Cheyennes and Arapahoes and ceased their warlike activities for the time.

The two divisions of American troops were again united and a definite campaign begun upon the Comanches and Apaches along the Santa Fé Trail. Many encounters occurred between the troops and Indians, none of them in Colorado, however, and the savages suffered heavy casualties. Colonel Gilpin reported : "It will be perceived, then, in what manner so many tribes of Indians inhabiting an immense and various territory, have been defeated by a single battalion. By the winter march and residence of my cavalry command at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, the Kiowas, Cheyennes and Arapahoes were forced to abstain from hostilities. These tribes being cut off and kept in the rear by the subsequent operations during the spring and summer upon the Canadian, Cimaron and middle Arkansas, the Camanches, Apaches, Pawnees and Osages were attacked, defeated and driven off in opposite directions. As neither treaties of peace nor fortified points nor troops now exist to control this numerous cloud of savages, it is clear that all of the atrocities of a very severe Indian war may be momentarily looked for, and are certain to burst forth with the early spring. The continually crippled condition and destitution of supplies caused by the ignorance, the laziness and the vicious character of the

HISTORY OF COLORADO

officers in the frontier depots, has fatally retarded the pacification of the Indian country, and heaped up unmeasured trouble for the national government."

In 1851 the Comanches again went upon the war-path, not only against the Americans, but against several other Indian tribes. This outbreak was quelled by the military force under Col. John B. Sanborn. From the Arkansas River crossing of the Santa Fé Trail, Colonel Sanborn and his troopers marched north- ward through Colorado to Fort Laramie, after the Indian trouble was quieted. Thereafter several other small military expeditions came through the Colorado country, generally following the foothills; the destination of these detachments was usually Fort Laramie. One of these, that of Captain Marcy in November, 1857, followed the route through the San Juan Mountains, and hardships and sufferings only comparable to those of Frémont were experienced. An account of Marcy's hazardous journey is given elsewhere.

The gold-seekers of the late '50s had very little trouble with the Indians. The Cheyennes and Arapahoes were disposed to be friendly with the prospectors who had located along the eastern slope of the mountains, as the latter formed a sort of buffer between them and the Ute tribes. For the same reason, the Utes were strongly opposed to the new white settlements. A lone prospector named Banker was killed during the summer near the site of Golden, also several other miners in the Clear Creek district were murdered by the Utes. On June 26th a party of prospectors consisting of J. L. Shank, J. L. Kennedy and William M. Slaughter were attacked while they were working just south of Mt. Evans. The first fire from the Utes killed Kennedy and mortally wounded Shank, but Slaughter escaped. Another tragedy was reported in September. The bodies of six white men and one Indian, scalped and mutilated in Indian fashion, were found in Dead-men's Gulch, Gunnison County.

THE UPRISING OF 1864

The Indian uprising of 1864 had its beginning in 1861, when the North and South became locked in warfare. The Indians of the plains did not fully under- stand this great struggle which had begun east of the Missouri River; they thought that the "tribes" of the North and South would quickly exterminate each other and leave them in complete freedom of the great plains as of yore. The Indians were not slow to take advantage of the opportunity. In order to facilitate the redemption of their hunting grounds and the expulsion of the Americans they began quietly to prepare for a concentrated attack. They were wise enough to realize that only in united effort could their wish be gratified, and not by desultory attacks or unorganized movement. In this they were only partially successful. Some of the larger tribes were willing to confederate, but others hesitated to ally themselves with those hitherto their bitter enemies. An- other factor which prevented an expeditious union was the lack of guns and am- munition. The day of the bow and arrow as an offensive weapon was past. Accordingly, with stealth and diplomacy, all of the plains Indians began to accumulate weapons from the white men. They would either steal, trade or buy rifles and ammunition. The suspicion of some ominous occurrence to fall upon the settlements became general among the Americans, but all questions put to the Indians in regard to their consuming desire for ordnance were an-

HISTORY OF COLORADO

swered evasively or by skillful falsehood. The Cheyennes and Arapahoes, although of the most peaceful attitude apparently, were also making prepara- tions for war. The Utes did not conceal their true feelings so well, but main- tained an openly hostile front. The small depredations and killings reported from the mining districts in the late '50s and the early '6os were all perpetrated by the Utes, generally small bands acting independently of the main tribe.

By the summer of 1862 the necessity arose of making a serious effort to counteract the growing restlessness of the Indians of the plains. On July 18, 1862, Governor Evans, in his message to the Territorial Legislature, strongly advocated the organization of a militia force and recommended a statute for that purpose. The Legislature immediately complied with this request. But action upon the new law, with immediate advantage to be gained from its enact- ment, was impossible of accomplishment and the settlers were left during the re- mainder of the year with inadequate protection. It is true that the Second Colo- rado Volunteer Infantry had been organized, but this regiment was poorly equipped and in all probability could not have withstood a very severe attack. In August, 1862, several stage stations along the Arkansas River in Kansas were plundered by Indian bands, but no men killed. In the same summer, northwestern Iowa, southwestern Minnesota and southeastern Dakota received their baptism of blood at the hands of the Sioux. New Ulm became history and over a thousand men, women and children were slaughtered. Hostilities there really began as early as 1855, when the massacre at Lake Okoboji, Iowa, occurred and four white women were carried away to hideous captivity.

The first raid within the borders of Colorado occurred in March, 1863. At this time a band of Cheyennes and Kiowas appeared at the settlement located at the mouth of the Cache a la Poudre and confiscated every horse and gun they could find. No murders were committed here, showing, without question, that the Indians had decided upon a definite course and were not yet ready to begin killing. Other raids of similar nature were conducted by the Indians along the Platte and the South Platte during the remainder of the year, all the time enlarging their means of warfare. Governor Evans appreciated the neces- sity of quick and forceful action on the part of the government and repeatedly conveyed his fears and knowledge of conditions to Washington. However, the government had its hands full fighting the Southern Confederacy and was unable to hasten any material aid to the western plains. From reliable sources in- formation had come that the Indians were to be ready the following spring and would then turn loose with all their pent-up ferocity and hellish purposes, beginning with the sparser settlements and gradually consuming the larger centers of population.

With the coming of spring in 1864 the Indian activities began to assume definite character. A central ground was established on the Smoky Hill fork of the Republican River, in western Kansas, and here the Indians gathered, sending out raiding parties on the eve of their offensive, both to learn of the disposition of the Whites and to gather more supplies. The only military organization in Colorado Territory then was the First Colorado Cavalry. A detachment of this regiment, consisting of a hundred men armed with two howitzers, met fully three hundred Cheyennes about ten miles from Fort Larned. The Indians immediately attacked openly, but were repulsed with heavy loss

HISTORY OF COLORADO

and were scattered. About the same time a smaller detachment of soldiers of the First met a half hundred Cheyennes at the mouth of Kiowa Creek, in Morgan County, Colorado, engaged in rustling a drove of horses. The soldiers de- manded the surrender of the animals and were answered by a volley, which killed one cavalryman and wounded three others. The troops did not have their carbines, so permitted the Indians to escape with the stolen horses.

These skirmishes resulted in the quick despatch of a full company of the First Colorado down the South Platte. At Cedar Canon, in what is now Logan County, the company encountered an encampment of about three hundred In- dians and quickly opened fire upon them. The engagement became bitter, but at last the Indians were defeated, with a loss of thirty-eight killed. One cavalryman was shot during the melee. Quite a number of horses were captured by the troops, more than recompense for those stolen by the Indians just previous.

Governor Evans then sent word to Fort Leavenworth, requesting of Gen. S. R. Curtis, commander of the Department of Kansas and the Indian Ter- ritory, a sufficient number of troops to protect the settlers in Denver and vicinity. Curtis replied that he had no soldiers to spare. Governor Evans then repeated the request to the authorities in New Mexico, but again was refused.

ALARM IN DENVER

To increase the general alarm, a report came to Denver, during the first week of June, that a large body of Indians was approaching the city from the north and east, with the intention of massacring the inhabitants and sacking the homes. Governor Evans practically placed Denver under martial law, and ordered all business houses to close at 6:30 o'clock in the evening, in order that the citizens might assemble at the corner of 14th and Larimer streets for drill. The women and children were congregated in the brick buildings during the night and a close network of sentinels established on the outskirts. The report soon proved to be false, however, although the situation was rapidly becoming desperate. Just one company of the First Colorado was left at Denver, the remainder of the regiment having been sent to Fort Lyon a few days before. It is easy to understand that a concerted attack by even a thousand Indians at this time would have resulted in a massacre greater than any which after- wards occurred during the Indian wars. The people of Denver were not in a position to defend themselves to any extent and would have been quickly overcome by the savages. The bloodshed which would have followed is hor- rible to contemplate.

Under the provisions of a territorial act of 1862, Governor Evans attempted to form a military force and began by appointing Henry M. Teller as major- general of such force and with the authority to organize the same. At the same time he requested the authorities at Washington to allow him to organize a volunteer cavalry troop for the period of one hundred days. After much delay this was granted. In the meantime the citizens of Denver fortified every available building in the town and made all preparations for an attack.

On June 18th word came to Denver of the massacre of a settler named Hungate, with his wife and two children, at his ranch on Running Creek, twenty-

HISTORY OF COLORADO

five miles east of the city. A band of savages led by Roman Nose, a northern Cheyenne chieftain, had committed the deed and burned the houses after taking all the plunder and stock desired. The scalped and terribly mutilated bodies of the Hungate family were carried to Denver and here exhibited to pub- lic view as a rather ghastly warning to the people.

REIGN OF TERROR

By autumn of 1864 the Indian uprising was in full force. The whole plains region between the Rockies and the Missouri River and from the Canada boundary to the Rio Grande was in the throes of Indian war. All routes of travel were the scenes of bloody massacres and running fights. Lurking bands of Indians awaited the stages and either compelled them to seek safety in headlong flight or submit to capture, which meant slow torture for the passengers and driv- ers until death relieved them. Freight caravans traveled only in large groups and even then they were subject to attack and in some cases the Indians killed all the defenders and carried off the women and merchandise. During this "reign of terror" on the plains the Indian mind devised every known means of inflicting torture upon his captives. Bodies of white men were found in an unmentionable · state of mutilation, this having been accomplished before death. Ranch houses were raided and the owners killed or carried into captivity. The latter recourse applied only to women and their fate was even worse than death. Many of the American women were driven insane or to suicide by the inhuman and brutal treatment accorded them by the savages. When one reads of the wliole- sale slaughter by the Indians, the tortures inflicted upon helpless people, the destruction of property, the acts committed upon the white women-and all of it according to the plan they had so carefully wrought during the pre- ceding years, the massacres just for the pure love of killing and sight of blood, the heavy toll exacted by Chivington at Sand Creek seems to have been, as pun- ishment, a mere reprimand. Notwithstanding the Indians' apologists in later years, the savage was at heart a beast, of primitive impulses and atrocious motives. Had not their deeds of crime during the uprising proved this, their life, personal habits, and their customs would have substantiated the fact.

Governor Evans sent messages to certain Indians whom he thought to be peaceable and advised them to seek safety at some military post, but none of them so warned heeded his words. At the same time the governor gave all citizens of Colorado authority to kill Indians wherever they were found and to take their property, but to avoid attacking peaceful Indians, if there were any. Col. J. M. Chivington was the commander of the Colorado Military Division, subordinate to General Curtis at Fort Leavenworth, but little aid was expected from this source, as the Confederates in Missouri under Price compelled the re- tention of all Federal troops there.

In the latter part of August a large force of Indians congregated on Beaver Creek, near its junction with the South Platte, with the intention of attacking the white settlements along the foothills through Colorado. Word of this came to Denver on the night of the 20th of August. Colonel Chivington immediately called together all the available military forces, including a company of home guards which had been organized by Attorney General Samuel E. Browne and

WORKS. OF THE CLIFF DWELLERS IN THE MESA VERDE NATIONAL PARK (A PART OF THE MESA VERDE DISTRICT) IN THE FAR SOUTHWESTERN SECTION OF COLORADO

HISTORY OF COLORADO

Gen. Henry M. Teller. This force of men was sent down the river to prevent the raid at all costs. The Indians, who had counted greatly upon the element of surprise, gave up their plan when they learned of the approach of the troops and returned to their depredations on the Platte River Trail.

In September, 1864, a proposal was made to the commander of the Fort Lyon post by the Indians in the Smoky Hill district to make peace, provided that the agreement included the Kiowas, Comanches, Arapahoes, Apaches and Sioux. This written proposal, coming from a mere encampment of five or six hundred Indians, was signed by Black Kettle and other chiefs. The sincerity of the proposal was questioned, as the matter seemed to have been presented too casually to bear much weight. The Indians also agreed to surrender some white women and children whom they had captured. One of the women, a Mrs. Sny- der, had hung herself a few weeks before rather than endure the shameful treat- ment accorded her.

COUNCIL AT DENVER

Finally, an arrangement was concluded whereby five of the chieftains were to go to Denver for a peace conference. These turned out to be Black Kettle, his brother, White Antelope, Bull Bear, a Cheyenne, Neva and Bosse, Arapahoes. Before going to Denver the Indians gave up four prisoners to the Fort Lyon com- mander and then on the 28th of September a council was held with Governor Evans, Colonel Chivington and others of the white leaders. Black Kettle and Bull Bear addressed the meeting; the former blamed the murders upon the young men of the tribes, while the latter stated that the uprising originated with the Sioux. Governor Evans spoke to the Indians then and warned them against further warfare, but it remained for Chivington to end the meeting with his characteristic strenuosity. He told the Indians plainly and in none too mild language that to continue their depredations would mean just one of two things -submission to the white man's will or extermination. Nothing definite was decided at this council and the Indians returned to Fort Lyon under escort.

Within the week, Governor Evans left Denver for Washington, leaving the administration in the hands of Acting Governor Elbert and Colonel Chivington. He remained in the East for seven months.

By this time the Third Colorado Volunteer Cavalry had been organized. This was the organization of one-hundred-days' men which Evans had requested per- mission to organize. George L. Shoup was the colonel of the regiment and the encampment was located in Denver. A few small reconnaissances were made, but no serious conflict was had with the Indians during the recruiting stages. Camp was moved to the head of Bijou Creek about the first of November.

During the autumn months Indian activities had increased alarmingly along the Missouri River trails and on the Arkansas. People ceased to travel overland and freighters refused to move unless adequately protected by the military. Hundreds of emigrants from the East waited at the Missouri River during the summer, until the conditions upon the plains became better. The more adven- turous pushed on despite all warnings and generally came to grief. The total loss of life during this time has never been accurately computed, but it is safe to say that over one hundred white people lost their lives while traveling through the plains country.

HISTORY OF COLORADO

THE AFFAIR AT SAND CREEK

Black Kettle and his four companions returned to the Smoky Hill rendez- vous after the council in Denver. The Arapahoes under Left Hand, to which band Neva and Bosse belonged, went to Fort Lyon in October and surrendered much of the plunder that had been taken, to the officers of the post. The com- mander kept them at the fort for a few days, then advised Left Hand to take his warriors to an encampment upon Sand Creek, a tributary of the Arkansas. The Arapahoes did as they were bidden and proceeded to a point forty miles west of the fort, where they were joined by Black Kettle and his Cheyennes. The whole band formed a village of some eight hundred men, although the In- dians claimed after the massacre that there were only about two hundred of them. The real purpose of the Indians at this time is not known for certain. Some writers have claimed that they believed themselves to be under the protec- tion of the forts and that they were peaceable, while other historians have ad- vanced the theory that the Indians were simply taking a breathing spell and were planning to go upon the warpath again.

After the conference at Denver, Colonel Chivington began to make preparations . for dealing a severe blow to the Indians before winter. General Curtis, at Fort Leavenworth, advocated ruthless measures to punish the savages for their past crimes, consequently Chivington felt secure in whatever he might do. Soon he developed a plan to attack the Cheyennes and Arapahoes encamped on Sand Creek and so carry into effect the threats he had made to Black Kettle in Den- ver. For his campaign he selected the greater part of the Third Colorado Cavalry and several units of the First Cavalry; two field-pieces of light artillery were also taken. With this outfit he marched rapidly toward the Sand Creek encamp- ment, first going to Fort Lyon. He arrived at the fort on November 28th and after a few hours' rest here he continued toward the Indian village, with 125 extra men and two more cannon. He came upon the Indians at sunrise the next morning.

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History of Colorado; Volume I, Part 11

Author: Stone, Wilbur Fiske, 1833-1920, ed Publication date: 1918 Publisher: Chicago, S. J. Clarke Number of Pages: 954

Author: Stone, Wilbur Fiske, 1833-1920, ed
Publication date: 1918
Publisher: Chicago, S. J. Clarke
Number of Pages: 954