USA > Kansas > Ford County > Dodge City > Dodge City, the cowboy capital, and the great Southwest in the days of the wild Indian, the buffalo, the cowboy, dance halls, gambling halls and bad men > Part 10
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After a long, hard march, we finally arrived again on the banks of the Arkansas River, which we had had little hopes of doing. Knowing the treacherous disposition of the Indians, we expected they would lie in ambush for us, so we were continually on the alert and always went into camp at a location where we had a good view for several rods around us. It took Custer's whole Seventh United States cavalry, in the winter of '68 and '69, to get some white women from the Indians, and the way he succeeded was by getting the head chiefs to hold a treaty, then tak- ing them prisoners and holding them until the Indians surrendered the women. Our party's going into the Indian camp, as we did, was a very hazardous undertak- ing, and the only reason we ever got back was that the Apaches had the other two members of the Box family, they wanted to trade for them, and they knew if they killed us the trade would be off. Such a foolhardy undertaking was not attempted again, to my knowledge, in the years I was on the plains.
When we arrived at Fort Dodge, we were given a very pleasant reception, and the young ladies received the tenderest care, but were naturally terribly distressed
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at their terrible sorrow and affliction. General Sherman, at this time, arrived at Fort Dodge. He had been on a tour of inspection of the frontier forts, and was then on his way to Washington. After learning what the com- manding officer had done, he instructed him not to send any more details on so hazardous an undertaking, and not to trade any more goods for prisoners, as it would only have the tendency to encourage the Indians to more stealing.
As we expected, a few days after our return to Fort Dodge the sentry reported a party approaching from east of the fort. All that could be seen was the glittering, bright ornaments, dazzling in the sunlight, but shortly, the party approached close enough for it to be seen that they were Indians. They proved to be a party of Apaches, as we expected, chief Poor Bear being with them. When he was informed that the Indians were coming, Major Andrew Sheridan, who was still in command of Fort Dodge, sent the interpreter, Fred Jones, out to meet them and arrange with the head chief, Poor Bear, to come into the fort and hold a council, a customary thing in those days, when a trade was to be made.
Fort Dodge was located on the north bank of the Arkansas River, and was in the shape of a half circle. Close to the river was a clay bank about twelve feet high, where were a number of dugouts, with port-holes all around, in which the men were quartered, so that, if the Indians ever charged and took the fort, the men could fall back and retire to the dugouts. On the east side of the fort was a large gate. The officers were quar- tered in sod houses, located inside the inclosure. When Poor Bear and his warriors came into the fort, Major Sheridan informed them that the great chief, meaning General Sherman, had given instructions that no more goods would be delivered to the Indian camp in trade for white women, but if the woman and daughter were
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brought in, a council would be held to determine what could be done. At this, the Indians left for their camp to report progress. In about two weeks, we noticed Indians by the score, crossing from the south side of the river, below the fort about a mile, near where the old dry route formed a junction with the wet route. A guard at once was instructed to notify the Indians that they must not come any nearer the fort than they were, but must camp at a place designated by the commanding officer, nearly a mile below Fort Dodge.
The Indians proved to be Apaches and the whole tribe came in, numbering about two thousand. They had brought along the white woman, Mrs. Box, and her young daughter, expecting to make a big "swap." There was no intention of giving anything for them, but there was a plot to get the Indians in, gain possession of the chiefs and head men of the Apache tribe, and hold them as hostages until they would consent to surrender the woman and child. It was a desperate and dangerous experiment, for the Indians outnumbered us greatly. I don't think, at this time, there were over one hundred and seventy- five men, altogether, at Fort Dodge, including civilians, and against these was one of the most desperate tribes on the plains. When the time arrived for the council, about a hundred of the chiefs, medicine men, and leading men of the Indians were let in through the big gate at the east side of the fort. As soon as they were inside, the gate was closed. When they were all ready for the big talk, and the customary pipe had been passed around, Major Sheridan instructed the interpreter to inform the Indians that they were prisoners, and that they would be held as hostages until Mrs. Box and her daughter were brought in and turned over to him.
The Indians jumped to their feet in an instant, threw aside their blankets, and prepared for a fight. Prior to the time the Indians were admitted into the fort inclosure, the mountain howitzers had been doubled-shotted with
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grape and canister, the guns being depressed, so as to sweep the ground where the Indians were located. Some of the soldiers were marching back and forth, with guns loaded and bayonets fixed, while a number of others, with revolvers concealed under their blouses, were sitting around watching the proceedings. The main portion of the garrison was concealed in the dugouts, the men all armed and provided with one hundred rounds of am- munition per man. The Indians were all armed with tom- ahawks which they had carefully concealed under their blankets. When they were informed that they were prisoners, they made a dash for the soldiers in sight, as they were but few, the majority, as has been said, being hid in the dugouts; but when the men came pouring out of the dugouts and opened fire, the Indians fell back and surrendered. One of the old chiefs was taken up on the palisades of the fort and compelled to signal to his war- riors in their camp. In less than thirty minutes Mrs. Box and her child were brought to the big east gate, and one of the most affecting sights I ever witnessed was that of the mother and girls as they met and embraced each other. It was a sight once seen, never to be forgotten.
Major Sheridan then told the interpreter to inform the Indians that they could go, warning them not to steal any more women or children. But the warning was of no avail, for the next two years the frontier was terribly annoyed by Indian raids and depredations.
There were but few fatalities when the soldiers opened fire on the Indians at the fort, as it was done more to intimidate than to kill. A representative of Harper's Weekly was at Fort Dodge, at the time, and took a number of photographs of the Indians and the Box family, but if there are any of the pictures in existence today, I am not aware of it, but I should like to have them if they exist. This piece of diplomacy on the part of the commanding officer of Fort Dodge cost scores of lives
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afterwards, for those Apaches went on the war-path and murdered every person they came across, until the Seventh United States cavalry caught up with and annihilated many of them, in the Wichita mountains, in November, 1868.
All the great expeditions against the Indians, horse thieves, and bad men were organized and fitted out at Fort Dodge or Dodge City, because, as I remark else- where, they were at the edge of the last great frontier or the jumping-off place, the beginning and the end-the end of civilization, and the beginning of the badness and lawlessness of the frontier. Here civilization ended and lawlessness began.
This gave rise to and the necessity for many great and notable men coming to Dodge, such as Generals Sher- man, Sheridan, Hancock, Miles, Custer, Sully, and many others, even including President Hayes. Dodge was ac- quainted with all of these, besides dukes and lords from over the water, who came out of curiosity. We feel proud that she knew these men, and General Miles told the writer that Fort Dodge should have been made one of our largest forts, at least a ten-company post. But he did not take in the situation in time, as it was the key to all the country south of us, and, had it been made a ten- or twelve-company post, one can easily see how the garri- son could have controlled all the Indian tribes south, who were continually escaping from their agencies and going north, to visit, intrigue, and combine with the northern Indians, the northern tribes doing the same thing when they went south. The troops could have intercepted the Indians either way, and cut them off and sent them back before they were able to do any devilment. Particularly could this have been done when Dull Knife and Wild Hog made their last raid through Kansas. There were only about seventy-five warriors, besides their women and children, in this little band, but they managed to make a
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3 .
CITY HALL
laughing stock and a disgrace of our troops; at least, so it appeared from the actions of the officers who were sent after them.
In September, 1868, at the Darlington Agency, there were, under the leadership of Wild Hog and Dull Knife, a small bunch of Cheyenne Indians, who had been moved from their northern agency and, for various reasons, were determined to go back, much against the wishes and orders of the United States government and also their agent, who positively forbade their going. They had secretly been making preparations for this tramp, for some time, but they had no horses, but few guns and ammunition, and very little provisions of any kind. Now, under these adverse circumstances, they stole away.
As has been said, there were only seventy-five war- riors all told, outside of their women and children. Their first care was to get themselves mounts, then arms and ammunition, and provisions. Little by little, they stole horses and picked up guns and ammunition from the cattle camps and deserted homes of the frontier settlers, so, when they got within forty miles of Fort Dodge, south, they were supplied with horses, and fairly well supplied with their other wants.
On Sand Creek, they were confronted with two com- panies of cavalry and several parts of companies of in- fantry, with wagon transportation. These soldiers out- numbered the Indians nearly three to one; besides, quite a lot of settlers and some cowboys had joined the troops. To be sure, the settlers were poorly armed, but they were of assistance, in some ways, to the troops.
On their march, the Indians had scattered over a large scope of country. That is, the warriors did, while the women and children kept straight on in the general direction they wanted to go. But the warriors raided and foraged some fifteen or twenty miles on either side of the women and children, and at night they would all rendezvous together. This gave rise to the erroneous
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impression that the band was very much larger than it was. In fact, there were supposed to be several hundred warriors, and this reckoned greatly in their favor. The bold daring front that they assumed was another big thing in their favor, and made the troops and others be- lieve there were many more of them than there were. When they were confronted with the troops on Sand Creek, they stopped in the bluffs and fortified, while the troops camped in the bottom to watch their movements and hold them in check. But the cowboys said that the Indians only stopped a short time, and, when night came, they broke camp and left the troops behind. The soldiers did not find this out for nearly two days, and, in this maneuver, they had nearly two days the start of the soldiers.
The Indians, next day, trailed by Belle Meade, a little settlement, where they were given a fine beef just killed. Strange to say, they disturbed no on here, except taking what arms they could find and some more "chuck". Up to this time, they had killed only two or three people. Starting off, they saw a citizen of Belle Meade, driving a span of mules and wagon, coming home. They killed him and took his mules and harness, after scalping him. This was done in sight of the town. A few miles further on, they espied another wagon, and, after chasing it within ten miles of Dodge, the driver was killed and his mules and harness taken; and so on. They raided within a few miles of Dodge. Twelve were seen four miles west of Dodge, on an island, where they plundered and burned a squatter's house. The Dodge people had sent out and brought every one in for miles around, which is the reason, I suppose, the Indians did not kill more people close to Dodge.
I here quote largely from an enlisted man, stationed at Fort Supply, more than a month after this Indian raid through Kansas and Nebraska was over, so he had time to look calmly over the situation, and the excitement had
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died down. As his views and mine are so nearly alike, I give the most of his version. He says:
"Field-marshal Dull Knife outgeneraling the grand pacha of the United States army, and reaching, in safety, the goal of his anticipations, being, it is said, snugly ensconced among his old familiar haunts in Wyoming and Dakota. Without casting the least reflection upon or detracting a single thing from the ability, loyalty, or bravery of our little army, it must be said, that the escape of Dull Knife and his followers, from the Cheyenne Agency, and their ultimate success in reaching Dakota territory, is certainly a very remarkable occurrence in the annals of military movements. I have no definite means of giving the exact number of Dull Knife's force, but, from the most reliable information, it did not exceed one hundred warriors (this is about Agent Mile's estimate). Dull Knife's movements, immediately after he left the reservation, were not unknown to the military authorities. He was pursued and overtaken by two companies of cavalry, within sixty miles of the agency he had left. He there gave battle, killing three soldiers, wounding as many more, and, if reports of eye witnesses are to be believed, striking terror into the hearts of the remainder, completely routing them. All the heads of the military in the Department of the Missouri were immediately informed of the situation, and yet, Dull Knife passed speedily on, passing in close proximity to several military posts, and actually marching a portion of the route along the public highway, the old Santa Fe trail, robbing emigrant trains, murdering defenseless men, women, and children as their fancy seemed to dictate, and, at last, arriving at their destination unscathed, and is, no doubt, ere this, in conference with his friend and ally, Sitting Bull, as to the most practicable manner of subjugating the Black Hills.
"While we look the matter squarely in the face, it must be conceded that Dull Knife has achieved one of
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the most extraordinary coup d'etat of modern times, and has made a march before which even Sherman's march to the sea pales. With a force of a hundred men, this untutored but wily savage encounters and defeats, eludes, baffles, and outgenerals ten times his number of Ameri- can soldiers. At one time during his march, there were no less than twenty-four companies of cavalry and in- fantry in the field against him, and he marched a dis- tance of a thousand miles, almost unmolested. Of course, most of the country he passed through was sparsely set- tled, but, with the number of military posts (six), lying almost directly in his path, and the great number of cattle men, cowboys, freighters, etc., scattered over the plains, that came in contact with his band, it does seem strange that he slipped through the schemes and plans that were so well laid to entrap him. However, Dull Knife has thoroughly demonstrated the fact that a hun- dred desperate warriors can raid successfully through a thousand miles of territory, lying partly in Dakota, Ne- braska, Kansas, and the Indian Territory, steal stock, and perpetrate outrages too vile and horrible to print; and this in the face of ten times their number of well-equipped United States troops. That some one is highly repre- hensible in the matter of not capturing or annihilating Dull Knife and his entire band is believed by all, but who the culpable party is will probably never be placed on the pages of history.
"The cause that led to the outbreak is the same old story-goaded into desperation by starvation at the hands of the Indian agents. There are no buffalo anywhere near the agency, and this same band were allowed, last fall and winter, to go from their reservation to hunt, to supply themselves with meat. They did not find a single buffalo. A portion of them killed and ate their ponies, and the remainder feasted on their dogs. An Indian never eats his dog except when served up on state occasions, and their puppies are considered a great deli-
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cacy. They only feed these to their distinguished guests, at great night feasts. They consider they are doing you a great honor when they prepare a feast of this kind for you, and they are badly hurt and mortified if you do not partake freely of same. Dull Knife appealed so per- sistently for aid, the commanding officer ordered a few rations to be given them (which military establishments have no authority to do). These were eagerly accepted and greedily devoured.
"After soldiering, as a private, ten years on the plains, I am convinced that a majority of the Indian raids have been caused by the vacillating policy of the government, coupled with the avaricious, and dishonest agents. I do not pretend to hold the Indian up as an object of sym- pathy. On the contrary, I think they are treacherous, deceitful, black-hearted, murdering villians. But we should deal fair with them and set them an example for truthfulness and honesty, instead of our agents, and others in authority, being allowed to rob them. Two wrongs never made a right, and no matter what wrongs they have committed, we should live strictly up to our promises with them."
I will give only a brief account of this raid through our state, from my own memory. I was on my way to Boston to sell a lot of buffalo robes we had stored there. At Kansas City I received a telegram from my firm, say- ing, "Indians are out; coming this way; big Indian war expected." I returned to Dodge at once, found everything in turmoil, and big excitement. After getting the news and advice from Colonel Lewis, commander of Fort Dodge (who was well posted, up to that time, in regard to the whereabouts of these Indians, though he had no idea of their number, supposing them to be a great many more than there were), William Tighlman, Joshua Webb, A. J. Anthony, and myself started southwest, thinking to overtake and join the troops already in the field. We made fifty miles that day, when we met a lot of farmers
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coming back. They said the Indians made stand against the soldiers, in the bluffs on Sand Creek. The soldiers camped a short distance down the creek, for two days, when they made a reconnaissance and found the Indians had been gone for nearly two days, while the troops thought they were still there and were afraid to move out. But it seems the Indians broke camp the first night, and were nearly two days' march ahead of the troops, Captain Randebrook in command, trailing on behind them.
Before our little company started, Colonel Lewis re- quested me to report to him immediately upon our re- turn, which I did. When he heard the story of the cow- boys and settlers who were on Sand Creek with the troops, and how cowardly the officers had acted in letting the Indians escape them when there was such a fine op- portunity to capture them, Colonel Lewis was utterly dis- gusted. I never saw a more disgusted man. He didn't swear, but he thought pretty hard, and he said: "Wright, I am going to take the field myself and at once, and, on my return, you will hear a different story." Poor fellow! He never returned. The troops just trailed on behind the Indians, when they crossed the Arkansas, and fol- lowed on, a short distance behind them, until Colonel Lewis joined them and took command.
And now I'll tell the story, as told to me, about the killing of Colonel Lewis, as gallant an officer as ever wore a sword. The troops, with Colonel Lewis in com- mand, overtook the Indians this side of White Woman creek, and pressed them so closely they had to concen- trate and make a stand. Lewis did the same. Late in the afternoon, he made every arrangment to attack their camp at daybreak next morning, having posted the troops and surrounded the Indians as near as possible. Colonel Lewis attended to every little detail, to make the attack next morning a success, and they were to attack from all sides at the same time, at a given signal. About the last
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thing he did, before going to headquarters for the night, he visited one of the furthest outposts, where a single guard was concealed. Colonel Lewis had to crawl to get to him. The guard said the Colonel was anxious to shoot an Indian who was on post and very saucy. The guard said, "Colonel, you must not raise up. These out- posts and sharp shooters are just waiting for us to expose ourselves, and that fellow is acting as a blind, for others to get a chance at us." But the Colonel persisted. He said he wanted to stir them up; and, just as he rose up, before he got his gun to his shoulder, he was shot down. They had to crawl to Colonel Lewis and drag him out on their hands and knees. The surgeon in charge knew he would die, and started with him at once for Fort Wallace, but he died before reaching that post. This happened about dark, and the news soon spread throughout the camp-Colonel Lewis was killed-which had a great de- moralizing effect upon the troops, as they knew he was a brave man and liked him and had great confidence in his ability. His orders were never carried out, and the attack was not made. The Indians broke camp and marched away next morning, but, from the signs they left behind, it was very evident they would not have made much of a fight. Indeed, I have been told there was a flag of truce found in their camp. This was vouched for by several, and there were evidences that they intended to surrender, and it is the opinion of the writer they intended to surrender. Anyhow, I do think, if Colonel Lewis had lived, they would have been so badly whipped they never would have got any further north, and the lives of all those people, who were killed on the Sappa and after they crossed the Missouri, Pacific Railroad, would have been saved. I think they killed about forty people, after they left White Woman creek. The farmers and citizens, who were along with the soldiers, censure the two cavalry captains severely and claim they acted cowardly, several times and at several places. They, I
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believe, were both tried for cowardice, but were acquitted after a fair trial.
Our citizens of Dodge City, as well as his brother officers and the enlisted men under his command, held Colonel Lewis in great respect, as the following resolu- tions, presented by the enlisted men, assembled in a meet- ing for the purpose, at the time of his death, will show: "Whereas, the sad news has been brought to us of the death, on the field of battle against hostile Indians, of our late commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel William H. Lewis, Nineteenth United States infantry;
"Be it resolved, that his death is felt as a great calam- ity to the army of the United States, as well as for his family, to whom we tender our most heartfelt sympathy, and that we deplore, in his demise the loss of one of the kindest, bravest, and most impartial commanders to be found in the service;
"And be it further resolved, that these resolutions be published in the 'Army and Navy Journal,' the Wash- ington and Leavenworth papers, the 'Ford County Globe,' and the 'Dodge City Times,' and a copy be sent to his relatives.
"THOMAS G. DENNEN, "Ordnance Sergeant, President, "LOUIS PAULY, "Hospital Steward, Secretary." The meeting then adjourned.
The old servant, who had been with Colonel Lewis for many years and was greatly attached to him, could not be comforted after his master's death. He wept and mourned as if he had lost a near relative. After the Col- onel had received his mortal wound and knew that he must die, he instructed his attendants to tell the old servant to go to his mother's, where he would find a home for the balance of his days. Accordingly, after all the business at Fort Dodge had been settled, he started, with a heavy heart, for his new home. He said he knew he
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would have a nice home in which to spend his last days, but that would not bring his old master back. There is nothing that speaks plainer of the true man, than the dis- interested devotion of his servants.
Long years afterwards, when the veterans of the Civil War, living at Fort Dodge, organized a post of the Grand Army of the Republic, they named it the Lewis Post, in honor of the brave but unfortunate Colonel.
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