USA > Kansas > Sedgwick County > History of Wichita and Sedgwick County, Kansas, past and present, including an account of the cities, towns and villages of the county, Vol. I > Part 26
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41
So, piecemeal, I drew out the life story of William Mathewson, known to early settlers from the Missouri river to the Rockies as "Buffalo Bill" between the years of 1860 to 1880. There was no connected recital of events. William Mathewson is a man of eighty years. His mind was filled with the thoughts of his Indian fighting and scouting days on the plains of Kansas; but as the separate incidents came back to him they were sadly out of their historical place, but none the less interesting.
279
WILLIAM MATHEWSON-BUFFALO BILL
WILLIAM MATHEWSON.
By MRS. J. R. MEAD.
The Last of the Old Scouts! The final shoot of that old stock of hardy frontiersman, which blazed the way from the Alle- ghenies to the Rockies for the thousands who later harked to the call of "Westward Ho."
Much has been written of Daniel Boone, the founder of the nineteenth century school of frontiersmanship. Every youngster in the land knows how he went into the wilds of Kentucky in 1769 and there fighting and treating with the Indians paved the way for the future settlement of that country. Not a lad but knows of the wonderful exploits of David Crockett, and the intrepid courage, skill and endurance of Kit Carson. But of the last of this illustrious line of daring explorers, hunters, Indian scouts and fighters little has ever been written, and yet none of his famous predecessors of the same school did more to prepare the pathway for western immigration and settlement. None saved more lives; no frontiersman fought the wild hordes of red skins with more courage and valor, and yet none was more respected, more feared and more beloved by the Indians than this last of the old time pioneers.
William Mathewson is his name. William Mathewson of Wich- ita, heir in direct line to the prowess of Daniel Boone, 1735 to 1822; David Crockett, 1786 to 1836, and Kit Carson, 1809 to 1868. William Mathewson, the original "Buffalo Bill," is a native of Broome county, New York, his birth place being located in the town of Triangle. He went west when young and earned his name after passing through wild adventures among the Indians and killing buffaloes.
. In the beginning of the eighteenth century, three brothers, heads of the Mathewson family in America, emigrated from Scot- land. One of them, William Mathewson, great grandfather of the subject of this biography, settled in Connecticut, where he en- gaged in farming until his death, having been a soldier of the French war. His son, William Mathewson, was born in Con- necticut in 1743; was a farmer all his life, and during the Revolu- tion participated in the campaigns in New England until the close of the war. In 1806 he removed to and settled in Broome county,
280
HISTORY OF SEDGWICK COUNTY
New York, when the country was wild and very thinly settled; clearing his land of timber he engaged in farming there until his death, in 1835, aged 92 years. His son, Joseph Mathewson, was born in Connecticut in 1790, removing with his parents to New York. He engaged in hunting and trapping until the incoming settlers drove the game from the country, when he engaged in farming and stock raising until his death, in 1835, aged 45 years.
His son, William, the subject of this sketch, was born in Broome county, New York, January 1, 1830, being the seventh of eight children. His mother's maiden name was Eliza Stickney, who moved with her parents from New Hampshire to a farm on Page Brook in the town of Triangle, adjoining the farm owned by Joseph Mathewson.
When but a child, his inclinations were for the wild, roving life of a hunter. He inherited the intrepid daring of his High- land Scottish ancestry and longed for the adventurous life of a frontiersman. Remaining at home after his father's death and his mother's second marriage to Charles Mathewson from Ver- mont, a soldier of 1812, he attended the country schools until he was ten years old. He then went to live with an older brother, where he stayed three years. At the age of thirteen he went into the lumber regions of Steuben county, New York, and there and in western Pennsylvania, was employed in the lumber and mill business a part of each year until he was eighteen years old. In the fall of the year he would set out with other hunters on a long hunting expedition, and would go to Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Canada, returning home from these trips towards spring. He was a part of the time engaged in looking up pine lands in Wisconsin and Minnesota, and at one time acted as a guide to a party of land buyers through the unknown West.
When he was nineteen years of age, New York state was too small for him. He had hunted and trapped in its every nook and corner; explored its mountains and streams. He yearned for the great West of vast prairies and towering mountains, where game was big and plentiful, and every hour was full of adventure. Like Alexander the Great, he wanted new worlds to conquer. In 1849, he embraced the opportunity offered him by the North- western Fur Company, with headquarters at Ft. Benton, Montana, and went West with a party of men. Through Montana, the Dakotas, Nebraska, and Wyoming, passed this party, trading with the Indians where they found the redmen friendly, fighting
281
WILLIAM MATHEWSON-BUFFALO BILL
them when the war dance reigned instead of the peace pipe, but ever pushing farther into the wilderness. It was in this expedi- tion that Mathewson acquired his first knowledge of Indian war- fare. Their hunting grounds were in the territory of the Black- feet, a hostile and warlike tribe, and the intrepid hunters kept their position only by their courage and the accuracy of their marksmanship. At one time they were surrounded by a war party of the Blackfeet and did not dare to leave their stockade to give them battle. After very severe fighting, however, the Blackfeet were driven off. During their continuance in that coun- try, they were exposed to continual danger and were compelled to be ever on the alert and to carefully study the character of the people in whose country they were employed.
After remaining nearly two years in the employ of the Fur Company, Mr. Mathewson joined that famous party under the leadership of the world renowned Kit Carson, consisting of the two Maxwells, James and John Baker, and Charles and John Atterby. They came south to the head of the Arkansas river in Colorado, traversing the foot-hills of the Rocky mountains, cross- ing the head waters of the Big Horn-where General Custer was subsequently killed-the north and south forks of the Platte, down through the country where Denver now stands, when there was no sign of habitation, and elk, deer, antelope and other game, were abundant. Mathewson went with Kit Carson to get the Indians together and prevent them from raiding into Mexico.
In 1852 he entered the employ of the Bent-St. Vrain trading post at the foot of the Rockies. This post furnished supplies for all of the spare settlements in Eastern Colorado, Western Ne- braska and Kansas and even on back to the central part of the latter state. Often young Mathewson wondered at this condition of affairs. He saw no use in the freighting of provisions across Kansas, and then sending them back three hundred miles into the territory, through which they had just come. Asking the rea- son for this, his curt answer was "Indians."
A year with the Bent-St. Vrain trading post gave William Mathewson a new insight into the affairs of the West. He had traversed the entire unsettled region between the Missouri river and the Rocky mountains and his keen brain saw readily that when emigration burst through the Missouri river boundary, the settlement of Eastern and Central Kansas would be rapid. With this in mind he determined to establish a trading post somewhere
282
HISTORY OF SEDGWICK COUNTY
near the center of Kansas on the old Santa Fe trail. The an- nouncement of this determination brought down on the head of Mathewson a storm of ridicule. Seasoned frontiersmen said that no trading post could stand a week on the prairies of Kansas where the Indians were as thick as buffalo. No man had yet dared such a thing so far away from military protection. But just here the indomitable courage and determination of the man cropped out. He listened to the ridicule of the older and more experienced men. He heard their importunities with stolid in- difference; his mind was made up, and in 1853, four years after he had joined the Northwestern Fur Company, Mr. Mathewson opened up his trading post at a point known throughout the west as the Great Bend of the Arkansas river on the old Santa Fe trail. This post Mr. Mathewson maintained for ten years and it was while living here that the most remarkable deeds of his career were accomplished.
Here in 1861, Mr. Mathewson had a personal encounter with Satanta (White Bear), who in his time was the boldest and most powerful of the Kiowa Indian chieftans. Satanta, with a small band of warriors entered the post and announced his intention of taking the life of Mr. Mathewson for the death of one of his braves, killed while stealing a horse from the post. In a flash Mr. Mathewson floored the Kiowa chieftain and gave him a severe beating. The followers of Satanta, whom Mr. Mathewson had driven from the house at the point of a revolver, were then forced to carry their defeated leader back to camp. For this humilating defeat, Satanta swore revenge. Hearing of this and deeming it best to settle the matter once for all, Mr. Mathewson rode out alone on the prairie in search of his enemy. Satanta, learning of the pursuit, and deeming discretion the better part of valor, fled and did not return for more than a year. When he did return, he acknowledged Mr. Mathewson as his master and entered into a treaty with him, giving as a token of his subservience, a num- ber of his best Indian horses. From that time on Mr. Mathew- son was known in every Indian camp of the plains as "Sinpah Zilbah," the "Long-bearded Dangerous White Man."
The thing for which Mr. Mathewson was most revered and most renowned in Kansas pioneer days was that which obtained for him that famous sobriquet of "Buffalo Bill." The winter of 1860 and 1861 was a hard one for the early settlers of the Sun- flower state. Hot, scorching winds of the summer had burned
283
WILLIAM MATHEWSON-BUFFALO BILL
up the crops, and all over the eastern part of the state they were literally starving. Finally good news reached them. A man returning from the west over the Santa Fe trail brought with him a wagon load of buffalo meat. Meeting some of the famishing settlers headed westward the man was beseeched to know where he secured such a bountiful supply of meat.
"Out to Bill's," he replied.
"Bill who?" eagerly asked the hungry settlers as they cast longing glances at the buffalo meat. "Oh, just Bill, the buffalo killer out at Big Bend; that's all I know."
So the fame of Bill, the buffalo killer spread. By late in Sep- tember dozens of settlers were coming to the Mathewson ranch each week with empty wagons that went away creaking with the weight of buffalo meat. By the last of October as many were coming each day with pleadings for meat for the famishing settlers. And none were turned away empty handed. Day after day William Mathewson followed the magnificent herds of the prairie, selecting with unerring skill the fat young cows and bringing them down with one shot each. With tears in their eyes the hungry settlers thanked Bill, the buffalo killer. Some offered pay and others promised it when they had anything to pay with. All were grateful and ever retained memories of the man who saved them from starvation in that terrible winter of 1860 and 1861. Till February, William Mathewson remained on the buffalo range, some days killing and sending eastward as many as eighty carcasses of fat cows. Each day brought its quota of gaunt, penniless settlers, and each day, no matter what the weather, Mathewson shouldered his rifle and with a few hours of tramping sent his guests rejoicing homeward with all the choicest buffalo roasts and steaks they could carry.
Thus William Mathewson earned his title of "Buffalo Bill." To this day there is many a family, living in the first cities of Kansas and Nebraska, who remember and cherish the name of "Buffalo Bill." In one of these homes during recent years Mr. Mathewson was introduced to the children as the man who saved the lives of their parents through his skill and fame as a hunter of buffalo. And it is this title of Buffalo Bill, so nobly earned, that William Mathewson himself cherishes most of all his pos- sessions.
An an Indian fighter of skill and daring, William Mathewson's fame was wide spread throughout the frontier in the early sixties.
284
HISTORY OF SEDGWICK COUNTY
But his fame following a deed of unusual intrepidity near his Cow Creek ranch where he was located after selling the Great Bend post in 1863, reached the officials of the war department in Washington and brought to the brave man a fitting reward.
It was in the summer of 1864 when the Indians took the war path and were terrorizing the settlers in the most extreme set- tlements of Kansas. Satanta, the war chief of the Kiowas, after his treaty with "Sinpah Zilbah" was the fast friend of William Mathewson. He warned the latter of the uprising three weeks in advance, and entreating him to leave, stating that in revenge for having been fired on by a regiment of soldiers, the Indians were not going to leave a white man, woman or child west of the Missouri, and insisted that Mr. Mathewson leave at once, but instead of fleeing, Mr. Mathewson sent all of the settlers to places of safety, and then settled down with a few brave men to hold his trading post. All of his men had the choice of going or remaining. Five remained, but these were armed with the first breech-loading rifles that had ever been used on the plains of Kansas.
On the morning of July 20 a band of fifteen hundred Indians, gaudy in war paint and feathers, surrounded the Mathewson post. There was no delay in the first attack, but less in the retreat. The new fangled guns in the hands of skilled marksmen dealt out death to Indians and Indian horses. For three days the red war- riors skulked about the post, attacking, reconnoitering and spy- ing. But always they were forced to retreat quickly, upon com- ing within range of the deadly certain fire of the breech-loading rifles. Long after the fight was history and peace reigned be- tween the Indians and Sinpah Zilbah, the warrior chieftans tried to learn from Mr. Mathewson how many men he had within the post during the terrible vigil. Mr. Mathewson smiled and replied that he had had plenty. So the redskins never knew how easy it would have been to have captured the post with one grand onslaught. In reality they had thought the place swarmed with men because of the rapid firing of the breech-loading guns. As it was, the Indians lost 160 horses, and a score or more of their kinsmen upon the prairie.
When Mr. Mathewson was first warned of the Indian uprising, among the first things he did was to write to the Overland Trans- portation Company, and to Bryant, Banard & Company, telling them of the uprising and not to send any wagons out, in reply to
285
WILLIAM MATHEWSON-BUFFALO BILL
which he got a letter from the Bryant, Banard & Company tell- ing him they had already started a train before his letter was received, and that the train was loaded with modern rifles, and ending with the appeal, "For God's sake save this train as it is loaded with arms and ammunition." And it was on the fourth day of the siege that this great overland train of 147 wagons, loaded with supplies for the government posts of New Mexico, in charge of 155 men, appeared upon the scene. Ignorant of the Indian uprising, the train had come within three miles of the post. When dawn broke on the fourth day of the battle, Mr. Mathewson discovered that he and his comrades had been deserted by the Indians. In sudden apprehension he mounted the highest build- ing of the post. One glance through his field glass told the story, even in the dim half light of the morning. There to the eastward three miles was the government train, drawn up in the usual camp half circle, and the whole surrounded by Indians. The horror of the situation was staggering to William Mathewson. He had received government advice of the train and knew that there were no experienced Indian fighters among the men in charge, nor were any of them well armed. They were ignorant of the contents of the wagons, the contents being disguised. What a massacre there would be unless something could be done quickly. Not only would the train be destroyed, but the Indians equipped with the rifles and ammunition from the government wagons stood in condition to make good their threat to kill every white man, woman and child west of the Missouri. For a few minutes Mr. Mathewson studied the situation. He saw the ever diminish- ing circle of the mounted red-skins; saw them stealthily closing in on the train. Quick thoughts passed through the brain of the grim watcher. In his mind's eye he saw the slaughter of the wagon men, the looting of the rifles and provisions, and then, most horrible of all, the carnage of the eastern settlement at the hands of these savages armed with the improved guns. For a long time, as time is reckoned in such cases, William Mathewson scanned the scene to the east of the post. His thoughts ran smoothly and rapidly over one plan and another. Occasionally he saw puffs of smoke that brought to earth a horse or a red-skin, but the circle narrowed. He watched a little group of the horse- men gather on either side of the one gap in the circle of wagons. He knew they were planning the rush which would take them inside the circle for a hand-to-hand conflict in which there would
286
HISTORY OF SEDGWICK COUNTY
be no doubt as to the result. Turning to his most trusty com- panion, he inquired if he could hold the stockade in his absence. Being answered that he could, he ordered his horse saddled, and was ready himself, with his Sharp's rifle and six Colt's revolvers, when the mare was led out of the stable. She was a fine beast, this mare Bess, of Hamiltonian breed. Far famed on the prairies was she for speed and endurance; often had she outrun an antelope.
As William Mathewson mounted his men gathered around him astonished. Surely he could not be so foolhardy as to attempt to reach the wagon train through that cordon of savages. The at- tempt meant certain death and nothing accomplished. But there was no sign of relenting from his purpose in the stern countenance of the horseman. Brave men wept at the thought of their leader riding out to his death but all was unavailing. After a hearty handshake with each of the little band and a cheery good-bye, William Mathewson touched the spurs to the sensitive flank of the mare, and the two shot out of the stockade gate like a whirlwind. Valiantly the good steed sped over the prairie toward the In- dians and the wagons. With heavy hearts the little band mounted the stockade building and took turns at the glass, watching with fascination the ever diminishing cloud of dust in which they knew their leader to be enveloped. At times their hearts beat high in hope; and again almost stifled them with throbs of despair.
Before starting on this perilous mission, William Mathewson had weighed his chances coolly. He knew Indian nature well and trusted much to the belief that all would be too deeply engrossed with the attack to see him till it was too late. Then he allowed for the possibility of the men within the wagon circle, holding off the enemy till he arrived. But the chief trust of the undertaking, he placed in the strength, speed and endurance of his magnificent steed. If she held out, the chances were good .. If not-well, a man has to die sometime, and this was a worthy cause.
But there was no faltering of steps on the part of the mare ; no stumbling in prairie dog-holes, no slacking of the splendid stride taken at the beginning. Straight and sure went the horse and rider toward the loophole in the wagon circle, across which log chains were strung to keep in the horses at night.
On the stockade roof the five men saw the little cloud of dust draw near to the tiny lane formed by the rows of Indians on either side of the gap in the wagon circle. With bated breath,
.
287
WILLIAM MATHEWSON-BUFFALO BILL
they saw that there was no stopping to reconnoiter, to study the situation or weigh the chances. But they know William Mathew- son and realized that all this had been done beforehand.
Suddenly the man with the glass noted a commotion among the Indians forming the lane out from the gap. A cloud of dust shot between the two lines and dashed on toward the wagons. As it passed the Indians closed in behind him and a tremor of terror passed over the body of the eager watchers. Was all lost ? Or all saved? The next few minutes were tense with excitement for the five men on the stockade. There was an unquestionable commotion among the Indians, and the uncertainty gave them hope. Minutes passed like hours, and the Indians circled wildly about. Then suddenly they scattered pell-mell and left the wagon train clear.
It was true; William Mathewson had burst into the little camp like a cannon ball. Shot after shot whizzed past his ears as he dashed through the two lines of startled Indians. But so sudden was it all that none had time or thought to take aim. A second later, landing in the midst of the startled camp, William Mathewson was off his horse and calling lustily for an axe. He quickly mounted one of the wagons, split open the boxes and handed out rifles and ammunition to the men. Many of them were acquainted with him and all had heard of him. Cheer after checr went up when they recognized who their rescuer was. In a moment a well directed fire was turned on the now astonished and bewildered Indians. After continuing the fight for a short time, having many of their number killed and wounded, the In- dians beat a hasty retreat. Not yet being satisfied with the victory, Mr. Mathewson organized and mounted the teamsters at once, and giving chase, drove the Indians miles away. After taking needed rest, burying their dead, and repairing the ravages of the fight, the train moved on to its destination.
In 1864, our subject joined Blunt's expedition as a scout, and it was through his exertions that comparative quiet was restored.
The great Indian War of 1864 and 1865 and the great Civil War between the North and the South was nearly at its turning point, and Uncle Sam needed all the soldiers he could get. There was one regiment on the plains in western Kansas and Colorado which was ordered into the states for active service. When that order reached the Colonel, he ordered two or three battalion of
288
HISTORY OF SEDGWICK COUNTY
his regiments to march to the Indian camps and fire on them, which they did, and caused the Indians to go on the war path.
After the close of the Civil War in the States, the Govern- ment commenced sending troops out to subdue the Indians. In the meantime, the officials' at headquarters commenced to look into the report as to the cause of this Indian outbreak, and orders came to the commander of the western department not to send any expedition against the Indians, but try and get some one to go to the wild Indians and see if they could get them to come into council with the Commissioners that the President would send out to meet them, but the man or men could not be found that would go. They tried to get the other Indians to take messages from the Great Father at Washington to the wild Indians, but all was of no avail; nobody would go.
After a conference with the commanding officers, superinten- dent of Indian affairs, and the agents for the different tribes of Indians, it was decided that William Mathewson should be sacri- ficed to appease the wrath of the Indians; he said he would go providing he could get orders from the President of the United States with the seal of the United States on the document ; also an order from the Secretary of War and from the Commissioner of Indian Affairs; he also got a commission from General Sanborn.
Mathewson started from Larned, Kansas, going to the month of the Little Arkansas river to get below the picket line of the Indians, who were watching the soldiers; traveling under cover of the darkness and secreting himself during the day; the fourth day after leaving the Arkansas he came in sight of the camp, and lay in hiding all that day. That evening in wandering around and debating with himself as to the best method of approach, he accidentally met the daughter of the head chief of the Kiowa tribe, whom he knew personally. She was badly frightened at sight of him, but he spoke to her in her own language and told her to get him to her father's tepee as fast as possible, which she did. The tepee was filled with the head men of the tribe, who was much startled at sight of Mathewson in their midst. He told them that he had a message from the great Father to read to them, and on showing them the big seal of the Government, they assured him protection. The Kiowa tribe was divided into two parts; one was hostile and the other peaceable and they warred among themselves all night over the possession of Mathewson, but the peaceable ones were finally successful in driving away the
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.