USA > Oklahoma > A standard history of Oklahoma; an authentic narrative of its development from the date of the first European exploration down to the present time, including accounts of the Indian tribes, both civilized and wild, of the cattle range, of the land openings and the achievements of the most recent period, Vol. II > Part 5
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Early in June, 1873, the captive Quahada women and children were released and brought to the agency at Fort Sill. The officer in command of the escort which accompanied them had to resort to
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a ruse to get them past the Town of Jacksboro, Texas, where a hos- tile demonstration had been planned by part of the citizens. The released captives reported that they had been well treated. Their friends were overjoyed by their return.
Satanta and Big Tree were to have been restored to their people about the same time that the Quahada women and children were brought to the agency, but because of the massacre of the peace com- missioners who were sent to treat with the hostile Modocs in the lava beds of Oregon, the Government authorities at Washington decided to delay the release of the two Kiowa chiefs indefinitely. Thomas C. Battey, the Quaker school teacher who was on duty with the vil- lage of one of the Kiowa bands was at the agency when word of this decision was received and he had to be the unwilling bearer of this unwelcome message to the Kiowa people. They were out on the buffalo range, in the eastern part of the Texas Panhandle, near the headwaters of the Washita at the time. Practically all of the Kiowas had gathered for their annual "medicine dance." Most of the Comanches were present as were many Cheyennes, Arapahoes and representatives of other tribes. The reception of the intelli- gence that the Government had decided not to fulfil its agreement in regard to releasing the two chiefs created a sensation and a stormy scene followed in the assembled council of chiefs. Battey, who was the only white man present in the council, thought for a time that it would result in an immediate outbreak of hostilities.10 But, in the end, calmer counsels prevailed, largely as the result of the earnest advice of the gentle-spirited Quaker teacher.
Satanta and Big Tree were brought to Fort Sill and confined in the guard-house of the post, early in October, 1873. A council was to be held with the Kiowas before their chiefs were released. Gov- ernor Edmund J. Davis, of Texas, came to Fort Sill to attend it, as did Hon. E. P. Smith, United States commissioner of Indian Affairs. Although four months had passed since the two chiefs were to have been released to their people, the latter had been peaceable and patient as a rule, though there were some exceptions. As the chiefs were legally the prisoners of the State of Texas, Governor Davis sought to enforce certain conditions precedent to releasing them.11
10 The Quaker teacher left a detailed account of the council to which he was a party as well as a witness and in which the assembled chieftains seriously debated the questions of war and peace. Un- fortunately, this thrilling chapter was not included in his book. A copy of this manuscript is in possession of the writer hereof.
11 "A Quaker "Among the Indians," pp. 196-204.
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In brief these were that the Kiowa people should settle on farms near the agency ; that the Government should place a white man in every camp to watch them and report their behavior to the agent; that they must draw their rations in person and not through the medium of their chiefs as heretofore, and answer roll-call once every three days; that they should assist the army in arresting depre- dators of their own tribe; dispense with the use of arms and horses and devote themselves to raising cattle, hogs and corn, like the civilized Indians. Satanta and Big Tree were to be remanded to the post guard-house and kept there until the future good behavior of the tribe should warrant their liberation. The Kiowas demanded the immediate release of their chiefs, as previously promised. The council closed with a situation that was tense with tragic possibili- ties.
The next day saw much subdued excitement among the Indians. Although the sun was shining brightly, both they and the white men seemed overshadowed with gloom, and though little was said much was felt. Kicking Bird, the most progressive and friendly of the Kiowa chiefs, said to Battey :
"My heart is stone. There is no soft place in it. I have taken the white man by the hand, thinking him a friend, but he is not a friend; the Government has deceived us. Washington is rotten."
Lone Wolf, another chief, who was always less tractable, though he had been a member of the delegation of chiefs which had visited Washington a year before, and therefore knew of the numbers, re- sources and power of the white people, showed open defiance, saying :
"I want peace-have worked hard for it-kept my young men from raiding-following the instructions Washington gave me to the best of my knowledge and ability. Washington has deceived me- has failed to keep faith with me and my people-has broken his promises; and now there is nothing left but war. I know that war with Washington means the extinction of my people, but we are driven to it; we had rather die than live."
The new agent of the Kiowas and Comanches, James M. Haworth (who had succeeded Lawrie Tatum on the first of the preceding April), realized that a crisis was at hand, as indeed it was, for the Kiowas formed a plot to rescue their chiefs if they were brought into council again. However, Agent Haworth succeeded in impress- ing Commissioner Smith with an appreciation of the gravity of the situation and he in turn convinced Governor Davis that his eondi- tions would have to be modified. The two chiefs were liberated on
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parole during good behavior and all of the Kiowas were made happy.
BLACK BEAVER AND THE PENN TREATY
On the last day in January, 1874, a council was held in the office of Agent Haworth. It was attended by a number of the chiefs and head men of the Comanches and Kiowas. Captain Black Beaver, the Delaware leader, was called from his home in the val- ley of the Washita to attend this council because the agent wished him to talk to the warlike Kiowas and Comanches. He said :
"You ought to stop raiding in Texas. You should send your children to school and then settle down and do as your friends, the Quakers, want you to do. The Quakers are your friends. Their fathers made a treaty with the Indians, nearly two hundred years ago, in which they both bound themselves, and their children after them, to be friends to each other forever. This treaty has never been broken. The Indians have never taken any Quaker's blood and the Quakers have always been true friends to the Indians. I am not telling you this from hearsay; though the treaty was made so long ago, a copy of it has been kept by my people; my own eyes have seen it and my own hands have held it.
"Our grandfather at Washington knew about this treaty and for this reason has sent the Quakers among us. He knew they would do right by his red grandchildren. He sent two of them to build us a school; they made us a good school and we know they are good men; that they love the Indians and will take good care of the In- dians' children. He has now proved them and has taken them away from us and sent them to you. One of them-Mr. Thomas (Thomas C. Battey)-has been with you for a long time and you know he is a good man. Mr. Alfred ( Alfred J. Standing) is also a good man. When you are ready to send your children to school, you will find they will be kind and good to them. The stone school house, to which we (Delawares and Caddoes) send our children, is yours. We know it is yours and we will give it up at any time you want it .. We only use it because you do not and because we have not enough room in our own school house.
"I attended the great council at Okmulgee, in which fifteen In- dian nations were represented. They were all for peace. They wanted all the Indians of this Territory to be united; to become as one people and to have one cause. The raiding of the young Kiowas and Comanches works against the progress and to the injury of all Indians." .
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Thomas C. Battey, the Quaker school teacher, who was living among the Kiowas of Kicking Bird's Band at that time, was present at the council with the Comanche and Kiowa chiefs at the Fort Sill Agency and, naturally, was greatly interested in the story of the Penn Treaty which Black Beaver told in the course of his address to the' chiefs. Afterward, when he visited Captain Black Beaver at his home on the Washita he asked particularly about the copy of
BLACK BEAVER
the treaty which William Penn had given to the Indians. He told Captain Black Beaver that he, too, would like to see it with his own eyes and hold it in his own hands. In reply, Black Beaver gave the following account of the Penn Treaty and its disappearance : 12
"When William Penn gave the treaty to the Indians, he told them to keep it for their children who should live after them. They accordingly placed it in the hands of their principal chief for its preservation. Other treaties, as they were made, were deposited with him, but this he kept separate from them. When the chief died, these documents were taken care of by his successor. After-
12 This account of the copy of the Penn Treaty which was in possession of the Delaware Indians, was left in manuscript form by Thomas C. Battey, a copy of the same being in the possession of the writer of this work.
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ward, when other treaties were made, as this treaty of peace and friendship made with William Penn became of concern to several tribes, they in general council selected a person to have special care of this first, or, as they called it, 'the Great Treaty.' After his death another was chosen and so it continued to be preserved for many years by persons chosen in the general council. Eventually, as the different tribes became scattered, the Delawares retained possession of it and it was preserved by them as it had been before, the tribe in council making choice of a reliable person to take care of it. As time passed on and the tribe moved westward this treaty fell into my hands and I had it until the breaking out of the Civil War.
"While on a visit to my sister, in the Chickasaw Nation, in the spring of 1861, I learned that an officer (Maj. William H. Emory, First U. S. Cavalry) whom I had known during the Mexican War, was in command of the neighboring military post (Fort Washita) and I went to make him a visit. There I first learned of the seces- sion of the southern states. As the Chickasaws and Choctaws, by whom the fort was surrounded, were slave owners, the commander of the garrison found himself completely hemmed in by southern sympathizers, if not by open enemies, so that he saw difficulty in attempting to escape from such an embarrassing situation. He accordingly laid the whole matter before me, as I knew the whole country well, and asked me to help get the force out of such a haz- ardous position. At first I objected to doing so because of the ex- posed situation in which my own property would be placed and the loss that I might sustain if I did not promptly remove it (princi- pally horses and cattle) to a place of safety. Upon being assured by him that the Government would fully reimburse me for any loss which I might sustain while thus endeavoring to rescue its troops and property from threatened destruction, I finally agreed to make the effort to conduct them to a place of safety. This, from my knowledge of the country and my acquaintance with the other tribes, I was able to do, successfully guiding the command to Fort Leavenworth, a distance of more than 300 miles and one which necessitated an absence of several weeks from my home.
."As I was returning to my home on the Washita, from my jour- ney to Fort Leavenworth, I met the Wichitas, part of the Caddoes and a few families of Delawares fleeing in consternation, the Chicka- saws and other slave-holding Indians having invaded our country, burned our buildings, laid waste our farms and taken our stock. Thus rendered destitute and homeless I remained in Kansas until
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the War was over. After the War I returned with the other Dela- wares, the Wichitas and the Caddoes, to the valley of the Washita. There I found my home destroyed and my farm desolated and over- grown with brush. In the destruction of my home, the Penn parch- inent, so long and so carefully preserved by the Delawares, is sup- posed to have been burned." 13
13 The Delaware-Caddo Settlement on the Washita, near the site of Anadarko, was occupied and partially destroyed by a detachment of Texas State troops, in May, 1861, immediately after the occupa- tion of Fort Arbuckle. This detachment, which was under the command of Lieut. William Cloud, had been directed to march up the valley of the Washita and take possession of Fort Cobb, which had also been abandoned by the Federal garrison, and of the Indian Agency near by. It is not probable that the improvements of any of the farmns of the semi-civilized Indians were destroyed except in such instances as the owners were known to be adherents of the Federal cause, as in the case of Black Beaver. There is a bare pos- sibility that, before the destruction of Black Beaver's home that it may have been ransacked by some of the raiders, in which event, if the Penn Treaty happened to fall into the hands of some one of suffi- cient intelligence to appreciate its possible sentimental value, it might have been carried off as a souvenir and, if so, it may still be in existence. Black Beaver was born on the present site of Belle- ville, Illinois, in 1806. In his young manhood, he spent several years with the furtraders of the Rocky Mountain region, as a hunter and trapper. It is not known when he first came to the Indian Territory but presumably he was a member of the band of Dela- wares who dwelt in the Spavinaw region, in the present Delaware County, and still later at Wapanucka, in Johnston County. He accompanied the Leavenworth expedition to the Red River coun- try in the summer of 1834 and served as an interpreter in the council held between Col. Henry Dodge and Gov. Montfort Stokes and the chiefs of the Comanches, Kiowas and Wichitas. He also served as a scout and guide with John C. Fremont on one of his expeditions and was the leader of a small company of Indian scouts which accompanied the American Army in the invasion of Mexico, in 1846. Subsequently, he served as a scout, guide and interpreter on several expeditions under Capt. R. B. Marcy. He had much to do with persuading the Indians of the Plains tribes to treat for peace in the councils on the Arkansas, in 1865, and on the Medicine Lodge, in 1867. Most of his property was de- stroyed or carried away by the Confederate forces in 1861. Although General Emory and other friends exerted themselves in his behalf, the Government had not reimbursed him (for the loss thus sustained while he was in its service) at the time of his death, which occurred at his home near Anadarko, May 8, 1880. He was generally respected and trusted by all white men and Indians to whom he was known because of his unvarying integrity and truthfulness.
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CHAPTER LII
THE LAST GENERAL INDIAN WAR
By the terms of the treaties made with the tribes of the South- ern Plains at Medicine Lodge, in 1867, the country south of the Arkansas River was reserved from settlement and was to be regarded as a hunting ground for the exclusive use of the Indians of those tribes while the buffalo herds still ranged over the same. At the time the treaty was made, buffalo were still numbered by the mil- lion, so there was no occasion for white hunter to enter that par- ticular part of their range. After the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad was built up the valley of the Arkansas, through Western Kansas to a temporary terminus at Granada, Colorado, the slaugh- ter of the great herds on the Southern Plains began in dead earnest. The railroad reached Dodge City in 1872; the next year its line was extended to Granada. The first year after the railroad was put into operation to Dodge City, the white hunters confined most of their buffalo killing to the north side of the Arkansas River, as it was known that the Indians would resent their intrusion on the south side. As buffalo became scarce north of the river, many of the hunters began to slip across on the south side during the course of the next year-1873. With the opening of 1874, preparations were made to extend the scope of their operations still farther south, into the Texas Panhandle country.
ENMITY BETWEEN INDIANS AND BUFFALO HUNTERS
The following extract from Robert M. Wright's volume of remi- niscences, entitled "Dodge City, the Cowboy Capital" (pp. 77, 78), gives some idea of the ill feeling existing between the Indians and the buffalo hunters :
"There was great antipathy between the hunters and the Indians ; they cordially hated each other. This hatred between them was greatly on account of their different manner of killing the buffalo. The Indian hunted the buffalo altogether on horse- back, with bow and arrow, or else with a long spear or lance, which
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they planted in the side of the animal by riding up alongside of him. By either means, they had to ride up close to the buffalo, scattering the herd and running them out of the country or off the range entirely. The Indians claimed they only killed for meat or robes, and, as soon as they had sufficient, they stopped and went home, the herds of buffalo soon getting together again and recovering their panic. Whereas, the hunter never knew when to quit or when he had enough, and was continually harassing the buffaloes from every side, never giving them a chance to recover, but keeping up a con- tinual pop-pop from their big guns. The Indians further claimed that the hunters' mode of killing was not only unfair, but it was cowardly, and downright murder, pure and simple, for they did not give the buffaloes the ghost of a show for their lives. They would get a stand on a herd by shooting the leader, at the distance of a mile, clear out of scent and sound of the gun, and almost out of sight, and, in a short time, would annihilate the entire bunch, whilst the bewildered animals would wander around, taking their deaths, ignorant of what was the source of danger or how to get away. Besides, many of them, wounded, would wander off, out of sight and reach, and were not found until they were unfit for market ; and the Indians claimed that the noise of the hunters' guns and their mode of killing would soon drive the buffalo out of the country or annihilate them. Time has proved that the Indians were cor- rect.
"A band of hunters cared no more for Indians than Indians did for foot soldiers, and, unless they greatly outnumbered the hunters, and then only under the most favorable circumstances, the Indians would not attack the hunters. They were afraid of the hunter's big guns, his cool bravery, and, last but not least, of his unerring, deadly aim. Then, too, the hunter had but little plunder that was dear to the Indian, after the fight was won-only a team of work horses, and the redskin cared much more for riding ponies than for work animals."
In the "Life of 'Billy' Dixon" (pp. 109-14), there appears the following account of Dixon's personal experience in hunting buffalo in the forbidden territory when that sort of enterprise was attended by much risk and danger :
"When the Santa Fe's construction was stopped at Granada, hundreds of men were thrown out of employment, and found it nec- essary to make some kind of shift for work, or leave the country. Right here is where the rapid extermination of the buffalo began. All of these men who could rustle a team and a wagon and get hold
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of an outfit went out on the Plains to kill buffalo. During the fall and winter of 1872 and 1873 there were more hunters in the country than ever before or afterwards. This was the beginning of the high tide of buffalo-hunting, and buffalo fell by thousands. More were killed that season than in all subsequent seasons combined. I feel safe in saying that 75,000 buffaloes were killed within sixty or seventy-five miles of Dodge City during that time. The noise of the guns of the hunters could be heard on all sides, rumbling and boom- ing hour after hour, as if a heavy battle were being fought. There was a line of camps all the way from Dodge City to Granada. Dur- ing all this time, and since 1871 Jack Callahan and I worked together.
"The increasing numbers and destructiveness of the buffalo hunters had been making the Plains Indians more and more hostile. The danger to hunters was increasing day by day. All that region south of the Arkansas was forbidden ground, the Indians insisting that the white men should obey the terms of the Medicine Lodge treaty. If the killing of the buffaloes should continue unabated, the Indians would soon be facing starvation ; at least, their old free- dom would be at an end, as they could no longer roam the country at will, confident of finding meat in abundance wherever they might go.
"The Arkansas was called the 'dead line' south of which no hunter should go. The river was patrolled at intervals by Govern- ment troops, as a feeble indication that the Medicine Lodge treaty had not been forgotten, but their vigilance was so lax that there was no difficulty in crossing back and forth without detection. The danger of attack by Indians was a far more potent obstacle to the buffalo-hunter, but as buffaloes grew fewer in number and the price of hides advanced, even this did not deter hardy hunters from undertaking forays into the forbidden country. The troops were supposed to prevent the passing of the Indians to the north side of the river. This was another scheme that failed to work.
"We gazed longingly across the sandy wastes that marked the course of the Arkansas. The oftener we looked the more eager we became to tempt fate. Even the sky looked more inviting in that direction, and often after a flurry of cold weather the wind from the south was mild, balmy and inviting. As a matter of fact, the possible danger of encountering hostile Indians added spice to the temptation.
"So we crossed over. Finding a pleasant stretch of bottom land, where the grass grew tall and thick, we cut and stacked a lot
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of prairie hay for our teams and saddle horses. The grass waved above our horses' backs as we rode along. Later, we found Indians too numerous in this vicinity for us to devote much time to hunting and we abandoned this camp.
"Before we made the change, however, Callahan and I, both well mounted, and followed by one man in a light wagon, started south- ward on a scouting trip, intending to be gone several days. We wanted to feel out the country and locate the buffalo herds.
"When we reached Crooked Creek, we ran smack into a bunch of Indians, and had a skirmish with them. The Indians could not speak English. This did not prevent our understanding them. Their old chief motioned to us to go northward. That was a long time ago, yet I remember clearly the appearance of this old warrior. Noticeably, fastened under the skin of his left cheek he wore a long brilliant feather. All the warriors were painted red and yellow. We believed, however, that we were able to take care of ourselves, and continued on our way. Further down the creek, we struck another band of hostiles. This was rather too much of the same thing, and we decided that if we valued our scalps we had better pull out.
"We turned around and headed for camp, missing it about three miles in the darkness, and going into camp for the night in the enemy's country. Next morning we got back in safety, and called all hands round to discuss the situation. Plainly, to stay south of the Arkansas meant putting in more time fighting Indians than hunting buffaloes.
"But buffaloes had begun coming in by thousands, so we agreed to remain two or three days and make as big a kill as possible. Hunting was good, and a week had slipped by. The hides were green, which forced us to linger until they were dry. Not only were hides more easily handled when dry, but they made lighter loads."
THE ADOBE WALLS FIGHT
In order to expedite the work of the buffalo hunters, several par- ties from Dodge City decided to plant a trading settlement right in the heart of the southern buffalo range-at Adobe Walls,1 Texas-
1 Adobe Walls was a name given to the ruins of a trading post said to have been established on the Canadian in 1844 by the firm of Bent Brothers, who were extensively engaged in trading upon the Upper Arkansas. The post was abandoned a year or two later because of the hostility of the Kiowas. The walls of the buildings
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distant 150 miles southwest of Dodge City, near the mouth of a small tributary of the Canadian River. Three Dodge City firms opened up branch trading establishments there and there was also a blacksmith shop and a saloon. A large number of buffalo hunters scattered over the surrounding country in small parties. But the Indians had long been noting the ruthless slaughter of the buffalo, merely for the sake of their hides, and they bitterly resented this new inroad upon their exclusive hunting grounds. There were other grievances in plenty and resentment still rankled in their hearts because of the wrongs which had never been righted as prom- ised under the last treaties. However, the threatened extermination of the buffalo, presaging, as it did, either starvation for the Indian and his family or a change in their way of living, furnished a pre- text, if not indeed a reason, for the outbreak which followed almost immediately after the establishment of the trading houses at Adobe Walls.
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