The Indians' Last Fight Part 13

(The reader sitting on a balcony, viewing troops of cavalry prancing along the paved streets seems to enjoy the spectacle and can easily come to imagine that the cavalry man's life is one continual round of pleasure, but let him change his location and go and sit with me on the south porch of a snow bank and see those same soldiers fording a treacherous stream in the winter season and his impressions of the gay and happy life will be suddenly changed.) When out of the brakes and the canyons they were on the last lap of their journey to the battle ground where Custer had wound up the wild and turbulent career of Black Kettle and his band of Cheyenne warriors. This day was but a repet.i.tion of the day before except that at noon they camped long enough to feed the stock some grain, as the mules were becoming tired and jaded from the bad condition of the prairie. After dinner they resumed their journey and that evening went into camp about two miles from the scene of Custer's fight with the Cheyennes a few days previous. Next morning they set out and in a short time arrived at the battle ground. They stopped to examine the place which gave every evidence of a severe conflict. After Sheridan had examined the field he sent out scouts and squads of soldiers to scour the surrounding country in search of Major Elliott and the fifteen missing men. They were found about two miles from the battle ground, dead, and stripped of their clothing and mutilated in the most horrible manner. The mutilation was the work of the squaws. They had not been scalped and their bodies lay not very far apart and the number of empty sh.e.l.ls lying near each body showed the desperate defense they had made. It was learned afterward that Major Elliott had followed a band of fugitives and captured them, and when returning was met and overpowered by a large band of Kiowas and their dead bodies were left there for the squaws to mutilate. When this discovery was made and the news brought to Gen. Sheridan, he was in no frame of mind to adopt any conciliatory measures towards the Indians, besides it had a strong tendency to lessen his respect for Gen. Custer for not making some effort to learn what had become of Major Elliot and his fifteen companions.

Sheridan was now in the right humor for a fight. He wanted to fight and was going to have a fight or a footrace with the first Indians he met. He started down the Was.h.i.+ta, where the Kiowas and the Comanches had their headquarters. His progress was closely watched by the Indians. They pulled up everything and moved on in advance of him, but well out of his reach.

They were certainly in a predicament as they could not cover up their trail by scattering out over the plain, as they would do in summer time, as the snow on the prairie gave evidence of every move they made and things were in such a shape that it was either fight or surrender. Gen.

Sheridan did not seem to care which. They continued to move down stream with Sheridan in pursuit until the third day when they sent a messenger back carrying a white flag and a letter from Gen. Hazen, chairman of the peace committee, asking for a conference with the General. The reader can readily see about how Sheridan felt on the subject. He sent back word to them that there was but one way in which he would recognize Hazen's request for a conference and that was that he would give them twenty-four hours to surrender and come in as prisoners of war, or a fight would start at the expiration of that time. He was compelled to acknowledge the flag of truce and the Indians were well aware of that fact. Reluctantly he gave them the 24 hours to surrender or prepare for battle, as the recent outrages on the settlers on the Saline and Solomon Rivers, the barbarous treatment of Major Elliot and his companions were fresh in the mind of Sheridan. The Indian, aware of the value of the flag of truce used it always to his advantage when in a tight place, though they had no respect for it in their own dealings with others. Sheridan was waiting anxiously for the expiration of the time of truce, but the Indians forestalled the allotted time by about four hours. If the thing was to be done over again, I do not believe that Sheridan would have paid any attention to the flag of truce, as the first sight that met the General's eye after he had marched into their camp and taken Chief Lone Wolf and Chief Satanta prisoners, was the body of a white woman who had been kidnapped from near Fort Lyon by Satanta and kept to gratify his savage l.u.s.t. When he found escape impossible, he shot her to avoid giving her up to her rescuers and took her white child by the feet and dashed its brains out against a tree.

When the fiend shot the woman, whose name was Mrs. Blynn, he held the gun so close to her that her face was powder-burned. In her death, I imagine that there was relief brought to one poor tortured soul.

During the armistice, which did not last twenty-four hours, the Indians killed all their ponies rather than turn them over to their conquerors.

After the preliminaries of surrender were completed, they were ordered back to Ft. Cobb and accordingly started back to fulfill their agreement.

Any one familiar with the lay of that country can begin to appreciate the difficulty Gen. Sheridan had on hand. Moreover, the reluctance of the Indians to return made the journey all the more difficult. They had a thousand different excuses to delay the journey, but it availed them nothing. They were kept on the move and closely watched. In spite of the vigilance exercised by the troops, some of the Indians managed to escape.

At every opportunity some of them would dodge through the brush along the way and make their escape. Satanta seeing the success of his companions, made a dash for liberty also. He was immediately captured by the soldiers and put in handcuffs. To show no partiality in the matter, Chief Lone Wolf was also manacled. To give further proof of his intentions to compel them to submit, he told Lone Wolf and Satanta that unless those Indians who had made their escape did not return very soon, he would hang the two of them without ceremony. That put a different complexion on things. The two chiefs immediately communicated with their followers, who at once sent out runners in different directions to bring back the escaped prisoners. They succeeded in bringing in most of them in fact enough of them returned to move Sheridan to defer the hanging of the two chiefs.

It is my belief that Sheridan afterward regretted that he did not hang the two of them, as they richly deserved it for their past atrocities. I had the pleasure last year, 1912, of seeing old Chief Lone Wolf strutting around the streets of Hobart, Okla., wearing a celluloid collar and derby hat, breaking himself into the habits and customs of the white man. The sight of him caused me to wonder if he ever stopped to consider how near he came to having his neck cracked by Gen. Sheridan and how richly he deserved it.

After carefully looking over the situation in all its different aspects, Sheridan concluded that Fort Cobb was not the proper place to establish his headquarters. He decided to take all his prisoners over to Cache Creek where he would have more and better material to construct a small fort for the protection of the frontier of Texas. This part had been subjected to the raids of the Indians very frequently in the past and they were likely to make an incursion at any time. When he had brought most of the Indians there, he set to work building temporary headquarters and gave the place the name of Fort Sill, after one of his old schoolmates. He held Satanta, Lone Wolf; Little Robe, and several other lesser chiefs as hostages for the faithful performance of all the conditions of the surrender with the explicit understanding that any violation of any of the terms of it would mean the hanging of the whole party. This understanding had a very salutary effect and a strong tendency to establish order and discipline.

These acts may seem to show Sheridan to be a cruel man, but I will say, judging from his action in caring for the remains of Mrs. Blynn and her child who had been so brutally murdered, in taking them to Fort Arbuckle and giving them a Christian burial, he has shown that his heart was in the right place.

CHAPTER XXV.

California Joe's Weakness; A Trip to Camp Supply; Bringing in Renegade Indians; Expedition to Panhandle, etc.

Previously to the time of which I am writing, the General had sent a bunch of cavalry horses to Fort Arbuckle where he had made arrangements for their keep. The Chickasaw and Choctaw Indians raised some crops and had feed to spare and agreed to look after the horses. The General thought by this time they would be sufficiently recuperated to be of service to him in his present needs. Consequently he fitted up an escort and an ambulance and took California Joe along as scout and guide to go and get them. (I promised the reader to tell him of Joe's one fault and will take this opportunity of doing so.) When they had arrived at Ft. Arbuckle, they found everything in better shape than they had expected. The General began making preparations for his return to Fort Sill. When everything was ready he found to his surprise and amazement that California Joe was gloriously drunk. As the prohibitory law in regard to the sale of intoxicants was in full force, in the Indian Territory, he could not account for Joe's condition. He thought he would remain over a day or so to give Joe a chance to sleep off the effects of his overdose of liquid joy. The next day found Joe as happy as a clam in high water and there was no indication of a scarcity of liquor. The General was face to face with a difficulty.

He could not remain longer at Ft. Arbuckle, and he could not go on without Joe, as he might need his services at any time. Patience ceased to be a virtue and he bundled Joe into the ambulance, jumped in himself and started off. They all reached Fort Sill the next day safe and sober. In the meantime the General had not learned where his scout had obtained the liquor to make him drunk. Joe himself told me years afterwards that he had obtained access to the General's jug.

Upon his arrival at the fort, he found everything in as good condition as the circ.u.mstances might warrant. It was a city of soldiers and Indians.

The habitations consisted of teepees and tents, while dug-outs were in course of construction in case of a storm.

As it was one of Gen. Sheridan's principles to allow no guilty man to escape, he ordered Gen. Custer to take a company of men, mounted on the horses he had brought from Ft. Arbuckle, with some scouts among whom was to be found California Joe, and proceed to the head of the Red river and bring back those Indians who had escaped after the surrender when returning to Ft. Cobb.

After Gen. Custer had taken his departure, Gen. Sheridan made provision for the policing and government of the camp, also for the distribution of rations to the Indians during his absence. As soon as he had completed these regulations in a satisfactory manner, he began his own preparations for a trip to Camp Supply. All these things took time and caused him no little vexation, but he was equal to the emergency, and as soon as the work was done he took his escort and full camp equipage and set out. It was now getting along toward the first of March and the soft soil made the wheeling of all vehicles a slavish task for man and beast. In spite of this difficulty, he proceeded on his way and crossed the Was.h.i.+ta above Ft.

Cobb and continued in a northerly direction until he reached the South Canadian where to his great surprise he found the water very low, and what was more pleasing, he found that the ice was all gone. The season was not far enough advanced to thaw the snow on the mountains and consequently, the river being almost dry, was easily forded. It is unnecessary for me to go into details of that journey as it was but a repet.i.tion of his former trip to Fort Sill, except for the floundering around in the snow banks and the cutting of a pa.s.sage through the ice to make a crossing possible.

These latter difficulties he escaped, owing to the lateness of the season.

Difficult pa.s.sages through bad canyons were also avoided owing to Ben Clark's thorough knowledge of the country. At best, it was a tedious journey and on the seventh day after leaving Fort Sill, he crossed the North Canadian just below the junction where the Beaver and Wolf Creeks form the headquarters of the North Canadian. From there he proceeded to Camp Supply, which was only a short distance away. When Sheridan arrived at the camp, he found a message awaiting him, which had been brought from Fort Dodge, Kansas, by stage. The despatch contained the announcement of his promotion to the position of Lieut. General of the army and requested him to proceed at once to Was.h.i.+ngton, D. C. Sheridan did not seem much surprised at his promotion, and continued to perform his usual duties of looking after the Indians and ordering supplies. (He saw to it that those old squaws who had mangled and mutilated his soldier-comrades should be properly cared for as prisoners of war.) (In fact, he was about the busiest man in camp.)

Before Gen. Sheridan had left Camp Sill, Gen. Custer had returned from his trip to the head of Red river, which he had made at his own request. He reported that he had found nothing but a bleak waste. He stated that there was no sign of animal or vegetable life to be seen and that he did not think it possible for the Indians to subsist there. On hearing this report Gen. Sheridan said nothing but took the matter into consideration and, after revolving the affair in his own mind for some time, it was plain to be seen that he was dissatisfied with the report. He ordered Gen. Custer to increase his force by taking the Kansas volunteers and mounting them on the horses he had brought from Fort Arbuckle, to refit and refurnish them thirty days rations and return. He also ordered him to take a full complement of scouts and scour the country until he did find the Indians and bring them into Camp Supply, or whip them into subjection, with all of which Custer was ready to cheerfully comply. The camp was now alive, each soldier fitting up his belongings for a return trip. Gen. Sheridan told Custer that he had to return to Supply and that he wanted the Indian business closed up as soon as possible and for all time to come; that he did not want the band left at liberty until the gra.s.s was green as they would then be self-supporting and could prey upon the stockmen and the settlers at will; that it was his duty to prevent this and he would, regardless of consequences.

It did not take long to make the proper preparations for the return trip, and Custer took a sufficient number of men to overpower any ordinary band of Indians, and on the following morning set out for the Panhandle country. Gen. Sheridan intended to set out the same day, but as he said he had neglected his correspondence, he thought it better to take another day to devote to that matter and arrange everything of that nature before leaving.

On the second day afterwards he had his baggage and other effects packed ready for the trip and went down to the corral to bid his old comrades and teamsters good-bye. He made them a short talk, thanking them for their faithful services they had always so readily rendered. He said that whilst he did not ever expect to return to that post again, that he would be glad to meet any of them, at any time or place. After shaking hands with all the boys he started for the ambulance which was to take him away. When he met Johnny Murphy, his tried and trusty teamster all through the campaign, he said, "Well, Johnnie, I am going to leave you. Be a good boy, and if you should ever come to Was.h.i.+ngton, call on me. I shall always be glad to meet you." He shook hands with him and when he had gone a short distance, he turned and shouted back, "Now, Johnnie, do not fail to call on me." At his departure there could be seen on the cheeks of more than one of those old battle-scarred veterans, a glistening tear, the true token of deep-seated regret. It was a sorrowful parting as these men had followed him through the din of battle for four years during the rebellion and through the Indian campaigns and had come to look upon him as their dearest friend for whom it was a pleasure to shed their blood in the performance of duty. But such was life in the west. When he had gone, each turned to his duty and tried to forget his sorrow. It was such little traits as this that made Sheridan loved by his own men, revered by his friends, and admired and respected by his enemies.

The General had hoped to be able to reach Was.h.i.+ngton to lead his old command in the Inaugural parade on March 4th, but such was not to be, as his duties in the Territory delayed him, too long, as it was now March 2nd. He set out as soon as it was possible for him to leave his command.

If there was any bad weather, it seemed to be his luck to be out in it. It sleeted and as scout and guide to go and get them. I promised the rained all during the journey to Bluff Creek and continued to do the same all the way to Dodge City.

Gen. Custer, a very energetic man and strict disciplinarian, too strict in fact to always retain the respect of his men, kept everybody and everything on the move. The snow was now fast disappearing from the Territory, but the mud and slush caused by the thawing snow, made travelling a slavish task. Each day was a repet.i.tion of the preceding one and such it continued to be until they reached the Panhandle country where they found more snow and less protection from the winds. They still advanced keeping the scouts well to the fore to escape any chance of being taken by surprise. Each day brought the same routine of duties and the same results until it became monotonous, so much so that the boys said that they would like to have a little fight just for a change and to liven things up a little. On and on they went across the dreary desolate plain, with not even a buffalo to be seen as they had been driven from the flats by the severe storms that swept that part of the country prior to the trip. A gray wolf might be seen occasionally, or perhaps an antelope, but that was about all as the wild horses or mustangs had sought shelter in the canyons or brakes. Desolation reigned supreme and were it not for the company they found in each other they wouldn't have been able to endure the loneliness of the place. Duty urged them on, and forward they went well out on the Staked Plains. One day the scouts returned with the information that they had discovered an Indian village. Such news was music to their ears and each and all began to prepare for the impending conflict. Strange as it may seem, those Indians were aware of the approach of the scouts and fully realized their danger. The scouts had scarcely returned to camp when Custer saw through his field-gla.s.ses a lively movement among the Indians. He knew that he had sufficient force to crush them, but hesitated to do so as he had learned that they held two white women as captives, and thought it best to parley with them, for if he attacked them they might repeat the act of cruelty and cold-blooded murder that was perpetrated by Satanta on the Was.h.i.+ta rather than deliver her up to her rescuers. They did not have to wait, for it was a short time until the white flag which the Indian always kept within easy reach, was brought forth. When well out from the village and not far distant from the train, the general and his staff with an interpreter went out to meet them. It did not take long to arrange the preliminaries as they were anxious to surrender, or more so, than he was to capture them. Whilst the negotiations were being conducted for their surrender and return to Camp Supply, Chief Tall Bull made his escape with a few followers and was not heard of until a year later when the report was made that General Parr had made a final settlement with him and sent him "where the wicked cease from troubling", and "the weary are at rest," up on the Republican river in Colorado.

About the first request made by these Indians was for chuckaway as they were almost famished for want of something to eat. Custer readily acceded to their demand and gave them a liberal supply of rations. Then they made ready to move. They had no pianos, sewing machines, or bric-a-brac to pack and crate, but they had a good quant.i.ty of buffalo robes, blankets, tanned buckskin, pots, skillets, and other belongings of an Indian camp and it took some time to get them in readiness for transportation. To a person who has never witnessed such a thing, it is very interesting. The teepees had to be taken down and put in shape to be packed on ponies. In fact, everything had to be packed on ponies as a wagon was an unknown thing to them. They had a subst.i.tute for the wagon which they made from a green cow hide. This while soft and pliable they fastened by each corner to a post and weighted down the center until it a.s.sumed the form of a large dish.

When it became dry and hard, they attached it to two long teepee poles fastened one on each side of a pony. Into the hide they then put anything they wished to transport and turned the pony loose with the rest of the herd. I have seen them place papooses in this rude vehicle and the old pony wandered at will over the prairie. The teepee poles were made of cedar and were very light. Sometimes as many as a dozen poles would be fastened to a pony with other luggage fastened on his back. The young babies, or small papooses, were strapped to the squaws shoulders where she usually carried it in all kinds of weather. The older children climbed on the back of a pony, as that is about the first thing they learned, and were ready for any kind of a journey. The Indian ponies are usually very docile as they are broken to handle from colthood. It is a very rare thing to see one of them bucking or running away, and consequently we seldom hear of an accident to an Indian caused by a vicious horse.

When everything was in readiness, the general gave orders to set out and off they started on their return trip to Camp Supply. Their progress was necessarily very slow owing to the starved condition of their ponies, but Custer urged them on to the limit of their endurance as he had now a great many new boarders on hand and he feared that he might run short of supplies. Each day of the journey was like the other. One thing was favorable, the weather was warmer and the ground was not so soft and muddy as on their advance into that country. One day one of the soldiers shot a buffalo and he and his comrades cut off the hump and one hind quarter to divide among his companions. He told the Indians to help themselves to the rest. The general called a halt to give the Indians a chance to attend to the remnant of the buffalo and put the cook to work preparing some of the hump for himself. They also fed the stock some grain and by the time the General finished his slice of hump there was not enough of that buffalo left to bait a mouse trap. There was nothing left but the horns, hooves, and bones. Even the entrails did not escape their ravenous appet.i.te.

Nevertheless, the buffalo saved the General's commissary the necessity of providing one good meal and that was quite a consideration at that particular time, as provisions were beginning to get low. Each day brought its quota of petty annoyances. Sometimes a wagon would bog down in the creek, or a whiffle-tree would break or a mule balk. But that is all the part of a journey. On they went until they came to the South Canadian river where they expected to meet the greatest difficulty of their trip, but to the surprise of all parties, the water was very low and they succeeded in crossing it with much less trouble than they had to contend with in crossing some of the smaller streams. The quicksand was their greatest obstacle to be encountered in the way. The Indian ponies, as I have said, being very poor and weak, one of them would frequently fall and flounder around in the quicksand throwing his burden, a squaw and her papoose. There they struggled with the treacherous sands until a soldier equal to the emergency would gallantly go to their rescue and bring them back to safety on the opposite bank. The bucks faced the ordeal very reluctantly, but seeing that it was a case of the 'devil take the hindmost' they removed their moccasins, blankets, and in many cases reduced themselves to a state of primitive simplicity, and made their way across as best they could. Much to the relief of the commanding officer the last of them, after a good deal of struggling and snorting, landed on the north bank of the treacherous stream in safety. The general in his eagerness to proceed, did not wait for them to arrange their toilets, but pushed on through the brakes and canyons until he reached the flats where he went into camp. He was eager to reach his destination to unload his responsibility and one cannot blame him for that feeling after performing such an arduous task. It took three more days to reach Camp Supply where Gen. Custer turned over his charge to the Indian Department and in due course of time discharged the regiment that had rendered such valuable service. During that expedition Custer had brought back those renegades and turned them over to the Department without firing a gun except at game on the way.

CHAPTER XXVI.

Civilizing the Indian; A Period of Unrest; An Outbreak; Murder of a Freighter.

At this time the Quakers were largely in control of the Indian Department and were indorsed in their views by Pres. U. S. Grant. They believed the Indian could be civilized and kept under control by moral suasion by the erection of school houses for his children, and by imparting a knowledge of the proper system of agriculture. Under their influence, rations were issued and blankets distributed among them. They were also given wagons, plows, and other farm implements which they knew nothing about. They would not ride on a spring seat, nor sit in a wagon box, but for some reason best known to themselves, they would remove the box and place teepee poles on the wagon bolsters and all climb in when they were ready for a trip.

The plows and other implements which were sent out among them to encourage them to farm, I have seen suspended from trees. I cannot understand why they did so, unless it was to show contempt for the white man's way. It is true, some of them raised small patches of corn, which with the rations issued by the Agency and the game they killed, kept the wolf from the door, or rather the flaps of their teepees. Occasionally a small band of them would get a permit from the Fort Commander to go on a hunt, with the understanding that they were to return at a stipulated time and behave themselves during their absence and not commit any depredations. All this they complied with. I have met these hunting parties up in No Man's Land and other places and never heard of their perpetrating any mischief on persons or stock whilst out under a permit.

The squaws, when not busy in the corn patch or in their little garden, were engaged in making ornaments or other fancy needlework at which they were experts. These articles they afterwards sold to tourists from the East, at the Agency, as souvenirs of their trip among the Indians. Some of this kind of work had a real intrinsic value far above the ornamental part of it. I knew one chief's daughter who had a blanket ornamented with elk's teeth and sh.e.l.ls, that was valued at $1500. She was taken ill and died, and the blanket which she loved to wear at festivals was used as a shroud.

A few days afterwards, some person pa.s.sing by noticed that the grave had been disturbed. He notified her people and an investigation being made, they found that some white man or men had been there and had stolen the blanket or robe in which she was wrapped. If they were ever captured, I am not aware of it. I said that white men did it, because a negro is too superst.i.tious to do it, and I do not believe there is an Indian in the Territory who would stoop to such a ghoulish act; so I shall give some white animal the credit for the deed.

The government also built large corrals or cowpens where the cattle were issued to the Indians. On the size of the family depended the size of the cow or steer issued. The Agent had the name of each family and the number of persons comprising it. When a steer was selected a cowpuncher rode among the herd and cut out the desired animal and rushed him through the gate of the corral where the Indians were waiting with bows and arrows to kill him. They seldom killed him at the first or second shot. More frequently a dozen shots were required before they struck a vital spot.

When the beast fell, the squaws, papooses and dogs came along to do the skinning and oversee the division of the meat. Each one came in for a share. After the killing, the lordly old buck would seek out the shelter of some tree or other shady place to rest his manly form until the animal was dressed and ready for consumption; then he would return and fill his capacious stomach with wohaw. The Government shortly changed the arrow shooting feat as it considered that such a practice had no civilizing influence on the Indian and, besides, it wanted them to forget their old habits as soon as possible. Thereafter, when on issuing day a beef was selected, a man was there to shoot it in the corral and the Indian entered with his ponies to drag away the carca.s.s to dress it outside.

After some time the Department decided to remove a large number of the Indians at Camp Supply to the Darlington Agency which is located about 140 miles south-east of Supply on the north bank of the North Canadian river, and about two miles from Fort Reno. Here they settled down submissively and appeared to be content with their existing condition. At times there were some small complaints about the agent, which upon investigation proved oftentimes to be correct. On the other hand there was a disturbing element. This thing is not common to the Indian alone, but may be found among civilized folks who are not at peace with themselves or the world at large. Taking everything into consideration, they were doing about as well as could be expected under the circ.u.mstances.

The other band of Cheyennes who had located on Pond Creek, were also brought down to the Darlington Agency. This left the Cherokee Strip comparatively deserted, but it did not remain so long as the cowmen entered there and built ranches and stocked them with cattle under leases from the Indians. There were the Turkey Track, the Box T. R-S, Bull Foot and other ranches too numerous to mention, all located in the Cherokee Strip.

Everything moved along smoothly with but little trouble from the Indians until the year 1874, when the spirit of unrest seized them again and extended to all the Indians over the western plains. Some had one grievance and some had another. They began making medicine, which to a man acquainted with the Indians meant trouble sooner or later. At that time, supplies to Anadarko, Ft. Reno, and the Darlington Agency were freighted from Wichita, Kansas, and distributed to the different bands at these places. As there were no railroads in this country, it gave employment to hundreds of men and teams on the trails to enable them to keep up the supplies. The freighting business was a great boon to the early settlers of Kansas as the gra.s.shoppers had destroyed everything in the form of vegetation and the settlers who had teams went to Wichita and engaged in freighting for the government. Even the white folks at this time were reduced to a great state of privation and had to depend on the bounty of the outside world. The more fortunate in the older states responded to their appeal and tided them over their distress until prosperity placed them beyond the reach of want.

About this time small bands of discontented Cheyennes began prowling around over the country and occasionally went beyond the limit allowed them by the Agent, and then returned to draw their rations with the other Indians at the Agency. They continued to do this for some time and finally began to make depredations on stock or anything else that came within their reach. The Agent p.r.o.ne to avoid trouble with them, treated them leniently, but the more leniency he showed, the bolder they became until a small band under the leaders.h.i.+p of Tall Meat, a petty chief, went north as far as Buffalo Springs on the south line of the Cherokee Strip. There they could see the freight wagons in the distance laden with government supplies heading for Anadarko, and came to the immediate decision of raiding the train. They withdrew into a canyon on the side of the trail so as to be out of sight when the train arrived. They intended to murder the teamsters and plunder their goods of whatever they wanted and then make their escape. A man named Patrick Hennessey was driving the lead wagon of one of the trains. He was trudging along on foot beside his team without the slightest suspicion of any danger. As soon as he had pa.s.sed where they were hiding they shot him in the back. When the shooting took place the team stampeded and dragged Hennessey in his dying condition along the ground. The wagon upset and a bag of grain fell across Hennessey's lower limbs and there he lay dead. In the meantime the drivers of the other wagons together with a pa.s.senger who was working his way down the country, abandoned their teams and wagons and fled. Next day the Indian Agent with an escort happened to pa.s.s that way and discovered the work of destruction of the day previous. They found the remnants of the wagon which had been set on fire. Some of the oats which comprised part of the load were still burning, and the sack that had fallen across poor Hennessey's limbs in burning had charred his legs to a crisp. The agent, John D. Miles, and his escort, Billy Mulally, dug a kind of temporary grave to protect the remains from the coyotes and the buzzards and marked the place with a few rocks. Every freighter that pa.s.sed that way felt it his duty to see that the grave was kept in as good condition as circ.u.mstances would permit. The resting place of Pat Hennessey became a landmark for all travellers in that section until the Rock Island railroad was built, when the remains were removed to their present place of rest. The city of Hennessey, one of the most prosperous little cities in the state is named in his honor. I have since been told that the women of Hennessey have erected a monument with suitable inscription at his grave. The other teamsters who fled when the first shot was fired were overtaken and killed at some distance from where Hennessey fell.

This little band of highwaymen could not expect to be allowed to pursue their murderous way with impunity. They had no following, as such acts would be condemned by the best Indians of their tribe, and again they were surrounded by forts. Supply on the north, Elliot on the west, Sill on the south, and Reno at home. A small band of white men might escape under such conditions as it would be possible for them to avoid detection, but not for Indians of the kind, as their approach would be a signal to begin shooting. It was a very short time until they were captured and brought into the agency. Several others were rounded up at the same time. Then an official investigation was made and after a great deal of red tape ceremonies and other preliminaries, it was thought best for the interests of the Indians, as well as for the safety of the white settlers, to transport them to the Dry Tortugas. I have never visited that locality, but from what I have learned from persons who did, it was not a very desirable place to locate a people who might expect any great degree of personal comfort. I had been told by a man who spent some time there, that if the government sent those folks there to confine and punish them, it had struck the exact spot where everything had a tendency to add to human misery, and he believed it was located so close to the region of the lost that he could hear old Cerberus barking across the dead line.

To show the reader a fine sense of filial affection and brotherly attachment is not a stranger to the savage breast, I must mention a little circ.u.mstance that occurred. When all that were to be sent off were standing around and their friends were giving their farewell greetings, one young Indian stepped forward and asked the officer in command if he were going to take his brother away where maybe so he not come back some time. The officer replied that such was the present intention, but modified his remark by saying that at some time in the future they might regain their liberty if they were good Indians. The young Indian hesitated a moment and then said, "Well, me go too. Me not want for stay here and my brother he take away some place I not know and maybe so he not come back at all sometime. Me go, too." The commanding officer granted his request and gave him transportation along with his brother to the Dry Tortugas, situated 175 miles west of Key West in the Gulf of Mexico.

When the Indians were removed, in a short time everything dropped back into peaceful channels and ran along in a comparatively smoother fas.h.i.+on until Chief Dull Knife became uneasy and wanted to return to the Black Hill country. His outbreak will form the subject of another chapter.

Since writing the above I have had occasion to visit one of the public schools of El Reno, where I found a history of Oklahoma written by Joseph B. Thoburn, former secretary of agriculture, and Isaac M. Holcomb, former superintendent of Oklahoma City schools. On page 133 I found a brief history of the tragic death of Pat. Hennessey on July 3rd, 1874, and what a brave defense he made against such odds and when captured was bound to a wagon wheel and burned alive. Also, there was a foot-note stating that it was reported and generally believed that it was the deed of white men disguised as Indians, in order to have it charged up to the Indians. Such was not the case and the above statement is misleading and incorrect, and for the benefit of the school children of the State of Oklahoma, as well as in justice to the Indian I shall set down the correct statement of the case.

My authority for my version of the affair are the following gentlemen: John Murphy of El Reno, and H. A. Todd of Calumet, brother-in-law of Billy Mulally who a.s.sisted John D. Miles, Indian agent at Darlington, to bury Pat. Hennessey, while on their way to Wichita, Kansas. Billy Mulally is still living at Calumet and can be consulted in regard to the matter.

Their version of the affair is as follows:

Patrick Hennessey in the lead of a wagon train was going from Wichita, Kansas, to Anadarko, I. T. loaded with grain and other supplies for the government. He had been warned at Buffalo Springs ranch, kept by a man named Mosher, that the Cheyenne Indians were on the war-path, and was advised to go no farther. He persisted in going and in like manner did the two other teams of the train. With them was a pa.s.senger who was working his way with them. When not far from where Hennessey, Okla. is now located, a band a Cheyenne Indians, under the leaders.h.i.+p of Bear s.h.i.+eld and Tall Meat, came out of a draw and shot Hennessey in the back. The commotion caused by them stampeded the mules Hennessey was driving. He in his dying condition hung on to the lines and was dragged along the ground, as he had been walking alongside the wagon. Presently the wagon upset and a sack of oats fell across Hennessey's prostrate form and pinned him to the ground. He was dead. The other drivers with their pa.s.senger leaped from their wagons and ran north-east in the direction of Skeleton Creek where they were followed by the Chyennes and killed, and were afterwards buried by the cowboys and Mosher. This accounts for their not being buried with Hennessey. The burning of Hennessey cannot be attributed to the Cheyennes as the Osages happened along about this time and the Cheyennes fled. The Osages after plundering the wagons of all they wanted, set fire to what they could not carry away. The following forenoon, John D. Miles, Indian Agent at Darlington, accompanied by Billy Mulally, a cowman on his way to Kansas, came across the wreckage. The grain was still burning and Pat Hennessey's body lay partly under a sack of grain which was still smouldering, and not tied to the wagon wheel as the history has it. From, there they removed him and buried him in a temporary grave. From this resting place he was afterwards removed to what is now called Hennessey, Okla., where there stands a splendid monument erected to his memory by the women of Oklahoma.

Note--This correction is only one of many that might be made in our present day history which pretend to set forth a correct idea of the early days of our state. For any further reference to such matters, living witnesses are at hand to give a correct version of many erroneous statements that have crept into our text books and other writings.

CHAPTER XXVII.

A Decade of Warfare; Custer's Ma.s.sacre; Sheridan, etc.