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90-797: The full treaty can be found online. The Civil War was ending, and the Union did not want to have to keep hundreds of thousands of men under arms to defend immigrants against Indian attacks. Therefore the government sent highly respected Commissioners to the Plains Tribes, and asked them to meet and talk peace. Among the Native American Leaders in attendance were Chiefs Black Kettle and Seven Bulls (Cheyenne), Little Raven and Big Mouth (Comanche), Poor Bear, Old Fool Man, and Crow (Apache), Little Raven, and Storm, (Arapaho), Satanta and Satank (Kiowa). Federal commissioners with great prestige and standing among

180-634: A battle. “ I went to different lodges to shake hands with Black Kettle, Little Robe, Bear Tongue, Red Moon and lot of my friends that I was with at battle of Sand Creek that were going back with Black Kettle (George Bent to George Hyde, 1/12/1906). I am not a big war chief, but all the soldiers in this country are at my command. My rule of fighting white men or Indians is to fight them until they lay down their arms and submit to military authority. They are nearer to Major Wynkoop than any one else, and they can go to him when they get ready to do that. On June 15, 1864, Major T.I. McKenny, Assistant Adjutant-General of

270-623: A brave and numerous foe. Within weeks, however, witnesses and survivors began telling stories of a possible massacre. Several investigations were conducted—two by the military, and one by the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War . The panel declared: As to Colonel Chivington, your committee can hardly find fitting terms to describe his conduct. Wearing the uniform of the United States, which should be

360-583: A family of settlers, an attack which the white people called the Hungate massacre after the family. Pro-war white people displayed the scalped bodies in Denver . Colorado governor John Evans believed tribal chiefs had ordered the attack and were intent on a full-scale war. Evans issued a proclamation ordering all "Friendly Indians of the Plains" to report to military posts or be considered "hostile". He sought and gained from

450-544: A key role for the series in the pilot episode. Dr. Quinn saves Black Kettle's life by performing a tracheotomy and removing a bullet lodged in his neck. She later receives a Cheyenne name from Black Kettle meaning "Medicine Woman". Black Kettle and the fate of his village are featured in Episode 4 of TNT miniseries Into the West . Black Kettle is portrayed by Wes Studi . On ska band Five Iron Frenzy 's Our Newest Album Ever! ,

540-724: A new treaty. On February 18, 1861, six chiefs of the Southern Cheyenne and four of the Arapaho signed the Treaty of Fort Wise with the United States, in which they ceded most of the lands designated to them by the Fort Laramie treaty. The Cheyenne chiefs included Black Kettle , White Antelope (Vó'kaa'e Ohvó'komaestse), Lean Bear , Little Wolf , and Tall Bear; the Arapaho chiefs included Little Raven , Storm, Shave-Head, Big Mouth , and Niwot , or Left Hand. The Cheyenne warriors denounced

630-577: A peace parley held in Denver in September 1864. After a while, the American Indians were asked to relocate to Big Sandy Creek , less than 40 miles northwest of Fort Lyon, under the threat of their safety. The Dog Soldiers , who had been responsible for many of the attacks and raids on whites, were not part of this encampment. Most tribal warriors stood their ground, refusing to leave their home under

720-582: A peacemaker. Black Kettle National Grassland in Roger Mills County, Oklahoma and Hemphill County, Texas is named after him. Near the site of his death, in present-day Cheyenne, Oklahoma , the Black Kettle Museum commemorates his legacy. Black Kettle was a recurring character in the CBS family drama Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman for its first three seasons, played by Nick Ramus . Black Kettle plays

810-550: A prevailing hard line and continued warfare. Black Kettle's dwindling band proclaimed their desire to live peacefully alongside European Americans. Black Kettle signed yet another treaty, the Medicine Lodge Treaty , on October 28, 1867. The Dog Soldiers continued their raids and ambushes across Kansas, Texas, and Colorado. The relationship between the two groups is a subject of historical dispute. According to Little Rock , second-in-command of Black Kettle's village, most of

900-513: A separate band of Cheyenne and Lakota warriors. They took as their territory the area around the headwaters of the Republican and Smoky Hill rivers in southern Nebraska, northern Kansas, and the northeastern Colorado Territory. By the 1860s, as the conflict between natives and encroaching whites intensified, the Dog Soldiers and military societies within other Cheyenne bands countered the influence of

990-508: A woman's private parts out and had them for exhibition on a stick. I heard of one instance of a child, a few months old, being thrown into the feed-box of a wagon, and after being carried some distance, left on the ground to perish; I also heard of numerous instances in which men had cut out the private parts of females and stretched them over their saddle-bows, and some of them over their hats." During these investigations, numerous witnesses came forward with damning testimony, almost all of which

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1080-629: Is hard for me to believe white men any more. Black Kettle moved south and continued to negotiate with U.S. officials. He signed the Treaty of Little Arkansas River on October 14, 1865. By this document, the U.S. promised "perpetual peace" and lands in reparation for the Sand Creek massacre. However, its practical effect was to dispossess the Cheyenne yet again and require them to move to Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma ). Black Kettle's influence continued to wane. Roman Nose and his Dog Soldiers took

1170-468: Is unknown. It is likely higher. George Bent, a Dog Soldier in Black Kettle’s camp, wrote about going on wagon train raids. “Cheyennes made good many raids towards Denver” (Bent to Hyde 5-3-1905). George Bent, a half-Cheyenne, who was a Dog Soldier(Warrior) in Black Kettle’s camp at Sand Creek, wrote letters to historians about the Cheyenne way of life and his experience at Sand Creek. He called Sand Creek

1260-480: The 1st Colorado Cavalry Regiment attacked Cheyenne men near Frémont's Orchard without any first attempt at parley or peace. On April 13, a herdsman working for Irving, Jackmann & Company reported that Cheyennes and Arapahos had driven off 60 oxen and 12 horses and mules from their camp south of Denver. George Bent (a half-Cheyenne, half-white man who survived the ensuing Sand Creek Massacre along with other members of his family and tribe) disputes this version of

1350-630: The Cheyenne tribe. The Council met regularly at the Sun Dance gatherings, where they affirmed unity. After 1851, relations between the Cheyenne and the U.S. government were nominally conducted under the Treaty of Fort Laramie . Still, the U.S. government remained unwilling to control white expansion into the Great Plains , particularly after the Pike's Peak Gold Rush began in 1859. European Americans displaced

1440-607: The Department of Kansas warned his superior, General Samuel Ryan Curtis that a few more reckless murders of Indians by the Volunteers risked uniting the various tribes into a general war against the US Army: I think if great caution is not exercised on our part there will be a bloody war. It should be our policy to try and conciliate them, guard our mails and trains well to prevent theft, and stop these scouting parties that are roaming over

1530-524: The Pikes Peak Gold Rush . Immigrants flooded across Cheyenne and Arapaho lands. They competed for resources, and some settlers tried to stay. Colorado territorial officials pressured federal authorities to redefine the extent of Indian lands in the territory, and in the fall of 1860, A.B. Greenwood, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, arrived at Bent's New Fort , along the Arkansas River, to negotiate

1620-623: The Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site and is administered by the National Park Service . The massacre is considered part of a series of events known as the Colorado Wars . By the terms of the 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie between the United States and seven Indian nations, including the Cheyenne and Arapaho, the United States recognized that the Cheyenne and Arapaho held a vast territory encompassing

1710-457: The Smoky Hill River country of Kansas, along which whites had opened a new trail to the gold fields. Cheyenne who opposed the treaty said it had been signed by a small minority of the chiefs without the consent or approval of the rest of the tribe, that the signatories had not understood what they signed, and that they had been bribed to sign by a large distribution of gifts. Officials took

1800-543: The Third Colorado Cavalry under the command of U.S. Volunteers Colonel John Chivington attacked and destroyed a village of Cheyenne and Arapaho people in southeastern Colorado Territory , killing and mutilating an estimated 70 to over 600 Native American people. Chivington claimed 500 to 600 warriors were killed. However, most sources estimate around 150 people were killed, about two-thirds of whom were women and children. The location has been designated

1890-416: The Treaty of Fort Wise , believing he could gain protection for his people. The treaty was highly unfavorable to the Southern Cheyenne. Black Kettle visited Washington, D.C. , where President Abraham Lincoln gave him a large American flag. The Cheyenne led their bands to the Sand Creek reservation, which occupied a small corner of southeastern Colorado Territory about 40 miles from Fort Lyon . The land

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1980-491: The War Department authorization to establish the Third Colorado Cavalry . Colonel John M. Chivington led the unit, composed predominantly of "100-daysers", who enlisted for limited 100-day terms specifically for fighting against the Cheyenne and Arapaho. Black Kettle decided to accept Evans' offer and entered negotiations. On September 28, he concluded a peace settlement at Fort Weld outside Denver. The agreement assigned

2070-615: The "battles and engagements" fought by Colorado troops in the American Civil War . In 2002, the Colorado Historical Society (now History Colorado ), authorized by the Colorado General Assembly , added an additional plaque to the monument, which states that the original designers of the monument "mischaracterized" Sand Creek by calling it a battle. After the actual details of the massacre became widely known,

2160-401: The Cheyenne came to Denver to have peace talks with Governor Evans. At this conference, the chiefs were told by Governor Evans that peace was not possible at that point and that "whatever peace they make must be with the soldiers, and not with me." At this council, White Antelope said that he feared the soldiers might kill some of his people while he was there. Governor Evans told him that there

2250-464: The Cheyenne from their lands in violation of the treaty, and consumed important resources of water and game. Increasing competition eventually led to armed conflict between the groups. Chief Black Kettle was a pragmatist who believed that U.S. military power and the number of immigrants were overwhelming and unable to be resisted. In 1861, he and the Arapaho surrendered to the commander of Fort Lyon under

2340-438: The Cheyenne, was among those who were killed. Ochinee and 160 other people, most of whom were children and women, were killed. Grandfather Ochinee (One-Eye) escaped from the camp, but seeing all that his people were to be slaughtered, he deliberately chose to go back into the one-sided battle and die with them. Meanwhile, Chivington and 425 men of the 3rd Colorado Cavalry rode to Fort Lyon arriving on November 28, 1864. Once at

2430-459: The Indians never would eat "tame meat" when they could get buffalo." A small contingent of soldiers, led by Lieutenant Clark Dunn, was sent to repossess the livestock. The ensuing confrontation resulted in the death of four of the soldiers, and the tribes maintained possession of the stolen livestock. Lieutenant George Eayre was also sent to find and demand return of the oxen. If the animals' return

2520-635: The Indians then moved north into Nebraska on their way to the Black Hills and the Powder River Country . Black Kettle continued to speak for peace and did not join in the second raid or in the journey to the Powder River country. He left the camp and returned with 80 lodges to the Arkansas River to seek peace with the Coloradans. Initially, the Sand Creek engagement was reported as a victory against

2610-570: The Indians were General Harney, Colonel Leavenworth, Kit Carson and William Bent. The white representatives wanted peace, unmolested traffic on the Santa Fe trail and limitation of Indian territory. The Indians demanded unrestricted hunting grounds and reparation for the Chivington massacre of Black Kettle's band. Treaties made here gave the Indians reservations south of the Arkansas, excluded them north to

2700-590: The Joint Committee on the Conduct of the Wars' recommendation, no charges were brought against those who committed the massacre. Chivington was beyond the reach of army justice because he had already resigned his commission. The closest thing to a punishment he suffered was the effective end of his political aspirations. A monument installed on the Colorado State Capitol grounds in 1909 lists Sand Creek as one of

2790-510: The Kansas City or old Santa Fe road. As the conflict between the Indians and settlers and soldiers in Colorado continued, the tribes would make war during the spring and summer months until subsistence became difficult to obtain. The tribes would then earnestly seek to make peace during the winter months, when they would stock up on supplies, arms, and munitions, until fairer weather would return and

Little Arkansas Treaty - Misplaced Pages Continue

2880-697: The Little Arkansas River, on the Council Grounds, in Kansas, commemorating the Treaty. Sand Creek massacre The Sand Creek massacre (also known as the Chivington massacre , the battle of Sand Creek or the massacre of Cheyenne Indians ) was a massacre of Cheyenne and Arapaho people by the U.S. Army in the American Indian Wars that occurred on November 29, 1864, when a 675-man force of

2970-463: The Masikota, who by that time had allied, were not present at Sand Creek. Of about 10 lodges of Arapaho under Chief Left Hand, representing about 50 or 60 people, only a handful escaped with their lives. After hiding all day above the camp in holes dug beneath the bank of Sand Creek, the survivors there, many of whom were wounded, moved up the stream and spent the night on the prairie. Trips were made to

3060-562: The Platte and proclaimed peace. Several white captives were released, among them a woman and four children from Texas, the Box family, taken by a war party under Satanta. This is one of the shortest treaties in history. None of its major provisions were ever implemented. Both sides charged violations and warfare continued until the Medicine Lodge treaties of 1867. There is a monument one mile west of

3150-505: The Southern Cheyenne to the Sand Creek reservation and required them to report to Fort Lyon , formerly Fort Wise. Black Kettle believed the agreement would ensure the safety of his people. After he went to the reservation, the commanding officer at the fort was replaced by one who was an ally of Chivington. Ambitious, Chivington felt pressure from Governor Evans to make use of the Third Colorado Cavalry before their terms expired at

3240-624: The U.S. government to protect his people. On November 27, 1868, while attempting to escape the Battle of Washita River with his wife, he was shot and killed by soldiers of the U.S. 7th Cavalry . Black Kettle was born around 1803 in South Dakota into the Cheyenne Nation. Little is known of Black Kettle's life prior to 1854, when he was made a chief of the Council of Forty-four , the central government of

3330-532: The United States federal government sent a blue ribbon commission whose members were respected by the Indians, and the Treaty of the Little Arkansas was signed in 1865. It promised the Indians free access to the lands south of the Arkansas River, excluded them from the Arkansas River north to the Platte River, and promised land and cash reparations to the surviving descendants of Sand Creek victims. However,

3420-466: The United States troops ... I saw one squaw lying on the bank, whose leg had been broken. A soldier came up to her with a drawn sabre. She raised her arm to protect herself; he struck, breaking her arm. She rolled over, and raised her other arm; he struck, breaking that, and then left her with out killing her. I saw one squaw cut open, with an unborn child lying by her side. There was one little child, probably three years old, just big enough to walk through

3510-415: The appointed place. The governor sent his guide, Elbridge Gerry, out to try to find the chiefs. Gerry returned two weeks later saying that a council had been held wherein the chiefs decided not to meet with Governor Evans. Bull Bear offered to meet with the governor, but his warriors would not allow it. At the end of 1863 and in the beginning of 1864, word was received that a coalition was to be formed among

3600-704: The attack. Captain Silas Soule , Lieutenant Joseph Cramer and Lieutenant James Connor protested that attacking a peaceful camp would violate the pledge of safety provided to the Indians and would dishonor the uniform of the Army. The following morning, Chivington gave the order to attack. Two officers, Captain Silas Soule and Lieutenant Joseph Cramer, commanding Company D and Company K of the First Colorado Cavalry, refused to obey and told their men to hold fire. However,

3690-487: The brains out of little innocent children. You call sich soldiers Christians, do ye? And Indians savages? What der yer s'pose our Heavenly Father, who made both them and us, thinks of these things? I tell you what, I don't like a hostile red skin any more than you do. And when they are hostile, I've fought 'em, hard as any man. But I never yet drew a bead on a squaw or papoose, and I despise the man who would. The natives, lacking artillery, could not make much resistance. Some of

Little Arkansas Treaty - Misplaced Pages Continue

3780-517: The brutal slaughter of those who supported peace, many of the Cheyenne, including the great warrior Roman Nose , and many Arapaho joined the Dog Soldiers. They sought revenge on settlers throughout the Platte valley, including an 1865 attack on what became Fort Caspar , Wyoming. Following the massacre, the survivors reached the camps of the Cheyenne on the Smokey Hill and Republican rivers. The war pipe

3870-477: The chiefs who signed the treaty and even threatened them with death if they attempted to carry out the treaty's provisions. The new reserve, less than 1/13 the size of the territory recognized in the 1851 treaty, was located in eastern Colorado, between the Arkansas River and Sand Creek . Most bands of the Cheyenne, including the Dog Soldiers , a militaristic band of Cheyenne and Lakota that had originated in

3960-536: The country who do not know one tribe from another, and who will kill anything in the shape of an Indian. It will require but few murders on the part of our troops to unite all these warlike tribes of the plains, who have been at peace for years and intermarried amongst one another. I do wish that some prudent, good man could be placed in command of the troops along the roads from Smoky Fork, on the Leavenworth road, to Walnut Creek, and from Cow Creek thorough to Fort Lyon, on

4050-579: The emblem of justice and humanity; holding the important position of commander of a military district, and therefore having the honor of the government to that extent in his keeping, he deliberately planned and executed a foul and dastardly massacre which would have disgraced the veriest savage among those who were the victims of his cruelty. Having full knowledge of their friendly character, having himself been instrumental to some extent in placing them in their position of fancied security, he took advantage of their in-apprehension and defenceless condition to gratify

4140-459: The end of 1864. On November 28, Chivington arrived with 700 men at Fort Lyon. According to an eyewitness, John S. Smith: [H]e stopped all persons from going on ahead of him. He stopped the mail, and would not allow any person to go on ahead of him at the time he was on his way from Denver city to Fort Lyon. He placed a guard around old Colonel Bent, the former agent there; he stopped a Mr. Hagues and many men who were on their way to Fort Lyon. He took

4230-678: The era report that Cheyenne warriors attacked settlers and committed a number of atrocities in the summer of 1864 including the June 11 Hungate massacre . The beginning of the American Civil War in 1861 led to the organization of military forces in Colorado Territory. However, the attention of the federal government was firmly fixed on defeating the Confederates . As a result, there was no significant military protection of wagon trains, settlers, settlements, communication lines, and supply wagons in

4320-429: The final tally was 4 killed and 21 wounded in the 1st Colorado Cavalry and 20 killed or mortally wounded and 31 other wounded in the 3rd Colorado Cavalry; adding up to 24 killed and 52 wounded. Dee Brown wrote that some of Chivington's men were drunk and that many of the soldiers' casualties were due to friendly fire , but neither of these claims is supported by Gregory F. Michno or Stan Hoig in their books devoted to

4410-480: The fort by surprise, and as soon as he got there he posted pickets all around the fort, and then left at 8 o'clock that night for this Indian camp. At dawn on November 29, Chivington attacked the Sand Creek reservation; the event became known as the Sand Creek massacre . Most of the warriors were out hunting. Following Indian agent instructions, Black Kettle flew an American flag and a white flag from his tipi , but

4500-401: The fort, Chivington took command of 250 men of the 1st Colorado Cavalry and maybe as many as 12 men of the 1st Regiment New Mexico Volunteer Infantry , then set out for Black Kettle's encampment. James Beckwourth , a noted frontiersman who had lived with the Indians for half a century, acted as guide for Chivington. Prior to the massacre, several of Anthony's officers were not eager to join in

4590-477: The guise of a threat, leaving only about 75 men, plus all the women and children in the village. The men who remained were mostly too old or too young to hunt. Black Kettle flew a U.S. flag, with a white flag tied beneath it, over his lodge, as the Fort Lyon commander had advised him. This was to show he was friendly and forestall any attack by the Colorado soldiers. Peace chief Ochinee , who tried to broker peace for

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4680-704: The lands between the North Platte River and the Arkansas River , and eastward from the Rocky Mountains to western Kansas . This area included present-day southeastern Wyoming , southwestern Nebraska , most of eastern Colorado , and the westernmost portions of Kansas. In November 1858, however, the discovery of gold in the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, then part of the Kansas Territory , brought on

4770-456: The late 1830s, were angry at the chiefs who had signed the treaty. They disavowed the treaty—which never received the blessing of the Council of 44 , the supreme tribal authority—and refused to abide by its constraints. They continued to live and hunt in the bison -rich lands of what's now eastern Colorado and western Kansas, and became increasingly belligerent over the tide of white migration across their lands. Tensions were high, particularly in

4860-583: The later accounts of survivors. These statements were filed with his reports and can be found in the Official Records of the War of the Rebellion , copies of which were submitted as evidence in the Joint Committee of the Conduct of the War and in separate hearings conducted by the military in Denver. Lieutenant James D. Cannon describes the mutilation of human genitalia by the soldiers, "men, women, and children's privates cut out. I heard one man say that he had cut

4950-504: The little child, but he missed him. A third man came up, and made a similar remark, and fired, and the little fellow dropped. Fingers and ears were cut off the bodies for the jewelry they carried. The body of White Antelope, lying solitarily in the creek bed, was a prime target. Besides scalping him the soldiers cut off his nose, ears, and testicles-the last for a tobacco pouch ... Jis' to think of that dog Chivington and his dirty hounds, up thar at Sand Creek. His men shot down squaws, and blew

5040-677: The massacre were the Wutapiu, Black Kettle's band. Perhaps half of the Hevhaitaniu were lost, including the chiefs Yellow Wolf and Big Man. The Oivimana, led by War Bonnet, lost about half their number. There were heavy losses to the Hisiometanio (Ridge Men) under White Antelope. Chief One Eye was also killed, along with many of his band. The Suhtai clan and the Heviqxnipahis clan under chief Sand Hill experienced relatively few losses. The Dog Soldiers and

5130-573: The massacre. Before Chivington and his men left the area, they plundered the teepees and took the horses. After the smoke cleared, Chivington's men came back and killed many of the wounded. They also scalped many of the dead, regardless of whether they were women, children, or infants. Chivington and his men dressed their weapons, hats, and gear with scalps and other body parts, including human fetuses and male and female genitalia. They also publicly displayed these battle trophies in Denver 's Apollo Theater and area saloons . Three Indians who remained in

5220-448: The morning of November 27, 1868, Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer led his 7th Cavalry Regiment to attack Chief Black Kettle and his village along the Washita River in what is now western Oklahoma . Custer's troops killed more than 100 Native Americans, mostly Southern Cheyenne. While trying to cross the Washita River, Black Kettle and his wife were shot in the back and killed. The Cheyenne have recognized Black Kettle as

5310-401: The murders and ensuing weakening of the peace faction exacerbated the developing social and political rift. Traditional council chiefs, mature men who sought consensus and looked to the future of their people, and their followers, were opposed by the younger and more militaristic Dog Soldiers. Beginning in the 1830s, the Dog Soldiers had evolved from a Cheyenne military society of that name into

5400-470: The natives cut horses from the camp's herd and fled up Sand Creek or to a nearby Cheyenne camp on the headwaters of the Smoky Hill River . Others, including the half-Cheyenne, half-white trader George Bent , fled upstream and dug holes in the sand beneath the banks of the stream. They were pursued by the troops and fired on, but many survived. Cheyenne warrior Morning Star said that most of the Indian dead were killed by cannon fire, especially those firing from

5490-560: The number of men killed. George Bent, the son of the American William Bent and a Cheyenne mother, who was in the village when the attack came and was wounded by the soldiers, gave two different accounts of the natives' loss. On March 15, 1889, he wrote to Samuel F. Tappan that 137 people were killed: 28 men and 109 women and children. However, on April 30, 1913, when he was very old, he wrote that "about 53 men" and "110 women and children" were killed and many people wounded. Although initial reports indicated 10 soldiers killed and 38 wounded,

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5580-426: The plains tribes to "drive the whites out of the country." In the spring and summer of 1864, the Sioux, Comanches, Kiowas, Cheyennes, and Arapahos were engaged in active hostilities which led to the murder of numerous civilians, the destruction of livestock and crops, supplies to the region being cut off, and the Colorado settlers in danger of starvation or murder at the hands of the plains tribes. On April 12, men of

5670-437: The position that Indians who refused to abide by it were hostile and planning a war. The Cheyenne started committing minor offenses in 1861. These offenses went unpunished and, subsequently, became more significant. The desire for war was so strong with the Cheyenne that Agent Lorey urged Governor John Evans to treat the Cheyenne anew in 1863. As agreed, Governor Evans went out to meet with the chiefs, but they did not show up to

5760-509: The protection of Major Wynkoop. 652 Arapahos led by Chief Little Raven appeared at Fort Lyon beginning around November 6, 1864, and were subsisted there by Major Anthony who had replaced Wynkoop. Later, when 600 Cheyenne appeared at the fort in a similar manner they were turned away and denied subsistence by Major Anthony. Black Kettle, leading chief of around 163 mostly Southern Cheyenne , had led his band, joined by some Arapahos under Chief Niwot , to Fort Lyon in compliance with provisions of

5850-543: The region. By the summer of 1864, nearly every stage was being attacked, emigrants were being cut off, and settlements were being raided continually. The settlers abandoned their farms and ranches and began seeking refuge in the major settlements such as Denver. A coordinated attack was carried out on August 8, 1864, where all the existing stage lines in the region were attacked. Between August 11 and September 7, Governor Evans sent multiple letters to Secretary of War Edward Stanton in an attempt to furnish military aid, but Stanton

5940-515: The rest of Chivington's men immediately attacked the village. Ignoring the U.S. flag and a white flag that was run up shortly after the attack began, they murdered as many of the Indians as they could. I saw the bodies of those lying there cut all to pieces, worse mutilated than any I ever saw before; the women cut all to pieces ... With knives; scalped; their brains knocked out; children two or three months old; all ages lying there, from sucking infants up to warriors ... By whom were they mutilated? By

6030-412: The sand. The Indians had gone ahead, and this little child was behind, following after them. The little fellow was perfectly naked, travelling in the sand. I saw one man get off his horse at a distance of about seventy-five yards and draw up his rifle and fire. He missed the child. Another man came up and said, 'let me try the son of a b-. I can hit him.' He got down off his horse, kneeled down, and fired at

6120-523: The signal was ignored. The 3rd Colorado Cavalry killed 163 Cheyenne by shooting or stabbing. They burned down the village encampment. Most of the victims were women and children. For months afterward, members of the militia displayed trophies in Denver of their battle, including body parts they had taken for souvenirs. Black Kettle escaped the massacre and returned to rescue his severely injured wife, who suffered nine bullet and shrapnel wounds. He continued to counsel pacifism, believing that military resistance

6210-440: The site of the camp but very few survivors were found there. After a cold night without shelter, the survivors set out toward the Cheyenne camp on the headwaters of the Smoky Hill River. They soon met up with other survivors who had escaped with part of the horse herd, some returning from the Smoky Hill camp where they had fled during the attack. They then proceeded to the camp, where they received assistance. The massacre disrupted

6300-464: The south bank of the river at the people retreating up the creek. In testimony before a Congressional committee investigating the massacre, Chivington claimed that as many as 500 to 600 Indian warriors were killed. Historian Alan Brinkley wrote that 133 Indians were killed, 105 of whom were women and children. White eyewitness John S. Smith reported that 70 to 80 Indians were killed, including 20 to 30 warriors, which agrees with Brinkley's figure as to

6390-404: The story. According to Bent, "One day in April some Cheyennes from one of these camps were out hunting and found a number of oxen straying about among the sand hills. As they did not know to whom the animals belonged they drove them to camp, intending to keep them until someone could lay claim to them.... The Indians had no use for the oxen; there were plenty of buffalo on that range that winter, and

6480-422: The traditional Cheyenne power structure, because of the deaths of eight members of the Council of Forty-Four . White Antelope, One Eye, Yellow Wolf, Big Man, Bear Man, War Bonnet, Spotted Crow, and Bear Robe were all killed, as were the headmen of some of the Cheyenne military societies. Among the chiefs killed were most of those who had advocated peace with white settlers and the U.S. government. The net effect of

6570-409: The traditional Council of Forty-Four chiefs who, as more mature men, took a larger view and were more likely to favor peace with the whites. To the Dog Soldiers, the Sand Creek massacre illustrated the folly of the peace chiefs' policy of accommodating the whites through treaties such as the first Treaty of Fort Laramie and the Treaty of Fort Wise. They believed their militant position toward the whites

6660-489: The treaty was abrogated by Washington less than two years later, all major provisions were ignored, and instead, the Medicine Lodge Treaty reduced the reservation lands by 90 percent, located in much less desirable sites in Oklahoma. Later government actions further reduced the size of the reservations. Black Kettle Black Kettle ( Cheyenne : Mo'ohtavetoo'o ) ( c.  1803  – November 27, 1868)

6750-486: The tribe were camping on their buffalo hunting grounds near Ash Creek . The 1st Colorado Regiment , under the command of Lieutenant George Eayre , approached the group. Positive that this would be a peaceful encounter, Lean Bear went alone to meet the militia to show his peaceful intentions. On his chest, Lean Bear proudly wore his peace medal that he had received on his trip to Washington D.C. in 1863. In his hand, he held an official document signed by Lincoln stating that he

6840-483: The village are known to have survived the massacre: George Bent's brother Charlie Bent, and two Cheyenne women who were later turned over to William Bent. According to western author and historian Larry McMurtry , the son of Chivington's scout John Smith (by an Indian mother) was in the camp, survived the attack and was "executed" afterward. The Sand Creek Massacre resulted in a heavy loss of life, mostly among Cheyenne and Arapaho women and children. The hardest hit by

6930-460: The war could be commenced anew. In July 1864, Colorado Governor John Evans sent a circular to the Plains Indians, inviting those who were friendly to go to a place of safety at Fort Lyon on the eastern plains, where their people would be given provisions and protection by the United States troops. The circular itself was dated June 27, 1864. It was not until three months later, September 28, that

7020-521: The warriors came back to Black Kettle's camp after their attacks. White prisoners, including children, were held within his encampment. By this time Black Kettle's influence was waning, and it is unclear whether he could have stopped the younger warriors' actions. In response to the continued raids and massacres, General Philip Sheridan devised a plan of punitive reprisals. He planned to attack Cheyenne winter encampments, destroying both supplies and livestock, and killing any people who resisted. At dawn on

7110-422: The white negotiators at the September 28th meeting were highly contradictory. On the one hand, Governor Evans told the chiefs, "The time when you can make war best is in the summer; when I can make war best is in the winter. You, so far, have had the advantage. My time is just coming." On the other hand, Colonel Chivington told the assembled Chiefs that if they sought peace, they should come to Fort Lyon and be under

7200-526: The worst passions that ever cursed the heart of man. In conclusion, your committee are of the opinion that for the purpose of vindicating the cause of justice and upholding the honor of the nation, prompt and energetic measures should be at once taken to remove from office those who have thus disgraced the government by whom they are employed, and to punish, as their crimes deserve, those who have been guilty of these brutal and cowardly acts. Statements taken by Major Edward W. Wynkoop and his adjutant substantiated

7290-642: Was a leader of the Southern Cheyenne during the American Indian Wars . Born to the Northern Só'taeo'o / Só'taétaneo'o band of the Northern Cheyenne in the Black Hills of present-day South Dakota , he later married into the Wotápio / Wutapai band (one mixed Cheyenne- Kiowa band with Lakota Sioux origin) of the Southern Cheyenne. Black Kettle is often remembered as a peacemaker who accepted treaties with

7380-472: Was corroborated by other witnesses. One witness, Captain Silas Soule , who had ordered the men under his command not to fire their weapons, was murdered in Denver just weeks after offering his testimony. “Before I got into the creek there were troops upon both sides firing across. It was unsafe for me to take my command up the creek,” Soule testified. He only testified about his concern for crossfire; he never testified that he refused to fight. However, despite

7470-519: Was doomed to fail. The majority of the Southern Cheyenne chiefs disagreed. Allied with the Comanche and Kiowa , they went to war against U.S. civilians and military forces. Black Kettle said of that time: Although wrongs have been done me, I live in hopes. I have not got two hearts.... I once thought that I was the only man that persevered to be the friend of the white man, but since they have come and cleaned out our lodges, horses, and everything else, it

7560-425: Was great danger of it, and then he told White Antelope that one of the military chiefs (Colonel Chivington) was present and could tell the tribes what was necessary to secure peace. Governor Evans made clear that the purpose of the circular was not to extend peace, but rather it was an attempt to bring in the Indians who were friendly and were exposed to repudiation by the other tribes as a result. The messages given by

7650-439: Was justified by the massacre. The events at Sand Creek dealt a fatal blow to the traditional Cheyenne clan system and the authority of its Council of Chiefs. It had already been weakened by the numerous deaths due to the 1849 cholera epidemic, which killed perhaps half the Southern Cheyenne population, especially the Masikota and Oktoguna bands. It was further weakened by the emergence of the separate Dog Soldiers band. After

7740-688: Was not arable and was located far away from buffalo , their major source of meat. Many Cheyenne warriors, including the Dog Soldiers , did not accept the treaty and began to attack white settlers. Whether Black Kettle opposed these actions, tolerated them, or encouraged them remains controversial among historians. By the summer of 1864, the situation had reached a boiling point. Southern Cheyenne hardliners, along with allied Kiowa and Arapaho bands, raided American settlements for livestock and supplies. Sometimes they took captives, generally only women and children, to adopt into their tribes as replacements for lost members. On June 11, 1864, indigenous people killed

7830-408: Was peaceful and friendly with whites. What Lean Bear did not realize was that Eayre's troops were operating under orders from Colonel John M. Chivington to "kill Cheyennes whenever and wherever found." Eayre ordered his men to shoot Lean Bear, who was wounded and fell off his horse. He was then shot repeatedly by the soldiers as they rode past his body on the ground. Newspaper reports and books from

7920-575: Was refused, Eayre was to attack the camp. Without following the order to first parley, Eayre and his men burned and plundered Crow Chief's camp of seventy lodges, which they abandoned once they were alerted to the approach of Eayre's forces. Eayre's men then found, plundered, and burned Chief Coon's camp (which Coon's band had likewise fled after being alerted of Eayre's approach by their scouts). On May 16, less than 15 months after meeting President Lincoln in Washington, Lean Bear, Black Kettle, and others in

8010-542: Was smoked and passed from camp to camp among the Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho warriors in the area. In January 1865, they planned and carried out an attack with 1,000 warriors on the stage station and fort, then called Camp Rankin, at present-day Julesburg, Colorado . This was followed by numerous raids along the South Platte both east and west of Julesburg, and a second raid on the town of Julesburg in early February. The bulk of

8100-811: Was unable to pull the Second Colorado Volunteers, led by Colonel Ford, off of the eastern Civil War front. As a result of the repeated calls for aid, authorization was granted to call up "one-hundred-days' men" to form the Third Colorado Volunteers. In 1864, before the events of the Massacre of Sand Creek, there were 32 Indian attacks on record. These resulted in the death of 96 settlers, 21 being wounded, and eight being captured. Between 250 and 300 head of livestock were stolen, 12 wagon trains and stagecoaches were attacked, robbed, or destroyed, and nine ranches and settlements were raided. An exact number

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