 Chapter 11, Part 2, of My Life on the Plains. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. The Cheyennes numbered about two hundred, nearly all the young men in the village went. Little Raven's son was one of the four Arapahos. When the party reached the saline, they turned down the stream with the exception of twenty, who, being fearful of depredations being committed against the whites by the party going in the direction of the settlements, kept on north toward the Pawanese. The main party continued down the saline until they came in sight of the settlement. They then camped there. A Cheyenne named Oiamoea, a brother of white antelope who was killed at Sand Creek, and another named Rednose, proceeded to the first house. They afterwards returned to the camp and with them a woman captive. The main party was surprised at this action and forcibly took possession of her and returned her to her house. The two Indians had outraged the woman before they brought her to the camp. After the outrage had been committed, the parties left the saline and went north towards the settlement of the South Fork of the Solomon, where they were kindly received and fed by the white people. They left the settlements on the South Fork and proceeded toward the settlements of the North Fork. When inside of these settlements they came upon a body of armed settlers who fired upon them. They avoided the party, went around them, and approached a house some distance off. In the vicinity of the house they came upon a white man, alone on the prairie. Big Head's son rode at him and knocked him down with a club. The Indian who had committed the outrage upon the white woman known as White Antelope's brother, then fired upon the white man without effect, while the third Indian rode up and killed him, soon after they killed the white man and close by a woman all in the same settlement. At this time the people were killed, the party was divided in feeling, the majority being opposed to any outrages being committed, but finding it useless to contend against those outrages being committed without bringing on a strife among themselves. They gave way and all went in together. Then they went to another house in the same settlement and there killed two men and took two little girls' prisoners, this on the same day. After committing this last outrage, the party turned south toward the Selene, where they came upon a body of mounted troops. The troops immediately charged the Indians and the pursuit was continued a long time. The Indians having the two children, their horses becoming fatigued, dropped the children without hurting them. Soon after the children were dropped the pursuit ceased, but the Indians continued up on the Selene. A portion of the Indians afterwards returned to look for the children, but they were unable to find them. After they had proceeded some distance up the Selene, the party divided, the majority going north towards the settlements on the Solomon, but thirty of them started toward their village, supposed to be some distance north-west of Fort Larned. Another small party returned to Black Kettle Village, from which party I got this information. I am fearful that before this time the party that started north had committed a great many depredations. Question by Colonel Wanku. Do you know the names of the principal men of this party that committed the depredations, besides White Anelope's brother, answered by Little Rock? There were medicine-arrows-oldest son, named Tal Wolf, Red Nose, who was one of the men who outraged the woman, Big Head's son, named Porcupine Bear and Sandhill's brother, known as the Bear that goes ahead. Question by Colonel Wanku. You told me the nations want peace, will you, in accordance with your treaty stipulations, deliver up the men whom you have named as being the leaders of the party who committed the outrages named? Answer by Little Rock. I think that the only men who ought to suffer and be responsible for these outrages are White Anelope's brother and Red Nose, the men who ravished the woman, and when I returned to the Cheyenne camp to assemble the chiefs and had men I think those two men will be delivered upon you. Question by Colonel Wanku. I consider the whole party guilty, but it being impossible to punish all of them, I hold the principal men whom you mentioned responsible for all. They had no right to be led and governed by two men. If no depredations had been committed after the outrage on the woman, the two men whom you had mentioned alone would have been guilty. Answer by Little Rock. After your explanation, I think you demand for the men's right. I am willing to deliver them up and will go back to the tribe and use my best endeavors to have them surrendered. I am but one man and cannot answer for the entire nation. Other questions and answers of similar import followed. The terms of the interview between Colonel Wanku and Little Rock were carefully noted down and transmitted regularly to his next superior officer, Superintendent Murphy, who but a few days previous and within the same month, had officially reported to the Indian Commissioner at Washington that peace and good will will reign undisturbed between the Indians under his charge and the whites. Even he, with a strong leaning towards the adoption of morbid measures of a peaceful character and his disinclination to believe the Indians could meditate evil towards their white neighbors, was forced, as his next letter shows, to alter his views of a Superintendent Indian Affairs. Hatchotson, Kansas, August 22, 1868. Sir, I have the honor herewith to transmit a letter of the nineteenth instituted from Agent Wanku in closing report of a talk which he had with Little Rock, a Cheyenne Chief, whom he had sent to ascertain the facts relative to the recent troubles on the Solomon and Saline rivers in this state. The agent's letter and report are full and explain themselves. I fully concur in the views expressed by the agent that the innocent Indians who are trying to keep in good faith their treaty pledges be protected in the manner indicated by him, while I earnestly recommended that the Indians who have committed these gross outrages be turned over to the military and that they be severely punished. When I reflect that at the very time these Indians were making such loud professions of friendship at Larned, receiving their annuities and so on, they were then contemplating and planning this campaign. I can no longer have confidence in what they say or promise. War is surely upon us, and in view of the importance of the case I earnestly recommend that Agent Wanku be furnished promptly with the views of the department and the full instructions be given him for his further action. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, Thomas Murphy, Superintendent, Indian Affairs, Honorable C. E. Meeks, Acting Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Washington, D.C. What were the recommendations of Agent Wanku referred to in Mr. Murphy's letter? They were as follows. Let me take those Indians whom I know to be guiltless and desirous of remaining at peace and locate them with their lodges and families at some good place that I may select in the vicinity of this post, Larned, and let these Indians be entirely subsisted by the government until this trouble is over, and be kept within certain bounds, and let me be furnished with a small battalion of United States troops for the purpose of protecting them from their own people and from being forced by them into war. Let those who refuse to respond to my call and come within the bounds prescribed be considered at war, and let them be properly punished. By this means, if war takes place, which I consider inevitable, we can be able to discriminate between those who deserve punishment and those who do not. Otherwise it will be a matter of impossibility. This proposition seems, from its wording, to be not only a feasible one, but based on the principles of justice to all concerned, and no doubt would be so interpreted by the theorizers of the Indian question who study its merits from afar. Before acting upon Colonel Weincoup's plan, it was in the regular order referred to General Sherman at that time commanding the military division of the Missouri, in which the Indians referred to were located. His endorsement and reply briefly disposed of the proposition by exposing its absurdity. Headquarters military division of the Missouri, St. Louis, Missouri, September 19th, 1868. I now regard the Cheyennes and Arapahos at war, and that it will be impossible for our troops to discriminate between the well-disposed and the warlike parts of these bands, unless an absolute separation be made. I prefer that the agents collect all of the former and conduct them to their reservation within the Indian territory south of the Kansas, there to be provided for under the supervision, say, about Old Fort Cobb. I cannot consent to their being collected and held near Fort Lawn, so long as Agent Weincoup remains at Fort Lawn, the vagabond part of the Indians will cluster around him for support and beg of the military. The vital part of these tribes are committing murders and robberies from Kansas to Colorado, and it is in excess of generosity, on our part, to be feeding and supplying the old young and feeble, while their young men are at war. I do not pretend to say what should be done with these, but it will simplify our game of war already complicated enough by removing them while away from our field of operations. I have the honor to be your obedient servant, W. T. Sherman, Lieutenant General Commanding. Again on the 26th of the same month, General Sherman in a letter to General Schofield and the Secretary of War writes, the annuity goods for these Indians, Kayawas, Comanche, should be sent to Fort Cobb, and the Indian agent for these Indians should go there at once, and if the Secretary of the Interior has any contingent fund out of which he could provide food or if he could use as a part of the regular appropriation for food instead of clothing, it may keep these Indians from joining the hostile Cheyennes and Arrapahos. Latter should receive nothing, and now that they are at war, I propose to give them enough of it to satisfy them to their hearts' content, and General Sheridan will not relax until his efforts till the winner will put them at our mercy. He reports that he can already account for about 70 dead Indians, and his forces are right in among these hostile Indians on the Upper Republican and on the head of the Canadian south of Port Dodge. Still another letter from General Sherman to the Secretary of War argues the case as follows. All Cheyennes and Arrapahos are now at war, admitting that some of them have not done acts of murder, rape, and so on. Still they have not restrained those who have, nor have they on demand given up the criminals as they agreed to do. The treaty-mediate medicine lodge is therefore already broken by them, and the War Department should ask the concurrence of the Indian Department or invoke the superior orders of the President against any goods whatsoever, even clothing going to any part of the tribes named until this matter is settled. As military commander I have the right unless restrained by superior orders to prevent the issue of any goods whatsoever to Indians outside of these reservations, and if the agency for the Cheyennes and Arrapahos be established at or near Fort Cobb, the agent should, if possible, be able to provide for and feed such as may go there for their own volition, or who may be driven there by our military movements. I have dispatched General Hazen to the frontier with a limited amount of money, wherewith to aid the set agents to provide for the peaceful parts of those tribes this winter, while in route two and after their arrival at their new homes, no better time could be possibly chosen than the present for destroying or humiliating those bands that have so outrageously violated their treaties and begun a devastating war without one particle of provocation, and after a reasonable time given for the innocent to withdraw, I will solicit an order from the President declaring all Indians who remain outside of their lawful reservations to be outlaws, and commanding all people, soldiers, and citizens to proceed against them as such. We have never here to for, been in a condition to adopt this course, because until now we could not clearly point out to these Indians where they may rightfully go to escape the consequences of hostile acts of their fellows. The right to hunt buffaloes secured by the treaties could also be regulated so as to require all parties desiring to hunt to procure from the agent a permit, which permit should be endorsed by the commanding officer of the nearest military post. But I think this treaty having been clearly violated by the Indians themselves, this hunting right is entirely lost to them, if we so declare it. The foregoing extracts from the letter an official correspondence which passes between high dignitaries of the government who were supposed to not only be thoroughly conversant with the Indian affairs, but to represent the civil and military phase of the question, will, when read in connection with the statements of the superintendent and agents of the Indians, and that the chief little rock gave the reader some idea of the origin and character of the difficulties between the whites and Indians in the summer and fall of 1868, tabulated list of depredations by the Indians accompanying the chapter description of General Forsyte's campaign, will give more extended information in a condensed form. While Forsyte was moving his detachment of scouts through the valleys of the Republican in the northwestern portion of Kansas, General Sheridan had also arranged to have a well-equipped force operating south of the Arkansas River, and in this way to cause the two favorite haunts of the Indians to be overrun simultaneously, and thus prevent them when driven from one haunt from fleeing in safety and unmolested to another. The expedition intended to operate south of the Arkansas, was comprised of the principal portion of the Seventh Cavalry, and a few companies of the Third Regular Infantry, the entire force under the command of Brigadier General Alfred Sully, an officer of long experience among the Indians, and one who had in times gone by achieve no little distinction as an Indian fighter, and at a later date became a partial advocate of the adoption of the peace policy. General Sully's expedition, after being thoroughly equipped and supplied under his personal supervision, with everything needed in a campaign such as what was to be undertaken, crossed the Arkansas River about the first of September at Fort Dodge, and marching a little west of south struck the Cimarron River, where they first encountered Indians. From Cimarron the troops moved in a southeasterly direction, one day's march to Beaver Creek, the savages opposing and fighting them during the entire day. That night the Indians came close enough to fire into the camp, an unusual proceeding in Indian warfare as a rarely molest troops during hours of night. The next day General Sully directed his march down the valley of the Beaver, but just as his troops were breaking camp, the long wagon train having already pulled out, and the rearguard of the troops having barely got into their saddles, a party of between two and three hundred warriors who had evidently in some inexplicable manner, contrived to conceal their approach until the proper moment, dashed into the deserted camp within a few yards of the rear of the troops, and succeeded in cutting off a few lead horses and two cavalrymen who, as is so often the case, had lingered a moment behind the column. General Sully and staff were at that moment near the head of the column, a mile or more from camp. The general as was his custom on the march, being comfortably stowed away in his ambulance. Of course it was impossible that he or his staff from their great distance from the scene of the actual attack could give the necessary orders in the case. Fortunately the acting adjutant of the cavalry, brevet Captain A. E. Smith, was riding at the rear of the column and witnessed the attack of the Indians. Captain Hamilton of the cavalry was also present in command of the rearguard. Wheeling as guard to the right about, he once prepared to charge the Indians and to attempt to rescue the two troopers who were being carried off as prisoners before his very eyes. At the same time Captain Smith, as representative of the commanding officer of the cavalry, promptly took the responsibility of directing a squadron of cavalry to wheel out of column and advance in support of Captain Hamilton's guard. With this hastily formed detachment, the Indians still within pistol range but moving off with their prisoners were gallantly charged and so closely pressed that they were forced to relinquish possession of one of their prisoners, but not before shooting them through the body and leaving them on the ground, as they supposed mortally wounded. The troops continued to charge the retreating Indians, upon whom they were gaining, determined if possible, to affect the rescue of their remaining comrade. They were advancing down one slope while the Indians just across the ravine were endeavoring to escape with their prisoner up the opposite ascent, when a preemptory order reached the officer's commanding the pursuing forces to withdraw their men and reform the column at once. Delaying only long enough for an ambulance to arrive from the train in which to transport their wounded comrade, the order was obeyed. Upon rejoining the column the two officers named were summoned before the officer commanding their regiment and after a second-hand reprimand were ordered in arrest and their sabers taken from them for leaving the column without orders. The attempted and half successful rescue of their comrades and the repulse of the Indians to the contrary notwithstanding. Fortunately wiser and better nature councils prevailed in a few hours and the regimental commander was authorized to release the two officers from their brief endurance, their sabers were restored to them and they became, as deserved, the recipients of numerous complementary expressions from their brother officers. A terrific fate awaiting the unfortunate trooper carried off by the Indians spread a deep gloom throughout the command. All were too familiar with the horrid customs of the savages to hope for a moment that the captive would be reserved for ought but a slow lingering death from torture, the most horrible and painful with savage bloodthirsty minds could suggest. Such was, in truth, a sad fate as we learned afterwards when peace was established with the tribes, then engaged in war. Never shall I forget the consummate coolness and particularity of detail with which some of the Indians engaged in the affair, related to myself and party, the exact process by which the captured trooper was tortured to death, how he was tied to a stake, strips of flesh cut from his body, arms and legs, burning brands thrust into the bleeding wounds, the nose, lips and ears cut off, and finally when the loss of blood, excessive pain and anguish, the poor bleeding, almost senseless mortal, fell to the ground exhausted. Younger Indians were permitted to rush in and dispatch him with their knives. The expedition proceeded on down the valley of Beaver Creek, the Indians contesting every stop of the way. In the afternoon, about three o'clock, the troops arrived at the ridge of the sand hills, a few miles southeast of the present site of Camp Supply, where quite a determined engagement took place with the savages, the three tribes, Cheyennes, Arapahos, and Kayawas being the assailants. The Indians seemed to have reserved their strongest efforts until the troops and train had advanced well into the sand hills when a most obstinate and well coordinated resistance was offered to further advancement of the troops. It was evident to many of the officers and no doubt to the men that the troops were probably nearing the location of the Indian villages and that this last display of opposition to their further advance was to save the villages. The character of the country immediately about the troops was not favorable to the operations of a cavalry. The surface of the rolling plain was cut up by regular and closely located sand hills, too steep and sandy to allow the cavalry to move with freedom, yet capable of being easily cleared of savages by troops fighting on foot. The Indians took post on hilltops and began harassing fire on the troops and train. Had the infantry been unloaded from the wagons promptly instead of adding to the great weight and sinking the wheel sometimes almost to the axels, and had they with the assistance of a few of the dismounted cavalry been deployed on both sides of the train, a latter could have been safely conducted, though what was then decided to be impassable sand hills, but which were a short time afterward provided to be perfectly practicable. And once beyond the range of the sand hills, but a short distance, the village of the attacking warriors would have been found exposed to an easy and important capture, probably terminating the campaign by compelling a satisfactory piece. Captain Yates, with a single troop of cavalry, was ordered forward to drive the Indians away. This was a proceeding which did not seem to meet with favor from the savages. Captain Yates could drive them whenever he encountered them, but it was only to cause redskins to appear in increased numbers at some other threatened point. After contending in this non-effective manner for a couple of hours, the impression arose in the minds of some that the train could not be conducted through the sand hills in the face of the strong opposition offered by the Indians. The order was issued to turn about and withdraw. This order was executed, and the troops and train followed by the exultant Indians retired a few miles to the beaver and encamped for the night on the ground now known as Camp Supply. Captain Yates had caused to be brought off the field when his troop was ordered to retire the body of one of his men who had been slain in the fight by the Indians. As the troops were to continue their backward movement next day, it was impossible to transport the dead body further. Captain Yates ordered the preparations made for entering the camp that night, but knowing that the Indians would thoroughly search the deserted campground almost before the troops should get out of sight and would be quick with their watchful eyes to detect a grave, and if successful in discovering it would unearth the body in order to obtain the scalp, directions were given to prepare the grave after nightfall, and the spot selected would have baffled the eye of any one but that of an Indian. The grave was dug under the picket line, to which the seventy or eighty horses of the troops would be tethered during the night so that their constant tramping and pawing could be completely covered up and obliterate all traces of the grave containing the body of the dead trooper. The following morning even those who had performed the sad rites of burial to their fallen comrade could scarcely have been able to indicate the exact location of the grave. Yet when we returned to that point a few weeks afterward it was discovered that the wildly savages had found the grave, unearthed the body and removed the scalp of their victim on the day following the internment. Early on the morning succeeding the fight in the sandhills, General Sully resumed his march toward Fort Dodge. Indians followed and harassing the movements of the troops until about two o'clock in the afternoon, when apparently satisfied with their success in forcing the expedition back, thus relieving their villages and themselves from the danger which had threatened them, they fired their parting shots and rode off in triumph. That night the troops camped down the Bluff Creek from which point General Sully proceeded to Fort Dodge on the Arkansas, leaving the main portion of the command in camp on Bluff Creek, where we shall see them again. End of Chapter 11, Part 2 Chapter 12 of My Life on the Plains, this Librivox recording is in the public domain. In a late chapter I promised to submit testimony from those high in authority, now the highest, showing that among those who had given the subject a most thoughtful attention, the opinion was unanimous in favor of the abolition of the civil Indian agents and licensed traitors, and the transfer of the Indian Bureau back to the War Department where it originally belonged. The question as to which cabinet minister, the Secretary of War or the Secretary of the Interior should retain control of the Bureau, regulating Indian affairs, has long been and is still one of unending discussion, and is far more important to the country than the casual observer might imagine. The army as a unit and from the motives of peace and justice favors giving this control to the Secretary of War. Opposed to this view is a large, powerful, and at times unscrupulous party, many of whose strongest adherents are dependent upon the fraudulent practices and profits of which the Indian is the victim for the acquirement of dishonest wealth. Practices and profits which only exist so long as the Indian Bureau is under the supervision of the Interior Department. The reasons in favor of the War Department having the control of the government of the Indians exists at all times, but the struggle for the control seems to make its appearance, like an epidemic, at certain periods and for a brief time. It will attract considerable comment and discussion both in and out of Congress, then disappear from public view. To a candid impartial mind I believe the reasons why the Indians should be controlled by the Department of War, the Department which must assume the reins of power when any real control is exercised are convincing. It may be asked then why if the reasons are so convincing are not proper representations made to the authorities at Washington and the transfer secured. This inquiry seems natural enough, but the explanation is sufficiently simple. The Army officers, particularly those stationed on the frontier, have but little opportunity even had they the desire to submit their views or recommendations to Congress as a body or to members individually. When impressed with ideas whose adoption is deemed essential to the government, the usual and recognized mode of presenting them for consideration is by written communications forwarded through the immediate and superior commanders, until laid before the Secretary of War, by whom, if considered sufficiently important, they are submitted to the President and by him to Congress. Having made this recommendation and furnished the Department with his reasons, therefore, an officer considers that he has discharged his duty in the premises and responsibility of the adoption or rejection of his ideas then rests with a superior power. Beyond the conscientious discharge of his duty, he has no interest, certainly none of a pecuniary nature to serve. In the periodical contests which prevail between the military and the civil aspirants for the control of the Indian Bureau, the military context themselves, as above stated, with a brief and unbiased presentation of their views and having submitted their argument to the proper tribunal, no further steps are taken to influence the decision. Not so with those advocating the claims of the civil agents and traitors to public recognition. The preponderance of testimony and the best of the argument rest with the military, but there are many ways of illustrating that the battle is not always to the strong nor the race to the swift. The ways Congress are sometimes peculiar and not to employ a more expressive term. Under the Constitution of the United States there are but two houses of Congress, the Senate and the House of Representatives, and most people residing within the jurisdiction of its laws suppose this to be the extent of the legislative body. But to those acquainted with the internal workings of that important branch of government there is still a third house of Congress better known as the lobby. True, its existence is neither provided for nor recognized by law, yet it exists nevertheless and so powerful although somewhat hidden is its influence upon other branches of government that almost any measure it is interested in becomes law. It is sometimes remarkable that those measures which are plainly intended to promote the public interest are seldom agitated or advocated in the third house while those measures of doubtful propriety or honesty usually secure the almost undivided support of the lobby. There are a few prominent questions connected with the feeble policy of the government which can do assemble so powerful and determine the lobby as a proposed interference with the system of civilian superintendents agents and traders for Indians let but some member of Congress propose to inquire into the workings of the management of the Indians or propose a transfer of the Bureau to the War Department and the leaders of the combination opposed raise a cry which is as effective as rallying their supporters as was the signal of Roderick do from almost every state and territory the retainers of the Bureau flocked to the national capital why this rallying of the clans is there any principle involved with the few yes with the many no then why this determined opposition to any interference with the management of Indians I remember making this inquiry years ago and the answer then which is equally applicable now was there is too much money in the Indian question to allow it to pass into other hands this I believe to be the true solution of our difficulties with the Indians at the present day it seems almost incredible that a policy which is claimed and represented to be based on sympathy for the red man and a desire to secure to him his rights is shaped in reality and manipulated beyond the scenes with the distinct and sole object of reaping a rich harvest by plundering both the government and the Indians to do away with the vast army of agents traders and civilian employees which is a necessity a appendage of the civilian policy would be to deprive many members of Congress of vast deal of patronage which they now enjoy there are few if any more comfortable or desirable places of disposing of a friend who has rendered valuable political service or electering aid then to secure him to the appointment of Indian agent the salary of an agent is comparatively small men without means however eagerly accept the position and in a few years at furthest they almost invariably retire in wealth whoever heard of a retired Indian agent or trader in limited circumstances how do they realize fortunes upon so small a salary in the disposition of the annuities provided for the Indians by the government the agent is usually the distributing medium between himself and the Indian there is no system of accountability no vouchers given or received no books kept in fact no record except the statement which the agent chooses to forward to the superintendent the Indian has no means for knowing how much in value or how many presence of any particular kind the government the great father as he is termed it has sent him for knowledge on this point he must accept the statement of the agent the goods sent by the government are generally those which would most please an Indian fancy Indian traders usually keeps goods of smaller character the trader is most frequently a particular friend of the agent and associated with him in business and in many instances holds his position of trader at the instance of the agent there are always located near each other the trader is usually present at the distribution of annuities if the agent instead of distributing to the Indians all of the goods intended for them by the government only distributes one half and retains the other half who is to be the wiser not the Indian defrauded though he may be for he is ignorant of how much is coming to him the word of the agent is his only guide he may complain express some disappointment at the limited amount of presence and intimate that the great father has dealt out annuities with a sparing hand but the agent explains it by referring to some depredations which he knows the tribe may have been guilty of in the past or if he is not aware of any particular instance of guilt he charges them with generally having committed such acts knowing one can scarcely go amiss in accusing a tribe of occasionally slaying a white man and ends up in his charge by informing them that the great father learning of these little irregularities in their conduct and being pained greatly there at felt compelled to reduce their allowance of blankets sugar coffee and so on when at the same time the missing portion of said allowance is safely secured in the storehouse of the agent nearby well but how can he enrich himself in this manner it may be asked by simply and unseen by Indians transferring the unused or unissued portion of the annuities from his government storehouse to the trading establishment of his friend the trader there the boxes are unpacked and their contents spread out for barter with the Indians the latter in gratifying their wants are forced to purchase from the trader at prices which are scores of times of values of the article offered I have seen Indians dispose of buffalo robes to traders which were worth from fifteen to twenty dollars each and get in return only ten to twenty cups of brown sugar the entire value of which did not exceed two or three dollars this is one of the many ways agents and traders have amassed sudden wealth I have known the head chiefs of the tribe to rise in a council in the presence of other chiefs and officers of the army and accuses agent and president of these or similar dishonest practices it is to be wondered at that the position of the agent or trader among the Indians is greatly sought after by men of determination to become rich but not particular as to the manner of doing so or is it to be wondered at that army officers who are made aware of the injustice done to the Indians are yet powerless to prevent it and who trace many of our difficulties with the Indians to these causes should urge the abolishment of a system which has proven itself so fruitful and fraught and dishonest dealing towards those whose interest it should be their duty to protect in offering the testimony which follows and which to those at all interested in the subject of our dealings with the Indians must have no little weight I have given that of men whose interest in the matter could only spring from experience and a supposed thorough knowledge of the Indian character and a desire to do justice to him as well as to the government at the present writing a heavy cloud pretending a general Indian war along our entire frontier from the British possessions on the north to the Mexican border on the south hangs threateningly over us whether it will really result in war or the isolated acts of barbarity remains to be seen but enough is known to prove that the day has not yet arrived when the lawless savage of the planes is prepared or willing to abandon his favored pastime of war and depredation upon the defenseless frontier and instead to settle quietly down and study the arts and callings of a quiet and peaceful life it is impossible for the Indian to comprehend the forces of any law or regulation which is not backed up by a power sufficiently strong to compel its observance this is not surprising as a large portion of the white brethren are equally obtuse General Sheridan showed his thorough appreciation of the Indian character in an endorsement recently written by him upon a complaint relating to Indian depredations forwarded from one of his subordinates to the war department General Sheridan writes We can never stop the wild Indians from murdering and stealing until we punish them if a white man in this country commits a murder we hang him if he steals a horse we put him in the penitentiary if an Indian commits these crimes we give him better fare and more blankets I think I may say with reason that under this policy the civilization of the wild red man will progress slowly as might naturally be expected a massacre like that at Fort Phil Kearney in which 91 enlisted men and three officers were slain outright and no one left to tell the tale excited discussion and comment throughout the land and raised inquiry as to who was responsible for this lamentable affair the military laid the blame at the door of the Indian Bureau with its host of civil agents and traders and accused the latter of supplying the Indians with the arms and ammunition which were afterward turned against the whites the supporters of the Indian Bureau not only did not deny the accusation but went so far as to claim that all our difficulties with the Indians could be traced to the fact that the military commanders particularly generals Hancock and Cook had forbidden the traders from furnishing the Indians with arms and ammunition this was the official statement of the commissioner of Indian affairs in the spring of 1867 it was a rather queer complaint upon which to justify a war that because the government would not furnish the savages with implements for murdering its subjects in approved modern method these same savages would therefore be reluctantly forced to murder and scalp such settlers and travelers as fell in their paths in the old-fashioned Tomahawk bow and arrow style the commissioner of Indian affairs in his report to the secretary of the interior in the spring of 1867 labored hard to find a justification for the Indians in their recent outbreak at Fort Phil Kearney the withholding of arms and ammunition from the Indians seemed to be the principal grievance as the views of the commissioner find many supporters in quarters remote from the scene of the Indian depredations and among persons who still cling to the traditionary Indian as wrought by the pen of Cooper and the ideal red man I quote the commissioner's words in order issued by General Cook at Omaha on the 31st of July last in relation to arms and ammunition has had a very bad effect I am satisfied that such orders are not only unwise but really cruel and therefore calculated to produce the very worst effect Indians are men and when hungry will like others resort to any means to obtain food and as the chase is their only means of abstinence if you deprive them of power of procuring it you certainly produce great dissatisfaction if it were true that arms and ammunition could be accumulated by them to war against us it would certainly be unwise to give it to them but this is not the fact no Indian will buy two guns one he absolutely needs and has no means of taking care of powder he necessarily will take when offered to him but a very limited quantity it is true that formally they hunted with bows and arrows killing buffalo, antelope and deer with the same but to hunt successfully with bow and arrow requires horses and as the valleys of that country are now more or less filled with white men prospecting for gold and silver their means of subsisting their horses have passed away and now they have but few horses I mentioned these facts so as to place before the country as briefly as possible the condition as well as the wants of the Indians unfortunately for the commissioner his premises were entirely wrong and his conclusions necessarily so it is a difficult task to prove that men whose habits, instincts and training incline them to deeds of murder will be less apt to commit these deeds provided we place in their hands every implement and facility for their commission yet such an effect was a reasoning of the commissioner where or from whom he could have obtained the opinions he expressed it as difficult to understand he certainly derived no such ideas from a personal knowledge of Indians themselves how well his statements bear examination if it were true that arms and ammunition could be accumulated by them to war against us it would certainly be worse to give it to them but this is not the fact no Indian will buy two guns on the contrary every person at all familiar with the conduct of the Indians know that there is no plan or idea which they study more persistently than that of accumulating arms and ammunition and in the successful execution of this plan they have collected and are today collecting arms and ammunition of the latest and most approved pattern the supply of arms and ammunition is not obtained for the purpose of hunting no matter how bountifully the Indian may be supplied with firearms his favorite and most successful mode of killing the buffalo his principal article of food is with the bone arrow it is at the same time the most economical mode as arrows after being lodged in the bodies of the buffalo may be recovered unimpaired and be used repeatedly no Indian will buy two guns if the honorable commissioner had added the words provided he can steal them his statement would be heartily concurred in from a knowledge of the facts I venture the assertion that there is scarcely an Indian on the planes no matter how fully armed and equipped but would gladly barter almost anything he owns of proper value in exchange for good arms and ammunition even if his personal wants in this respect are satisfied the Indian is too shrewd driving a bargain to throw away any opportunity of possessing himself of arms or ammunition as among his comrades he is aware that no other article of trade command the prices that are paid for the implements of war an Indian may not desire two guns for his own use but he will buy or procure one gun and one or more revolvers as part of his equipment for war and there are a few chiefs and warriors of the planes who today are not the possessors of at least one breach loading rifle or carbine and from one or two revolvers this can be vouched for by any officer has been brought in contact with the hostile Indians of late years as to the Indian of not having proper means to care for his ammunition experts have shown that when he goes into action he carries a greater number of rounds of ammunition than do our soldiers and in time of peace he exercised far better care of his supply than do our men the army declared itself almost unanimously against the issue of arms to the Indians while the traitors were looking to the prophets and other of the Indian Bureau proclaimed loudly in favor of the issue unlimited and unrestrained General Hancock commanding at that time one of the most important and extensive of the Indian Departments issued orders to his subordinates throughout the Indian Country similar to the order referred to of General Cook the order simply required post commanders and other officers to prevent the issue or sale of arms and ammunition to any Indian of the planes as we were then engaged in hostilities with nearly all tribes it would have been simply assisting our enemies not to adopt this course a spontaneous outcry came from the traitors who were to be affected by this order an outcry that did not cease until it resounded in Washington General Hancock reported his action in the matter to his next superior officer at that time Lieutenant General Sherman General Sherman had once sent the following letter to General Hancock emphatically approving the course of the latter in reiterating the order Headquarters Military Division of the Missouri St. Louis, Missouri January 26th, 1867 General I have at this moment received your letter of January 22nd about the sale of arms and ammunition to the Indians by traitors and agents we the military are held responsible for the peace of the frontier and it is an absurdity to attempt it if the Indian agents and traitors can legalize and encourage such dangerous a traffic I regard the paper enclosed addressed to Mr. D. A. Butterfield and signed by Charles Bogie W. R. Irwin J. H. Leavenworth and others as an outrage upon our rights and supervision of the matter and I now authorize you to disregard that paper and it once stopped the practice of keeping the issue and sales of arms and ammunition under the rigid control and supervision of the commanding officers of the post and districts near which the Indians are if the Indian agents may without limit supply the Indians with arms I would not expose our troops or trains to them at all but would rather withdraw soldiers who already have a herculean task on their hands this order is made for this immediate time but I will with all expedition send these papers with a copy of this to General Grant in hope that he will lay it before the President who alone can control both war and Indian departments under whom at present this mixed control of Indian question now rests in law and practice Erobedian Servant W. T. Sherman Lieutenant General Commanding General W. S. Hancock Commanding Department of the Missouri this was before the peace policy had become supreme or the appointment of the agents from the society of friends had been discovered as a supposed panacea for all our Indian difficulties General Sherman as stated in his letter forwarded all the papers relating to the arms question to the headquarters of the Army General Grant then in command of the Army forwarded them to the Secretary of War accompanied by a following letter which clearly expresses his views then held headquarters army of the United States Washington D.C. February 1, 1867 Sir, the enclosed papers just received from General Sherman are respectfully forwarded and your special attention invited they show the urgent necessity for an immediate transfer of the Indian Bureau to the War Department and the abolition of the civil agents and licensed traders if the present practices to be continued I do not see that any courses left open to us but to withdraw our troops to the settlements and call upon Congress to provide means and troops to carry on formidable hostilities against the Indians until all the Indians are all the whites on the Great Plains and between the settlements on the Missouri and the Pacific slope are exterminated the course General Sherman pursued in this matter in disregarding the permits of Mr. Bogie and others is just right I will instruct him to enforce his order until it is countermanded by the president or yourself I would also respectfully ask this matter be placed before the president and is disapproval of licensing the sale of arms to Indians asked we have treaties with all tribes of Indians from time to time if the rule is to be followed that all tribes with which we have treaties and pay annuities can produce such articles without stint or limit it will not be long before the matter becomes perfectly understood by the Indians and they avail themselves of it be equipped themselves for war they will get the arms either by making treaties themselves or through tribes who have such treaties I would respectfully recommend that copies of the enclosed communications be furnished to the military commander of each House of Congress very respectfully your obedient servant U.S. Grant General Honorable E. M. Stratton Secretary of War In response to a request from General Grant to furnish the department with a statement of his views on the question of a transfer of the Indian Barrow from the interior to the War Department General John Pope whose great experience among the knowledge of the Indians of the Plains eminently qualified him to judge the real merits of the question wrote an able letter briefly stating the prominent reasons favoring the proposed changes as a question of the transfer of the Indian Barrow from the control of the interior to that of the War Department is consistently being brought up and after the failure of the present policy it is most likely to be raised again the arguments advanced by General Pope being these generally maintained by the army and still having full force are here given Washington DC January 25, 1867 General In compliance with your suggestions I have the honor to submit the following leading reason why the Indian Bureau should be retransferred to the War Department The views which I shall submit are by no means original but are well settled opinions of every officer of the army who has had the experience on the subject and are and have been entertained for years by nearly every citizen of the territories not directly or indirectly connected with the present system of Indian management under the present circumstances there is a divided jurisdiction over Indian affairs while the Indians are officially at peace according to the treaties negotiated with them by civil officers of the Indian Bureau the military forces stationed in the Indian country have no jurisdiction over the Indians and of consequence no certain knowledge of their feelings or purpose and no power to take any action either of a precautionary or aggressive character The first that is known of Indian hostilities is a sudden report that the Indians have commenced a war and have devastated many miles of settlements or massacred parties of immigrants or travelers by the time such information reaches the military commander the worst has been accomplished and the Indians have escaped from the scene of the outrage nothing is left to the military except pursuit and generally unavailing pursuit The Indian agents are careful never to locate their agencies at the military posts for reasons very well understood it is not in human nature that two sets of officials responsible to different heads and not in accord with either opinion or purpose should act together harmoniously and instead of combined there is very certain to be conflicting action the results are what might be expected it would be far better to devolve the whole management of Indian affairs upon one or the other department so as to secure at least consistent and uniform policy at war the Indians are under the control of the military and peace under the control of civil officers exactly what constitute Indian hostilities is not agreed on besides this as soon as the military forces after a hard campaign conducted with great hardship and at large expense have succeeded enforcing the Indians into such a position that punishment is possible the Indian agent anxious for manifest reasons to negotiate a treaty at once interferes to protect as he expresses it the Indians from the troops and arrests the further prosecution of the military expedition just at the moment when results are to be obtained by it and the whole labor and cluster the campaigner lost the Indian makes a treaty to avoid immediate danger by the troops without the slightest purpose of keeping it and the agent knows very well that the Indian does not intend to observe it while the army is fighting the Indians at one end of the line Indian agents are making treaties and furnishing supplies at the other end which supplies are at once used to keep up the conflict with this divided jurisdiction and responsibility it is impossible to avoid these unfortunate transactions if the Indian department as at present constituted were given sole jurisdiction of the Indians and the troops removed it is certain that a better condition of things would be obtained than now exists since the whole responsibility of Indian wars and the results to unprotected citizens would belong to the Indian bureau alone without the power of shifting the responsibility of consequences upon others the military officer is a representative of force a logic which the Indian understands and with which he does not invest the Indian agent it is a fact which can be easily authenticated that the Indians in mass prefer to deal entirely with military commanders and would unanimously vote for the transfer of the Indian department to the war department in this they are mainly influenced by the knowledge that they can rely upon what the military commander tells or promises them as they see he has the power to fulfill his promise the first and great interest of the army officer is to preserve the peace with the Indians his home during the life is to be at the military post in Indian country and aside from the obligations of duty his own comfort and quiet and the possibility of escaping arduous harassing field service against the Indians at all seasons of the year accompanied by frequent changes of station which render it impossible for him to have his family with him render a state of peace with Indians the most desirable of all things to him he therefore omits no proper precautions and does not fail to use all proper means or just treatment honest distribution of annuities and fair dealing to secure quiet and friendly relations with the Indian tribes in his neighborhood his honest distribution of the annuities appropriated to the Indians is further secured by his life commission in the army and the odium which would blast his life and character by any dishonest act if dismissed from the service for such malfeasance he would publicly be branded by his own profession and would be powerless to attribute his removal from office to any but to cause the Indian agent on the other hand accepts his office for a limited time and for a specific purpose and he finds it easy when he has secured his ends the rapid acquisition of money to account for his removal from office on political grounds or the personal enmity of some other official or his department superior in rank to himself the eagerness to secure an appointment as an Indian agent on a small salary manifested by many persons of superior ability ought to of itself be a warning to Congress as to the objects sought by it it is a common saying in the West that next to if not indeed before the council to Liverpool the Indian agency is the most desirable office in the gift of the government of course the more treaties an Indian agent can negotiate the larger the appropriation of money and goods which passes through the hands and the more valuable is office an Indian war on every other day with treaty making on intermediate days would be therefore the condition of affairs most satisfactory to such Indian agents I by no means say that all Indian agents are dishonest in truth I know some who are very sincere and honorable men who tried to administer their office with fidelity to the government but that the massive Indian agents on the frontier truly only to their own personal and pecuniary interests and very sure no one familiar with the subject will dispute I repeat then that a condition of peace with the Indians is above all things desirable to the military officer stationed in their country something very like the reverse to the Indian agent the transfer of the Indian bureau to the war department would at once eliminate from our Indian system the formidable army of Indian superintendents agents sub agents special agents jobbers contractors and hangers on who now infest the frontier states and territories and save to the government annually a sum of money which I will not venture to estimate the army officer detailed to perform the duty in their place would receive no compensation in addition to their army pay previous to the creation of the interior department and the transfer of the Indian bureau to that department army officers performed well and honestly the duties of Indian agents and it is only necessary to refer to our past history to demonstrate that our relations at that time with the Indians were far more friendly and satisfactory than they have been since the military are absolutely necessary in the Indian country to protect the lives and property of our citizens the Indian agents and superintendents are not necessary since their duties have been and can be faithfully and efficiently performed by the army officers stationed with the troops harmonious and concerted action can never be secured while both parties are retained the military are necessary the civilian officers are not and it is essential that one or the other be displaced I cannot see what doubt exists to which party must give way these are only the general reasons for the retransfer of the Indian bureau to the war department reasons which are well understood by every one familiar with the subject in order that any policy whatever may be consistently and efficiently pursued a change in our present administration of Indian affairs is absolutely essential the retransfer of the Indian bureau to the war department is believed to be the first step toward a reformation and until that step is taken it is useless to expect any improvement in the present condition of our Indian relations I am general respectfully your obedient servant John Pope brevet major general U.S. Army general U.S. Grant general and chief Washington D.C. General Grant was at that time so impressed with the importance of general Pope's letter that he forwarded it to the secretary of war with the request that it might be laid before both branches of congress it might be urged that the above letters and statements are furnished by officers of the army who are exponents of but one side of the question fortunately it is possible to go outside the military circle and introduce testimony which should be considered impartial and free from bias at this particular period in the discussion of the Indian question Colonel E.S. Parker a highly educated and thoroughly cultivated gentleman was asked to submit a plan for the establishment of a permanent and perpetual peace and for settling all matters of differences between the United States and the various Indian tribes Colonel Parker is well known as a distinguished chief of the once powerful six nations and since the time referred to has been better known as commissioner of Indian affairs during the early part of the present administration being an Indian his sympathies must be supposed to have been on the side of his own people and in his endeavor to establish a permanent peace he would recommend no conditions prejudicial or unjust to their interests he recommended first transfer of the Indian bureau from the interior department back to the war department or military branch of the government where it originally belonged until within the last few years the condition and disposition of all Indians west of the Mississippi river has developed in consequence of the great and rapid influx of immigration by reason of the discovery of the precious metal throughout the entire west renders it of the utmost importance that the military supervision should be extended over to the Indians treaties have been made with a very large number of tribes and generally reservations have been provided as homes for them agents appointed from civil life have generally been provided to protect their lives and property and to attend to the prompt and fateful observance of treaty stipulations but as the hearty pioneer and adventurous minor advanced into the inhospitable regions occupied by the Indians in search of the precious metals they found no rights possessed by the Indians that they were bound to respect the faith of treaties solemnly entered into was totally disregarded and Indian territory wantonly violated if any tribe remonstrated against the violation of their natural and treaty rights members of the tribe were inhumanely shot down and the whole treated as mere dogs retaliation generally followed and bloody Indian wars have been the consequence costing many lives and much treasure in all troubles arising in this manner to civil agents have been totally powerless to avert the consequences and when too late the military has been called in to protect the whites and punish the Indians when if in the beginning the military had had the supervision of the Indians their rights would not have been improperly molested or if disturbed in their quietude by any lawless whites a prompt and summary check to any further aggression could have been given in cases where the government promises the Indians the quiet and peaceable possession of a reservation and precious metals are discovered are found to exist upon it the military alone can give the Indians a need of protection and keep the adventurous minor from encroachment upon the Indians until the government has come to some understanding with them in such cases a civil agent is absolutely powerless most of the Indian treaties contain stipulations for the payments to Indians or annuities either a money or goods or both and agents are appointed to make these payments whenever the government furnishes them in the means I know of no reason why officers of the army could not make all these payments as well as civilians the expense of agencies would be saved and I think the Indians would be more honestly dealt with and officers honor and interest are at stake which impels him to discharge his duty honestly and faithfully while civil agents have none of these incentives the ruling passion with them being generally to avoid all trouble and responsibility and to make as much money as possible out of their offices in the retransfer of this bureau I would provide for the complete abolishment of the system of the Indian traders which in my opinion is a great evil to Indian communities I would make the government the purchaser of all articles usually brought in by Indians giving them a fair equivalent for the same in money or goods at cost prices in this way it would be an easy matter to regulate the sale or issue of arms and ammunition to Indians a question which of late has agitated the minds of the civil and military authorities if the entry of large numbers of Indians to any military post is objectionable it can be easily arranged that only limited numbers shall be admitted daily Colonel Parker next quotes from the messages of Washington and Jefferson showing that they had favored the exclusion of civil agents and traders his recommendation then proceeds it is greatly to be regretted that this benefit of humane policy is not been adhered to for it is a fact not to be denied that at this day Indian trading licenses are very much sought after and when once obtained although it may be for a limited period the lucky possessor is considered as having already made his fortune the eagerness also with which the Indian agencies are sought after and large fortunes made by the agents in a few years not withstanding the inadequate salary given is presumptive evidence of frauds against the Indians and the government many other reasons might be suggested why the Indian department should altogether be under military control but a familiar knowledge of the practical working of the present system would seem to be the most convincing proof of the propriety of the measure it is pretty generally advocated by the most familiar with our Indian relations and so far as I know the Indians themselves desire it civil officers are not usually respected by the tribes but they fear and regard the military and will submit to their consuls advice and dictation when they would not listen to a civil agent in discussing the establishment of reservations the locating of the Indians upon them Colonel Parker said it may be imagined that a serious obstacle would be presented to the removal of the Indians from their homes on account of the love they bear for the graves of their ancestors this indeed would be the least and last objection that would be raised by any tribe much as said in books about the reverence paid by Indians to the debt and their antithopy to deserting their ancestral graves whatever may have been the customs for the debt in the ages gone by and whatever pilgrimages have been made by those to the graves of their loved and distinguished debt none of any consequence exists at the present day they leave their debt without any painful regrets or shedding of tears and how could it be otherwise with the people who have had such indefinite and vague ideas of a future state of existence and to my mind it is unnatural to assume or suppose that the wild and untutored Indian can have more attachment for his home or love for the graves of his ancestors than the civilized and enlightened Christian I regret that I cannot in this brief space give all the suggestions and recommendations submitted by this eminent representative of the red man displaying as they do sound judgment and thorough mastery of the subject in regard to the expense of this plan he says I believe it to be more economical than any other plan that could be suggested a whole army of Indian agents traders contractors jobbers and hang arounders would be dispensed with and from them would come the strongest opposition to the adoption of this plan as it would effectively close them from the corrupt sources of their wealth general grant then commanding the army must have approved at that time of the views of the distinguished Indian for a few years later on entering upon the duties of the president of the United States he appointed him commissioner of Indian affairs thus giving Colonel Parker an opportunity to inaugurate the system which he had urged as being the most conducive to the welfare of his people and tending to restrain them from acts of war the influences brought to bear by the exponents of the peace policy as it was termed were too powerful to be successfully resisted and Colonel Parker felt himself forced to resign his position for the reasons as stated by him that the influences operating against him were so great that he was unable to give effect to the principles which he believed should prevail in administering the affairs of his important bureau the latter part of the summer and fall of 1867 was not characterized by active operations either upon the part of the troops or that of the Indians a general council of all the tribes infesting the southern planes was called to assemble on Medicine Lodge Creek this council was called in furtherance of a plan of pacification proposed by Congress with a view to uniting and locating all the tribes referred to on a reservation to be agreed upon Congress provided that the tribes invited to the council should be met by a peace commission on the part of the government composed of members of each House of Congress distinguished civilians and officers of the army of high rank at this council all the southern tribes assembled presence and profusion were distributed among the Indians the rule of distribution I believe being as usual that the worst Indians received the greatest number of valuable presence an agreement was entered into between the Indians and the representatives of the government reservations embracing a large extent of the finest portions of the public lands were fixed upon to the apparent satisfaction of all concerned and the promise of the Indians to occupy them and to keep away from the settlements and lines of travel was made without hesitation this was the beginning of the promised era of peace the lion and the lamb had agreed to lie down together but the sequel proved that when they got up again the lamb was missing end of chapter 12 chapter 13 part one of my life on the plains this LibriVox recording is in the public domain comrades leave me here a little while as yet tis early morn leave me here and when you want me sound upon the bugle horn in this instance however the bugle whose summoning's note I was supposed to be listening for was one of peculiar structure and its tones could only be rendered effective when prompted by the will of the director at Washington in other words I was living in involuntary but unregrateful retirement from active service I had spent a winter of 1867 to 68 most agreeably with many of my comrades at Fort Leavenworth but in the spring was forced to see them set out for their summer rendezvous for operations against the Indians and myself compelled by superior authority or rather by circumstances over which I had no control to remain in the rear and uncombatant in every sense of the word so much so that I might have been eligible to election as an honorary member of some one of those preponderous departments referred to by General Hazen in the school and the army as holding military rank wearing a uniform but living in complete official separation from the line except that I was not divided from it in heart and sympathy it is a happy disposition that I can't content itself in all phases of fortune by the saying that that which cannot be cured must be endured I had frequent recourse to this in summer consoling expressions in the endeavor to reconcile myself to the separation for my command for fear some of my readers may not comprehend my situation at the time I will briefly remark in parentheses and by the way of note of explanation that for precisely what I have described in some of the preceding chapters the exact details of which would be out of place here it had apparently been deemed necessary that my connection with certain events and transactions every one of which had been fully referred to here to for should be submitted to an official examination in order to determine if each and every one of my acts had been performed with due regard to the customs of war in light cases to enter into a review of the proceedings which followed would be to introduce into these pages matters to personal character to interest the general reader I will suffice to say that I was placed in temporary retirement from active duty and this result seemed satisfactory to those parties most intimately concerned in the matter when in the spring of 1868 the time arrived for the troops to leave their winter quarters and march westward to the plains the command with which I had been associated during the preceding year left its station at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas and marched westward about 300 miles there to engage in operations against the Indians while they under the command of general sully were attempting to kill Indians I was studying the problem of how to kill time in the most agreeable manner my campaign was a decided success I established my base of operations in the most beautiful little town on the western shores of Lake Erie from which I projected various hunting fishing and boating expeditions with abundance of friends and companions and ample success time passed pleasantly enough yet with all there was a constant longing to be with my comrades and arms in the far west even while aware of the fact that their campaigns were not resulting in any material advantage I had no reason to believe that I would be permitted to rejoin them until the following winter it was on the evening of the 24th of September and went about to break brat at the house of a friend in the little town referred to that I received the following telegram headquarters department of the Missouri in the field Fort Hays, Kansas September 24th, 1868 General G. A. Custer Monroe, Michigan Generals Sherman, Sully, and myself and nearly all the officers of your regiment have asked for you and I hope the application will be successful can you come at once eleven companies of your regiment will move about the first of October against the hostile Indians from Medicine Lodge Creek toward the Wichita Mountains P. H. Sheridan Major General Commanding The reception of this dispatch was a source of unbounded gratification to me not only because I saw the opportunity of being actively and usefully employed open before me but there were personal considerations inseparable from the proposed manner of my return which in themselves were in the highest degree agreeable so much so that I felt forbearing toward each and every one who whether intentionally or not had been a party to my retirement and was almost disposed to favor them with a copy of the preceding dispatch accompanied by an expression of my hearty thanks for the unintentional favor they had thrown my way knowing that the applications of General Sherman and Sheridan and the other officers referred to meet with favorable reply from the authorities of Washington I at once telegraphed General Sherman that I would start to join him by the next train not intending to wait the official order which I knew would be issued by the War Department the following day found me on the railway train hastening to the planes as fast as the iron horse could carry me the expected order from Washington overtook me that day and the shape of an official telegram from the adjutant general of the army directing me to proceed at once and report for duty to General Sheridan at Fort Leavenworth I halted in my journey long enough to cause my horses to be shipped by rail to Fort Hayes nor must I admit two other faithful companions of my subsequent marches and campaigns named Buker and Miida two splendid specimens of Scottish stagehound who were destined to share the dangers of an Indian campaign and finally meet death in a tragic manner the one by the hand of a savage the other by an ill-directed bullet from a friendly carbine arriving at Fort Hayes on the morning of the 30th I found General Sheridan who had transferred his headquarters temporarily from Fort Leavenworth to that point in order to be nearer the field operations and better able to give his personal attention to the conduct of the coming campaign my regiment was at the time on or near the Arkansas River in the vicinity of Fort Dodge and about three easy marches from Fort Hayes after remaining at General Sheridan's headquarters one day and receiving his instructions I set out with a small escort across the country to Fort Dodge to resume command of my regiment arriving at Fort Dodge without incident I found General Sully who was at that time in command of the district in which my regiment was serving with the exception of a few detachments the main body of the regiment was encamped on Bluff Creek a small tributary of the Arkansas the camp being some 30 miles southeast of Fort Dodge taking with me the detachment at the fort I proceeded to the main camp arriving there in the afternoon I had scarcely assumed my command when a band of Indians dashed close up to our camp and fired upon us this was getting into active service quite rapidly I was in the act of taking my seat for dinner my right having given me a splendid relish for the repast and when the shouts and firings of the savages informed me that more serious duties were at hand every man flew to arms and almost without command rushed to oppose the enemy officers and men provided themselves with rifles or carbines and soon began delivering a deliberate but ineffective fire against the Indians the latter as usual was merely practicing their ordinary rules de guerre which was to display a very small venturesome force in the expectation that tempting pursuit by an equal or slightly superior force and after having led the pursuing force well away from the main body to surround and destroy it by the aid of overwhelming numbers previously concealed in a ravine or ambush until the proper moment on this occasion the stratagem did not succeed the Indians being mounted on their fleet as ponies would charge in single file past our camp often riding within easy carbine range of our men displaying great boldness and unsurpassable horsemanship the soldiers unaccustomed to firing at such rapidly moving objects were rarely able to inflict serious damage upon their enemies well occasionally a pony would be struck and brought to the ground but the rider always succeeded in being carried away upon the pony of a comrade it was interesting to witness their marvelous abilities as horsemen at the same time one could not but admire the courage they displayed the ground was level open and unobstructive the troops were formed in an irregular line of skirmishes dismounted the line extending a distance of perhaps 200 yards the Indians had a rendezvous behind a hillock on the right side which prevented them from being seen or disturbed by the soldiers starting out singly or by twos and threes the warriors would suddenly leave the cover of the hillock and with war whoops and taunts dash over the plane in a line parallel to that occupied by the soldiers and within easy carbine range of the ladder the pony seemed possessed of this design and wished as dusky rider as he seemed to fly unguided by the bridal rain or spur the warrior would fire a load and fire again as often he's able to do while dashing along through the shower of leaden bullets fired above, beneath and front and behind him by the excited troopers until finally when the aim of the ladder improved and the leaden messengers whistled uncomfortably close the warrior would be seen to cast himself over the opposite side of his pony until his foot on the back and his face over the neck of the pony were all that could be seen the rest of his person being completely covered by the body of the pony this maneuver would frequently deceive the recruits among the soldiers having fired probably about the time the warrior was seen to disappear the recruit would shout exultingly a call that the attention of his comrades that he had the lucky shot the old soldiers however were not so easily deceived and often afterwards would remind their less experienced companion of the terrible fatality of his shots after finding that their plan to induce a small party to pursue them did not succeed the Indians withdrew their forces and concealment being no longer necessary we were enabled to see their full numbers as that portion of them which had hitherto remained hidden behind a bluff rode boldly out into the open plain being beyond rifle range they contented themselves with taunts and gestures of defiance then rode away from the officers of the camp I learned that the performance of the Indians which had occupied our attention on this afternoon was of almost daily occurrence and that the savages from having been allowed to continue in their course unmolested had almost reduced the camp to a state of siege so true had this become that at no hour of the day was it safe for individuals to pass beyond the chain of sentinels which enveloped the immediate limits of the camp before it became known that the Indians were so watchful and daring many narrow escapes were made and many laughable although serious incidents occurred laughable however only to those who were not the party's most interested two of these serial comic affairs now recur to me there was a beautiful clear stream of water named Bluff Creek running through camp which supplied bathing facilities to the officers and men a privilege which few allowed to pass unimproved whether to avoid the publicity attending localities near camp or to seek a point in the bed of the stream where the water was fresh and undisturbed or from a motive different from either of the two two of our young officers mounted their horses one day without saddles and rode down the valley of the stream perhaps a mile or more in search of a bathing place discovering one to their taste they dismounted secured their horses and after disposing of their apparel on the green's wad covering the banks were soon floating and floundering in the water like a pair of young porpoises how long they had been enjoying this healthful recreation or how much longer they might have remained is not necessarily the story one of them happening to glance toward the horses observed a ladder in a state of great trepidation hastening from the water to the bank he discovered the cause of the strange conduct on the part of the horses which was nothing more less than a party of about 30 Indian warriors mounted and steadily making their way towards a bathing party evidently having their eyes on the ladder and intent upon their capture here was a condition of affairs that was at least unexpected as it was unwelcome quickly calling out to his companion who is still in the water unconscious of approaching danger the one on the shore made haste to unfasten their horses and prepare for flight fortunately the Indians who were now within a few hundred yards of the two officers were coming from the direct opposite camp leaving the line of retreat of the officers open no sooner did the warriors find that their approach was discovered than they put their ponies to their best speed hoping to capture the officers before the ladder could have time to mount and get the horses underway the two officers in the meantime were far from idle no flesh bruises or bathing towels were required to restore a healthy circulation nor was time wasted in an idle attempt to make a toilet if they had sought their bathing ground from the motives of retirement or delicacy no such sentiments were exhibited now for catching up their wardrobe from the ground in one hand and seizing the bridal rain with the other one leap and they were on their horses backs and riding towards camp for dear life they were not exactly in the condition of flora mcflimsy with nothing to wear but to all intents and purposes might have well have been so then followed a race which, but for the risk occurred by two of the riders might well be compared to that of john gilpin both of the officers were experienced horsemen but what experienced horsemen would willingly care to be thrust upon the bare back of a flying steed minus all apparel neither boots, breeches nor saddle not even the spurs and shirt collar which are said to constitute the full uniform of a georgian colonel and when so disposed of to have three or four score of hideously painted and feathered savages well mounted and near at hand straining every nerve and urging their fleet footed war ponies to their highest speed in order that the scalps of the experienced horsemen might be added to the other human trophies which graced their lodges truly this was one of the occasions when the personal appearance is nothing and a man's a man for that so at least through our amateur masapas as they came dashing toward camp ever in a non-casting anxious glances over their shoulders at the pursuers who despite every exertion of the former were surely overhauling their pale faced brothers to the pursuit the camp seemed a long way in the distance while the shouts of the warriors each time seeming nearer than before warned them to urge their steeds to their fastest pace in a few moments the occupants of camp discovered the approach of this strangely appearing party it was an easy matter to recognize the warriors but who could name the two who wrote at the front the pursuing warriors seeing that they were not likely to overtake and capture the two knights of the bath slackened their pace and set a volley of arrows after them few moments later and the two officers were safe inside the lines where they lost no time in making their way to their tents to attend to certain matters relating to their toilet which the sudden appearance of their dusky visitors had prevented it was a long time before they ceased to hear illusions made by their comrades to the cut and style of their riding suit the other affair to which I have alluded occurred about the same time but in different direction from camp one of the officers who was commanding a troop concluded one day that it would be safe to grant permission to a part of his command to leave camp for the purpose of hunting buffalo and obtaining fresh meat for the men the hunting party being strong enough to protect itself against almost any ordinary war party of Indians that might present itself left camp at an early hour in the morning and set out in the direction in which the buffalo were reported to be the forenoon passed away noon came and still no signs of the return of the hunters the small hours of the afternoon began to come and go and still no tidings from the hunters who were expected to return to camp after an absence of two or three hours the officer to whose troop they belonged and who was of exceedingly nervous temperament began to regret having accorded them permission to leave camp knowing that Indians had been seen in the vicinity the hunting party had gone by a route across the open country which carried them up a long but very gradual ascent of perhaps two miles beyond which on the level plane the buffalo were supposed to be herding in large numbers anxious to learn something concerning the whereabouts of his men and believing he could obtain a view of the country beyond which might prove satisfactory the officer whose suspense was now constantly increasing determined to mount his horse and ride to the summit of the ridge beyond which his men had disappeared in the morning taking no escort with him he leisurely rode off guided by the trail made by the hunters the distance to the crest proved much farther than it seemed from the eye before starting the ride of over two miles had to be made before the highest point was reached but once there the officer felt well repaid for his exertion for in the dim deceptions of a beautiful mirage he saw what to him was his hunting party leisurely returning toward camp thinking they were still a long distance from him and would not reach him for a considerable time he did what every prudent cavalry men would have done under similar circumstances dismounted and allowed his horse an opportunity to rest at the same time he began studying the extended scenery from which his exalted position lay spread in all directions beneath him the camp seemed nestling among the banks of the creek at the base of the ridge appeared as pleasant relief to the monotony of the view which otherwise was undisturbed having scanned the horizon in all directions he turned to watch the approach of his men when behold instead of his own trusty troopers returning laden with fruits of chase the mirage had disappeared and he saw a dozen well mounted warriors riding directly towards him at full speed they were still far enough away to enable him to mount his horse and have more than an even chance to outstrip them in the race to camp but no time was to be thrown away the beauties of natural scenery had for the last time at least lost their attraction camp never seemed so inviting to him heading his horse towards the camp and gathering the reins in one hand and holding his revolver in the other the officer set out to make his escape judgment had to be employed in riding this race for the distance being fully two miles before a place of safety could be reached his horse not being high bred and accustomed to going such a distance at full speed might if forced too rapidly at first fail before reaching camp acting upon this idea tight rain was held as much as speed kept in reserve as safely would permit this enabled the Indians to gain on the officer but at no time did he feel that he could not eat loot his pursuers his principal anxiety was confined to the character of the ground care being taken to avoid the rough and broken places a single misstep or stumble on the part of his horse and his pursuers would be upon him before he could rise the sensations he experienced during that flying ride could not have been enviable soon the men in the camp discerned a situation and seized their carbines hastening out to his assistance the Indians were soon driven away and the officer again found himself among his friends the hunters also made their appearance shortly after while supplied with game they had not found the buffalo as near the camp as they expected and after finding them they were carried by a long pursuit in a different direction from that taken by them in the morning hence their delay in returning to camp these and similar occurrences added to the attack made by the Indians on the camp the afternoon I joined proved that unless we were to consider ourselves as actually besieged and were willing to accept the situation some decisive course must be adopted to punish the Indians for their temerity no offensive measures had been attempted since the infantry and cavalry forces of general sully and marched up the hill and then like the forces of the king of France had marched down again the effect of this movement in which the Indians gained a decided advantage was to encourage them in their attempts to annoy and disturb the troops not only by prowling about camp and considerable numbers and rendering it unsafe as has been seen to venture beyond the chain of sentinels but by way laying and intercepting all parties passing between camp and the base of supplies at Fort Dodge knowing from my recent interview with General Sheridan that the activity was to characterize the future operations of our troops particularly those of the cavalry and that the sooner a little activity was exhibited on our part the sooner perhaps we might be freed from the aggression of the Indians I returned from the afternoon skirmish to my tent and decided to begin offensive movements at same night as soon as darkness should conceal the march of the troops it was reasonable to infer that the war parties which had become so troublesome in the vicinity of camp and made their appearance almost daily had a hiding place or rendezvous on some of the many small streams which flowed within a distance of 20 miles of the point occupied by the troops and it was barely possible that if a simultaneous movement was made by several well conducted parties with a view of the scouting up and down the various streams referred to the hiding place of the Indians might be discovered and their forays in the future broken up it was deemed almost prudent and to promise the greatest chance of successes to make these movements at night during the hours of daylight the Indians no doubt kept close watch over everything transpiring in the vicinity of the camp and no scouting party could have taken its departure in daylight unobserved by the watchful eyes of the savages four separate detachments were at once ordered to be in readiness to move immediately after dark each detachment numbered about 100 cavalry well mounted and well armed guides in the country well were assigned to each and each party was commanded and accompanied by a zealous and efficient officer the country was divided into four sections and to each detachment was assigned one of the sections with orders to thoroughly scout the streams running through it it was hoped that some one of these parties might if in no other way stumble upon a campfire or other indication of the rendezvous of the Indians but subsequent experience only confirmed me in the opinion that the Indian seldom if ever permit hostile parties to stumble upon them unless the stumblers are the weaker party before proceeding further in my narrative I will introduce to the reader a personage who is destined to appear at different intervals and upon interesting occasions as a campaign proceeds it is usual on the plains and particularly during the time of active hostilities for every detachment of troops to be accompanied by one or more professional scouts or guides these guides are employed by the government at a rate of compensation far in excess of that paid to the soldiers some of the most experience receiving pay about equal to that of a sublater in the line they constitute the most interesting as well as useful and necessary portion of our frontier population who they are once they come or whether they go their names even except such as they choose to adopt or which may be given them are all questions which none but themselves can answer as their usefulness to the service depends not upon the unraveling or either of these mysteries but little thought is bestowed upon them do you know the country thoroughly and can you speak any of the indian languages constitutes the only examination which civil or uncivil service reforms demands on the planes if the evidence of these two important points is satisfactory the applicant for the vacancy in the core of scouts may consider his position as secured and the door to congenial employment most often leading to a terrible death opens before him they are almost invariably men of very superior judgment or common sense with education generally better than that of the average frontiersmen their most striking characteristics are love of adventure a natural and cultivated knowledge of the country without recourse to maps deep hatred of the indian and an intimate acquaintance with all the habits and customs of the latter whether pertaining to peace or war and last but most necessary to their calling a skill in the use of firearms and management of a horse the possessor of these qualifications and more than the ordinary amount of courage may feel equal to discharge the dangerous and trying duties of a scout in concentrating the cavalry which had hitherto been operating in small bodies it was found that each detachment brought with it the scouts who had been serving with them when i joined the command i found quite a number of these scouts attached to various portions of the cavalry but each acting separately for the purpose of organization it was deemed best to unite them into a separate detachment under the command of one of their own number being an acquainted personally with the merits or demerits of any of them the selection of a chief had necessarily to be made somewhat at random there was one among their number whose appearance would have attracted the notice of any casual observer he was a man of about 40 years of age perhaps older over six feet in height and possessing a well proportioned frame his head was covered with a luxurious crop of long almost black hair strongly inclined to curl and so long as to fall carelessly over his shoulders his face as least so much of it as was not concealed by the long waving brown beard and mustache was full of intelligence and pleasant to look upon his eye was undoubtedly handsome black and lustrous with the expression of kindness and mildness combined on his head was generally to be seen whether asleep or awake a huge sombrero or black slouch hat a soldier's overcoat with its large circular cape a pair of trousers with the legs tucked in the top of his long boots usually constituted the outside makeup of the man who i selected as chief scout he was known by the euthanist title of california joe no other name seemed ever to have been given to him and no other name ever seemed necessary his military armament consisted of a long breach loading springfield musket from which he was inseparable and revolver and hunting knife both the latter being carried in his waist belt his mount completed his equipment for the field being instead of a horse a finely formed mule and in whose speed and endurance he had every confidence scouts usually prefer a good mule to a horse and wisely too for the reason that in making their perilous journeys either singularly or twos or threes solarity is one principal condition to success the object with a scout is not to overrun or overwhelm the indians but to avoid them both by secrecy and caution in his movements on the plains at most seasons of the year the horse is incapable of performing long or rapid journeys without being supplied with forage on the route this must be transported and in the case of scouts would necessarily be transported on the back of the horse thereby adding materially to the weight which must be carried the mule will perform a rapid and continuous march without forage being able to subsist on grazing to be obtained in nearly all the valleys of the plains during the greater portion of the year california joe was an inveterate smoker who was rarely seen without his stubby dingy-looking briarwood pipe in full blast the endurance of his smoking powers was only surpassed by his locosity his pipe frequently became exhausted and required refilling but california joe seemed never to lack for material or disposition to carry on a conversation principally composed of personal adventures among the indians episodes in mining life or experience in overland journeying before the days of steam engines and palace cars rendered a trip across the plains a comparatively uneventful one it was evident from the scraps of information volunteered from time to time that there was but little of the western country from the pacific to the Missouri river with which california joe was not intimately acquainted he had lived in oregon years before and had become acquainted from time to time with most of the officers who have served on the plains or on the pacific coast i once inquired of him if he'd ever seen general sherdon what general sherdon why bless my soul i know sherdon way up in orgon more than 15 years ago and he was only a second lieutenant of infantry he was quartermaster of the fort something of that sort and i had the contract for fernish and wood to the post and would you believe it end of chapter 13 part one