Part 9
In the latter part of June, 1874, the confederated Comanche, Cheyenne, and Kiowa made a combined attack upon the buffalo hunters intrenched in the fort of the Adobe Walls, on South Canadian river, in the Texas panhandle. The engagement began about the 27th, and continued several days, the Indians attacking with desperate courage, urged on by their medicine-man, who had assured them that the bullets of the whites could not hurt them. The hunters, however, had a small field cannon, and with this, protected as they were by the solid walls of adobe, they finally compelled the Indians to withdraw with considerable loss. The medicine-man excused the result on the ground that his medicine was for guns and not for cannon. The combined force was led by Quanah, the present noted head chief of the Comanche, who informed the author that he had seven hundred warriors in the fight, but added sententiously, "No use Indians fight adobe." The result convinced him of the falsity of the claims of medicine-men, against whom he has ever since used his powerful influence in his tribe. Finding their position untenable without military protection, which was refused by the general commanding the department, the buffalo hunters soon afterward abandoned the fort. The location is known among the Kiowa as "The place where Quanah led his confederates" (see _Report, 39_; _War, 2_; Record, 2).
On July 3 a small wagon train in charge of Patrick Hennessey and three other men, loaded with supplies from Wichita, Kansas, for the Wichita agency at Anadarko, was attacked by Cheyenne on the trail where now stands the town of Hennessey, Oklahoma. The four white men were killed and scalped, the stores and mules taken, and the wagons burned. Hennessey was tortured by being tied to a wagon wheel and burned upon a pile of grain taken from his own wagon. This last deed was the work of some Osage who came up while the Cheyenne were still there, and who secured the larger share of the plunder. These same Osage were ostensibly friends of the whites, and had completely deceived their agent and missionary into the belief that they were doing all in their power to quiet the hostile tribes. The bodies of three of the men killed were buried by a neighboring ranchman, who had warned them of their danger only a few hours before, and unsuccessfully endeavored to persuade them to turn back. Hennessey's remains were buried two days later by a party under agent Miles(_Battey, 8_; _Report, 40_).
FRIENDLIES COLLECTED AT FORT SILL
By this time the Cheyenne agency at Darlington was closely surrounded by bands of hostiles. Arming a small force of employés, the agent proceeded north to Wichita, Kansas, for assistance, after sending a courier through by night to Colonel Davidson at Fort Sill for temporary aid. That officer promptly sent a troop of cavalry, which, however, was intercepted at the Wichita agency (Anadarko), then threatened by the Kiowa and Comanche. In response to the appeals of Agent Miles, a sufficient force of cavalry and infantry was sent from Fort Leavenworth to protect the Darlington agency. As soon as it had appeared that war was inevitable, Whirlwind, head chief of the tribe, with his band of Cheyenne, had moved into the agency, where he remained steadfastly peaceable. White-shield also ranged himself on the side of peace, and consented to carry a message to the hostile camp, as a result of which Little-robe and a number of others broke away at night and came into the agency, being compelled to abandon their tipis and most of their household goods to effect their escape (_Report, 41_).
The Kiowa medicine dance, which was held usually in June, had been postponed on account of the absence of Lone-wolf, who had gone to Texas after the bodies of his son and nephew. On his return it was held at a point on the North fork of Red river (see the calendar, 1874), being attended in force by the Comanche and Cheyenne, who made a strong effort to engage the Kiowa in the war. The dance closed on the 3d of July, when a small minority, led by Lone-wolf and Swan, decided for war and joined the hostiles, but the majority, under Kicking-bird, declared for peace and came in to the agency at Fort Sill. Here the friendly Indians of the different tribes belonging to the agency--Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache--were directed to encamp together on Cache creek, where they were enrolled by order of Colonel Davidson, after which none were to be allowed to come in and join the camp of the friendlies without surrendering their arms and obtaining a guarantee from the agent that they were guiltless of hostile acts. Similar orders were carried out in regard to the Indians of the Wichita agency at Anadarko. The enrollment showed four-fifths of the Kiowa among the friendlies, although, as the agent remarks, doubtless some of them did not deserve the name. With some inconsistency, Lone-wolf sent a message declaring his desire for peace and asking permission to come in to the friendly camp; but, as he was considered the leader and one of the most guilty of the hostiles, his request was refused. In the meantime orders had been issued from the War Department, on July 21, authorizing the military to punish the hostiles wherever found, even to pursuing them upon their reservations. General Pope, commanding the department, at once set the troops in motion, and a vigorous campaign began from the north and south of the exposed territory.
FIGHT AT ANADARKO, THE WICHITA AGENCY
Late in August a band of Nokoni Comanche came into the camp of friendly Comanche at the Wichita agency (Anadarko), desiring to remain. Colonel Davidson, commanding at Fort Sill, went over with a detachment of troops to receive their surrender. They agreed to give up their arms, and had already delivered a number of guns and pistols, when a question arose as to the bows and arrows, and a messenger was sent to the commanding officer to decide the matter. While the messenger was gone, the chief, Red-food, gave a whoop--whether as a battle signal or merely to call another chief, is a disputed point--and was immediately fired upon by the guard. Lone-wolf and his Kiowa were on the ground and at once opened fire on the troops. A general fight ensued (August 22), the excitement being intense, as it happened to be ration day and nearly all the Indians of the Wichita agency were present--Caddo, Wichita, Delaware, and Pawnee--as well as a large number of the Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache of the other agency. Runners hurried to all the camps with the news that the troops were killing the Indians; but, notwithstanding, the fighting was confined to the Kiowa and Comanche, who attacked the agency, burning the schoolhouse, sacking Shirley's trading store, burning several houses of the friendly Indians, killing at least four citizens, and wounding several soldiers. While some fled to places of safety, others kept up the attack until next day, when, failing in a final attempt to take and burn the agency, they withdrew. According to the statement of the Indians, they lost two men and one woman killed and a few wounded. A part of the Kiowa engaged had been enrolled at Fort Sill among the friendlies, but had gone without permission to the Wichita agency some days before. Some of the Comanche who fled at the time of the fight came in soon after and reported to Colonel Davidson, and, on being assured that no harm was intended them, returned with him to the friendly camp at Fort Sill. In regard to this encounter, the Comanche disclaimed any hostile intention at the start, and the fact that they had voluntarily come in and surrendered their guns would show that it was the result of a panic arising from a misunderstanding (see the calendar; also _Report, 42_; _Battey, 9_; _Record, 3_).
As showing the moral effect of a knowledge of the power of the white man, it is worthy of record that only one of the Kiowa delegates to Washington in 1872 joined the hostiles, that one, Lone-wolf, being avowedly incited to his course by a thirst for vengeance for his son (_Report, 43_). As a commentary on the treatment frequently accorded "friendlies" during an outbreak, it may also be noted that the enrolled Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache were located two miles from Fort Sill, where Texas horse thieves stole over nineteen hundred of their animals within a year, while they themselves were kept almost at starvation point by the contractor's failure to supply their rations. Notwithstanding these discouragements they continued loyal, and sent as many of their children to school as could be accommodated (_Battey, 10_).
After the fight at the Wichita agency most of the Kiowa and Comanche concerned fled to the Staked plain, where the hostiles made their chief headquarters. Some others not already enrolled now came in and asked permission to join the friendly camp. Set-t'aiñte, Big-tree, Woman-heart, and Poor-buffalo (Pá-tádal, "Lean-buffalo-bull"), who had been enrolled at the beginning, but had gone without permission to the Washita and fled from there at the time of the fight, came in soon after to the Cheyenne agency at Darlington and surrendered with a large number of their people, saying that they were tired of war, but did not like Fort Sill. As it was believed that they had taken part in hostilities, they were not allowed again to resume their position as friendlies, but were sent back as prisoners of war to Fort Sill, where their arms and horses were taken from them and the men were imprisoned, the chiefs being put in irons. Soon afterward Set-t'aiñte was returned to the Texas penitentiary (_Report, 44_).
SET-T'AIÑTE
Set-t'aiñte, "White-bear," better known as Satanta, who was thus finally removed from the field of action, is one of the most prominent men in Kiowa history, being noted among the most daring and successful warriors of the tribe, while in authority he held the rank of second chief, standing next after Lone-wolf. He has already been mentioned as a leading chief in 1864. His eloquence and vigor of expression in his native language, a peculiarly forcible one, had gained for him the title of the "Orator of the Plains." Every line of his strongly marked features showed the character of the man--a brave, forceful, untamable savage (figure 45). The persistent efforts of the Kiowa to secure his release prove the estimation in which he was held by his tribe. He came early into prominence and was one of the signers of the treaty of 1867, his name being second on the list. His seizure by General Custer the next year, in order to compel the Kiowa to come into the reservation, and his subsequent release, have been narrated. His arrest in 1871 for being concerned in an attack upon a wagon train in Texas, the commutation of the death sentence, and his release by the state authorities in 1873, have also been noted in the proper place. He was still, however, considered as a hostage for the good conduct of his people, and subject to rearrest whenever they became troublesome. As was almost inevitable, he became involved in the outbreak of the succeeding year, although apparently more by accident than deliberate purpose, and on coming in to Cheyenne agency with others in the fall of 1874 he was again arrested and turned over to the military authorities and by them sent back to the state penitentiary at Huntsville, Texas, to serve out his life sentence (_Report, 45_). When informed by Horace P. Jones, the government interpreter at Fort Sill, that he was to be returned to prison, he expressed himself bitterly, claiming that he had kept his parole and that there were others far more guilty than he. What affected him most was the entire separation from his people. He was taken back to prison in November, 1874, and four years later, refusing to live longer in confinement, he committed suicide by throwing himself from an upper story of the prison, October 11, 1878 (_Whatley letter_).
Set-t'aiñte, whose name among the Kiowa is still one to conjure by, first acquired his title of "Orator of the Plains" in connection with the events which led to the treaty of Medicine Lodge, in 1867. He was already sufficiently distinguished among his own people as a leader on the warpath. In May preceding the treaty he visited Fort Larned, and, confronting General Hancock, he denounced agent Leavenworth and complained of the aggressions of the white men in a fiery speech, which is described as a masterly effort, from its opening, when he called the sun to witness that he would "talk straight," to the close, when, looking around over the prairie, he said that it was large and good, and declared that he did not want it stained with blood.
A few months later he escorted General Harney and the commissioners from the post to the spot where the Indians were gathering for the treaty. In spite of stringent orders before starting, the soldiers and camp followers soon began an indiscriminate slaughter of the buffalo along the line of march. As described by a correspondent--
They recklessly shot down the buffalo, simply that they might boast of it. After cutting out their tongues, they left the carcasses where they fell. The reader will readily perceive that when the Indians complain at every council of the decrease of the buffalo, such wanton waste of good meat could not be a pleasing sight to the greatest chief on the American plains. Satanta, never backward in speech, resented in strong terms the shooting of his game on his own ground. Said he, while his eyes flashed and his lips curled with scorn: "Has the white man become a child, that he should recklessly kill and not eat? When the red men slay game, they do so that they may live and not starve." Sound logic! Only persons devoid of sense or honor could have been guilty of such conduct in the enemy's country, especially when the commissioners were endeavoring to conciliate them with presents and reconcile them to the propositions about to be propounded.
The protest had its effect, no more shooting was allowed, and those responsible for the outrage were placed under arrest.
On behalf of the confederate tribes, he made the leading speech in reply to the commissioners. It is thus given by the correspondent of the New York Times:
"You, the commissioners, have come from afar to listen to our grievances. My heart is glad, and I shall hide nothing from you. I understood that you were coming down to see us. I moved away from those disposed for war, and I also came along to see you. The Kiowas and Comanches have not been fighting. We were away down south when we heard, you were coming to see us. The Cheyennes are those who have been fighting with you. They did it in broad daylight so that all could see them. If I had been fighting I would have done it by day and not in the dark. Two years ago I made peace with Generals Harney, Sanborn, and Colonel Leavenworth at the mouth of the Little Arkansas. That peace I have never broken. When the grass was growing in the spring, a large body of soldiers came along on the Santa Fé road. I had not done anything and therefore I was not afraid. All the chiefs of the Kiowas, Comanches, and Arapahos are here today; they have come to listen to good words. We have been waiting here a long time to see you and are getting tired. All the land south of the Arkansas belongs to the Kiowas and Comanches, and I don't want to give away any of it. I love the land and the buffalo and will not part with it. I want you to understand well what I say. Write it on paper. Let the Great Father see it, and let me hear what he has to say. I want you to understand also, that the Kiowas and Comanches don't want to fight, and have not been fighting since we made the treaty. I hear a great deal of good talk from the gentlemen whom the Great Father sends us, but they never do what they say. I don't want any of the medicine lodges [schools and churches] within the country. I want the children raised as I was. When I make peace, it is a long and lasting one--there is no end to it. We thank you for your presents. All the headmen and braves are happy. They will do what you want them, for they know you are doing the best you can. I and they will do our best also. When I look upon you, I know you are all big chiefs. While you are in this country we go to sleep happy and are not afraid. I have heard that you intend to settle us on a reservation near the mountains. I don't want to settle. I love to roam over the prairies. There I feel free and happy, but when we settle down we grow pale and die. I have laid aside my lance, bow, and shield, and yet I feel safe in your presence. I have told you the truth. I have no little lies hid about me, but I don't know how it is with the commissioners. Are they as clear as I am? A long time ago this land belonged to our fathers; but when I go up to the river I see camps of soldiers on its banks. These soldiers cut down my timber; they kill my buffalo; and when I see that, my heart feels like bursting; I feel sorry. I have spoken."
The above is a plain unvarnished statement of facts, such as no Indian on the plains could produce but Satanta. It must be remembered that in cunning or native diplomacy Satanta has no equal. In worth and influence Red Cloud is his rival; but in boldness, daring, and merciless cruelty Satanta is far superior, and yet there are some good points in this dusky chieftain which command admiration. If a white man does him an injury, he never forgives him; but if on the other hand the white man has done him a service, death can alone prevent him from paying the debt. The speech of Satanta caused the commissioners to look rather blank, and when he pictured in his usual graphic manner how he loved his land, his buffalo, and his traditions, there was a world of feeling in his tones, betraying his knowledge of the vast difference between the power of the aggressive pale face and his waning race. A certain dim foreboding of the Indian's fate swept across his mind, and in its passage lit his eyes up with a fierce light, and his voice rose to a pitch of frenzy as he exclaimed: "We don't want to settle--I love to roam over the prairie; there I am free and happy."
His farewell speech, to the commissioners at the conclusion of the treaty is thus noted in the same newspaper:
On this occasion the old chief was accompanied by one hundred of the principal warriors of the Kiowa tribe; and immediately after its close, this tribe, as well as the Comanches, struck camp and left for the Cimarron River in the south. He spoke with a gravity and earnestness that added force to his words. "If," said he, "the treaty bring prosperity to us, we of course will like it the better. If it bring prosperity or adversity, we will not abandon it." He alluded delicately to the fact that the white man often forgot to keep his treaties with the Indian; and then at the close, referring to the treaty just made, he rose to the heights of friendship, offering his heart and his hospitality, and adding: "For your sakes, the green grass shall not be stained with the blood of the whites. Your people shall again be our people, and peace shall be our mutual heritage. Good-bye. You may not see me again. But remember Satanta as the white man's friend." He is spoken of as having a very grave yet musical voice, and at times displays the deepest emotion.
Another who heard him on this occasion says:
The great chief, Satanta, in delivering his address spoke with a dignity and force that could not but be appreciated. He is a great orator and of unbounded influence in the council (_Ind. Miscel., xii, 3804--3833_).
[Illustration: BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY
SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. LXII
INSIDE OF SET-T'AIÑTE'S SHIELD]
He is thus described by Keim in 1870:
For several years Satanta has filled the office of head chief. A peculiar dash of manner; a grin equal to all occasions; a remarkable shrewdness exhibited in managing affairs between the different tribes with which his people come in contact, or their intercourse with the national government, have won for him a prestige which he has very well maintained. Satanta, when I first met him, was a man of about fifty years of age. He rose first through prowess on the warpath, and afterward through skill in council and diplomacy. He had an intelligent face, and was large in frame and of muscular development, exhibiting also a tendency to obesity. Lately Satanta has found a threatening rival in Lone-wolf, the war chief of the tribe (_Keim, 3_).
Three years later we get the following notice from one who saw him with Big-tree, in 1873, while serving his first incarceration in the Texas penitentiary:
In the corridor of the penitentiary I saw a tall, finely-formed man, with bronzed complexion, and long, flowing, brown hair, a man princely in carriage, on whom even the prison garb seemed elegant, and was told that it was Satanta, the chief of the Kiowas, who with his brother chief, Big-tree, is held to account for murder. I was presently introduced to a venerable bigamist who was Satanta's chosen boon companion, on account of his smattering of Spanish, and through this anxious prisoner was presented at court. Satanta had come into the workroom, where he was popularly supposed to labor, but where he never performed a stroke of work, and had seated himself on a pile of oakum, with his hands folded across his massive chest [figure 150]. His fellow prisoner explained to Satanta, in Spanish, that we desired to converse with him, whereupon he rose and suddenly stretching out his hand gave mine a ponderous grasp, saying: "How!" He then responded, always through the aged wife-deceiver, to the few trivial questions I asked, and sat down, motioning to me to be seated with as much dignity and grace as though he were a monarch receiving a foreign ambassador. His face was good; there was a delicate curve of pain at the lips, which contrasted oddly with the strong Indian cast of his other features. Although he is much more than 60 years old, he hardly seemed 40, so erect, elastic, vigorous was he. When asked if he ever expected liberation, and what he would do if it should come, he responded, "Quien sabe?" with the most stoical indifference. Big-tree was briskly at work plaiting a chair seat in another apartment and chewing tobacco vigorously. His face was clear cut and handsome, his coal black hair swept his shoulders, and he only paused to brush it back and give us a swift glance as we entered, then briskly plaited as before (_Scribner, 1_).