Forage for the horses and mules, and rations for the men, sufficient of
both to last thirty days, having been loaded on the wagons, the entire
command, composed as previously stated, and accompanied by General
Sheridan and staff, left Camp Supply early on the morning of December
7, and turning our horses’ heads southward, we marched in the direction
of the battle-ground of the Washita. Our march to the Washita was quiet
and uneventful, if we except the loquacity of California Joe, who, now
that we were once more in the saddle with the prospect of stirring
times before us, seemed completely in his element, and gave vent to his
satisfaction by indulging in a connected series of remarks and queries,
always supplying the answer to the latter himself if none of his
listeners evinced a disposition to do so for him. His principal delight
seemed to be in speculating audibly as to what would be the impression
produced on the minds of the Indians when they discovered us returning
with increased numbers both of men and wagons.
“I’d jist like to see the streaked count’nances of Satanta, Medicine
Arrow, Lone Wolf, and a few others of ’em, when they ketch the fust
glimpse of the outfit. They’ll think we’re comin’ to spend an evenin’
with ’em sure, and hev brought our knittin’ with us. One look’ll
satisfy ’em thar’ll be sum of the durndest kickin’ out over these
plains that ever war heern tell uv. One good thing, it’s goin’ to cum
as nigh killin’ uv ’em to start ’em out this time uv year as ef we hed
an out an’ out scrummage with ’em. The way I looks at it they hev jist
this preference: them as don’t like bein’ shot to deth kin take ther
chances at freezin’.” In this interminable manner California Joe would
pursue his semi-soliloquies, only too delighted if some one exhibited
interest sufficient to propound an occasional question.
As our proposed route bore to the southeast after reaching the
battle-field, our course was so chosen as to carry us to the Washita
river a few miles below, at which point we encamped early in the day.
General Sheridan desired to ride over the battle-ground, and we hoped
by a careful examination of the surrounding country to discover the
remains of Major Elliott and his little party, of whose fate there
could no longer be the faintest doubt. With one hundred men of the
Seventh Cavalry, under command of Captain Yates, we proceeded to the
scene of the battle, and from there dispersed in small parties in
all directions, with orders to make a thorough search for our lost
comrades. We found the evidences of the late engagement much as we
had left them. Here were the bodies, now frozen, of the seven hundred
ponies which we had slain after the battle; here and there, scattered
in and about the site of the former village of Black Kettle, lay the
bodies of many of the Indians who fell during the struggle. Many of
the bodies, however, particularly those of Black Kettle and Little
Rock, had been removed by their friends. Why any had been allowed to
remain uncared for, could only be explained upon the supposition that
the hasty flight of the other villages prevented the Indians from
carrying away any except the bodies of the most prominent chiefs or
warriors, although most of those remaining on the battle-ground were
found wrapped in blankets and bound with lariats preparatory to removal
and burial. Even some of the Indian dogs were found loitering in the
vicinity of the places where the lodges of their former masters stood;
but, like the Indians themselves, they were suspicious of the white
man, and could hardly be induced to establish friendly relations. Some
of the soldiers, however, managed to secure possession of a few young
puppies; these were carefully brought up, and to this day they, or some
of their descendants, are in the possession of members of the command.
After riding over the ground in the immediate vicinity of the village,
I joined one of the parties engaged in the search for the bodies of
Major Elliott and his men. In describing the search and its result, I
cannot do better than transcribe from my official report, made soon
after to General Sheridan:
“After marching a distance of two miles in the direction in which
Major Elliott and his little party were last seen, we suddenly came
upon the stark, stiff, naked, and horribly mutilated bodies of our
dead comrades. No words were needed to tell how desperate had been the
struggle before they were finally overpowered. At a short distance
from where the bodies lay, could be seen the carcasses of some of the
horses of the party, which had probably been killed early in the fight.
Seeing the hopelessness of breaking through the line which surrounded
them, and which undoubtedly numbered more than one hundred to one,
Elliott dismounted his men, tied their horses together, and prepared
to sell their lives as dearly as possible. It may not be improper to
add that in describing, as far as possible, the details of Elliott’s
fight I rely not only upon a critical and personal examination of the
ground and attendant circumstances, but am sustained by the statements
of Indian chiefs and warriors who witnessed and participated in the
fight, and who have since been forced to enter our lines and surrender
themselves up, under circumstances which will be made to appear in
other portions of this report.
“The bodies of Elliott and his little band, with but a single
exception, were found lying within a circle not exceeding twenty yards
in diameter. We found them exactly as they fell, except that their
barbarous foes had stripped and mutilated the bodies in the most savage
manner.
“All the bodies were carried to camp. The latter was reached after
dark. It being the intention to resume the march before daylight the
following day, a grave was hastily prepared on a little knoll near our
camp, and, with the exception of that of Major Elliott, whose remains
were carried with us for interment at Fort Arbuckle, the bodies of the
entire party, under the dim light of a few torches held by of sorrowing
comrades, were consigned to one common resting place. No funeral note
sounded to measure their passage to the grave. No volley was fired to
tell us a comrade was receiving the last sad rites of burial, that
the fresh earth had closed over some of our truest and most daring
soldiers.
“Before interment, I caused a complete examination of each body to be
made by Dr. Lippincott, chief medical officer of the expedition, with
direction to report on the character and number of wounds received by
each, as well as to mutilations to which they had been subjected. The
following extracts are taken from Dr. Lippincott’s report:
“Major Joel H. Elliott, two bullet holes in head, one in left cheek,
right hand cut off, left foot almost cut off, ... deep gash in right
groin, deep gashes in calves of both legs, little finger of left hand
cut off, and throat cut.
“Sergeant-Major Walter Kennedy, bullet hole in right temple, head
partly cut off, seventeen bullet holes in back, and two in legs.
“Corporal Harry Mercer, Troop E, bullet hole in right axilla, one in
region of heart, three in back, eight arrow wounds in back, right ear
cut off, head scalped, and skull fractured, deep gashes in both legs,
and throat cut.
“Private Thomas Christer, Troop E, bullet hole in head, right foot cut
off, bullet hole in abdomen, and throat cut.
“Corporal William Carrick, Troop H, bullet hole in right parietal bone,
both feet cut off, throat cut, left arm broken.
“Private Eugene Clover, Troop H, head cut off, arrow wound in right
side, both legs terribly mutilated.
“Private William Milligan, Troop H, bullet hole in left side of head,
deep gashes in right leg, ... left arm deeply gashed, head scalped, and
throat cut.
“Corporal James F. Williams, Troop I, bullet hole in back; head and
both arms cut off, many and deep gashes in back....
“Private Thomas Dooney, Troop I, arrow hole in region of stomach,
thorax cut open, head cut off, and right shoulder, cut by a tomahawk.
“Farrier Thomas Fitzpatrick, Troop M, bullet hole in left parietal
bone, head scalped, arm broken, ... throat cut.
“Private John Myres, Troop M, several bullet holes in head, scalped,
nineteen bullet holes in body, ... throat cut.
“Private Cal. Sharpe, Troop M, two bullet holes in right side, throat
cut, one bullet hole in left side of head, one arrow hole in left side,
... left arm broken.
“Unknown, head cut off, body partially destroyed by wolves.
“Unknown, head and right hand cut off, ... three bullet and nine arrow
holes in back.
“Unknown, scalped, skull fractured, six bullet and thirteen arrow holes
in back, and three bullet holes in chest.”
I have quoted these extracts in order to give the reader an insight of
the treatment invariably meted out to white men who are so unfortunate
as to fall within the scope of the red man’s bloodthirsty and
insatiable vengeance. The report to General Sheridan then continues as
follows:
“In addition to the wounds and barbarities reported by Dr. Lippincott,
I saw a portion of the stock of a Lancaster rifle protruding from
the side of one of the men; the stock had been broken off near the
barrel, and the butt of it, probably twelve inches in length, had been
driven into the man’s side a distance of eight inches. The forest
along the banks of the Washita, from the battle-ground a distance of
twelve miles, was found to have been one continuous Indian village.
Black Kettle’s band of Cheyennes was above; then came other hostile
tribes camped in the following order: Arrapahoes under Little Raven;
Kiowas under Satanta and Lone Wolf; the remaining bands of Cheyennes,
Comanches, and Apaches. Nothing could exceed the disorder and haste
with which these tribes had fled from their camping grounds. They had
abandoned thousands of lodge poles, some of which were still standing,
as when last used. Immense numbers of camp kettles, cooking utensils,
coffee-mills, axes, and several hundred buffalo robes were found in
the abandoned camps adjacent to Black Kettle’s village, but which had
not been visited before by our troops. By actual examination, it was
computed that over six hundred lodges had been standing along the
Washita during the battle, and within five miles of the battle-ground,
and it was from these villages, and others still lower down the
stream, that the immense number of warriors came who, after our rout
and destruction of Black Kettle and his band, surrounded my command
and fought until defeated by the Seventh Cavalry about 3 P. M. on the
27th ult.... In the deserted camp, lately occupied by Satanta with
the Kiowas, my men discovered the bodies of a young white woman and
child, the former apparently about twenty-three years of age, the
latter probably eighteen months old. They were evidently mother and
child, and had not long been in captivity, as the woman still retained
several articles of her wardrobe about her person--among others a pair
of cloth gaiters but little worn, everything indicating that she had
been but recently captured, and upon our attacking and routing Black
Kettle’s camp her captors, fearing she might be recaptured by us and
her testimony used against them, had deliberately murdered her and her
child in cold blood. The woman had received a shot in the forehead,
her entire scalp had been removed, and her skull horribly crushed. The
child also bore numerous marks of violence.”
At daylight on the following morning the entire command started on
the trail of the Indian villages, nearly all of which had moved down
the Washita toward Fort Cobb, where they had good reason to believe
they would receive protection. The Arrapahoes and remaining band of
Cheyennes left the Washita valley and moved across in the direction of
Red river. After following the trail of the Kiowas and other hostile
Indians for seven days, over an almost impassable country, where it
was necessary to keep two or three hundred men almost constantly at
work with picks, axes, and spades, before being able to advance with
our immense train, my Osage scouts came galloping back on the morning
of the 17th of December, and reported a party of Indians in our front
bearing a flag of truce.
It is to this day such a common occurrence for Indian agents to assert
in positive terms that the particular Indians of their agency have
not been absent from their reservation, nor engaged in making war
upon the white men, when the contrary is well known to be true, that
I deem it proper to introduce one of the many instances of this kind
which have fallen under my observation, as an illustration not only
of how the public in distant sections of the country may be misled
and deceived as to the acts and intentions of the Indians, but also
of the extent to which the Indian agents themselves will proceed in
attempting to shield and defend the Indians of their particular agency.
Sometimes, of course, the agent is the victim of deception, and no
doubt conscientiously proclaims that which he firmly believes; but I am
forced by long experience to the opinion that instances of this kind
are rare, being the exception rather than the rule. In the example
to which I refer, the high character and distinction as well as the
deservedly national reputation achieved by the official then in charge
of the Indians against whom we were operating, will at once absolve me
from the imputation of intentionally reflecting upon the integrity of
his action in the matter. The only point to occasion surprise is how
an officer possessing the knowledge of the Indian character, derived
from an extensive experience on the frontier, which General Hazen could
justly lay claim to, should be so far misled as to give the certificate
of good conduct which follows. General Hazen had not only had superior
opportunities for studying the Indian character, but had participated
in Indian wars, and at the very time he penned the following note
he was partially disabled from the effects of an Indian wound. The
Government had selected him from the large number of intelligent
officers of high rank whose services were available for the position,
and had assigned him with plenary powers to the superintendency of the
Southern Indian District, a position in which almost the entire control
of all the southern tribes was vested in the occupant. If gentlemen of
the experience and military education of General Hazen, occupying the
intimate and official relation to the Indians which he did, could be
so readily and completely deceived as to their real character, it is
not strange that the mass of the people living far from the scene of
operations, and only possessing such information as reaches them in
scraps through the public press, and generally colored by interested
parties, should at times entertain extremely erroneous impressions
regarding the much-vexed Indian question. Now to the case in point:
With the Osage scouts who came back from the advance with the
intelligence that a party of Indians were in front, also came a scout
who stated that he was from Fort Cobb, and delivered to me a despatch,
which read as follows:
HEADQUARTERS SOUTHERN INDIAN DISTRICT, FORT COBB, 9 P. M. December 16, 1868.
_To the Officer, commanding troops in the Field._
Indians have just brought in word that our troops to-day reached
the Washita some twenty miles above here. I send this to say that
all the camps this side of the point reported to have been reached
are friendly, and have not been on the war path this season. If
this reaches you, it would be well to communicate at once with
Satanta or Black Eagle, chiefs of the Kiowas, near where you now
are, who will readily inform you of the position of the Cheyennes
and Arrapahoes, also of my camp.
Respectfully,
(Signed) W. B. HAZEN, Brevet Major-General.
This scout at the same time informed me that a large party of Kiowa
warriors, under Lone Wolf, Satanta, and other leading chiefs, were
within less than a mile of my advance, and notwithstanding the above
certificate regarding their friendly character, they had seized a scout
who accompanied the bearer of the despatch, disarmed him, and held him
a prisoner of war. Taking a small party with me, I proceeded beyond our
lines to meet the flag of truce. I was met by several of the leading
chiefs of the Kiowas, including those above named. Large parties of
their warriors could be seen posted in the neighboring ravines and upon
the surrounding hilltops. All were painted and plumed for war, and
nearly all were armed with one rifle, two revolvers, bow and arrow,
some of their bows being strung, and their whole appearance and conduct
plainly indicating that they had come for war. Their declarations to
some of my guides and friendly Indians proved the same thing, and they
were only deterred from hostile acts by discovering our strength to
be far greater than they had imagined, and our scouts on the alert.
Aside, however, from the question as to what their present or future
intentions were at that time, how deserving were those Indians of the
certificate of good behavior which they had been shrewd enough to
obtain? The certificate was dated December 16, and stated that the
camps had not been on the war path “this season.”
What were the facts? On the 27th of November, only twenty-one days
prior to the date of the certificate, the same Indians, whose peaceable
character was vouched for so strongly, had engaged in battle with my
command by attacking it during the fight with Black Kettle. It was
in their camp that the bodies of the murdered mother and child were
found, and we had followed day by day the trail of the Kiowas and other
tribes, leading us directly from the dead and mangled bodies of our
comrades, slain by them a few days previous, until we were about to
overtake and punish the guilty parties, when the above communication
was received, some forty or fifty miles from Fort Cobb, in the
direction of the Washita battle-ground.
This, of itself, was conclusive evidence of the character of the tribes
we were dealing with; but aside from these incontrovertible facts,
had additional evidence been needed of the openly hostile conduct of
the Kiowas and Comanches, and of their active participation in the
battle of the Washita, it is only necessary to refer to the collected
testimony of Black Eagle and other leading chiefs. This testimony was
written, and was then in the hands of the agents of the Indian Bureau.
It was given voluntarily by the Indian chiefs referred to, and was
taken down at the time by the Indian agents, not for the army, or with
a view of furnishing it to officers of the army, but simply for the
benefit and information of the Indian Bureau. This testimony, making
due allowance for the concealment of much that would be prejudicial
to the interests of the Indians, plainly states that the Kiowas and
Comanches took part in the battle of the Washita: that the former
constituted a portion of the war party whose trail I followed, and
which led my command into Black Kettle’s village: and that some of the
Kiowas remained in Black Kettle’s village until the morning of the
battle.
This evidence is all contained in a report made to the Superintendent
of Indian Affairs, by one Philip McCuskey, United States interpreter
for the Kiowa and Comanche tribes. This report was dated Fort Cobb,
December 3, while the communication from General Hazen, certifying to
the friendly disposition and conduct of these tribes, was dated at
the same place thirteen days later. Mah-wis-sa also confirmed these
statements, and pointed out to me, when near the battle-ground, the
location of Satanta’s village. It was from her, too, that I learned
that it was in Satanta’s village that the bodies of the white woman
and child were found. As I pen these lines, the daily press contains
frequent allusions to the negotiations which are being conducted
between the Governor of Texas and the General Government, looking
to the release of Satanta from the Texas penitentiary, to which
institution Satanta, after a trial before the civil authorities for
numerous murders committed on the Texas frontier, was sent three or
four years ago to serve out a life sentence.
After meeting the chiefs, who with their bands had approached our
advance under flag of truce, and compelling the release of the scout
whom they had seized and held prisoner, we continued our march toward
Fort Cobb, the chiefs agreeing to ride with us and accompany my
command to that place. Every assurance was given me that the villages
to which these various chiefs belonged would at once move to Fort
Cobb, and there encamp, thus separating themselves from the hostile
tribes, or those who preferred to decline this proposition of peace,
and to continue to wage war; and as an evidence of the sincerity of
their purpose, some eighteen or twenty of the most prominent chiefs,
generally Kiowas, voluntarily proposed to accompany us during the
march of that day and the next, by which time it was expected that
the command would reach Fort Cobb. The chiefs only requested that
they might send one of their number, mounted on a fleet pony, to the
villages, in order to hasten their movement to Fort Cobb. How eager
for peace were these poor, confiding sons of the forest is the mental
ejaculation of some of my readers, particularly if they are inclined
to be converts to the humanitarian doctrines supposed to be applicable
in the government of Indians. If I am addressing any of this class,
for whose kindness of heart I have the utmost regard, I regret to be
compelled to disturb the illusion.
Peace was not included among the purposes which governed the chiefs
who so freely and unhesitatingly proffered their company during our
march to Fort Cobb. Nor had they the faintest intention of either
accompanying us or directing their villages to proceed to the fort.
The messenger whom they seemed so anxious to despatch to the village
was not sent to hasten the movement of their villages toward Fort
Cobb, as claimed by them, but to hasten their movement in a precisely
opposite direction, viz., towards the head waters of Red river, near
the northwestern limits of Texas. This sudden effusion of friendly
sentiments rather excited my suspicions, but I was unable at first
to divine the real intents and purposes of the chiefs. Nothing was
to be done but to act so as to avoid exciting their suspicion, and
trust to time to unravel the scheme. When we arrived at our camping
ground, on the evening of that day, the chiefs requested permission
to despatch another messenger to their people to inform them where we
were encamped. To this proposition no objection was made. That evening
I caused an abundant supply of provisions, consisting principally
of beef, bread, coffee, and sugar, to be distributed among them.
In posting my pickets that night for the protection of the camp, I
arranged to have the reserve stationed within a short distance of the
spot on which the chiefs were to encamp during the night, which point
was but a few paces from my headquarters. Before retiring, I took
Romeo, the interpreter, and strolled down to pay a visit to the chiefs.
The latter, after the substantial meal in which they had just indulged,
were seated, Indian fashion, around a small fire, enjoying such comfort
as was to be derived from the occasional whiffs of smoke which each in
proper turn inhaled from the long-stemmed pipe of red clay that was
kept passing from right to left around the circle. Their greeting of
me was cordial in the extreme, but, as in the play--of “Richelieu,” I
believe--they “bowed too low.” Through Romeo I chatted on indifferent
subjects with the various chiefs, and from nearly all of them received
assurances of their firmly fixed resolution to abandon forever the
dangers and risks of the war path, to live no longer at variance with
their white brothers, to eschew henceforth all such unfriendly customs
as scalp-taking, murdering defenceless women and children, and stealing
stock from the settlers of the frontier. All this was to be changed in
the future. It seemed strange, listening to these apparently “artless
sons of nature” that men entertaining the ardent desire for repose
which they professed, had not turned their backs on the war path long
ago, and settled down to the quiet enjoyment of the blessings of peace.
But better that this conclusion should be arrived at late than not at
all. The curtain had fallen from their eyes, and they were enabled
to see everything in its proper light. To adopt their own language,
“their hearts had become good,” “their tongues had become straight,”
they had cast aside the bad ways in which they had so long struggled
unsuccessfully, and had now resolved to follow the white man’s road, to
adopt his mode of dress, till the soil, and establish schools for the
education of their children, until in time the white man and the red
man would not only be brothers in name, but would be found travelling
the same road with interests in common.
Had I been a latter-day Peace Commissioner, I should have felt in
duty bound to send a despatch to the chief of the proper bureau at
Washington, in terms somewhat as follows:
_Hon John Smith, Secretary of the ---- Department._
I have just concluded a most satisfactory council with the Kiowa
and other tribes, certain members of which have lately been accused
of being more or less connected with the troubles lately occurring
upon our frontier. All the prominent chiefs met me in council, and
after a free interchange and expression of opinions, I am happy
to inform the Department that these chiefs, representing as they
do one of the most powerful and important of the southern tribes,
have voluntarily and solemnly agreed to cease all hostile acts
against the white men, to prevent raids or war parties from being
organized among their young men, to abandon for all future time
the war path, and to come within the limits of their reservation,
there to engage in the peaceful pursuits of civilized life. They
express a warm desire to have educational facilities extended them
for the benefit of their children. As the season is far advanced,
rendering it too late for them to successfully cultivate a crop the
present year, they ask, and I recommend, that provisions sufficient
for their subsistence the present season be issued them. They also
request that, owing to the scarcity of game, a few breech-loading
arms be furnished them, say one rifle and one revolver to each
male over fourteen years of age. I am satisfied that this is a
most reasonable request, and that the granting of it would go far
to restore confidence in the good intentions of the Government,
as I am forced to remark that some of the recent acts of the
military, such as the occurrence on the Washita, have done much to
produce an unsettled feeling on the part of these untutored wards
of the nation. No further anxiety need be felt as to the complete
pacification of this tribe. I wish you might have shared with me
the pleasure of listening to these untaught chieftains, begging for
such assistance and guidance as would lead them in the paths of
peace. I leave here on the --th, to visit the neighboring tribes,
provided the military commander at this point will furnish me a
suitable escort.
I have the honor to be your obedient servant,
JOHN JONES, Indian Agent.
P. S.--I have thought that if we could confer the ballot upon those
of the chiefs and warriors who show the greatest aptitude and
desire for peace, it might be a great step toward completing their
civilization. Of course some line of distinction or qualification
would have to be drawn; for example, confer the right of ballot
upon all those who faithfully accept their rations from the
Government for a period of six months. I merely throw this out for
the consideration of the Department.