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[Illustration: Pike's Peak
From a painting by Charles Craig]
THE INDIANS OF THE PIKE'S PEAK REGION
Including an Account of the Battle of Sand
Creek, and of Occurrences in El Paso
County, Colorado, during the War
with the Cheyennes and Arapahoes,
in 1864 and 1868
by
IRVING HOWBERT
Illustrated
The Knickerbocker Press
New York
1914
Copyright, 1914
by
Irving Howbert
CONTENTS
PAGE
THE TRIBES OF THE PIKE'S PEAK REGION 1
TRAILS, MINERAL SPRINGS, GAME, ETC. 27
THE INDIAN TROUBLES OF 1864 75
THE THIRD COLORADO AND THE BATTLE OF
SAND CREEK 93
A DEFENSE OF THE BATTLE OF SAND CREEK 114
A DEFENSE OF THE BATTLE OF SAND CREEK—_CONTINUED_ 147
THE INDIAN WAR OF 1868 187
ILLUSTRATIONS
FACING
PAGE
PIKE'S PEAK _Frontispiece_
OURAY 60
COLONEL JOHN M. CHIVINGTON 117
GOVERNOR JOHN EVANS 123
INTRODUCTION
For the most part this book is intentionally local in its character.
As its title implies, it relates principally to the Indian tribes that
have occupied the region around Pike's Peak during historic times.
The history, habits, and customs of the American Indian have always
been interesting subjects to me. From early childhood, I read everything
within my reach dealing with the various tribes of the United States and
Mexico. In 1860, when I was fourteen years of age, I crossed the plains
between the Missouri River and the Rocky Mountains twice, and again in
1861, 1865, and 1866; each time by ox- or horse-team, there being no
other means of conveyance. At that time there were few railroads west of
the Mississippi River and none west of the Missouri. On each of these
trips I came more or less into contact with the Indians, and during my
residence in Colorado from 1860 to the present time, by observation and
by study, I have become more or less familiar with all the tribes of
this Western country.
From 1864 to 1868, the Indians of the plains were hostile to the whites;
this resulted in many tragic happenings in that part of the Pike's Peak
region embracing El Paso and its adjoining counties, as well as elsewhere
in the Territory of Colorado. I then lived in Colorado City, in El Paso
County, and took an active part in the defense of the settlements during
all the Indian troubles in that section. I mention these facts merely to
show that I am not unfamiliar with the subject about which I am writing.
My main object in publishing this book is to make a permanent record of
the principal events of that time.
So far as I know, the public has never been given a detailed account of
the Indian troubles in El Paso County during the years 1864 and 1868.
At that time there was no newspaper published in the county and the few
newspapers of the Territory were small affairs, in which little attention
was given to anything outside of their immediate localities. The result
was that news of tragic happenings in our part of the Territory seldom
passed beyond the borders of our own county.
I have thought best to begin with a short account of the tribes occupying
the Pike's Peak region prior to the coming of the white settler, adding
to it extracts from the descriptions given by early explorers, together
with an account of the game, trails, etc., of this region. All these
facts will no doubt be of interest to the inhabitant of the present day,
as well as of value to the future historian.
I took part in the battle of Sand Creek, and in many of the other events
which I mention. Where I have no personal knowledge of any particular
event, I have taken great pains to obtain the actual facts by a comparison
of the statements of persons who I knew lived in the locality at the
time. Consequently, I feel assured of the substantial accuracy of every
account I have given.
In giving so much space to a defense of the battle of Sand Creek, I am
impelled by an earnest desire to correct the false impression that has
gone forth concerning that much maligned affair. Statements of prejudiced
and unreliable witnesses concerning the battle were sent broadcast at
the time, but except through government reports, that only few read,
never before, to my knowledge, has publicity been given to the statement
of the Governor of the Territory, telling of the conditions leading
up to the battle, or to the sworn testimony of the colonel in command
at the engagement, or of the officer in command of the fort near which
it was fought. That the battle of Sand Creek was not the reprehensible
affair which vindictive persons have represented it to be, I believe is
conclusively proven by the evidence which I present.
I. H.
COLORADO SPRINGS,
November 1, 1913.
The Indians of the Pike's Peak Region
CHAPTER I
THE TRIBES OF THE PIKE'S PEAK REGION
It would be interesting to know who were the occupants of the Pike's Peak
region during prehistoric times. Were its inhabitants always nomadic
Indians? We know that semi-civilized peoples inhabited southwestern
Colorado and New Mexico in prehistoric times, who undoubtedly had lived
there ages before they were driven into cliff dwellings and communal
houses by savage invaders. Did their frontier settlements of that period
ever extend into the Pike's Peak region? The facts concerning these
matters, we may never know. As it is, the earliest definite information
we have concerning the occupants of this region dates from the Spanish
exploring expeditions, but even that is very meager. From this and other
sources, we know that a succession of Indian tribes moved southward along
the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains during the two hundred years
before the coming of the white settler, and that during this period,
the principal tribes occupying this region were the Utes, Comanches,
Kiowas, Cheyennes, Arapahoes, and Sioux; and, further, that there were
other tribes such as the Pawnees and Jicarilla Apaches, who frequently
visited and hunted in this region.
The Jicarilla Apaches are of the Athapascan stock, a widely distributed
linguistic family, which includes among its branches the Navajos, the
Mescalaros of New Mexico, and the Apaches of Arizona. Notwithstanding the
fact that they were kindred people, the Jicarillas considered the latter
tribes their enemies. However, they always maintained friendly relations
with the Utes, and the Pueblos of northern New Mexico, and intermarriages
between members of these tribes were of frequent occurrence. The mother
of Ouray, the noted Ute chief, was a Jicarilla Apache.
From the earliest period, the principal home of the Jicarilla Apaches
was along the Rio Grande River in northern New Mexico, but in their
wanderings they often went north of the Arkansas River and far out
on the plains, where they had an outpost known as the Quartelejo. By
reason of the intimate relations existing between the Jicarillas and
the Pueblo Indians, this outpost was more than once used as a place of
refuge by members of the latter tribes. Bancroft, in his history of New
Mexico, says that certain families of Taos Indians went out into the
plains about the middle of the seventeenth century and fortified a place
called "Cuartalejo," which undoubtedly is but another spelling of the
name Quartelejo. These people remained at Quartelejo for many years,
but finally returned to Taos at the solicitation of an agent sent out
by the Government of New Mexico. In 1704, the Picuris, another Pueblo
tribe, whose home was about forty miles north of Santa Fé, abandoned
their village in a body and fled to Quartelejo, but they also returned
to New Mexico two years later. Quartelejo is frequently mentioned in
the history of New Mexico, and its location is described as being 130
leagues northeast of Santa Fé. In recent years the ruin of a typical
Pueblo structure has been unearthed on Beaver Creek in Scott County,
Kansas, about two hundred miles east of Colorado Springs, which, in
direction and distance from Santa Fé, coincides with the description
given of Quartelejo, and is generally believed to be that place.
Aside from the Jicarilla Apaches, the Utes, living in the mountainous
portion of the region now included in the State of Colorado, were the
earliest occupants of whom there is any historical account. They were
mentioned in the Spanish records of New Mexico as already inhabiting
the region to the north of that Territory in the early part of the
seventeenth century. At that time, and for many years afterward, they
were on peaceable terms with the Spanish settlers of New Mexico. About
1705, however, something occurred to disturb their friendly relations,
and a war resulted which lasted fifteen to twenty years, during which
time many people were killed, numerous ranches were plundered, and many
horses stolen. Although the Utes already owned many horses, it is said
that in these raids they acquired so many more that they were able to
mount their entire tribe. During that time various military expeditions
were sent against the Utes as well as against the Comanches, who had
first appeared in New Mexico in 1716. In 1719, the Governor of New Mexico
led a military force, consisting of 105 Spaniards and a large number of
Indian auxiliaries, into the region which is now the State of Colorado,
against the hostile bands. The record of the expedition says that it
left Santa Fé on September 15th and marched north, with the mountains
on the left, until October 10th. In this twenty-five days' march the
expedition should have gone far beyond the place where Colorado Springs
now stands. Although the expedition failed to overtake the Indians, the
latter ceased their raids for a time, but their subsequent outbreaks
showed that their friendship for the New Mexican people could not be
entirely depended upon, although they mingled with them to such an
extent that a large portion of the tribe acquired a fair knowledge of
the Spanish language.
The Utes were an offshoot of the Shoshone family, the branches of which
have been widely distributed over the Rocky Mountain region from the
Canadian line south into Mexico. It is now generally conceded that the
Aztecs of Mexico and the Utes belong to the same linguistic family. It is
probable that in the march of the former toward the south, many centuries
ago, the Utes were left behind, remaining in their savage state, while
the Aztecs, coming in contact with the semi-civilized nations of the
South, gradually reached the state of culture which they had attained
at the time of the conquest of Mexico by the Spaniards. I am firmly of
the opinion that these Indians, and in fact all the Indians of America,
are descendants of Asiatic tribes that crossed over to this continent by
way of Bering Strait at some remote period. These tribes may, however,
have been added to at various times by chance migrations from Japan,
the Hawaiian and South Sea islands. It is known that in historic times
the Japanese current has thrown upon the Pacific Coast fishing-boats,
laden with Japanese people, which had drifted helplessly across the
Pacific Ocean. It is, therefore, fair to assume that what is known to
have occurred in recent times might also have frequently occurred in the
remote past, and if this be so, the intermarriage of these people with
the native races would undoubtedly have had a decided influence upon the
tribes adjacent to the Pacific Coast. There seems to be no reason why
the people of the Hawaiian Islands should not have visited our shores,
as those islands are not much farther distant from the Pacific Coast than
are certain inhabited islands in other directions. These same conclusions
have been reached by many others who have made a study of the question.
The _National Geographic Magazine_ of April, 1910, contained an article
written by Miss Scidmore on "Mukden, the Manchu Home," in which she says:
When I saw the Viceroy and his suite at a Japanese fête
at Tairen, whither he had gone to pay a state visit, I was
convinced as never before of the common origin of the North
American Indian and the Chinese or Manchu Tartars. There
before me might as well have been Red Cloud, Sitting Bull, and
Rain-in-the-Face, dressed in blue satin blankets, thick-soled
moccasins, and squat war-bonnets with single bunches of feathers
shooting back from the crown. Manchu eyes, Tartar cheek-bones,
and Mongol jaws were combined in countenances that any Sioux
chief would recognize as a brother.
The Ute Indians were well-built, but not nearly as tall as the Sioux,
Cheyennes, Arapahoes, or any of the tribes of the plains. Their type of
countenance was substantially the same as that of all American Indians.
They were distinctly mountain Indians, and that they should have been
a shorter race than those of the plains to the east is peculiar, as
it reverses the usual rule. Might not this have been the result of an
infusion of Japanese blood in the early days of the Shoshones when their
numbers were small? And possibly from this same source came the unusual
ability of the Utes in warfare.
As Indians go, the Utes were a fairly intelligent people. They had a less
vicious look than the Indians of the plains, and as far as my observation
goes, they were not so cruel. They ranged over the mountainous region
from the northern boundaries of the present State of Colorado, down as
far as the central part of New Mexico. Their favorite camping-place,
however, was in the beautiful valleys of the South Park, and other places
in the region west of Pike's Peak. The South Park was known to the old
trappers and hunters as the Bayou Salado, probably deriving its name
from the salt marshes and springs that were abundant in the western part
of that locality.
Game was to be found in greater abundance in the South Park and the
country round about than in almost any other region of the Rocky
Mountains, and for that reason its possession was contended for most
strenuously year after year by all the tribes of the surrounding country.
For a time in the summer season, the Utes were frequently driven away
from this favorite region by the tribes of the plains who congregated in
the South Park in great numbers as soon as the heat of the plains became
uncomfortable. However, the Utes seldom failed to retain possession
during most of the year, as they were remarkably good fighters and more
than able to hold their own against equal numbers.
In point of time, the Comanches were the next tribe of which we have any
record, as inhabiting this region. These Indians also were a branch of the
Shoshone nation. They led the procession of tribes that moved southward
along the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains during the seventeenth
and the first half of the eighteenth centuries. When first heard of,
they were occupying the territory where the Missouri River emerges from
the Rocky Mountains. Later, they were driven south by the pressure of
the Sioux Indians and other tribes coming in from the north and east.
For a while they occupied the Black Hills, and then were pushed still
farther south by the Kiowas. They joined their kinsmen the Utes in raids
upon the settlements of New Mexico in 1716, and it was to punish the
Comanches as well as the Utes, that the Governor of New Mexico, in 1719,
led the military expedition into the country now within the boundaries
of Colorado. In 1724, Bourgemont, a French explorer mentions them under
the name of the Padouca, as located between the headwaters of the Platte
and Kansas rivers, but later accounts show that before the end of that
century they had been pushed south of the Arkansas River by the pressure
of the tribes to the north.
During the stay of the Comanches in this region, they were for a time
friendly with the Utes, and the two tribes joined each other in warfare
and roamed over much of the same territory, but later, for some unknown
reason, they for a time engaged in a deadly warfare. The old legend
of the Manitou Springs mentions the possible beginning of the trouble.
The incident around which the legend is woven, may be an imaginary one,
but it is a well-known fact that long and bitter wars between tribes
resulted from slighter causes. It is said that a long war between the
Delawares and Shawnees originated in a quarrel between two children over
a grasshopper.
The Comanches were a nation of daring warriors, and after their removal
to the south of the Arkansas River, they became a great scourge to the
settlements of Texas and New Mexico, finally extending their raids as
far as Chihuahua, in Mexico. As a result of these operations, they became
rich in horses and plunder obtained in their raids, besides securing as
captives many American and Spanish women and children. One of their most
noted chiefs in after days was the son of a white woman who had been
captured in Texas in her childhood, and who, when grown, had married
a Comanche chief. The Government arranged for the release of both the
American and Spanish captives, but in more than one instance women who
had been captured in their younger days refused to leave their Comanche
husbands, notwithstanding the strongest urging on the part of their own
parents.
Following the Comanches came the Kiowas, a tribe of unknown origin,
as their language seems to have no similarity to that of any of the
other tribes of this country. According to their mythology, their first
progenitors emerged from a hollow cottonwood log, at the bidding of a
supernatural ancestor. They came out one at a time as he tapped upon the
log, until it came to the turn of a fleshy woman, who stuck fast in the
hole, and thus blocked the way for those behind her, so that they were
unable to follow. This, they say, accounts for the small number of the
Kiowa tribe.
The first mention of this tribe locates them at the extreme sources of
the Yellowstone and Missouri rivers, in what is now central Montana.
Later, by permission of the Crow Indians, they took up their residence
east of that tribe and became allied with them. Up to this time they
possessed no horses and in moving about had to depend solely upon dogs.
They finally drifted out upon the plains; here they first procured
horses, and came in contact with the Arapahoes, Cheyennes, and, later,
with the Sioux. The tribe probably secured horses by raids upon the
Spaniards of New Mexico, as the authorities of that Territory mention
the Kiowas as early as 1748, while the latter were still living in the
Black Hills. It may not be generally known that there were no horses
upon the American continent prior to the coming of the Spaniards. The
first horses acquired by the Indians were those lost or abandoned by
the early exploring expeditions, and these were added to later by raids
upon the Spanish settlements of New Mexico. The natural increase of the
horses so obtained gave the Indians, in many cases, a number in excess
of their needs. Previous to acquiring horses, the Indians used dogs
in moving their belongings around the country. As compared with their
swift movements of later days this slow method of transportation very
materially limited their migrations.
By the end of that century, the Kiowas had drifted south into the region
embraced by the present State of Colorado, probably being forced to do so
by the pressure of the Sioux, Cheyennes, and Arapahoes, who were at that
time advancing from the north and east. As the Kiowas advanced southward,
they encountered the Comanches; this resulted in warfare that lasted
many years, in the course of which the Comanches were gradually driven
south of the Arkansas River. When, finally, the war was terminated, an
alliance was effected between the two tribes, which thereafter remained
unbroken. In 1806, the Kiowas were occupying the country along the
eastern base of the mountains of the Pike's Peak region. From Lieut.
Zebulon Pike's narrative, we learn that James Pursley, who, according to
Lieutenant Pike, was the first American to penetrate the immense wilds
of Louisiana, spent a trading season with the Kiowas and Comanches in
1802 and 1803. He remained with them until the next spring, when the
Sioux drove them from the plains into the mountains at the head of the
Platte and Arkansas rivers. In all probability their retreat into the
mountains was through Ute Pass, as that was the most accessible route.
In the same statement Lieutenant Pike mentions Pursley's claim to having
found gold on the headwaters of the Platte River. By the year 1815,
most of the Kiowas had been pushed south of the Arkansas River by the
Cheyennes and Arapahoes, but not until 1840 did they finally give up
fighting for the possession of this region.
The Cheyennes and Arapahoes were of the Algonquin linguistic family,
whose original home was in the New England States and southern Canada.
When first heard of, about 1750, the Cheyennes were located in northern
Minnesota. Later, about 1790, they were living on the Missouri, near the
mouth of the Cheyenne River. Subsequently they moved west into the Black
Hills, being forced to do so by the enmity of the Sioux. Here they were
joined by the Arapahoes, a tribe of the same Algonquin stock, and from
that time on the two tribes were bound together in the closest relations.
Beginning about 1800, these two federated tribes, accompanied by some
of the Sioux, with whom they had made peace, gradually moved southward
along the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains. Dr. James, the historian
of Long's expedition which visited the Pike's Peak region in 1820,
mentions the fact that about four years previous there had been a large
encampment of Indians on a stream near Platte Cañon, southwest of Denver,
which had assembled for trading purposes. It appears that the Cheyennes
had been supplied with goods by British traders on the Missouri River,
and had met to exchange these goods for horses. The tribes dwelling on
the fertile plains of the Arkansas and Red rivers always had a great
number of horses, which they reared with much less difficulty than did
the Cheyennes, who usually spent the winter in the country farther to
the north, where the cold weather lasted much longer and feed was less
abundant. After many years of warfare with the Kiowas, the Cheyennes
and Arapahoes were victorious, and by a treaty, made in 1840, secured
undisputed possession of the territory north of the Arkansas River and
east of the mountains. As this was only eighteen years before the coming
of the whites, the Cheyennes and Arapahoes could not rightfully claim this
region as their ancestral home. The country acquired by the Cheyennes and
Arapahoes, through their victory over the Kiowas, embraced a territory
of more than eighty thousand square miles. As in those two tribes there
were never more than five thousand men, women, and children, all told,
the area was out of all proportion to their numbers.
Early in 1861, the Government made a treaty with the Cheyennes and
Arapahoes by which these tribes gave up the greater part of the lands
claimed by them in the new Territory of Colorado. For this they were to
receive a consideration of four hundred and fifty thousand dollars, to
be paid in fifteen yearly installments, the tribes reserving for their
own use a tract about seventy miles square located on both sides of the
Arkansas River in the southeastern part of the Territory.
From the time of their first contact with the whites, the Cheyennes and
Arapahoes were alternately friendly or hostile, just as their temper
or whim dictated upon any particular occasion. With the old trappers
and hunters of the plains, the Cheyennes had the reputation of being
the most treacherous and untrustworthy at all times and in all places,
of any of the tribes of the West. The Arapahoes, while occasionally
committing depredations against the whites, were said to be somewhat
different in temperament, in that they were not so sullen and morose as
the Cheyennes, and were less treacherous and more open and trustworthy
in their dealings. This estimate of the characteristics of the two
tribes was fully confirmed in our contact with them in the early days
of Colorado.
The Cheyennes were continuously hostile during the years 1855, 1856,
and 1857, killing many whites and robbing numerous wagon-trains along
the Platte River, which at that time was the great thoroughfare for
travelers to Utah, California, Oregon, and other regions to the west of
the Rocky Mountains. In 1857, the Cheyennes were severely punished in a
number of engagements by troops under command of Colonel E. V. Sumner
of the regular army, and as a result, they gave little trouble during
the next five or six years.
In the early days, the Arapahoes came in touch with the whites to a much
greater extent than did the Cheyennes. The members of the latter tribe
usually held aloof, and by their manner plainly expressed hatred of the
white race. Horace Greeley, in his book describing his trip across the
plains to California in 1859, tells of a large body of Arapahoes who
were encamped on the outskirts of Denver in June of that year, because
of the protection they thought it gave them from their enemies the Utes.
I saw this band when I passed through Denver in June of the following
year.
The Sioux were one of the largest Indian nations upon the American
continent. So far as is known, their original home was upon the Atlantic
Coast in North Carolina, but by the time Europeans began to settle in that
section they had drifted into the Western country. Their first contact
with the white race occurred in the upper Mississippi region. These white
people were the French explorers who had penetrated into almost every
part of the interior long before the English had made any serious attempt
at the exploration of the wilderness west of the Allegheny Mountains.
The friendly relations between the French and the Sioux continued for
many years, but when the French were finally supplanted by the English
in most localities, the Sioux made an alliance with the latter which was
maintained during the Revolutionary War, and continued until after the
War of 1812. Subsequent to the year 1812, the Sioux gradually drifted
still farther westward, and not many years later their principal home
was upon the upper Missouri River. The recognized southern boundary
of their country was the North Platte River, but on account of their
friendly relations with the Cheyennes and Arapahoes, the Sioux often
wandered along the base of the mountains as far as the Arkansas River,
and, being at enmity with the Utes, they frequently joined the Cheyennes
and Arapahoes in raids upon their common enemy.
While the Pawnees seldom spent much time in this region, they often
came to the mountains in raids upon their enemies the Sioux, Cheyennes,
Arapahoes, and Kiowas and upon horse-stealing expeditions. The Pawnees
were members of the Caddoan family, whose original home was in the
South. In this they were exceptional, since almost every other tribe in
this Western country came from the north or east. From time immemorial
their principal villages were located on the Loup Fork of the Platte
River and on the headwaters of the Republican River, about three hundred
miles east of the Rocky Mountains. The Pawnees were a warlike tribe
and extended their raids over a very wide stretch of country, at times
reaching as far as New Mexico. They carried on a bitter warfare with the
Sioux, Cheyennes, and Arapahoes, and at times were engaged in warfare
with almost every one of the surrounding tribes. They were a courageous
people, and were generally victorious, where the numbers engaged were at
all nearly equal. The Spaniards of New Mexico became acquainted with this
tribe as early as 1693, and made strenuous efforts to maintain friendly
relations with them; with few exceptions these efforts were successful.
In 1720, the Spanish authorities of New Mexico learned that French
traders had established trading stations in the Pawnee country, and
were furnishing the Indians with firearms. This news greatly disturbed
the Spaniards and resulted in a military expedition being organized at
Santa Fé, to visit the principal villages of the Pawnees for the purpose
of impressing that tribe with the strength of the Spanish Government,
and thus to counteract the influence of the French. The expedition
started from Santa Fé in June of that year. It was under the command of
Lieutenant-Colonel Villazur, of the Spanish regular army, and was composed
of fifty armed Spaniards, together with a large number of Jicarilla
Apache Indians as auxiliaries, making the expedition an imposing one
for the times. The route taken, as nearly as I can determine from the
description given in Bancroft's history of New Mexico, was northerly
along the eastern base of the mountains, passing not very far from where
Colorado Springs is now located. After reaching the Platte River, at no
great distance east of the mountains, the expedition proceeded down the
valley of that stream until it came in contact with the Pawnees, but
before a council could be held, the latter surprised the Spaniards, killed
the commanding officer, and in the fight that ensued almost annihilated
the party. The surviving half-dozen soldiers, who were mounted, saved
themselves by flight. Not yet having acquired horses, the Pawnees could
not pursue them. These survivors, after untold hardships, reached Santa
Fé a month or two later to tell the tale. Another instance of a Spanish
force visiting the Pawnees occurred in 1806. When Lieutenant Pike on his
exploring tour visited the Pawnees on the Republican River in September
of that year, he found that a Spanish military force had been there just
ahead of him. This force had been dispatched from Santa Fé to prevent
him from exploring the country north of the Arkansas River, to which
the Spanish Government insistently laid claim. However, the expedition
failed of its purpose, inasmuch as it marched back up the Arkansas River
to the mountains, and returned to Santa Fé without having seen or heard
of Lieutenant Pike.
When Colonel Long on his exploring expedition visited this tribe in
1819, he found the Pawnees mourning the loss of a large number of
their warriors who had been killed in an encounter with the Cheyennes
and Arapahoes in the region adjacent to the Rocky Mountains. It seems
that ninety-three warriors left their camp on the Republican River and
proceeded on foot to the mountains on a horse-stealing expedition. The
party finally reached a point on the south side of the Arkansas River,
having up to that time accomplished nothing. Here they were discovered
and attacked by a large band of Cheyennes and Arapahoes. During the fight
that followed, over fifty of the Pawnees were killed; but the attacking
party suffered so severely that after the fighting had continued for a
day or more, they were glad to allow the surviving Pawnees, numbering
about forty, to escape. Most of the latter were wounded and it was with
difficulty that they succeeded in reaching their homes.
All the tribes that I have mentioned were purely nomadic, and, aside
from the Pawnees, depended entirely upon game for a living.
The Pawnees were the only tribe that engaged in agriculture. Their summer
camps were generally located at some favorable spot for growing corn,
beans, pumpkins, and other vegetables. They usually remained at such place
until their crops were harvested, when they made large excavations in the
ground in which they stored their grain and vegetables for future use.
After covering the excavation they carefully obliterated all evidence
of it, in order to prevent discovery. They would then go off on hunting
expeditions, returning later in the winter to enjoy the fruits of the
summer's toil of their squaws—for the warrior never degraded himself by
doing any labor which the squaw could perform. Their habitations, when
staying any length of time in one locality, were made of poles, brush,
grass, and earth, and were more durable structures than the lodges used
by the other tribes of the plains.
The Utes, Comanches, Kiowas, Sioux, Cheyennes, and Arapahoes used
the conical wigwam, which was easily erected and quickly taken down.
The conical wigwam consisted of a framework of small pine poles about
two and one-half inches in diameter and twenty feet in length. In its
erection, three poles were tied together about two or three feet from
the smaller end; the three poles were then set up, their bases forming a
triangle sufficiently far apart to permit of a lodge about twenty feet
in diameter. The remaining sixteen to eighteen poles used were then
placed in position to form a circle, their bases about four feet apart
and their tops resting in the fork of the three original poles. Among
the plains Indians, where buffalo were plentiful, the covering for this
framework consisted of buffalo skins which had been tanned and sewed
together by the squaws. It was so shaped that a flap could be thrown
back at the top, leaving an opening through which the smoke could escape,
and another at the bottom for use as a door. The bottom of this covering
was secured by fastening it to small stakes driven into the ground. All
of the bedding, buffalo robes, and other belongings of the Indians were
taken into the wigwam and piled around the sides; a small hole was then
dug in the center of the earthern floor, in which the fire was built.
In taking down the tents, preparatory to moving about the country, the
squaws removed the covering from the framework, and folded it into a
compact bundle; they took the poles down and laid them in two parallel
piles three or four feet apart, and then led a pony in between them. The
upper end of each pile was fastened to the pack-saddle, leaving the other
end to drag upon the ground. Just back of the pony's tail the covering
of the tent was fastened to the two sets of poles, on top of which the
babies and small children were placed. In this way the Indians moved
their camps from place to place. The squaws did all the work of making
these tent coverings, procuring the poles, setting up the tents, and
taking them down. The warrior never lifted his hand to help, as it was
beneath the dignity of a warrior to do any kind of manual labor.
Among the favorite camping-places of the Indians in El Paso County,
Colorado, the region extending along the west side of Cheyenne Creek just
above its mouth was probably used most frequently. There were evidences
of other camping places at different points farther up the creek, that
had been used to a lesser extent. Their tent-poles, in being dragged
over the country, rapidly wore out, and for that reason the Indians of
the plains found it necessary to come to the mountains every year or two
to get a new supply. The thousands of small stumps that were to be seen
on the side of Cheyenne Mountain at the time of the first settlement of
this region gave evidence that many Indians had secured new lodge poles
in that locality. It is probable that this was the reason why their tents
were so often pitched in the valley of Cheyenne Creek, and undoubtedly
this is the origin of the name by which the creek is now known.
On account of its close proximity to the country of the Utes, the Indians
of the plains must necessarily have had to come to this locality in
very considerable force and must at all times have kept a very sharp
lookout in order to avoid disaster. It is known that the Utes maintained
pickets in this vicinity much of the time. In the early days, any one
climbing to the top of the high sandstone ridge back of the United States
Reduction Works at Colorado City might have seen numerous circular places
of defense built of loose stone, to a height of four or five feet, and
large enough to hold three or four men comfortably. These miniature
fortifications were placed at intervals along the ridge all the way
from the Fountain to Bear Creek and doubtless were built and used by
the Utes. From these small forts, the Indian pickets could overlook the
valley of the Fountain, the Mesa, and keep watch over the country for
a long distance out on the plains. At such times as the Utes maintained
sentinels there it would have been difficult for their enemies to reach
this region without being discovered.