hair, and the upper part of his body being painted red, his tipi also
being painted entirely red, with streamers of the same color at the ends
of the poles. He carried a ceremonial "medicine lance," feathered like
an arrowshaft, which seems to have been an ancient heirloom from the
Crows. He had a grim sort of humor, rather characteristic of his tribe.
At a council held at Fort Dodge in the spring of 1867 he was presented
by General Hancock with a full suit of general's uniform, and showed his
appreciation of the gift by leading an attack on the post shortly
afterward arrayed in his new toggery (_Custer, 2_). This attack was
probably in fulfillment of a promise made a few months before, when it
is said he sent a message to the commander of the post saying that his
stock was getting poor--this was in winter--and he hoped the government
animals at the post would be well fed, as he would be over in a short
time to get them (_Report, 46_). He left a son, who inherited his
father's name and shield, as well as his bold hawk-like features. This
is the young man mentioned by Custer in his "Life on the Plains." He
enlisted in the Indian troop at Fort Sill, and on his death in 1894 made
a formal will, giving his father's shield to Captain H. L. Scott, of the
Seventh cavalry, commander of the troop, in whose possession it now is.
The representation here given (plates LXII, LXIII) is made by his
permission. A sister of the elder Set-t'aiñte still lives, and, with a
friendly, hospitable disposition, seems to combine many of her brother's
strong traits of character. Since the death of the younger Set-t'aiñte
the name is tabooed, in accordance with tribal custom, and the chief is
referred to only under his boy name of Gúatoñ-bain, "Big-ribs."
PROGRESS OF THE CAMPAIGN
The campaign against the hostiles was now pressed vigorously. A large
force of troops under Colonel (now Major-General) Nelson A. Miles
started from Fort Supply toward the southwest to strike the enemy in the
direction of the Antelope hills, while a smaller body from New Mexico,
under Major W. R. Price, moved down the South Canadian to assist him. On
August 30 Miles encountered the Indians in force near the head of the
Washita, and after a running fight, lasting several days, drove them out
on the Staked plain, with a loss of several killed, besides a
considerable portion of their horses and camp outfit. A few days later
the supply train in charge of Captain Wyllis Lyman, Fifth infantry, was
attacked near the head of the Washita. The men corralled the wagons, and
defended themselves for several days until relief arrived from Fort
Supply. On September 12 the detachment under Major Price had a severe
encounter with a large force of Indians between Sweetwater creek and the
Washita, on the eastern boundary of the Panhandle, but finally repulsed
them, pursuing them several miles. The assailants were supposed to have
been the Kiowa who had recently stampeded from the Wichita agency (see
the calendar 1874-75; also _Record, 4_; _War, 3_).
[Illustration: BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY
SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. LXIII
OUTSIDE OF SET-T'AIÑTE'S SHIELD]
On September 26 and 27, 1874, Colonel (afterward General) Ranald S.
Mackenzie, Fourth cavalry (_Mángomhéñte_), "No index-finger," on account
of the loss of that finger), whom the Comanche already knew to their
sorrow, with a detachment of his regiment, after repelling two attacks,
surprised a large body of Cheyenne and their allies in a canyon near Red
river, Texas, destroying over a hundred tipis and capturing their entire
camp outfit, with over fourteen hundred horses and mules. This was the
severest blow the Indians had yet received. On October 9, Colonel George
P. Buell, Eleventh infantry, struck and destroyed a large Kiowa camp on
the Salt fork of Red river, and eight days later Captain Adna R.
Chaffee, Sixth cavalry, surprised and destroyed another camp north of
the Washita, the Indians fleeing without attempting a defense (_Record,
5_).
As a result of these successive losses the Indians became discouraged,
and early in October the Comanche sent messengers asking permission to
come into the agency. Permission being given, Täbinä´naka, White-wolf,
and Red-food, with their people, started in and were met on Elk creek by
a detachment from Fort Sill, under Major G. W. Schofield, who received
their surrender and brought them in to the fort. Others came in a few
days later and surrendered, making in all about four hundred Indians
with about two thousand horses. Other Comanche and Kiowa in small
parties continued to come in, the men being imprisoned under guard as
fast as they arrived. Big-bow was allowed to go back to induce the Kiowa
to come in, and was successful, returning in February, 1875, with
Lone-wolf, Red-otter (_Apeñ-gúădal_), Swan (_Tsä´dal-t'aiñ_), Dohásän,
and Poor-buffalo, and their people, who were met on their way in by the
interpreter, Philip McCusker, and some friendly Comanche, to whom they
surrendered their arms and horses. Poor-buffalo and his band had been
enrolled among the friendlies, but had fled at the time of the agency
fight. This left only a few of the Kiowa out, and these also came in
soon after. In the meantime small bodies of Cheyenne were coming in and
surrendering at their agency, but the main body still remained out
(_Report, 47_; _Record, 6_).
On November 6 a small detachment of the Eighth cavalry under Lieutenant
H. J. Farnsworth had a fight with about a hundred of the Cheyenne on
McClellan creek, Texas, in which several were killed and wounded on both
sides. Two days later Lieutenant Frank D. Baldwin, with some of the
Fifth infantry and Sixth cavalry, attacked a camp of Cheyenne near the
same place and rescued two little white girls named Germaine, who had
been captured more than a year before. The pursuit was continued by
another detachment under Captain Charles D. Viele, Tenth cavalry. On
November 28 Captain Charles A. Hartwell, Eighth cavalry, again
encountered and defeated the Cheyenne on Muster creek, Texas. Several
other skirmishes occurred during the month, in each of which the
Indians--chiefly Cheyenne--were the losers, and on the 28th of December
Captain A. B. Keyes, of the Tenth cavalry, succeeded in capturing, on
the North Canadian, an entire band of that tribe, with all their ponies,
after having followed them 80 miles. Most of the operations during
October and November were by troops from Fort Sill under command of
Lieutenant-Colonel John W. Davidson, Tenth cavalry, commanding officer
of the post (_Record, 7_).
SURRENDER OF THE CHEYENNE
The campaign was vigorously prosecuted during the winter and into the
spring of 1875. The forces engaged consisted of eight troops of the
Sixth cavalry under Majors Charles E. Compton and James Biddle, four
troops of the Eighth cavalry under Major Price, and four companies of
the Fifth infantry, the whole under the immediate command of Colonel
(now Major-General) Nelson A. Miles. During this period the troops were
constantly engaged in scouting over the territory involved, keeping the
Indians so constantly on the move that they were unable to lay in any
stock of provisions. This active work was continued by the troops upon
the exposed and barren plains of that region during a winter of
unprecedented severity, and as the season advanced, the difficulty of
supplying the necessary forage and subsistence increased so that no
little hardship and privation resulted, but the troops bore everything
with fortitude and without complaint. By extraordinary effort enough
supplies reached the troops to enable them to remain in the field until
their work was done, and at length, early in March, 1875, the southern
Cheyennes, completely broken down, gave up the contest, and under their
principal chief, Stone-calf, the whole body of that tribe, with a
trifling exception, surrendered themselves as prisoners of war. At the
same time they restored the two elder captive Germaine girls. They gave
up also their horses, bows and arrows, with some guns, but secretly hid
most of their valuable firearms (_Record, 8_).
The main body of the Cheyenne surrendered to Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas
H. Neil, Sixth cavalry, near the agency (Darlington), on March 6, 1875,
and were at once disarmed and placed under guard, their ponies being
confiscated and sold. Their agent says:
A more wretched and poverty-stricken community than these people
presented after they were placed in the prison camp it would be
difficult to imagine. Bereft of lodges and the most ordinary
cooking apparatus; with no ponies nor other means of transportation
for food or water; half starved and with scarcely anything that
could be called clothing, they were truly objects of pity; and for
the first time the Cheyenne seemed to realize the power of the
government and their own inability to cope successfully therewith
(_Report, 48_).
On the 27th of April they were formally transferred from the charge of
the military to that of the agent and declared to be again at peace
with the government. Throughout this whole period the Arapaho camped
near the agency, in spite of short rations and all the other
difficulties of their position, had maintained untarnished their treaty
obligations.
PRISONERS SENT TO FLORIDA
It had been determined, on the surrender of the hostiles, to select some
of the most prominent leaders from each tribe concerned for a term of
confinement at some military prison in the east. Accordingly
thirty-three of the Cheyenne were selected, with two Arapaho, who,
though not concerned in the outbreak, had been guilty in other ways.
Among the Cheyenne selected was one woman, who was identified as having
participated in the murder of the Germaine family. While ironing the
prisoners on April 6, a young warrior named Black-horse, stung by the
taunts of the women, kicked over the blacksmith and attempted to escape,
but was immediately shot down by the guard. The Cheyenne at once
attacked the guard with guns and arrows. A troop of cavalry was quickly
ordered up from Fort Reno, 2 miles away, when the Cheyenne fled to the
sandhills on the river bank across from the agency, where they had
secreted a quantity of firearms and ammunition, and, digging pits in the
sand, opened fire on the troops. A severe engagement ensued, the Indians
holding their position until dark, several being killed or wounded on
each side. During the night they fled, and when daylight came nothing
remained of the prison camp but a few worn-out tipis. Most of the
Indians soon afterward surrendered; but a band of about sixty, including
the murderers of the Germaine family, attempted to escape to the Dakota
country, and had made their way to the vicinity of Fort Wallace, Kansas,
when they were intercepted by a detachment under Lieutenant A. Henley,
Sixth cavalry, who cut off about half of them from the rest. On their
refusal to surrender, he attacked them and killed nineteen, captured
over one hundred and twenty-five ponies, and burned their camp, with the
loss of two soldiers killed. The remainder escaped to the northward. The
thirty-five Cheyenne and Arapaho prisoners selected for imprisonment
were sent to Fort Marion, near St Augustine, Florida (_Record, 9_;
_Report, 49_).
THE GERMAINE FAMILY
The Germaine girls referred to were part of a family of that name who
had been attacked by the Cheyenne at their home on Smoky Hill river.
Kansas, on September 13, 1874. The father, mother, brother, and one
sister were killed, and four other sisters carried off, two of whom were
young women. On November 8, 1874, the two little girls, aged five and
seven, were rescued by Lieutenant Baldwin, as already noted, in an
encounter on the edge of the Panhandle. The two elder sisters were held
until the Cheyenne under Stone-calf surrendered, after having been
prisoners nearly seven months, during which time they had suffered all
the horrors of Indian captivity. General Miles became the guardian of
all four, a comfortable home was provided for them at Fort Leavenworth,
and Congress authorized the stoppage of an amount sufficient for the
support of the children from the annuities of their captors, the
southern Cheyenne. A woman identified by them as having taken part in
the murder was sent with the other prisoners to Florida (_Record, 10_;
_Report, 50_).
Atrocities were, however, not confined to one side. In April, 1875, a
party of Texans attacked six Comanche, killing four men and a woman,
only one man escaping. The dead Indians, including the woman, were
beheaded, and the heads carried to the nearest town, where they were
said to have been preserved in alcohol (_Report, 51_).
SURRENDER OF THE COMANCHE
In response to overtures made through scouts Stilwell and Kilmartin,
another party of Comanche, numbering nearly two hundred, partly Kwáhadi,
came into Fort Sill in April and surrendered to Colonel (General) R. S.
Mackenzie, who had succeeded Colonel Davidson in command of the post,
delivering up their arms and over seven hundred horses and mules. Soon
afterward Mackenzie sent another message to the Kwáhadi Comanche,
Quanah's band, through Dr J. J. Sturm, an experienced frontiersman. He
found them near the head of Red river and succeeded in persuading them
to return with him to Fort Sill, where they arrived on June 2, 1875, and
surrendered their arms and over fifteen hundred head of stock. The band
numbered over four hundred, including a few Apache. These were
practically the last of the hostiles, and thus the outbreak came to a
close about a year after it had begun. Although the Indians had become
impoverished by loss of stock and camp equipage, their loss in killed
was very small. Only about twenty were captured, the remainder having
surrendered voluntarily (_Report, 52_).
About thirty-five hundred horses and mules had been surrendered by the
Kiowa and Comanche when they came in. Of these nearly eight hundred were
shot, one hundred were given to the Tonkawa scouts, several hundred more
were given to the military scouts or were stolen, some were returned to
their owners, and about sixteen hundred were sold for the benefit of the
Indians, realizing about $22,000, which Colonel Mackenzie decided to
invest in sheep and goats, with the intention of converting them into
pastoral tribes like the Navaho (see the calendar, 1875-76). The first
horses surrendered had been shot before this economic idea occurred to
anyone. In addition to their losses by the surrender, about two thousand
horses and mules had been stolen by Texas horse thieves from the
friendly Indians camped near the agency (_Report, 53_).
PROPOSITION TO DEPORT HOSTILE TRIBES
As a means of rendering the late hostiles forever harmless, and
compelling them to give up their nomadic hunting life and settle down to
earn their own living, it was proposed to deport several thousands of
them, practically about all of the Cheyenne, Comanche, and Kiowa tribes,
to a remote district, where they were to be disarmed, dismounted, and
compelled to work in return for the supplies to be furnished by the
government. Congress having appropriated funds for the purpose,
arrangements were made with the Quapaw in April, 1875, by special agent
Major C. F. Larrabee for the purchase of a portion of their reservation
in the northeastern corner of Indian Territory. Preparations were
commenced for their removal, but in consequence of an adverse report
made by the commissioner appointed to remove them, the plan was
abandoned (_Report, 54_).
As had been done in the case of the Cheyenne and Arapaho, a number of
the Kiowa and Comanche were selected from among the late hostiles and
sent about the first of May, 1875, to join their predecessors in
military confinement at Fort Marion, Florida. It is somewhat of a
coincidence that the exiled Apache of Geronimo's band who were removed
from Arizona as prisoners of war in 1886 to the same Fort Marion are now
located at Fort Sill, upon the Kiowa reservation, to which, point they
were brought, in September, 1894, after a temporary sojourn at Mount
Vernon Barracks, Alabama. Nine Comanche and twenty-six Kiowa were
selected, making, with the Cheyenne and Arapaho, a total of seventy
prisoners sent to Florida. Of the Kiowa the most prominent were
Lone-wolf, Swan, Woman-heart, and White-horse, the last named being
selected on account of his previous record as a notorious raider,
although he had been enrolled with the friendlies during the outbreak
(_Report, 55_). It was of course the intention to select for punishment
those who had been most conspicuous or guilty in the outbreak, but the
selection being left principally to Kickingbird, that chief, with a
natural desire to shield his friends, picked out only a few of the
prominent leaders, making up the quota with Mexican captives and young
men of no great reputation. Following is the list of Florida prisoners
from the Kiowa tribe, as furnished by the Indians:
1. _Gui-pägo_, "Lone-wolf," head chief and adopted father of the present
head chief of the same name.
2. _Mäñyí-ten_, "Woman-heart," a chief and signer of the Medicine Lodge
treaty.
3. _Tseñ-t'áñte_, "White-horse," a chief.
4. _T'ené'taide_, "Bird-chief," a chief.
5. _Tsädal-t'aiñ_, "White-goose," i. e. "Swan," a chief.
6. _Paä´ti_, "Buffalo-bull's-entrails," a chief.
7. _Mamä´nte_, "Walking-above," alias _Dahä´ti_, "Medicine-man," a chief
and noted medicine man--died in Florida.
8. _Gui-bótte_, "Wolf-stomach"--died in Florida.
9. _É'pea_, "We-(they)-are-afraid-of-him"--died in Florida.
10. _Gobe_, "Wild-horse."
11. _Zon-k'ía_, "Tooth-man," alias _Kíñasáhe-k'ia_,
"Green-shield-man"--died in Florida.(?)
12. _Etälyidónmo_, "He-(they?)-hunts-for-boys."
13. _Máñ-kopédal_, "Flat-nose"--dead.
14. _Set-mänte_, "Bear-above," or "Sky-bear"--dead.
15. _T'enépíabi_, "Humming-bird"--still living; now a policeman.
16. _Woháte_, "Cow" (_jargon_)--still living.
17. _Pä´da-i_, "Twin"--still living.
18. ---- ("Double-vision"--Report, 56).
19. _P´ódal-â´dalte_, "Snake-head," alias _Zoñtam_, "Hole-bite" (Paul
Zotom)--still living.
20. _Set-k´opte_, "Mountain-bear" (Paul Saitkopeta)--still living.
21. _Belo_ (i. e., _Pedro_)--a Carrizo Indian captive from Mexico, still
living.
22. _Bíako_ (Viejo?)--a Mexican captive, still living.
23. _Päli_ (Valdez?)--a Mexican captive, still living.
24. _Añgáite_, "Ankle"--a Mexican captive, still living.
25. _Bóloi_--a Mexican captive, still living.
26. _Goho_, "Kick"--a Mexican captive, still living.
It is notable, as showing the comparative vitality of the races under
new conditions, that of the twenty Indians on the list only five are
still alive, and one of these is dying of slow consumption, while all of
the six Mexican captives are still in vigorous health. Of the twenty
Kiowa and Comanche who signed the treaty of 1867 only two were alive in
1896.
The prisoners while in Florida were merely kept under surveillance and
were not subjected to close confinement. Philanthropic white people took
an interest in them, especially in the younger ones, and undertook to
give them rudimentary instruction in civilization and Christianity. When
they were finally released in May, 1878, a number of the young men
consented to remain a few years longer in the east to acquire an
education, among whom were eight of the Kiowa. Those who were not taken
into private families were placed in the Normal Institute at Hampton,
Virginia, originally established for the education of negroes. Soon
after, fifty other young Indians were assembled at Hampton, which thus
became also an Indian school. The success of this experiment led to the
establishment of the Indian school at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, in 1879
(_Report, 57_).
Several of the young Kiowa were received in refined and philanthropic
families in the north, with the purpose of educating them to be
missionaries among their people on their return. One of these, Paul
Zotom (Zoñtam), was regularly ordained as a deacon in the Episcopal
church. (_Report, 58_). He returned in the summer of 1881, but has sadly
fallen from grace. Another, Paul Saitkopeta (Setk'opte), after similar
careful training in a refined family with the same purpose in view,
returned a year later nearly dead from consumption contracted in the
east, and although of more manly character than Zotom is now almost
helpless for any practical purpose, being a confirmed invalid, and has
reverted to many of the Indian customs. Setk'opte is a Kiowa by adoption
only, being the son of a Cheyenne chief by a Pawnee captive woman.
KICKING-BIRD
The noted chief, T'ené-angópte, "Kicking-bird," who had been so long a
leader of the peace element among his people, died suddenly on May 5,
1875. It was suspected at the time, and is still believed by some of the
tribe, that he had been poisoned by his enemies of the war party, but
although the matter was investigated it could not be proven. Like so
many others of the Kiowa, he was of mixed origin, his paternal
grandfather having been a Crow captive taken when a boy and adopted into
the tribe. Although a young man, he had a commanding influence among his
people, and on the failure of the war party under Lone-wolf became
recognized as the principal chief of the Kiowa. An untaught savage, he
was yet a man of fine native ability and thoroughly versed in the
traditions and ceremonials of his people. Recognizing early the
inevitable changes consequent upon the advent of the white man, he
deliberately abandoned the warpath and addressed himself to the task of
preparing his people to meet the new conditions. From that time forward
his voice and example were always on the side of peace and civilization.
By this course he drew upon himself the hatred of the conservatives and
the war party, who denounced him as a coward and a traitor, charges
which he met and refuted in characteristic fashion. When the question of
peace or war came to a final issue in 1874, his powerful influence held
more than two-thirds of the Kiowa from the warpath, and by his exertions
afterward he secured the best possible terms for the defeated hostiles.
It was by his invitation and assistance that Battey organized the first
school in the tribe in 1873. His last counsel to his people was to
remain at peace with everybody and to follow the advice of their
teachers, and he declared that he was dying "holding on to the white
man's hand." At the request of his family, Agent Haworth took charge of
his body and gave it Christian burial, this being the first instance of
the kind in the history of the tribe (_Report, 59_; _Battey, 11_).
His long-continued attachment to the whites at one time so far
brought him into disrepute with his tribe that they charged his
friendship to cowardice, called him a woman, and refused to listen
to his counsels. Finding his influence in the tribe nearly gone, he
raised a force, conducted a raid into Texas, and had a severe
engagement with the white soldiers, where he led his men with such
ability and coolness as to come off victorious and win a testimony
of respect from the commander of his enemy's forces. On his return
home he again advocated peace with the whites, and has steadily
continued to do so from that time to the present. The tribe,
thoroughly convinced of his bravery, no longer attribute his desire
for peace to cowardice, and listen to his eloquent arguments, in
most cases yielding to his counsels; so that he really stands at
the head of all those Kiowa who are disposed to live peaceably, as
Lone-wolf does at the head of those occupying a less friendly
position (_Battey, 12_).
Another characteristic incident is recorded by Battey. Shortly before
the outbreak some trouble occurred between Kicking-bird and the chiefs
disposed to hostility, who accused him of having lied about them. A
meeting was arranged at the agency to talk it over, and as the Indians
were greatly excited some trouble was anticipated. When, the Kiowa began
to arrive, each as he entered the office and seated himself strung his
bow and placed it where it could be instantly seized for action, put his
quiver of arrows in convenient position, also placing three or four
arrows across his lap, loosened his revolver, and turned the handle
ready for grasping, while many of them trembled with excitement. When
the room was nearly filled, Kicking-bird, accompanied only by his
brother and another friend, rode up coolly, as if unaware of what might
be going on inside. Securing their ponies, they entered the office,
Kicking-bird in advance. Looking around the circle, he took in the
situation at once, and seating themselves, he and his companions coolly
proceeded to place their bows, arrows, and revolvers in the same
position for convenient use if necessary. Then addressing the agent,
Kicking-bird informed him of the charges against himself (Kicking-bird),
and called upon him to keep back nothing that he had told him, but to
tell his people his whole talk (_Battey, 13_).
CHANGED CONDITIONS