CAMP SUPPLY.
[Camp Supply was established in 1867.]
Excerpts...
Emporia News, January 8, 1869.
FROM THE 19TH REGIMENT.
FORT DODGE, KANSAS, DECEMBER 15, 1868.
Our company, M, is now on detail guarding
a train which came from Camp Supply to this place. We will start on our
return trip in a few days. The remainder of the regiment have gone with
Gen. Sheridan out south where they expect soon to meet the foe. I presume
we will join them on our return.
We did not, as anticipated, return to
the regiment after our first trip to this place, but returned to Dodge again,
where we have been making our headquarters ever since and doing escort duty
from here to Hays, Larned, Camp Supply, and other points in the vicinity
of Dodge.
I must not omit to mention our stampede
which took place as we were coming from Supply to Dodge. We had some four
hundred wagons in the train and about one third of them stampeded. There
were some forty or fifty soldiers riding in the wagons at the time, and
were thus thrown into a very perilous position. Several of them were seriously
hurt, and one man, John Vanwell, of our company, died of his wounds in about
two hours from the time he was hurt. The country where the stampede took
place was perfectly level and there was but little breakage, so we soon
succeeded in getting the mules stopped, the wagons to their places, and
proceeded on our journey, resolving to be more cautious in the future.
Sergt. M. A. VICTOR, M. Troop, 19th K.
V. C.
Excerpts...
Emporia News, May 7, 1869.
CHICAGO, May 3. The following military
dispatch was received at Lieut. Gen. Sheridan’s headquarters today.
. . .
The 20th inst. is the time now set for
the Arapahos to start for Camp Supply. A band of Cheyennes, numbering 400,
will start soon. Food is scarce with the Indians, and these bands will have
to be supplied temporarily with subsistence.
Excerpt...
Emporia News, September 10, 1869.
LETTER FROM FRIEND STANLEY.
KIOWA AND COMANCHE AGENCY, NEAR FORT SILL, 8th Mo., 23rd, 1869.
RESPECTED FRIEND, JACOB STOTLER:
Cheyennes and Arapahos.
Our dear friend, Brinton Darlington, late
of Muscatine, Iowa, has gone to Camp Supply, in order to be amongst the
Indians that he is agent for, viz: Cheyennes and Arapahos. These tribes
are the most difficult to manage, but we think we have a very suitable Friend
for their agent, and believe that he will be able, with Divine help, to
control them, and thus get them to abandon their roving and warlike habits
and settle on their reservation, which will probably be on the Canadian
River, west of the road leading from here to Harker. Our friends and the
Commission had a pretty satisfactory visit with the last named tribe. There
is one thing that is giving great dissatisfaction amongst the Indians—the
stopping of their rations of sugar and coffee—but the Commission thinks
some satisfactory change may be made. We feel very desirous of suppressing,
as much as possible, all hostile feeling, and thus save life and money.
Fighting the Indians is found to be very expensive, and causes much suffering
to our soldiers and often to others. Very respectfully, THOMAS H. STANLEY.
Emporia News, March 17, 1871.
General Sherman has news from Camp Supply,
in the Indian Territory, which indicate a renewal of the Indian war this
spring.
Walnut Valley Times, February 21, 1873.
Superintendent Hoag, of Lawrence, has
some specimens of salt from the Little Salt Plains, about 28 miles northeast
of Camp Supply, and ten miles south of the Kansas line. The specimens are
crystals of rock salt, white as snow, and apparently destitute of any impurity.
Agent John D. Miles estimates these great natural salt works as covering
sixteen square miles. The ground seems covered as with snow. Where Buffalo
and Whirlwind Creeks join, there is a pond of brine, the bottom covered
with rock salt that may be dug out in blocks as large as a man can lift.
Walnut Valley Times, December 19, 1873.
Front Page.
[From the St. Louis Globe.]
INDIAN OUTRAGE.
A Boy Scalped and Burned to Death Near Camp Supply.
A most horrible outrage occurred near
Camp Supply, about sixty miles from Fort Dodge, one day last week, that
for brutality and cruelty, has not been equaled since the days of Crawford
and the early Indian troubles. The perpetrators, of the fiendish act, were
Kiowas, who, for some time past, have been causing considerable trouble
in and around their reservation.
It seems that a party of English tourists
arrived at Camp Supply a few days ago for the purpose of engaging in a buffalo
hunt. At Camp Supply they purchased a complete outfit necessary to carry
on the hunt for several days, and hired a wagon and team, with a boy about
seventeen years old as driver. After being out several days, their provisions
gave out and they dispatched the boy and team back to town for another supply,
expecting he would easily make the trip in three or four days, at the furthest,
the distance being about thirty miles. The allotted time passed, and a day
longer, when the hunters, becoming uneasy at his extended absence, started
back for Camp Supply. Here nothing had been seen or heard of him, since
the departure of the party.
A party of hunters and scouts were immediately
organized and sent out in search of him, taking the trail towards the hunting
grounds. The second day out they suddenly came upon the boy. He had been
captured by a band of Kiowas, the wagon taken apart and piled in a heap,
the boy tied to a stake, and, probably, burned alive. He had also been scalped
by the brutal cowards, and his charred remains left on the ground, with
all the proof of how the devilish act had been committed. The horses, of
course, were stolen.
The excitement in and around Fort Dodge
is intense, and the old hunters and trappers in that vicinity vow that if
the Government does not inflict summary punishment upon the incarnate fiends,
they will take the matter into their own hands and commence a war of extermination.
Colonel Bristol, in command at the Fort,
says he has the Fifth Infantry and two companies of cavalry in readiness
and is only awaiting orders from the War Department. The Kiowas have about
two thousand warriors on their reservation.
Excerpt...
The Commonwealth, June 24, 1874.
We have obtained additional particulars
of the Indian outrages in the southwest, which are confirmatory of the original
apprehensions that there is an organized raid over the Kansas border by
Indians from the Indian Territory with a view of reinforcing their depleted
herds of ponies. The facts of the murder near Fort Dodge are, we learn,
as follows: Two men with a team were coming from Camp Supply to Fort Dodge
and had camped out. They woke in the morning to find that their team was
either strayed or stolen, at least not to be found. While looking around
for their missing animals, they encountered signs of Indians, and saw a
stray pony grazing on the prairie. One of them mounted this pony to look
for the missing animals, and being gone long enough to awaken his companion’s
suspicions, the latter started in pursuit of him. About eight miles from
Dodge City, he found his dead body, scalped and mutilated.
THE INDIAN SCRIMMAGE.
Full and Authentic Report of the Brush Between Col. Compton and Escort
And the Indians on the Morning of the 24th ult.
The Commonwealth, July 3, 1874.
Correspondence of the Commonwealth.
FORT DODGE, June 26th.
Having a little leisure time, I will give
you a few items of the late Indian fight which took place near Bear Creek,
fifty miles south of Fort Dodge and on the Camp Supply road. On the morning
of the 18th of June, the mail party, consisting of one corporal
and two privates of the 3rd U. S. Infantry, was attacked by a
party of about thirteen Indians, but succeeded in keeping the Indians off.
The corporal was shot through the thigh and is now in the hospital at Fort
Dodge, Kansas. On the 19th, the commanding officer of Fort Dodge,
Col. Compton, with the Medical Director, Dr. Perrine, of Leavenworth, left
Fort Dodge on an inspecting tour to Camp Supply, Indian Territory, with
an escort of about twenty men composed of the 3rd and 5th
U. S. Infantry. When near Bear Creek, the mail party going to Camp Supply,
joined the party of the commanding officer and kept together. On the morning
of the 20th when near the point where the party was previously
attacked, a large party of Indians again made an attack on this party, the
Indians having the advantage of position and ground. As soon as the first
volley was fired by the Indians, the escort promptly returned the fire,
and deploying as skirmishers, kept up lively fire, at the same time moving
forward with the wagons. The Indians did not care to follow and the party
of soldiers arrived at Camp Supply without further molestation. One man
of the mail party was slightly wounded in the right arm.
On the morning of the 24th,
whilst returning from Camp Supply, and again near the same point, a large
party of Indians, consisting of about thirty or forty, had stationed themselves
on an eminence near the road, and when the commanding officer and his party
got within about 40 yards of them, they fired a volley right into them,
killing a pony belonging to the commanding officer. In less time than it
takes to write it, the troops were out of the wagons and headed by Col.
Compton, charged and gained the eminence in a minute; then commenced a lively
and destructive fire, especially for the Indians. Four of them were shot
down at the first fire, and quite a number of them were badly wounded. Eight
ponies were captured, but five of them had been badly wounded and had to
be killed. Three excellent ones were brought into Fort Dodge. The Indians
were terribly demoralized, running in all directions for shelter, while
the soldiers were following up and pouring a most destructive fire into
them. The Indians divested themselves of everything that would encumber
them in their hasty flight: throwing their arms, blankets, spears, bows,
arrows, and Indian trumpery away. The soldiers all behaved in a gallant
and a most commendable manner, several exceptional instances of bravery
occurring.
Private Frederick Klausman, Co. D, 5th
infantry, while in pursuit of the Indians, came on one of them laying down
in the grass, apparently wounded, but with his revolver pointed at Klausman.
In an instant, Klausman raised his musket and brought it down with such
force as to send Mr. “Red” quietly dreaming in the happy hunting
grounds.
Private Thomas Gray, of the same company,
had a hand to hand fight with a stalwart “Red,” killing his man,
and taking possession of sundry articles, such as an excellent Colt’s
army revolver, powder horn, blankets, bullet pouch, and several other articles
useless to Mr. “Red.” In the bullet pouch was found a baby stocking,
belonging probably to some unfortunate white baby.
Pots, Prince, and Herr, of Company A,
3rd U. S. infantry, also had hand to hand engagements with Mr.
“Red,” killing their men, and quietly walking off with their trophies
of victory.
No casualties occurred on our side at
all except the pony being killed, and the driver of the ambulance containing
the commanding officer and medical director getting a bullet through his
blouse—lucky escape!
The Indians that could get away got away
as fast as possible, and the party were not again molested by them.
The arrival of the party at Fort Dodge
created quite an excitement, every wagon, ambulance, and horses and mules
being decorated with some Indian trophy of victory. I hardly think the Indians
will undertake any more of their little surprise parties. If, however, they
do, they will get all they want and deserve, as the country through there
is now thoroughly guarded by cavalry.
Should anything more occur, I will give
you the particulars. Respectfully, etc.
Excerpt...
Distribution of Troops in the Southwest.
The Commonwealth, Friday Morning, July 10, 1874.
At Camp Supply there are three infantry
and two cavalry companies—the latter scouting continually north and
northeast of that post as far as Medicine Lodge creek; Colonel Lewis commanding.
Excerpt...
Winfield Courier, May 29, 1874.
Horse Thieves Caught.
Bill Gilmore is a man of about 26 years
of age, over six feet tall, dark hair, intelligent expression, and mild
countenance. He was born and raised in Arizona, and has spent most of his
time on the border and among the Indians. In 1861 he was with General Custer,
and carried dispatches from Camp Supply to Fort Dodge for General Sheridan,
during the fight on the Washita. He is deeply prejudiced against Indians,
and claims he would not have stolen from the whites. In conversation with
Mr. Gilmore, we find him to be a well read and experienced man. Wild life
and excitement is as familiar with him as his every day meal.
Winfield Courier, July 10, 1874.
Off For the Indian War.
Seven companies of the Nineteenth infantry
reached Leavenworth, Thursday night, on a special train from St. Louis.
Three companies left Kansas City for Forts Wallace and Lyon, on the Kansas
Pacific. The others will go to the seat of the Indian troubles via the Atchison,
Topeka & Santa Fe road, and are detailed as follows: Two companies to
Ft. Larned, two to Fort Dodge, and three to Camp Supply
This regiment relieves the Third, and came from Louisiana. Traveler.
Excerpt...
Winfield Courier, September 4, 1874.
Last week between Dodge City and Camp
Supply, five farmers who lived in that vicinity, and were out hunting buffalo,
were killed by Indians.
Excerpt...
Winfield Courier, November 19, 1874.
Correspondence.
SURVEYOR’S CAMP, CACHE CREEK,
25 Miles Northwest of Ft. Sill.
November 5th, 1874.
I saw a scout on the 30th ult., just from
the command. He said the expedition was within two day’s ride of 1,800
warriors, which they expected to take or kill at all hazards. Sheridan left
this post on the 25th of last month for Camp Supply. He says the government
has fooled with the Indians long enough, that he will make the white man
and his property safe in this country, if he is let alone.
Excerpted from lengthy article...
FROM THE FRONT.
The Indian Expedition.
A Full Account of the Army Now Outfitting at Fort Dodge.
Its Line of Operations.—Gen. Miles to be in Command.
The Heroic Defense at Adobe Walls.
The Commonwealth, Saturday Morning, August 8, 1874.
DODGE CITY, KANSAS, August 5, 1874.
From our Regular Correspondent.
An expedition is now being fitted out
at Fort Dodge to assume offensive operations against the Indians who have
been waging war on the frontier settlements. It will start from the post
about the 15th of the present month. The expedition will be composed
of eight companies of the Sixth cavalry and five of the Fifth infantry,
numbering in all about one thousand effective fighting men. Four of the
cavalry companies are now here, and three more are on the way from Fort
Lyon, C. T. The other company that is to complete the complement of cavalry
is at Camp Supply, and will join the command at that place. Four companies
of the infantry are here and the other companies will arrive in a day or
two. About one hundred wagons accompany the expedition from here. Ten white
scouts and about the same number of Indians will go along. These will be
under the charge of Lieut. Baldwin. The troops will not be encumbered with
any useless luggage, as they go under light marching orders. Col. Compton
will command the cavalry, Capt. Bristol the infantry, and General Miles
will command the expedition. All of these officers have seen service. Gen.
Miles belonged to the celebrated second army corps, which made itself notorious
at the battle of the wilderness, by gobbling up Johnson’s division
of rebs. Col. Compton served with honor during the war in an Iowa regiment.
Capt. Bristol also stands high as an officer, distinguished alike for bravery
and good judgment. There will scarcely be a commissioned officer connected
with the expedition who has not seen active service, while a good proportion
of the enlisted men are veterans of the war. Jake Callahan, an old frontiersman,
and who has been in as close quarters as anybody, accompanies the outfit
as wagon master. There will be about one hundred and fifty citizen employees.
Altogether, the composition of the entire
expedition is such as to leave no room to doubt that, if the opportunity
offers, they will give a good account of themselves, and it is fully to
suppose the Indians will surrender without a stubborn resistance. They are
well armed, mounted on ponies that will keep fat on grass, unencumbered
with supply trains or anything else that would retard their quick motion
in a warfare against the troops. A good many of their wild brothers have
turned up missing since they commenced the war, and they will be anxious
to avenge their deaths. Their vindictiveness and animosity towards the whites
know no bounds. The man who falls into their hands suffers a two-fold death
and is literally chopped to pieces.
The expedition will go from here to Camp
Supply, in the Indian Territory, and from there west to the Antelope mountains,
where it will be joined by the Tenth cavalry, colored, from Texas, and from
there to wherever the enemy is. The Fourth and Eighth cavalry, which have
been operating on the borders of Texas and New Mexico, I am informed, will
move in conjunction with the force leaving here, and will close in on the
Indians from all sides. It is estimated that the force which will soon be
on the move will number between twenty-five hundred and three thousand men,
independent of citizen employees. It is not accurately known how many Indians
are participating in the present war, but is judged that the number will
not fall short of three thousand. They are now said to be uniting in the
region of the Staked Plains, the more effectually to resist the troops going
out against them. They will fight on ground of their own selection and may
inflict serious loss on our forces, but the ultimate result cannot be doubted—they
must yield. They are not supposed to be overloaded with ammunition, and
when this is gone, there is nothing left for them to do but to surrender.
Companies C and D of the Fifth U. S. infantry,
which have been doing guard duty along the A. T. & S. F. road, have
been relieved by the Nineteenth, lately arrived from the state of Louisiana.
These two companies left a very favorable impression where they became known
for their general quiet and civil deportment.
A train loaded with buffalo hides arrived
here yesterday evening from the Canadian, the scene of the late siege and
heroic defense of a handful of men against two hundred redskins. As the
facts become better known, the heroism of these men is without parallel.
There were thirty men inside the stockades, and only twelve guns. With these
they succeeded in keeping at bay, and finally driving off, over two hundred
Indians. So bold were the savages, and so confident of their prey, that
they came right up to the entrances to the stockades, and endeavored to
break down the doors. One fellow was entertaining the boys inside with a
war-dance on a buffalo hide. That was his last war-dance. A piece of lead
from a needle gun struck him and brought his performance to an abrupt termination.
He gave a yell and a bound, and then went to the earth. Others, to the number
of forty, paid the same penalty for their reckless daring. Twelve Indian
heads, minus hair, feathers, and other thum mim, [? Hard to read
last words] now adorn the gate-posts of the corral. The collection is diversified
by the caput of a negro, who was killed among the Indians with a
can of yeast powders in his hand. He didn’t “raise” worth
a cent after that.
The Indians carried off all their wounded
and most of their dead, whom they buried on the adjacent hills. About thirty
freshly-made graves were counted. In this remarkable encounter with the
savage hosts, only three whites were killed, one inside and two outside
of the stockades, namely, William Tyler and Isaac Schiedler and his brother.
There were others killed, but not at this place or time. The hunters still
hold their ground, and no Indians have been seen since in the vicinity.
It was evidently not a healthy place for them to jerk buffalo meat or to
dry plums.
Some of the trophies captured from the
Indians are now on exhibition at this place, among them the scalp of a woman
with long black hair. A number of others were noticed in the belts of the
warriors. Some of these ought to be forwarded to the peace commissioners;
the sight of them would no doubt confirm their belief in the utter innocence
and harmlessness of the Indians.
The merchants and businessmen of Dodge
City have survived the anathemas of General Pope, who seems to think they
are fit subjects for total extermination. If the general would take the
trouble to visit the frontier, and become acquainted with the real facts,
he would find that the businessmen of Dodge, or any other town, are in no
manner responsible for the present outbreak. They are shrewd, go-ahead businessmen,
and the imputations of the general are unwarranted, to say the least.
Excerpt...
The Commonwealth, Saturday Morning, August 15, 1874.
DODGE CITY, August 11, 1874.
To the Editor of the Commonwealth.
A part of Gen. Miles’ expedition,
consisting of four companies of the Sixth cavalry, and one of the Fifth
infantry, accompanied by scouts and a train of twenty wagons, left here
this afternoon to take the field against the hostile Indians. They will
reconnoitre the country between here and Camp Supply. Two companies of infantry
had previously gone to escort Mexican trains, loaded with forage and commissary
stores for Supply. The balance of the command will leave day after tomorrow
for the same point, where the expeditionary forces will re-unite and move
on the enemy’s works. If existing orders are not countermanded from
Washington, this timely movement against the Indians cannot but be productive
of good results. When the forces now in motion are consolidated, they will
present a very formidable array to the murdering red-skins. It is not believed
they will succumb without a determined resistance. The various war parties
are reported to be united in anticipation of a movement by the United States
troops. They are said to be assembling at the Wichita mountains, and with
the defenses afforded by these, it will be no easy matter to dislodge them.
Excerpts...
The Commonwealth, Thursday Morning, August 27, 1874.
CAMP SUPPLY, I. T., August 19, 1874.
From Our Regular Correspondent.
Five companies—four of cavalry and
one of infantry—left Fort Dodge on the 11th inst., under
command of Major Compton, of the Sixth cavalry, with instructions to proceed
south as far as the Beaver, and scout the country from there to Camp Supply.
The remaining portion of the expedition,
commanded by General Miles in person, left Fort Dodge on the 13th,
three days after the departure of Major Compton, taking the military road
from Dodge to Camp Supply, in the Indian Territory, distant about eighty-five
miles. The two commands reached this post yesterday, having encountered
no Indians on either route. The extreme hot weather and the scarcity and
poor quality of the water were trying on the infantry for the first day
or two, but they are in better condition now for a hard march than before.
With the exception of a little commotion
at the Cimarron crossing, caused by a rumor that horse thieves were in camp,
the march from Dodge to Supply was without incident worthy of note. This
little episode had the effect to increase the sentinels around the camp,
and if there had been horse thieves about, it would have been simply impossible
for them to get away with any stock.
The country between Fort Dodge and Camp
Supply is remarkable for its roughness and everything that tends to attract.
I had been dreaming that as soon as we crossed the line which divides the
state of Kansas and the Nation, a country flourishing with milk and honey,
and rivaling in fertility the fabled gardens of Calypso, would open to our
astonished gaze, but instead, we were treated to a succession of ugly-shaped,
queer-looking, craggy mountains, and deep, impassable canyons. Unless a
better country is seen, our exalted opinion of this paradise will undergo
material modification.
An object of passing interest on the march,
however, was the Red holes, at Cimarron crossing. These holes take their
name from the reddish color of the soil, and are remarkable for their great
depth, some of them being upwards of one hundred feet. They are fed by springs,
and are filled with many varieties of fish. The water is strongly impregnated
with alkali, and is hardly fit for drinking purposes.
Camp Supply, where we have halted for
a day to draw rations and forage, is located at the confluence of Beaver
and Wolf creeks, in the Indian Territory. It is a fine company post, and
commanded at present by Col. Lewis, of the 19th infantry. It
was established in 1867. The commissary and quartermaster buildings are
built of frame—one story—and the company quarters are made in
the stockade fashion, and resemble a military camp more than a garrison.
Several tribes of Indians used to get their rations at this post. T.
Excerpts...
The Commonwealth, Thursday Morning, September 3, 1874.
CAMP NEAR ANTELOPE HILLS, August 23, 1873.
From Our Own Correspondent.
The command, with thirty days’s rations
and forage, left Camp Supply on the 21st and marched up Wolf
creek about thirty miles, and there took a southerly course towards Antelope
hills. The description given of the country between Dodge and Supply will
answer for that passed over in the last few days, with the exception that
timber is more plentiful on the creeks and the water purer. The prairies
were also covered with buffalo, and some deer were seen along the streams.
The whole region passed over, which mainly lies in the Indian Territory,
is rough, broken, and must remain forever useless for agricultural purposes.
The principal inhabitants are lizards, horned toads, wolves, and with the
exception of an occasional foray like the present, will doubtless never
be disturbed in the enjoyment of their hereditary rights.
Antelope hills, to which point the troops
operating in conjunction with Gen. Miles have been converging, are situated
about one mile and a half south of the Canadian and on what is called the
Howe trail, which starts at Fort Smith, Arkansas, and ends at Fort Union,
New Mexico, running via Forts Arbuckle, Cobb, and Bascom. The hills consist
of four semi-mountains, rising to an altitude of three or four hundred feet
above the surrounding bluffs. They can be readily distinguished for many
miles.
There is no surface water in the Canadian
at this point. It is always very low at this season of the year. It is about
as wide as the Arkansas from Wichita to Pueblo, and the bed is of the same
sandy nature. The bottoms are from a half to a mile in width, and covered
with a heavy growth of grass, which retains its nutritious quality throughout
the year. It is almost destitute of timber. The only use it seems possible
the country could be devoted to is stock-raising, but this would be hazardous
as long as it is overrun by Indians. The grazing is good and the hills which
everywhere abound would afford excellent shelter for stock.
An important acquisition was made to the
expedition at Camp Supply, in the persons of two noted guides and scouts,
namely, Ben Clarke and Amos Chapman. When it is remembered how indispensable
the services of guides and scouts have become, and with what momentous responsibilities
they are entrusted, a brief sketch of these two additions will be appreciated.
Ben Clarke is well known all over the
plains. He has been in the service of the government for six years as a
guide and scout. In the Indian campaign of 1868, he was Gen. Sheridan’s
principal guide, and that officer frequently took occasion to compliment
him for his valuable services. He is a man of excellent judgment and superior
intelligence, and his thorough knowledge of the country makes his services
doubly valuable. He is about thirty-five years of age, medium height, has
long, light hair, falling below his shoulders. He has none of the bravado
common to many frontier characters, but in address is plain, unassuming,
and treats everybody with the utmost courtesy. He is perfectly at home in
any crowd, always calm, never excited, and is well informed on the current
topics of the day. He has a keen sense of honor, and when his rights are
infringed, no man will resent the wrong quicker than Ben Clarke.
Amos Chapman is some eight or ten years
the junior of Ben. He has gone through the same crucible. Equally intelligent
and familiar with the country, his services to the expedition cannot be
overestimated. He was also with the Custer expedition in 1868, and has been
employed by government as guide and scout ever since. When entrusted with
any important duty, he discharges it faithfully and fearlessly.
The expedition is so well supplied with
good men, as officers, soldiers, and citizens, that it seems like partiality
to mention particular ones, but I will not be trespassing upon your patience
by alluding to one other, A. J. Martin. Jack is perhaps the oldest scout
with the expedition, having served during the war with Capt. Tough’s
command. There are few places on the great American desert that he is not
acquainted with.
A train of wagons will return from here
to Camp Supply, by which I send this letter. Will send others concerning
the movements of this expedition as opportunity offers. We are a long way
from railroad communication, and our mail facilities are necessarily very
limited. T.
FROM THE FRONT.
Indians Harassing the Rear of General Miles’ Command.
A Teamster Killed by Cheyennes.
Scouts Fight Their Way Through Hostile Indians.
Capture of a White Man Who Has Been Fifteen Years With the Comanches.
The Commonwealth, Tuesday Morning, September 15, 1874.
CAMP SUPPLY, I. T., September 10, 1874.
From Our Own Correspondent.
The Indians have appeared in large numbers
on General Miles’ trail between here and Red river. A party of about
one hundred showed themselves at the crossing of Commission creek, some
fifty miles from here, on the evening of the 7th, and killed
a teamster belonging to Jack Callahan’s train, which was on the way
from General Miles’ command to meet a supply train from this post.
The name of the teamster killed is Arthur Moore. He is from Wichita, where
his parents reside. He was out from camp a few hundred yards when the Indians
came upon him. He was scalped and literally riddled with bullets. His brother
was within a few hundred yards of him when he was shot, but could render
him no assistance.
It is expected that Callahan’s train
will experience considerable difficulty in reaching the command, as the
Indians are now all along the route. These are thought to be the Indians
who lately burned the buildings at the Wichita agency.
Lieut. Baldwin and three of his scouts
have just arrived from General Miles’ headquarters. They fought their
way through, killing four Indians and capturing one white man. He has been
with the Indians for fifteen years and speaks very poor English. He belongs
to the Comanches. The Indians are burning the prairie in every direction.
It is thought they have got their families out of the way, and have now
come back to harass General Miles’ rear. T.
Excerpt...
The Commonwealth, Friday Morning, September 18, 1874.
Special Dispatch to the Commonwealth.
Dodge City, Kan., Sept. 17.—No Indian
troubles today to the west of us. R. M. Bright has just arrived from Camp
Supply and reports a hard fight between Gen. Miles command and the Indians.
Twenty-seven wounded had already been received at Supply. The number of
killed is unknown. Gen. Miles has been compelled to fall back one hundred
miles to meet supplies.
The Commonwealth, Sunday Morning, September 20, 1874.
DODGE CITY, KANSAS, September 19, 1874.
Special Correspondence of the Commonwealth:
Scouts who have just arrived report the
condition of Gen. Miles’ command as deplorable, that his supplies are
cut off, and all supply trains either captured or corralled. If the reports
which the scouts bring in are true, his command is in a critical situation.
Callahan’s train, which left Camp Supply on Sunday with supplies, is
stopped, and is in a state of siege. There are no troops here to send to
his relief. It is understood that Gen. Pope can furnish no further aid by
way of either troops or transportation. Is it not time that Kansas was in
this fight herself? What says the legislative fathers?
The Commonwealth, Tuesday Morning, September 22, 1874.
EXPLOSION OF A CANARD.
Chicago, Sept. 21. The special dispatches
sent out from Quincy last night, concerning Indian depredations near Camp
Supply, Indian Territory, saying that Col. Miles had been compelled to fall
back to meet his supplies; that he had telegraphed Gen. Pope for reinforcements;
that one large supply train of thirty-six wagons had been captured, the
assistant wagon master killed and the men compelled to abandon the train
after a desperate resistance, bringing 27 wounded into camp; that 300 stand
of arms, together with large ammunition and commissary stores had fallen
into the hands of the savages, and that the eighth cavalry had come in from
Arizona entirely destitute, having lost all their supply and baggage trains,
and joined Col. Miles’ command, are proven, on inquiry at headquarters
here, not to be true, or with so little foundation as to be virtually a
canard.
From official dispatches, received by
Lt. Gen. Sheridan this morning, the real facts are obtained and will be
found in the associated press. Colonel Miles, in a dispatch dated the 5th
inst., seventy-five miles south of Red river, advised Gen. Pope that he
should fall back for supplies. His dispatch received by Gen. Sheridan today
is dated from camp on Washita river, September 14, and came via Fort Dodge,
leaving there on the 17th inst. He says:
“I find that after leaving the Canadian
river, Maj. Lyman, commanding the escort to the supply train, was attacked
by from 300 to 400 Indians, on the morning of the 9th inst. The
Indians charged the train several times and made every effort to capture
it, fighting so determinedly as to detain it for three days. The fight was
very close and the train completely surrounded. On the third day the Indians
abandoned the attack, retreating southwest.
“From all the information I can get
here since my arrival, I believe they formed no part of the body we drove
off the Staked Plains. They were believed to have been led by Satanta and
Big Tree. During the fight Lieutenant Lewis, of the Fifty infantry, was
severely wounded in the knee. Sergeant Deadmond, company I, Fifth infantry,
was killed. Sergeant Single, Sixth cavalry, private Buck, Fifth infantry,
and wagon master Sanford, were wounded, the latter mortally. Officers estimated
the number of Indians killed at fifteen, the wounded at many more. Private
Pettijohn, of the Sixth cavalry, was killed near camp, on McClellan creek,
on the 11th.
“Lieutenant Baldwin will have informed
you of his successful encounter with the Indians while coming in as bearer
of dispatches. Part of the force that attacked Major Lyman, attacked a party
of the Sixth cavalry bearing dispatches, who entrenched themselves in the
sand, and after a desperate fight lasting all day, in which one courier
was killed and four wounded, they compelled the Indians to retire, having
killed twelve. Whenever we have fought them, they have been severely punished
with comparatively slight loss on our side. The rivers to the south are
now so swollen as to be impassable for wagons. I am building a bridge across
the Wichita. The cavalry were obliged to swim their horses on returning.
The march back was even more difficult than the advance, even with Indians
in our front, owing to the terrible continuous rains which flooded the streams
and made the roads almost impassable, from which facts as well as because
but half the forage was furnished and the Indians having destroyed much
of the grass, the animals have come in exhausted and somewhat worn down.
“The command now occupies the valleys
of McClellan creek, Sweetwater, and Washita rivers. Maj. Price’s command
is camped near acting independently.”
Gen. Pope, in a communication enclosing
Col. Miles’ report, says Miles has force enough to beat any Indians
that can be met.
The Commonwealth, Tuesday Morning, September 22, 1874.
CAMP SUPPLY, I. T., September 12, 1874.
To the Editor of the Commonwealth.
One of Gen. Miles’ scouts has just
come in and reports that Callahan’s train, loaded with supplies for
the command, has been corralled about two miles north of Washita. Col. Lewis,
commanding this post, has ordered company K, of the Sixth cavalry, and a
detachment of infantry to their rescue. Gen. Miles’ command was on
Red river, some one hundred and twenty-five miles further south, but as
his rations were nearly out, it is very likely that he is moving to meet
the supply train. One soldier with Callahan’s train was killed, one
officer wounded, and two citizens wounded. Jas. Sandford, Callahan’s
assistant, was shot through the abdomen. Several mules had been killed,
and a number wounded. The train is entirely cut off from water.
A night-herder of Messrs. Lee & Reynolds
was shot by Indians at their hay camp, fifteen miles west of this point,
last evening.
The whole country is alive with Indians,
and more troops will be needed to squelch them.
T.
Excerpt...
The Commonwealth, Tuesday Morning, September 22, 1874.
CAMP ON THE WASHITA, TEXAS, September 16.
From Our Own Correspondent.
The company of cavalry sent from Camp
Supply to the relief of Callahan’s train reached here at 3 o’clock
yesterday morning. The company halted six miles from where the train was
corralled and seven citizen scouts ran the blockade, under cover of night,
and informed the beleaguered party that had been held here for five days
and nights, and three days without a drop of water for man or beast. The
Indians kept up a constant fire day and night. One man was killed just as
the train was being corralled. The Indians had been watching this train
from the time it left the command at Red river, and killed one man belonging
to it at Commission creek. It was attacked the second day on the return
immediately after crossing the Canadian river. The escort, consisting of
forty infantry and twenty cavalry, under command of Capt. Lyman, fought
them for ten miles, when the Indians were reinforced and they were forced
to corral under a terrific fire from all sides. So confident were the Indians
of capturing the entire outfit that they dug rifle pits within fifty yards
of the wagons. Over one hundred of these were counted. The whole number
is estimated between four and five hundred. Nine head of beef cattle intended
for the command were stampeded, and sixteen head of mules were wounded and
had to be killed.
In this attack one man was killed and
three wounded. The conduct of our men against such fearful odds deserves
the highest praise. The Indians kept up a continuous fire for three days
and nights, during which time no water or feed could be had, notwithstanding
they were within a few hundred yards.
The mules were reduced to skeletons from
want of water and grass.
Yesterday morning the train moved out,
the Indians having left in the night; but they had only gone a mile or two
before Gen. Miles’ command was seen approaching from the south. The
men were out of rations and the sight of the supply train had the effect
to revive their drooping spirits wonderfully.
The expedition is now encamped on the
Washita, about fifteen miles south of the Canadian. The Indians that have
been engaging the attention of the troops along General Miles’ trail
are thought to be Kiowas and Comanches, reinforced by those lately in his
front. They cannot be drawn into an open engagement with the troops, but
will pick up isolated parties, make dashes on supply trains, and carry on
a general guerrilla warfare, for which the country is admirably adapted.
Major Price, with four companies of the
eighth cavalry, joined Gen. Miles’ command on the 7th. They
had been traveling for thirty-five days, having started from Fort Union,
New Mexico. They were out of supplies and glad to meet us. They encountered
no Indians on their march until they struck Miles’ trail leading to
Red river, when they had several lively brushes with them.
The command will probably remain here
for awhile to recuperate, as the stock are pretty well played out and need
rest. They have been on the go since the 11th of August. A good
many horses have been killed or abandoned on the march.
The progress of this campaign has unfolded
qualities of heroism and endurance seldom equaled. As an instance, I will
mention the following: On the 9th inst., Amos Chapman and William
Dickson, two of Lieut. Baldwin’s scouts, left the command in company
with four soldiers, with dispatches for Camp Supply. They got along all
right until the morning of the second day, when they suddenly found themselves
surrounded by about one hundred and fifty Indians, and all chances of escape
cut off. The only alternative left for the boys was to prepare for the worst,
and to sell their lives as dearly as possible. So dismounting they succeeded
in keeping the Indians at bay until they dug rifle pits, in which to shelter
themselves. The Indians were now closing in upon them and their fate seemed
decided. One of the number had been killed and three wounded. The other
two had their clothing perforated with bullets. Some of the redskins dismounted
and crawled up to within twenty-five yards of the men, and the ground around
them was plowed with bullets. In this terrible condition, with one dead
comrade whom they could not bury, and three others wounded, our little band
remained for two days and nights without food, the horrors of their situation
being augmented by a drenching rain. Three companies of the 8th
cavalry happened to run on them in search of their supply train, and gave
them relief. Had it not been for this God-send, the fate of the entire party
would only have been a question of a little time.
The survivors were brought in yesterday
and their wounds properly dressed. They are doing well and will be all right
in a short time. Chapman’s leg will probably have to be amputated.
The other wounds were not of so serious a nature.
Excerpt...
The Commonwealth, Thursday Morning, October 8, 1874.
HEADQUARTERS INDIAN EXPEDITION.
CAMP ON THE WASHITA, TEXAS.
September 26th, 1874.
From Our Regular Correspondent.
The Indians, having been beaten and routed
at every point, have disappeared. None have been seen since the attack on
Capt. Lyman’s train, although the troops have been moving in every
direction in search of them. Those lately operating in Gen. Miles’
rear have gone towards the Staked Plains.
Gen. Davidson, with six companies of the
Tenth cavalry and three of the Eleventh infantry, made a junction with Gen.
Miles on the 20th. He marched from Fort Sill up the Washita and
North Fork of Red river. They report seeing no Indians on the route. This
command is now moving towards the head of North Fork.
Three of the columns operating against
the hostile Indians, namely, Gen. Miles, Gen. Davidson, and Col. Price,
are within supporting distance of each other. Nothing has been heard from
McKenzie, who is advancing from the south. He is supposed to be somewhere
on the Staked Plains. Buell is also said to be moving on the enemy from
New Mexico.
If the Indians do not scatter and flee
to the mountains, some of the columns now in the field must overhaul them.
The number of Indians engaged in the late
attack on Capt. Lyman’s train turns out to be much larger than was
at first supposed. Experienced trailers place it at from seven to nine hundred.
There is no means of ascertain their exact loss in killed and wounded, though
from the number of graves since found it must have been considerable. The
failure to gobble the supply train, and their signal defeat at the hands
of the troops, has dampened their ardor for such undertakings and caused
them to make themselves scarce ever since.
The handful of men under Capt. Lyman deserve
praise for their heroic conduct under trying circumstances. All day long
they fought against five times their number, the savage hosts dashing up
to within twenty-five yards, and corralled only when further advance was
impossible. The loss of this train would have been a serious disaster, as
it contained supplies for the command, who were already out of rations.
For five days and nights, the party were kept in durance, within a mile
and a half of timber and water, and unable to reach it. On the evening of
the third day heaven smiled upon them, and a copious rain saved much suffering
and death.
Along with Capt. Lyman was a thin, scrawny,
diminutive specimen of humanity, born on the other side of the ocean, but
thoroughly Americanized, with no very conspicuous outward marks of either
genius or courage. He is a scout, and his name is William F. Schmalsle.
The situation was growing more desperate as the hours went by. Someone must
go through the enemy’s lines for relief. Schmalsle was selected for
the hazardous undertaking. There were ten chances to one that he would not
get through. He was allowed his pick of the horses. Leaving the train at
eight o’clock, after dark, he started for Camp Supply, distant about
ninety miles. He had hardly gone a stone’s throw, however, before he
was saluted by a shower of bullets. Putting spurs to his horse, he ran for
dear life, the Indians yelling at his heels and firing at every jump. The
chase continued for ten miles, when our brave hero succeeded in eluding
his pursuers, having lost pistol, gun, and everything but horse and saddle,
reaching the post the following morning, securing a fresh horse at a camp
on Wolf creek.
As stated in a former letter, a company
of the sixth cavalry was at once dispatched to Capt. Lyman’s relief.
Schmalsle has been highly commended for his heroic conduct, and will be
suitably rewarded.
FROM THE FIELD.
Latest from General Miles’ Expedition.
The Indian War About Terminated.
The Indians Coming Into Their Reservations.
The Commonwealth, Sunday Morning, October 25, 1874.
HEADQUARTERS INDIAN EXPEDITION,
CAMP ON WOLF CREEK, October 22, 1874.
Correspondence of the Commonwealth.
Thanks to the increasing activity of our commanders in the field, the Indian troubles are drawing to a close. The Cheyennes have received a sound threshing at the hands of Col. McKenzie, and are now fleeing for very life, with that intrepid officer in hot pursuit. These are no doubt the same Indians that were whipped and driven south of Red river by Gen. Miles, and were not looking for any troops from that direction. A large proportion of the hostile tribes have already gone in and surrendered, as your readers know. Ever since it was discovered that the Indians were sneaking into the agencies, Gen. Miles’ troops have been on the alert and in constant motion to