Note: There were two forts called “Reno”
in the early days. One of these was in Wyoming Territory and was referred
to as “Old Fort Reno.”
The first “Fort Reno” was in Wyoming
Territory...
OLD FORT RENO. WYOMING TERRITORY.
Arkansas City Traveler, March 22, 1876.
Cheyenne, W. T., March 17. On the evening of the
15th Mr. Fielding came into Fort Fetterman from the camp at old Fort Reno,
having left there on the night of the 13th. He brought letters, etc., from
the men of the command. On the 7th General Crook left the main camp at Fort
Reno, taking a pack train and fifteen days’ rations for the cavalry
and struck out after some Indians known to be north of that place, since
which date nothing has been heard from him. On the way to Reno his command
was attacked several times by Indians. One man was wounded but is alive
yet. An infantry man is also wounded. There were no other casualties.
Arkansas City Traveler, March 29, 1876.
THE FIRST GUN IS FIRED.
The War with Sitting Bull Commenced.
General Crook’s First Engagement.
A Fight Between the Black Hills Miners and the Indians.
[Special Telegram to the Inter-Ocean.]
Cheyenne, W. T., March 22. Captain George Crook
of the Third Cavalry, has just arrived here from Old Fort Reno, General
Crook’s base of supplies. On the 20th a courier arrived at Fort Laramie
with the first news from Crook since he left Reno. Crook had an engagement
with Sitting Bull on the 15th, near Fort Phil Kearney in which sixteen Indians
were killed. General Crook lost two men. Sitting Bull ran off sixty of Crook’s
pack mules on the night of the 14th. Crook sends Captain Cook here to enlist
500 men to reinforce him. The Captain has already enlisted about 100 men,
whom he picked up between here and Fort Laramie on their way to the hills.
He has sent them to Crook, and is enlisting large numbers of Black Hillers
here.
The following items cover “Fort Reno”
in Indian Territory...
FORT RENO, INDIAN TERRITORY.
[Some Coverage on Fort Sill, Fort Cantonment, and Camp Supply.]
Arkansas City Traveler, May 3, 1876.
Andres Eising, the Indian scout and interpreter,
who loafed around the saloons of Wichita during the winter, was arrested
on the 12th inst. at Fort Reno, Indian Territory, and will be here in the
course of a day or so to appear and answer to the charge of stealing a horse.
He stole the horse in the upper end of town some six weeks since, and a
saddle and bridle belonging to Sheriff Dunning, then started for that thief
harbor, the Territory. He traded the horse for a pony, in Wellington, and
was recognized by some of the citizens who had some suspicion that the horse
was stolen. J. O. Kincaid has been on his track and captured his man on
the above date. Beacon.
Arkansas City Traveler, May 24, 1876.
Contracts are to be let at Fort Leavenworth, on
the 10th day of June, for wagon transportation from Caddo to Fort Sill,
Indian Territory; Wichita, Kansas, to Fort Reno, I. T.; Dodge City, or Fort
Dodge, Kansas, to Camp Supply, I. T.; Dodge City, or Fort Dodge, Kansas,
to Fort Elliot, Texas, and a number of other points farther west.
Arkansas City Traveler, June 21, 1876.
Mr. J. A. Stafford left Wichita Agency on the 15th
and arrived here on the evening of the 19th, the entire distance being 180
miles, as follows: from the Agency to Fort Reno, on the south side of North
Fork Canadian, 40 miles; to Dan Jones’ Ranche, on the Cimarron, 40
miles; to Skeleton Creek, 35 miles, to Caldwell, 46 miles, to Arkansas City,
35 miles. Mr. Stafford says the trail is almost continually flocked with
cattle. Agent Miles succeeded in capturing the Arapaho Indian who murdered
Dr. Hollaway’s son, two years ago, also Big Mouth, chief of the Arapahos,
who was implicated in the murder. Buffalo are very numerous on the plains,
and can be found as near as twenty-five miles west of the Salt Fork, feeding
southwest. The Pawnees were out last week and killed a number. Dan Jones
is doing well and making money.
Arkansas City Traveler, July 5, 1876.
Captain Smith’s freight train, from Fort Reno,
Cheyenne Agency, arrived in Wichita last Friday week. There were fifteen
wagons, five of which were loaded with hides and ten with buffalo robes
of Arapaho and Cheyenne tanning.
The train left Cheyenne on the 4th inst. We learn
from the men with the train that there was almost a collision at the Fort
between the Indians and the military on the 9th inst. The military authorities
had some time previous arrested six of the chiefs of the Cheyennes, as hostages
for the surrender of two braves who had murdered a white man. The Indians
approached the Fort with the avowed intention of releasing their head men,
and the prospects of a lively battle were, at one time, very good. By judicious
action on the part of the commanding officer, the matter was finally settled,
by the surrender of the two murderers and the release of the chiefs. The
two braves were immediately forwarded to Fort Smith for trial.
Beacon.
[A JOURNEY TO THE INDIAN COUNTRY: BY C. M. SCOTT.]
TRAVELER, FEBRUARY 21, 1877 - FRONT PAGE. And TRAVELER,
FEBRUARY 28, 1877 - FRONT PAGE.
Fort Sill, Wichita, Cheyenne, Kiowa, and Cheyenne Agencies.
[PRINTED IN THE INDIANS, VOLUME II, COWLEY COUNTY HISTORY.]
Arkansas City Traveler, May 16, 1877.
Levi Wilson was awarded the contract for supplying
corn at Fort Leavenworth, yesterday, at 89 cents per hundred, and oats at
$1.18 per hundred.
James E. Fenlon was awarded the contract for corn
and oats at Fort Sill, Gibson, and Reno.
Major Adams, Manhattan, the contract for Fort Riley;
94 cents per hundred pounds corn, $1.50 on oats; and an honest granger got
the contract for Fort Dodge; delivered at Newton, corn, $1.10.
A. C. Keever, of Topeka, contract for Dodge, oats,
$4.65, delivered at Newton.
Some experienced grain men say that some of the
bills are very low.
James E. Fenlon, at Ft. Sill, corn $1.41, oats
$1.97; at Fort Reno, corn $1.59, oats $1.97; at Fort Reno, corn $1.59, oats
$2.47; Fort Gibson, corn $1.27, oats $2.07.
Leavenworth Items, Kansas City Journal.
Winfield Courier, November 29, 1877.
The detachment of United States troops that came
up last week in charge of prisoners, left Sunday morning for their station,
Fort Reno. Wichita Beacon.
Arkansas City Traveler, August 7, 1878.
J. H. SHERBURNE has taken the contract for furnishing
oats at Fort Reno, Indian Territory, from R. C. Haywood.
Arkansas City Traveler, August 14, 1878.
J. H. SHERBURNE has the contract for 8,000 bushels
of oats, to be delivered at Fort Reno, Indian Territory, 125 miles from
this place. He is paying 15 cents per bushel.
[LETTER FROM C. M. SCOTT: TERRITORY MATTERS.]
Arkansas City Traveler, May 21, 1879.
EDITOR TRAVELER:
At your suggestion I will give you a few brief
items from the land of the red man, from which I have just returned after
three weeks absence, a ride of 600 miles on horseback from Arkansas City
to Camp Supply, via way of Cheyenne Agency and Fort Reno, Fort Bennett,
and up the North Fork of the Canadian into the Pan Handle of Texas.
All through the northern part of the Territory
we met bone hunters gathering buffalo bones for sale at Dodge City and Wichita.
They usually take down corn and bring back a load of bones for which they
get $7.50 per ton. I don’t know what they get for corn, but it retails
at $1 per bushel all through the northern part of the Territory and at 2½
cents per pound, or $1.50 per bushel at Camp Supply. We conversed with several
owners of large herds of stock that declared their intentions to make Arkansas
City their headquarters this fall.
James Steen was on the road with 900 head of ponies,
and is probably at Caldwell now. Others were behind him with from one to
three hundred head. All horned stock looked a little thin on account of
the hard winter, and grass was short for want of rain. Young stock—year-lings
and two year olds—could not be bought; there were none for sale but
thousands on the range. On our way back we visited the camp of the Patrol
Guards and found them active and ready to meet the wayward Cheyennes, but
there is none to meet except those that freight from Wichita to the Agency.
The roads were almost lined with immigrants to
Harper and Barbour counties, and wild schemers on their way to Leadville.
Deer, elk, turkeys, wolves, and antelope were numerous,
but the buffalo were all in New Mexico, and will not be seen within 200
miles of Arkansas City before July or August, when they will range north.
The Indians were all quiet and peaceable, and many
of them planting corn and putting up fences. Occasionally a white whiskey
seller ventures in, but Agent Miles has the reputation of knowing a rogue
at first sight a mile off, so it is not often attempted.
You may wonder that we ever returned under those
circumstances; but we did, and found the town improved to such an extent
we hardly knew it. Yours, C. M.
[REPORT FROM C. M. SCOTT.]
Arkansas City Traveler, July 23, 1879.
Fourth of July Among the Cheyennes.
Editor Traveler: I chanced to go down at Fort Reno on that glorious day of the independence
of the United States, the 4th of July, and was entertained by a scene that
is seldom witnessed of parties living in the States.
[ARTICLE IN INDIAN BOOK.]
Arkansas City Traveler, July 23, 1879
FIGHT ON THE MAIN CANADIAN.
Four Robbers Murder Two Men and Wound the Third One.
On the evening of July 2nd, as W. W. Woods, Troy
Stockstill, James Henderson, and T. H. Candy were driving up the Shoto valley,
a small creek emptying into the Main Canadian, about 18 miles above Johnson’s
store, and 80 miles from Fort Reno, near where the Chisholm trail crosses
the river, they noticed four men riding in a slow lope toward their camp.
Mr. Stockstill and Woods were on their horses, and James Henderson was standing
in front of the wagon, while the cook and one herder were close by. Candy
was with the herd and not in sight.
The men rode up, halted, and remarked: “Hello,
boys, how are you getting along?”
One of the party responded: “Slowly.”
After taking a glance around, the men all dismounted
at once, and drawing their revolvers, the leader said: “I guess we
will have to arrest you.”
That game had been played often in the Territory,
to “arrest” men under pretense of law, and then disarm and rob
them, but these men fully understood the movement, and Stockstill said:
“No, you don’t,” and drew his pistol and raised his arm to
fire. Just then one of the robbers shot him in the side, which caused his
horse to turn, and another shot was put in his stomach. The horse than ran
with the lifeless body full half a mile, when the corpse fell clear of the
saddle to the ground.
Henderson was shot in the heart and dropped dead
in his tracks as he stood unarmed before them. Several shots where then
fired at the cook as he ran; and also the herder, who was badly wounded
in the arm.
At the first shot, Woods’ horse became unmanageable
and ran half a mile with him before he could control him. As soon as he
could turn him he made towards camp, when the robbers sent a volley after
him from their Winchester rifles, shooting his horse from under him.
As Stockstill’s horse ran he was shot twice.
The wounded herder was then requested to step out
where they could finish him; but he begged so hard for his life that he
was allowed to go.
Troy Stockstill was a resident of Medicine Lodge,
Barbour County, Kansas, where he had been engaged in raising cattle, and
was a gentleman and well-respected citizen. He leaves a wife and six children,
the oldest being young ladies of about 17 or 18 years.
James Henderson was a single man, whose parents
live in Oskaloosa, Kansas.
This is only one case out of many that are transpiring
almost continually in the Territory.
In the section we speak of there are at least forty
outlaws from Texas, Arkansas, and Missouri, and the state of society is
fearful.
Many an officer in search of criminals that have
gone into this and other neighborhoods have mysteriously disappeared, and
never been heard from, all going to prove that the Territory should be brought
into the Union and have competent men and civil laws instead of being a
den for desperadoes.
Arkansas City Traveler, August 6, 1879 - Editorial Page.
In about two weeks Wichita will be honored by the
presence of five United States Senators, who, as a special committee, will
proceed from this point to Fort Reno and the Cheyenne Agency, Indian Territory,
to make inquiries into affairs at those points, in pursuance of a resolution
passed at the last session. The committee will be accompanied by a stenographer,
secretary, sergeant-at-arms, and will consist of Senators Kirkwood, Dawes,
Bailey, Plumb and Coke, whom, we presume, may also be accompanied by their
wives. The more particular mission of the committee is to investigate the
cause and consequences of last year’s Cheyenne outbreak. The Senators
will probably reach Wichita on the 13th or 14th of August. Eagle.
[REPORT FROM C M. SCOTT.]
Arkansas City Traveler, August 27, 1879. Front Page.
EDITOR TRAVELER: It has been about one month since
you heard from me, so I write again. You have heard by this time of the
murder of the unknown man near Caldwell, at the crossing of the “Shawas-caspah,”
on the road to Wellington. He was shot behind the ear with a small pistol,
and then placed in a blanket and rolled in the brush. A freighter, happening
to break his wagon tongue, went into the thicket to cut a pole, and discovered
the body. No clue to the murderer has yet been found.
Caldwell still keeps improving. It is now incorporated
as a city of the third-class, with efficient police force to quell the racket
of the cowboy. They had their first show last week, being of a minstrel
variety, with Van Kelso, formerly cook of the Central Avenue Hotel at Arkansas
City, as one of the chief actors. About fifty Arapahos with wagons from
Cheyenne Agency passed through town, on their way to Wichita after freight.
We had occasion to go into the Territory, and after
a day and a half’s journey from Caldwell, brought up at Drum’s
cattle ranche, at the mouth of Medicine Lodge Creek, where Prof. Norton
used to trade with the Indians many years ago. It had been very dry, but
since the rain the grass has sprung up like magic, and this section now
is one of the finest grazing regions we have seen in all our travels; the
grass is the alkali or buffalo, and very nutritious. Mr. Drum has 2,400
head that he holds with two herders. The wages of herders is $25 per month
and board. Most cattle men have abandoned night herding, claiming the stock
does better, and it is not necessary except in cases of storms. Major Drum’s
brand is U on the left shoulder. From Medicine Lodge we went to Clay Creek,
where we found Mr. Bates, with 900 head of cows and calves, all looking
well. He had been compelled to move camp for water, and the rain helped
him, so that he can now make a choice of good ground. Mr. Bates is a merchant
at Wellington, and leaves the entire care of the cattle to his two men.
His brand is a triangle with T attached, placed on the right side of the
animal.
From Bates’ we went to Johnson’s on Eagle
Chief Creek. The range here had almost been destroyed for want of rain,
and had it been much later would have compelled cattle men to keep out of
that section entirely. Mr. Johnson has 1,900 head of stock cattle, and 1,600
more coming up the trail. The Kiowas and Comanches raided his herd as he
was coming out of Texas last spring and stole 250 head of large cattle.
He will endeavor to have the Agent make them pay for it. He has but three
herders with the 1,600 head of cattle, and they seem to get along very well.
His brand is 5 with a bar across the top, branded on the hip.
Mr. J. W. Short, on one of the western branches
of Turkey Creek, just above where the Ellsworth trail crosses, has forty
head of three and four year old cattle, which he offers for $14 per head,
and 54 yearlings at $8 each. His two year olds he offers for $12. Here is
a bargain for someone wanting to engage in stock. The cattle are half Texan
and in good order.
Two men attempted to run off forty head of ponies
last week, but were pursued by officers and several shots exchanged. The
thieves got in the brush on Salt Fork and made their escape without the
ponies.
The blacksmith soldier who deserted from Fort Reno,
and took a horse with him, was caught at Wellington. He will probably go
to the Leavenworth military prison for five years.
The Dodge City Times was mistaken about
the Pawnees killing buffalo on Medicine Lodge Creek. There have been none
in that region for more than a year. Deer, antelope, turkeys, and wolves
are plentiful, with occasionally a stray elk or bear.
In attempting to cross the North Fork of the Canadian
River on the 17th inst., while it was full from bank to bank, our horse
mired down in the quicksand and left us to make our way to the shore with
gun, saddle bags, etc., on our own back. We landed on the military reserve
of Fort Cantonment, the new post, and were accosted by the provost guard,
to whom we gave little satisfaction, not being in a humor to talk. He informed
us that every person had to have a pass to travel through the Territory.
We gently hinted that we preferred to talk with the commanding officer,
and were escorted to him. Col. Dodge, being absent, we were not recognized
by the new official, but was helped out of the dilemma by the appearance
of the Post Scout, Amos Chapman, without producing our papers. Covered with
mud and soaking with water, with a small arsenal attached to our person,
we well might have been taken for almost any kind of a criminal.
The permanent buildings of the new Post are being
erected of stone, on a small mound just north of the temporary post, in
a more pleasant and healthy location. There are six companies here of the
23rd Infantry, formerly stationed at Fort Leavenworth. During the absence
of Col. Dodge, Capt. George M. Randall, of Co. I, has command. The companies
are A, C, D, G, I, and K. The balance of the regiment is at Camp Supply.
Mr. Keating, of Leavenworth, is Post Trader, and
has a fine store and stock of goods. They have a saw mill, brick yard, one
saloon, one blacksmith, and all the necessary tradesmen here. The health
of the soldiers has not been very good, and several deaths have occurred
during their short stay. About 23 have deserted this spring, and a number
caught and brought back who attempted it. Mr. Bigford of Leavenworth has
the hay and wood contract, and is paying laborers $25 per month and board.
His contract to furnish wood at the Post is $1.00
per cord, and hay at $7 per ton. Corn retails at one dollar per bushel,
and is hard to get. The sutlers say they would buy a quantity if it should
be brought in. Board at the citizens’ mess house is $5 per week. At
the laborers’, $2. There is not much amusement here, during the warm
weather. In fact the 23rd is not so apt in making amusements as some other
regiments. Yours, C. M.
Excerpts...
Arkansas City Traveler, Wednesday, December 10, 1879.
Kansas has 78 townships along the Indian Territory,
and measures 468 miles long. It has 25 townships east of the 6th principal
meridian and 43 west of it. Arkansas City is four miles west of the 97th
meridian and 3 ranges or 18 miles east of the 6th principal meridian.
Fort Reno is 130 miles southwest.
Arkansas City is the supply point for 14,342 Indians,
besides the U. S. soldiers at different forts, and the cattlemen and cowboys
of the Territory. C. M. SCOTT.
Arkansas City Traveler, January 28, 1880.
Fort Reno, Indian Territory, January 18, 1880.
Paymaster Broadhead, U. S. A., arrived here on the 15th inst. On the 16th
a circular was issued from post headquarters announcing that the troops
would be paid on the 17th, commencing at 9 o’clock a.m. Promptly at
the hour one of these companies was marched to the Adjutant’s office,
but after waiting some time, was marched back without being paid, and it
was whispered that “something was wrong.”
Soon the rumors flew thick and fast that “the paymaster had
been robbed.” The amount was variously stated at from $500 to $26,000.
No payment was made, and it was evident that something indeed was very much
wrong. The telegraph was soon flashing the news to department headquarters
at Fort Leavenworth; but none, of course, of the outsiders knew just what
was the matter. This morning it is stated by those who are presumed to know
that the paymaster’s safe was robbed of something over $20,000 while
in transit from Leavenworth to this place.
It is stated that a board of officers was assembled
yesterday, by authority of the Post Commander, Col. Beaumont, to take such
measures as were necessary. The aid of our photographer was also invoked,
and a number of negatives of the unlucky safe were taken.
There is a general feeling of sympathy for Major
Broadhead; but we of the rank and file suppose that he will not be required
to make any part of the loss good. Nevertheless, it must result in great
and vexatious inconvenience to him. Times.
Arkansas City Traveler, April 7, 1880.
A small detachment of soldiers under command of
a corporal came in from Fort Reno last Monday, having in charge a man named
McAlister, who is accused of violating the law in selling whiskey to Indians.
Dept. Marshal Horn took charge of the prisoner pursuant to an examination
before U. S. Commissioner.
[BID OPENING AT FT. LEAVENWORTH.]
Arkansas City Traveler, May 12, 1880.
The following is a list of the bids that were opened
in the Chief Quartermaster’s Department at Ft. Leavenworth on Tuesday,
May 4, for supplying the following articles to the government stations in
this part of the State and the Indian Territory.
Ft. Supply. Wood—L. Chrisman $8.25 per cord;
Wm. M. D. Lee, $10.98 for hard wood; M. L. Botts, $7.75; Chas. Rath $8.97.
Ft. Sill. Corn—T. M. Green, $1.97 per cwt.;
H. L. Bickford, $2.16 per cwt.; Joseph Walker $2.12 per cwt.; R. C. Haywood
$2.18 per cwt.
Wood. T. M. Green, $7.10 per cord, H. L. Bickford,
$6.38 per cord, Joseph Walker, $3.17 per cord.
Fort Reno. Corn—T. M. Green, $1.79 per cwt.;
C. F. Reynolds, $1.35 per cwt. for 150,000 pounds, and $1.47 per cwt. for
225,000; H. L. Bickford, $1.54 per cwt., J. W. Hamilton, $1.56 per cwt.;
Wm. Carter, $1.59 per cwt.; Joseph Walker, $2.38 per cwt.; J. C. Frazier,
$1.99 per cwt.; Thomas Dixon, $1.69 per cwt.; Theodore Berry, $1.30 per
cwt.; J. M. Nellis, $1.46 per cwt.; R. C. Haywood, $1.58 per cwt.; Vincent
Crisp, $1.66 per cwt.
Fort Reno. Wood—T. M. Green, $6.74 per cord;
H. L. Bickford, $5.44 per cord; Joseph Walker, $4.45 per cord; J. C. Frazier,
$6.29 per cord; John Hanson, $4.95 per cord.
Cantonment. Wood—C. F. Reynolds, $4.38 per
cord; H. L. Bickford, $4.38 per cord; J. C. Frazier, $6.29 per cord; Geo.
Craig, $3.87 per cord.
Wellington. Corn—E. Thomas, 74 cents per cwt.;
J. W. Hamilton, 79 cents per cwt.; Wm. Carter, 76 cents per cwt.; J. C.
Frazier, $1.29 per cwt.; Thos. Dixon, 69 cents per cwt.; and R. C. Haywood,
89 cents per cwt.
The awards will be made known soon. Leavenworth
Times.
Arkansas City Traveler, May 19, 1880.
The mail carrier from Fort Reno reports the arrival
of the first herd of the drive having reached Wild Horse creek, Indian Territory.
The herd consisted of two thousand beeves, all through cattle, and all in
excellent condition.
TERRITORY ITEMS.
Arkansas City Traveler, June 23, 1880. Editorial Page.
If strangers visiting the Agency would, in compliance
with the laws of the Territory, call at the Agent’s office and procure
a pass, much danger and trouble would be avoided. The pass of the Agent
is the only one the Indian police will respect. For want of this precaution
some arrests have been made which came near resulting in bloodshed.
Mr. J. Morrison, of this place, was awarded the
contract for furnishing beef for Fort Reno and Elliott.
Darlington will have a 4th of July celebration.
Quite a respectable subscription has been raised for a display at night.
Programme not yet made out.
The Agent and the Post commander at Reno joined
forces and constructed a lime kiln at the Red Hills, where an abundance
of limestone of good quality is found. About 375 bushels of good lime has
been made.
The Kiowas and Comanches have challenged the Cheyennes
and Arapahos to test the speed of their ponies at a grand race to take place
on the 4th of July, at Fort Reno. It seems that the Indians are getting
patriotic too.
Now the Caldwell Post has got it: “The
Cheyenne, Arapaho, Comanche and Kaw Indians have had a four weeks ‘medicine,’
which has been pronounced good, and accordingly the Sun dance has been celebrated
preparatory to a raid.”
It
is true that the Cheyennes have been “making medicine,” that a
few of the young men of the Arapahos joined them simply as an act of friendship,
probably with a view of winning the heart and hand of some of the fairer
damsels of Cheyenne blood. It is also true that some of the Kaw and other
Indians visited them during their “medicine” to “smoke ponies”
and the Kaws took home about forty-five that they had gotten thus. But as
to the Sun dance, the Cheyennes know little more of this than a pig does
of Latin, it being no part of their religion.
There are a few restless, dissatisfied Cheyennes
on the Reservation, but there is no evidence that they really contemplate
leaving, while to predict a general outbreak of the Indians here is simply
ridiculous.
[STAGE COACH UPSET: ARTICLE BY CALDWELL COMMERCIAL.]
Arkansas City Traveler, September 1, 1880.
A drunken driver upset the stage coach between
Skeleton Ranch and Fort Reno, on last Sunday, in which there were several
passengers, among them a Mrs. Looney, who was somewhat injured. The whiskey,
our informant says, was furnished by the marshal of Wellington. A fine specimen
of a law preserving officer he must be to so far forget himself while off
duty for a short time as to pour whiskey down a man who has the lives of
others in his hands. The stage company promptly discharged the driver, which
was right.
Caldwell Commercial.
Arkansas City Traveler, December 1, 1880.
T. H. B. Ross has the merest luck and the worstest
of it of any man on the hill. A couple of weeks ago with a few friends he
went down into the Territory to have a little hunt and look around a bit—all
of which he did, and had arrived at the Cimarron on his return, when he
fell in with a party of soldiers, and accepted a very pressing invitation
from them to go back to Fort Reno. It was just as well that he did, for
he found comfortable quarters until the storm was over, when the line of
march north was taken and the party arrived here last Monday. Ross is mad,
though, because he didn’t corral more soldiers. He only brought up
five, but they seemed to take it good naturedly, and Ross let them go as
soon as they got to the State line. Caldwell Commercial.
Winfield Courier, December 16, 1880.
The reports from the boomers along the line of
the Indian Territory were so conflicting all last week that on Saturday
the COURIER sent a reporter to the field of operation to get the facts.
On Monday the boomers began to arrive and go into
camp near Arkansas City. Capt. Dave Payne was on hand and in command. He
impressed strangers as a large, good looking gentleman not very talkative,
but evidently having a strong purpose, which he meant to carry out as effectively
as possible without resisting the troops. Beside them were camped about
thirty U. S. cavalrymen under Lieut. Mason. Gen. C. H. Smith, of Gen. Pope’s
staff was also present. On Tuesday evening the boomers held a meeting with
bonfires and illuminations, and Capt. Payne addressed the assembly in a
moderate speech. Mayor W. W. Bloss, of the Chicago Times was present
and made a few remarks. A petition to the president was read.
On Thursday the boomers had accumulated to the
number of about eighty men and twenty-five wagons and they broke camp and
started on their expedition. They moved on Westward and camped on Bitter
Creek on the Kansas side of the line, the troops following in the wake.
It was given out that they would cross the line
the next morning. Gen. Smith informed them that his orders were to arrest
the “whole outfit” and take them to Fort Reno and there hold them
prisoners until released by the government. Friday morning Capt. Payne did
not move as was expected. He was inclined to avoid a collision with the
troops. The boomers were hot and dissatisfied. They wanted to fight and
called Capt. Payne a coward. They held a meeting and deposed Payne and elected
Major Mains, of Wichita, as their general and leader.
On Saturday morning they took up their line of
march, but instead of entering the territory they marched westward and camped
at Shoo Fly creek near Hunnewell close to the state line. The troops camped
close by, just across the line in the Territory. Col. Coppinger arrived
and took command. Accessions to the boomers arrived from Caldwell and other
points so that on Sunday there were in camp about fifty wagons and one hundred
and eighty men. They are organized in eight military companies under eight
captains with Mains at the head.
In a conversation with Col. Coppinger and Lt. Smith,
Maj. Mains said they should disregard the president’s orders and enter
the territory at every hazard unless forbidden by Congress. The horses of
the troops are in good condition, but those of the boomers present a scrawny
woe begone appearance.
Major Randall with two more companies of cavalry
was expected to join Col. Mason on Monday the 13th. One company of cavalry
is occupying the Oklahoma town site and picking up stragglers. Other companies
are watching the threatened incursions from Texas and other points. It was
told at Hunnewell that considerable numbers of boomers had already entered
the territory from Caldwell and other points, probably for the purpose of
stimulating those at Hunnewell to desperation. Statements of persons who
should know show that these reports were not true. Our reporter found both
opposing forces in camp at the place near Hunnewell, and first visited the
boomer camp where was found about 180 rough but apparently earnest, hardworking
men with about fifty wagons.
The reporter was escorted by a gay company of young
people, consisting of a versatile reporter for the Monitor, who amused
the company on the route with speeches and songs. Mr. Ed. Rolland, Mr. J.
Houston, a young attorney, Miss Grace Scoville, and Miss May Roland, Mr.
and Mrs. Lem Cook, and Miss Summers were down from Caldwell to see the battle.
These visitors together first paid their respects to the boomer camp, and
were invited to remain and attend their religious services.
The visitors attended and furnished a part of the
music for the occasion. The congregation united in singing, “Hold the
fort for we are coming, Oklahoma still. Waive the answer back to Kansas,
By thy grace we will.” The sermon was delivered by the colony chaplain,
supplemented by remarks from another boomer. The reporter forgets their
names. A large flag was floating over the camp and the congregation sang,
“Rally ‘round the flag.” Capt. Payne was called on and made
a few remarks. The general and Lieutenant from the other camp attended the
service by special invitation. After services the visitors were invited
to partake of refreshments with the boomers, which they did with great relish,
for camp life was new and interesting at least to the ladies.
Capt. Payne and
others, including Major Bloss, treated the visitors with cordial courtesy,
and made their visit very pleasant. They visited the camp of the troops
where they were courteously received. There was found everything orderly
and neat. There were a dozen tents looking trim, forty fine horses standing
ready to be saddled and mounted on a moment’s notice, and forty well
clad and equipped soldier boys ready for action on like notice. One of the
saddlers was asked how they expected to cope with so many boomers. He answered
that the boomers were not well equipped or disciplined, and that no serious
difficulty was expected. He did not think they would attempt to cross the
line; but if they did, they would be easily disposed of. Some of the soldiers
were practicing shooting at a red handkerchief on a bush, but all were civil
and quiet. The contrast between the two camps was very great.
Our reporter thought Hunnewell a hard place to
get anything to eat and in other respects. At about 4 o’clock p.m.
the visitors left for Arkansas City, where they arrived at 8 o’clock
in the evening, returning to Winfield the next day. The conclusion arrived
at, is that the stories and press reports afloat about the boom are grossly
exaggerated.
Arkansas City Traveler, December 22, 1880.
Three men came in from Oklahoma last Saturday.
In interviewing them we inquired as to the number of people in the Oklahoma
country, there having been rumors circulated to the effect that colonists
were pouring in from other quarters. One of them replied that there were
several people there. If his memory served him rightly, he thought there
were fully four companies on the ground, but he believed they were paid
to make this move—not by the railroads, but by Uncle Sam, who had fitted
them out with horses, blue suits, and plenty of ammunition, with instructions
to remain there and receive all new comers. Our home-bound friends had been
“received” and escorted to Fort Reno, where the North Star was
pointed out to them and the information vouchsafed that it was healthier
up this way. They thought so, too.
Arkansas City Traveler, January 19, 1881.
The great march into Oklahoma has not only come
to a decided halt, but the columns of the sturdy boomers are fast breaking
to pieces, and one by one they are returning to their homes. In consequence
of this the military situation has been changed. Co. G, 4th cavalry, Lieut.
Wood commanding, left this city last Saturday morning for the Oklahoma country
and Fort Reno; Co. H, 4th cavalry, Lieut. Mason commanding, has left Caldwell
for Reno, while Co. F, 4th cavalry, Lieut. Martin, will be stationed at
some point on the road for a short time.
Arkansas City Traveler, Wednesday, February 23, 1881. Editorial Page.
Those who hear Mr. A. B. Meacham, who has twice,
at intervals, lectured in Bristol upon the wrongs of the Indians, will be
rejoiced to know that the wrongs of the Ponca Indians, who were so unjustly
deprived of their lands in Dakota, and one of their head chiefs, Big Snake,
brutally shot by a cowardly officer of the Interior Department, are in a
fair way of having justice done them.
The above is taken from the Gazette, published
in Bristol, Pennsylvania. Friend Thomas, the able editor of the above journal,
like a great majority of Eastern men, has lent a kindly ear to the misguided
philanthropists who have made the agitation of the Ponca question their
chief occupation for the past few years, and is very much wrought up in
consequence thereof. It has cost several thousand dollars to satisfy the
public respecting the truth or falsity of the charges made by Messrs. Meacham,
Tibbles & Co., and beyond the personal gratification of the curiosity
of those who fancied themselves equally interested in Ponca affairs, nothing
has been accomplished.
The same line of policy toward these Indians is
still pursued—that of gradually but surely fitting them to become citizens
of the United States. The Government may be to all intents and purposes
an individual in this case, but it has not shown that personal vindictiveness
toward the Poncas of which it is accused by the over-zealous philanthropists
in Boston and elsewhere. On the contrary, the officials have shown every
willingness to hear the wrongs of this tribe, and to make the best reparation
possible.
The commission appointed to investigate their affairs
reported nothing new concerning the Poncas, and signally failed to make
any statement relative to their present condition. Five-sixths of all the
Ponca Indians are now settled in the Indian Territory; they are healthy,
prosperous, and contented; and while it is true that at first they objected
to their removal, they are now satisfied, and are firm in their intention
of remaining. They have found better lands than they left, have made rapid
progress in building, farming, and civilization, and wish to remain. The
Government respects the wishes of the few Poncas now living on their Dakota
reservation; but the ends of justice would be better subserved by letting
them remain there than by breaking up the Territory agency, where such a
large majority are now perfectly satisfied.
It is probably a work of philanthropy with Mr.
Meacham; but philanthropy quite often lacks the very essential element of
common sense; and whenever confessedly good men advocate measures of questionable
wisdom, they should be resisted as firmly as those whose motives are not
quite so apparent.
Another error we wish to correct. The editor of
the Gazette says Big Snake was “brutally shot by a cowardly
officer of the Interior Department.” Big Snake was what is known as
a “bad Indian.” He had served a term of imprisonment for offenses
against the Government, and took pride in creating disturbances. He had
frequently threatened the life of Col. Whiteman, then agent of the Poncas,
and gave the tribe to understand that he was going to make trouble. Col.
Whiteman, knowing the Indian’s nature probably as well as some of the
Boston gentlemen, had a few soldiers come there for the purpose of quietly
arresting Big Snake and taking him to Fort Reno, until he was more tractable.
Big Snake, however, refused to go, saying he would never get away again,
and would rather die here. When the order for his arrest was given by the
Lieutenant in command, he resisted with all his strength—and he was
the most powerful Indian in the tribe. A military arrest means an arrest,
and to avoid the spilling of any soldier blood, a corporal’s bullet
arrested Big Snake forthwith. This course was sanctioned by all except the
Ponca agitators, and it was more to gain their end than from any inherent
love of Big Snake that prompted their great outcry.
If the editor of the Gazette desires to
become posted on Indian affairs, let him come out here, and we will take
pleasure in showing him around. He will learn more in one day by actual
observation than in reading all the doctored reports ever written. A private
citizen sometimes looks at these things through a different lens than that
used by paid officers.
Arkansas City Traveler, March 29, 1882.
Word was brought up Tuesday to the effect that
Henry T. Stevens had been murdered and robbed, last Sunday morning, near
Fort Reno. Stevens left here one week ago, last Monday, with a wagon and
five horses, to go to Fort Worth, Texas, for some cattle belonging to Campbell
& Dorsey, of Wichita. He was accompanied by Charley Parsons, who he
brought down from Wichita, and Jim Morgan and Ed. Derusha, both of whom
he hired at this place. The facts, as written by Parsons, are to the effect
that on Sunday morning, while the party were in camp, on Deer creek, Morgan
snatched Parsons’ revolver, and taking his own off the wagon, drew
both upon the party and told them to move off to a hill a short distance
away. Parsons and Derusha obeyed the order, but Stevens refused to go, when
Morgan shot him, rifled his pockets, taking about $170, and mounted one
of the horses and started off, leading the others. Parsons went on to Reno,
where he telegraphed to Mr. Campbell, at Wichita.
We are informed that Morgan took the road towards
Caldwell, and at Bull Foot left one of the horses. Since then nothing has
been heard from him. Morgan, it is said, came here last fall from Denver,
and is described as a tall man with long brown hair and blue eyes.
Stevens, the murdered man, is from Grand Lodge,
Michigan, and had lived at Wichita for about a year and a half, where he
made many friends. Parties have gone down to Reno to obtain the body and
bring it up.
Every effort will be made to capture Morgan, and
if he is taken alive, there is no question as to the best means of taking
care of him. Caldwell Commercial.
Arkansas City Traveler, March 29, 1882.
Henry F. Stevens, of Wichita, was murdered by Jim
Morgan, a companion, on Deer creek, near Fort Reno, Indian Territory, on
Sunday, March 19. Morgan robbed the party and shot Stevens, who offered
no resistance. All had come from Wichita together.
Arkansas City Traveler, April 12, 1882.
Two companies of cavalry arrived on Wednesday night
for Fort Reno. They were sent down in consequence of the threatened risings
of the Cheyennes and Arapahos.
Caldwell Commercial.
Arkansas City Traveler, April 19, 1882.
“Capt. Payne still holds the fort on the Canadian
river within the Oklahoma lands. There are no outstanding military camps,
all troops having been retired to Fort Reno. If any arrests are made in
the future, it will only be done by the U. S. Marshal and his deputies.
In this case a warrant will be necessary in every arrest. The question of
opening the Oklahoma country is thus virtually settled.”
It is difficult to tell where items of the above
stamp originate, but it is certain they are copied with semi-endorsement
by a number of Kansas newspapers. The entire statement is false.
Payne is not in Oklahoma, and if he has been there
since the last time he was bounced, he has kept well concealed. Troops from
Reno are constantly scouting in the forbidden land, and if there are any
boomers there, they would be arrested, and no written warrant would be needed.
The Agent’s order is sufficient to remove any and all trespassers from
within the limits of the country which he controls. Besides, Major Randall
has a special order to remove all intruders from Oklahoma. As to Payne,
he is probably bumming wherever he can get his grub free and find a few
loafers who will listen to his twaddle. The decisions of the Secretary of
the Interior, published in this issue, settle the Oklahoma business. Cheyenne
Transporter.
Winfield Courier, June 1, 1882.
Secretary Lincoln has information that Payne and
twenty other colonists, while attempting to invade the Indian Territory,
were captured by troops sent out from Fort Reno, and taken back to Kansas.
The authorities had not decided what disposition to make of them.
Arkansas City Traveler, June 7, 1882.
Our citizens will remember that some two years
ago, Maj. Broadhead, U. S. Paymaster, had a safe shipped from Leavenworth
to Wellington by express, and that when he reached Fort Reno with it, $20,000
of its contents were missing. Last Saturday, a verdict was rendered in the
U. S. court at Topeka, against the Pacific Express Company, in favor of
the United States for this $20,000 and interest. Wellington Press.
Caldwell Commercial, Thursday, September 7, 1882.
We are informed by parties recently up from Fort
Reno, that Capt. Payne and some of his men are still held at Reno, awaiting
orders from Washington as to what disposition shall be made of the party.
It seems queer that the “wisest and best government on earth”
don’t know how to tackle and settle that Oklahoma business.
Winfield Courier, September 14, 1882.
Capt. Payne and twenty Oklahoma boomers were arrested
and brought into Fort Reno, Sept. 1st, and placed in the guard-house, awaiting
to be taken to Fort Smith. He resisted and fought like a tiger, and was
bound hand and foot and hauled in. We trust that the doughty Captain will
now be put where he will boom no more, and that this will be the last of
a fool who tried to buck Uncle Sam single handed.
Caldwell Commercial, Thursday, September 28, 1882.
Lieut. C. W. Taylor, 9th U. S. Cavalry, with a
squad of ten men, arrived at Fort Smith on the 21st inst., with Capt. Dave
Payne and his party consisting of the following persons: W. P. Miller, A.
P., A. L., and E. Lewis, A. C. McCord, M. Hatfield, P. W. Odell, M. Rumman,
H. A. Weatherby, W. H. Osburn, wife and child, and Miss Dicy Dixon. The
entire party were served with summons to appear at the November term of
the U. S. District Court at Fort Smith, and then released. Payne and his
party were taken from Fort Reno, via Henrietta, Texas, and in that place
Payne served out a writ of habeas corpus, which Lieut. Taylor resisted
all attempts to serve. While it makes little or no difference what becomes
of Payne, Lieut. Taylor ought to be made to understand that the military
are subservient to the civil authorities, and any attempt on the part of
a Lieutenant, or any other officer, to resist civil law, makes him just
as liable to punishment as Payne can possibly be for his attempt to settle
upon the Oklahoma lands. That young man Taylor needs a lesson on the firm
of the United States government.
Caldwell Commercial, Thursday, September 28, 1882.
Lieut. Taylor of the 9th U. S. Cavalry with a squad
of ten men arrived on the noon train yesterday from Fort Smith, to which
place he had taken Payne and his party, and left on the stage for Fort Reno.
Taylor, from what others report to us, feels “bigger than old Grant”
because he stood off the civil authorities of Henrietta, Texas, when they
came at him with a writ of habeas corpus for Payne. If the facts
as reported in the daily papers and as stated by himself are true, Taylor
ought to be court martialed at once and dishonorably dismissed from the
service. For if subalterns like him can openly set at defiance laws enacted
for the protection of the people against the military tyranny of such upstarts,
what might not a commanding officer do, and with impunity, to subvert our
liberties? Admitting that Payne is the great criminal in the country, he
was entitled to the writ of habeas corpus to be examined under it,
and if Taylor understood his duties as a soldier and a citizen of the U.
S., it was his province to obey the writ without any grumbling or the ruffing
up of his young military pin feathers. It is just such men as Taylor that
creates in the mind of the average old Kansan a huge disgust for the regular
army and the average freshly hatched West Point lieutenant.
Caldwell Commercial, Thursday, September 28, 1882.
Who is this Lieut. Taylor of the 9th U. S. Cavalry,
whom the people of the United States feed and clothe and furnish spending
money, and yet is too great to obey the laws of these same people? Major
Bennett, the commander at Reno, who detailed Taylor to take Payne to Fort
Smith, should make a searching inquiry into Taylor’s conduct at Henrietta,
and if the facts are as stated, report him to headquarters to be dealt with
according to the laws of the land.
Caldwell Commercial, Thursday, October 5, 1882.
PAYNE’S SIDE OF THE STORY.
Stuck away off in an obscure corner of the Topeka
Commonwealth of the 30 ult., we find the following letter from one of
Payne’s party. “If the statements made by Mr. Osburn are true,
then Lieut. Taylor exhibited in the light of not only a mere military tyrant,
but a brute, unworthy to wear the uniform of a servant of the American People.
“Osburn’s story is rather disoriented,
but it bears on the face of it a desire to give the cold hard facts. If
he has filed in that particular, Lieut. Taylor owes it to the service, the
people, and himself, to show wherein Osburn is wrong or has misrepresented.
False military ethics may require him to keep silent, in order perhaps,
to screen a superior officer; but Mr. Taylor should remember that he is
an American citizen as well as an inferior officer in the military arm of
the government of the people, and as such he owes to his fellow citizens
an explanation of his conduct as one of their servants.
“But read Osburn’s letter.”
FORT SMITH, ARKANSAS, September 26, 1882.
Special Correspondence to the Commonwealth.
Capt. Payne requests me to write you a sketch of
our Oklahoma business, which I will do by saying that on Aug. 3rd we left
Hunnewell, Kansas, for our new homes, about twenty-five in number. We arrived
in three days’ drive, and commenced selecting our new homes, which
we did until we were all satisfied, which was about August 12th, when we
began building houses and digging wells, which we engaged in until August
26th, when the troops came and ordered us to load and move. This we did
not agree to at all, but Lieut. Taylor, commanding the troops, tied us,
hitched our teams, loaded our wagons, and then loaded us and carried us
to Fort Reno, where we were held prisoners about twenty hours, without anything
to eat, our teams faring as well. After holding us there without any accommodations,
in rain and sun, for eight days, they sent a tent and stove, after thirty-six
hours’ rain and still raining, and after eleven days they sent a Jesse
James gang and stole our property, consisting of teams, wagons, and outfits
for traveling, and took them to I don’t know where. Enough to say we
were robbed of them and they are gone.
We were pitched into government wagons and started on our road to Fort Smith, Arkansas, via Henrietta, Texas, Texarkana, and Little Rock. On our second day, on account of the rough traveling, the two ladies and a child in the crowd got sick and asked for a rest, but none was granted, and when we reached Fort Sill the child was very sick, as was also Mrs. Osburn, the mother of the sick child; but no rest was to be had, although they had to ride each day in a wagon, drawn by six mules, loaded with freight and from eight to twelve persons. When we reached Henrietta, Texas, the eighth day, the physician, Dr. McGee, said the child was very sick and told the lieutenant that he endangered the life of the child by traveling, that he must let them rest a day or two. But no; so we tried to stop him by a writ of habeas corpus, but he defied the civil laws, and intimidated the sheriff with firearms. So we came on, meeting with very bad usage from Lieutenant Taylor, in charge, but Sergeant Mason and the soldiers were perfect gentlemen, to whom we shall always be thankful for kindness. We arrived here Sept. 20th, and were taken to the courthouse and guarded until the morning of the 21st, at which time the court served a summons on us to appear at the next term of court, to answer the charges brought against us, for invading the Indian Territory, they being too cowardly