July 24, 2025 • 31 mins
The violent clashes that erupted across the Kansas frontier in 1868 have often been shrouded in overly simplistic narratives. Historian Dr. Jeff Broome courageously challenges these conventional interpretations, revealing the intricate realities that drove Southern Plains tribes to warfare against white settlers.
Through his remarkable research into Indian depredation claims—sworn testimonies encompassing nearly 800 storage feet at the National Archives—Broome uncovers perspectives that have long been overlooked. "Here is a hidden voice of these settlers," he explains, shedding light on the experiences of frontier families intertwined in the conflict.
The roots of violence run deeper than commonly perceived. The Cheyenne migrated from Minnesota centuries ago, displacing other tribes and asserting their dominance over the Central Plains. Yet by 1868, their control had lasted merely two generations, while a series of treaties had drastically reduced their lands by approximately 15 times. The tipping point arrived as settlers disrupted the buffalo migrations essential to the Cheyenne's survival.
Most revealing is Dr. Broome's evidence regarding Chief Black Kettle, who was traditionally viewed as a steadfast peace advocate. Settler accounts suggest he "played both sides"—cultivating relationships with military authorities while supporting war preparations. Although he did not directly participate in raids, his role appears more intricate than previously recognized.
The August 1868 raids commenced along Spillman Creek, where newly arrived homesteaders suddenly became vulnerable on isolated claims. With no established towns or newspapers in the area, ascertaining exact casualty numbers remains challenging, though Governor Crawford estimated "upwards of 40 settlers" killed.
By delving into these untapped primary sources, Broome helps us grasp that the violence in 1868 resulted from a potent combination of diminishing resources, broken promises, tribal dynamics, and government shortfalls—a nuanced perspective vital for anyone striving to comprehend this pivotal moment in American frontier history.
Would you be ready to explore more? Subscribe to our podcast for the complete "Trails to the Washita" series, and share your thoughts at wildwestpodcast@gmail.com about what aspects of this complex history you'd like us to examine next.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
10 years before the massive outbreaks of Indian
depredations on Kansas settlers,a Methodist minister accurately
predicted that eventually thetribes living in the central
plains would not tolerateencroaching settlers much longer
in the Central Plains would nottolerate encroaching settlers
much longer.
James Griffin wrote to his wifein 1854, during the early days
(00:30):
of the Kansas settlement,regarding the tenuous Indian
situation, the followingstatement I sometimes think the
encroachments of our people,repeated and grieving upon the
(00:52):
claims and rights of the red man, may soon be beyond all
endurance and their impatientspirit will.
Wild West Podcast proudlypresents the 1868 Depredations
on the Plains with Jeff Broomthe 1868 Depredations on the
Plains with Jeff Broom.
Today we have a special guestnoted worldwide for his
(01:13):
contributions to Native Americanhistory, james Jefferson Jeff
Broom, a fifth-generation NativeColoradoan.
Born in Pueblo in 1952, jeffmoved to Littleton in 1962.
Attended Arapahoe High Schooland St John's Military School in
Salina, kansas.
He received his BS from CSUPueblo in 1975, an MA from
(01:36):
Baylor University in 1976, and aPhD at CU Boulder in 1998.
His degrees are in philosophyand psychology.
Jeff is a professor emeritus ofphilosophy from a state college
in Metro Denver.
He has worked several yearswith the Arapahoe County
Sheriff's Department, theSalvation Army Adult
(01:58):
Rehabilitation Center in Denverand six years as chaplain and
clinical director.
Dog Soldier Justice wasinitially published in 2003, and
Nebraska University Press tookit over in 2009.
In 2009, custer Into the Westwas published Upton Sons
Publishers and edited DavidHume's New Scene of Thought.
(02:20):
His interest in Indian Warhistory goes back to childhood.
In 2013, he published CheyenneWar, indian Raids on the Roads
to Denver 1864-1869, aberdeenBooks and Logan County
Historical Society.
In 2020, he published IndianRaids and Massacres Essays on
(02:43):
the Central Plains Indian War,caxton Press.
He has also published numerousarticles in journals, magazines
and private historical societies.
Jeff, first and foremost, mikeand I would like to say how
delighted we are to have you onour show.
Over several months, we haveassembled a series leading up to
(03:04):
the Battle of the Ouachita.
This series is entitled Trailsto the Ouachita and our intent
from the beginning was toprovide our listeners with both
sides of the story.
We also wanted to bring to theshow noted historians who could
provide our subscribers insightsinto the 1868 conflicts between
the white settlers in Kansasand the warring faction of the
(03:27):
Southern Plains tribes.
Today, we would like to offerour audience a deeper insight
into the early August andSeptember conflicts that led up
to the Battle of the Ouachita.
Jeff, can you provide ourlisteners with some insights
into some of the reasons thatthe Southern Plains tribes
became aggrieved by the presenceof the white settlers,
(03:48):
especially after the MedicineLodge Treaty, which provided
land and allowed the tribes tocollect annuities or gifts from
the government?
Speaker 2 (03:57):
Yes, in answer to that question, there's a book I
would recommend by Elliot Westcalled the Contested Plains,
indians, gold Seekers and theRush to Colorado.
It's in there where I think hedoes an excellent job of sharing
the causes of the war.
There were multiple causes.
If we go back about 40 years or20 years before this conflict,
(04:19):
the Cheyenne have settled downnear Bent's Fort and trading
well and at peace, no realconflicts, getting along with
everybody, very little conflicton the Santa Fe Trail where
Bent's Fort was, nearpresent-day Lamar, colorado, and
it seemed all was going well.
But beneath this there weresome other things happening.
(04:40):
You see, that was a tradingpost of William Bent and they
were trading first furs and thenbuffalo robes and at this time
in the 1840s it was the buffalorobe and in one source that I
read, a female Indian womancould make and prepare about 12
(05:00):
skins a year.
That's what it took to put onone teepee and generally there
were two took to put on oneteepee and generally there were
two, sometimes three women to ateepee and so there was always
some, you know, making, keepingthose going.
But they're trading them forall the things they're getting
from William Bent and othertraders and they're happy with
that.
They're happy with the thingsthat we bring them.
That's where they got theirbeadwork and stuff.
(05:21):
That's where they got theirweapons, that's where they got
their metal arrow pointsreplacing the iron arrow points,
replacing the stone arrowpoints, and it seemed to be
going pretty good.
And, as Elliot West notes, withthe discovery of gold in
Colorado, that all changed Comesthe rush in 1859.
And actually, if you look atthe census for Colorado for 1860
(05:45):
and 1870, in 1860 it was a partof Kansas territory and they
had their Colorado faction atabout 34,000.
In 1870 it's now Coloradoterritory and it's still just
about 700 more than that number.
And well, wait a minute, didn'ta hundred thousand gold miners
(06:05):
come through on the trails?
Yes, they did, and I can'texplain why the population is
the same in those two censusreports.
But there was an onrush ofpeople coming.
And how are they getting intothe gold fields?
They're following the watercourses, either the Arkansas
River, which is the bottom partof the central plains, or the
Platte River, which is the toppart of the Central Plains, or
the Platte River, which is thetop part of the Central Plains.
(06:26):
So it's that area from Casper,wyoming all the way down to
Pueblo, colorado, and followingthe rivers about halfway into
Kansas, that was Cheyenne to theCheyenne and Arapaho in the
1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie onHorse Creek, and so they had all
that territory that was theirs.
But they loved to trade withWilliam Benton.
(06:47):
The Southern Cheyennes weredown there.
But as these watercourses comethrough Kansas and Colorado and
Nebraska, all of a sudden weneed stages.
So there's stage stations aboutevery 15 miles and then of
course come all these otherranchers.
There were two kinds of ranchesthat you read in the accounts
then Ranch spelled as it'snormally spelled and ranch with
(07:11):
an E at the end.
A ranch with an E at the endwas a trading ranch, so that
people coming through thefreighters and that sort of
thing and bringing all thepeople into the gold field can
replenish supplies and stuff.
And so, starting in about 1861,actually let's go back In 1860,
we have the Treaty of Fort Wisesigned, which is Fort Lyon.
But it was originally calledFort Wise.
But he left and became ageneral in the Confederacy, so
(07:35):
they named it for the firstofficer killed in the Civil War
Lyon treaty.
All of a sudden, this land whichthey had from Casper to Pueblo
over to Salina, kansas, insidethose rivers that I mentioned,
was reduced by at least 15 times, maybe 16.
If you look at a map and put itout, they basically have
(07:58):
southern end, southeastern endof Colorado and a tiny bit in
Kansas, roughly from Kit Carsondown to Lamar in the Kansas.
And that's what they agreed to.
But when I say they, there wereonly a few.
Cheyenne that signed that BlackKettle was one of the Council
of 44 that had been appointed in1854, and he voted for it, but
(08:20):
the Dog Soldiers, cheyennedidn't.
So they gave up that land whichopened up that North Platte and
South Platte trails for allkinds of people coming in.
Well, what happens when thathappens?
You have all of the naturalresources gone.
Gone are the feeding for thehorses on the water routes,
(08:41):
upsetting the buffalo migration,and these are right where all
of the state stops are and allof the ranches, and all of a
sudden it's white peopleeverywhere.
(09:01):
At first it's okay, we'll tradewith them, we'll trade with
them, but soon they see thattheir natural resources are
being depleted their water,their trees, their buffalo,
their meat, their hunting,everything was disrupted.
It wasn't the railroad thatdisrupted the buffaloes, it was
the coming of the white man andthey saw that and something
happened in 1862 up in UM,minnesota, in August and that
(09:24):
was an outbreak there the Lakotathere who killed the annual
report of the Commissioner ofIndian Affairs has almost 700
killed, the numbers of the 640or something like that and other
accounts put it up as close to800, but we know that almost 700
were killed, the majority ofthem women and children, in
roughly a three-week outbreak.
(09:45):
And as they chased them there'ssome fights in what would be the
Dakotas today with the militarypunishing them.
But these warring leaders camedown and smoked the war pipe
with the Southern Lakota, that'sthe Ogallala and Brulee, not
the Hunkpapa but the Ogallalaand Brulee, and also with the
(10:06):
Southern Cheyenne saying if yougo to war like we did up in
Minnesota, you'll chase them out.
Governor Evans was receivingreports on this as early as late
1862.
They're in his reports in theCommissioner of Indian Affairs
Several times.
All of his agents at all of hisplaces in Colorado reported to
him in 1863 that the Indians aresmoking the war pipe and acting
(10:30):
as if they're peaceful untilthey get enough arms and
ammunition to open up a war.
And this is what Evans washearing for almost a year and a
half before the Sand CreekMassacre happened.
And then, after that, there'sanother treaty on the Little
Arkansas, where they try to.
They promise reparations thatwere never given to the Cheyenne
that were victimized at SandCreek, but they also gave them a
(10:52):
new territory in which to live,a smaller one, and tried to
prepare the plains for thesettlement with the Homestead
Act of 1862.
And this is where so manypeople were coming in.
This is what they were seeingand this was brewing.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
Oh yeah, Jeff, we got a few more questions to get to
as well, but, man, that is afantastic introduction.
Thank you.
Well, thank you.
Next up, in 1867, 50,000immigrants converged on Kansas,
as you mentioned, determined toclaim the state's rich central
prairies.
Moreover, the rapid expansionof commercial farming
(11:35):
foreshadowed the end of theclassic Plains Indian culture.
Hundreds of thousands of acresof prairie were busted out by
the plow each year as thebison's feeding ground became
rigorously converted to wheatand cornfields.
Ironically, the cessation ofthe buffalo herds forewent that
of the prairie itself, as thelumbering animals were preyed
upon just for sport of killingor for the financial returns
(11:58):
realized from the sale of hidesfor factories or selected cuts
of meat.
By late spring of 1868, ageneral onslaught was once again
unleashed along the frontier bythe southern tribes.
As the casualties mounted, thefrightened populace flocked to
the safety of small towns.
They barricaded themselvesagainst the atrocities befalling
(12:20):
many friends who remained ontheir homesteads.
The homesteaders abandonedtheir crops and livestock in the
fields to choose poverty overthe risk of sudden death.
Can you provide us a shortsynopsis of what is occurring in
Kansas in 1868 that drives awedge between some of the Plains
tribes and the settlers ofKansas and why military
(12:41):
intervention became necessary.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
Well, we can go back to these treaties and find our
answer there.
Because in that Treaty of theLittle Arkansas, as well as the
Fort Wise Treaty, or let's's goback to Fort Laramie in 1851.
There, it was noted that thebuffalo population was rapidly
diminishing.
This was because of their tradewith the fur traders, mind you,
(13:05):
more than any other reason, andit was predicted that within 20
years the buffalo would be gone.
That's 1851.
We go to 1868, and that'salmost 20 years, isn't it?
And so this was alreadypredicted.
That's 1851.
We go to 1868, and that'salmost 20 years, isn't it?
And so this was alreadypredicted.
And so what the Indians got thetwo treaties of Fort Lyon and
Little Arkansas, was permissionto continue to hunt the buffalo
(13:27):
so long as they were there.
And that's where the conflictbegan, because the buffalo were
interfering with thehomesteaders.
I mean, they were coming inthere.
When you read the accounts ofthese raids in 1868, in fact,
one victim, his boy, was havinga third birthday and he took his
son with him and another personand they went out hunting
(13:47):
buffalo.
They'd only gone about a mileand a half when they met up with
the Cheyenne in the raid,killed the two men and wounded
the boys.
The buffalo were right there.
They were gone by 1873.
So it was that the permissionthat allowed the Indians to be
around the buffalo and promisingto stay away from the
settlement that they ran intothe settlement, so to speak.
(14:11):
And another thing needs to besaid about this too, for the
conflict is that the Cheyennewere actually for centuries up
in the Minnesota area and theymade a decision in maybe the
late 1600s, early 1700s tobecome nomadic and follow the
buffalo and live in teepees andthey began to migrate down.
(14:33):
They got into the southernplains here, or the central
plains, and wiped out theIndians that had been there for
centuries, the Pawnee, the Ka,the Ute.
They took that land over.
They only had it for twogenerations.
When this conflict broke out, itcould be seen with these
conflicts that it was inevitable.
So the year before 1868, therewas a military campaign to try
(14:58):
to get the Indians to come inand stop the warring and make
another treaty this is theMedicine Lodge Treaty that ends
up in 1868, or to fight, if youwant to fight, and it was led by
General Hancock, 1,400 soldiers, and some bad decisions were
made there by Hancock.
Probably the worst is theburning of two villages that had
(15:18):
come in, one Cheyenne and oneOguwala, that belonged to Pawnee
killer.
When they left their villagesbecause Hancock moved his men
too close to the villages andthey remembered Sand Creek and
they fled.
So this 1868 was to try to fixthat and repair that.
So we have this Medicine LodgeTreaty and it was agreed to in
(15:39):
the fall of 1867.
And then they were to get theirannuities and all that and the
conflict broke out pretty muchwhat was going on and why the
military was trying to intervenethen.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
So, according to TJ Stiles in his book entitled
Custer's Trials, a Life on theFrontier of a New America states
that the chain of events thatpulled Custer back into active
service began in June 1868, whena band of Southern Cheyenne
warriors raided a Kaw villagenear Council Grove.
On June 3rd 1868, some 400Cheyenne Indians flooded Council
Grove, kansas, armed andpainted for war.
(16:21):
When the Indians reached thewest end of town, they divided
their forces, one half followingalong Elm Creek to the south of
town, while the other continuedto march along Main Street.
The people were takencompletely by surprise but held
themselves in readiness forwhatever might happen.
What did happen at CouncilGrove on June 3, 1868, and why
(16:44):
did this conflict between twoPlains tribes, the Kaw and
Cheyenne, prompt the need formilitary involvement?
Speaker 2 (16:51):
Well, this is a situation again where the Kha
had long established in Kansasand the Cheyenne had fought them
when they came down.
So there had been conflict.
This raid was actually inresponse to some Cheyenne being
attacked earlier by the Kha inthe year before, the summer
before.
So they went out, the 400 ofthem led by Little Robe and
(17:14):
Taubo, and they got in there andthere was a few Indians wounded
.
There was really not much moregoing on than that.
It was reported in the papersand stuff and that.
And the papers reported thatseveral settlers had their homes
raided and things destroyed andstuff.
And in my research in theNational Archives I found I
think it was six Indiandepredation claims of settlers
(17:37):
whose houses were destroyed orseverely damaged.
In one case Indiansintentionally marched their 400
horses over all the crops anddestroyed them and did things
like that.
No whites were killed in that,but it did get reported and this
bothered the government.
(17:58):
An interesting thing about thesetreaties it wasn't until we get
into around 1868 here that thetreaties also tried to get the
Indians to stop fighting theirIndian enemies.
Before there was nothing saidabout that.
There was no treaty violationsfor attacking cause and that
sort of thing, but this one was.
So this caused a problem andthey withheld the annuities.
(18:22):
That included guns andammunition.
Actually they refused the guns.
That came down as an order bothfrom the Commissioner of Indian
Affairs and the General of theArmy.
So the Indians were complainingabout that.
But that's what the conflictwas about.
Speaker 1 (18:39):
Next up.
According to Lonnie J White inhis works titled the Cheyenne
Barrier on the Kansas Frontierstates.
On August 3rd a 224-memberraiding party comprising 200
Southern Cheyenne, includingfive sub-chiefs from Black
Kettle's camp, 20 Sioux, likelyOglala, lakota and four Arapaho,
(19:02):
left above the forks of WalnutCreek and proceeded north.
Black Kettle was not among them, for he was a member of the
Council of 44, a group of chiefswho were in charge of keeping
the peace within the tribe andcaring for the women, children
and elderly.
The raiding party crossed theSmoky Hill near Fort Hayes and
(19:22):
at Fort Hayes, on the evening ofAugust 7th, black Kettle smoked
a peace pipe.
A post trader named Hill PWilson reported that Black
Kettle was set on peace and heshook the hands of his white
brothers.
Kettle was set on peace and heshook the hands of his white
brothers.
At the time Black Kettle statedBlack Kettle loves his white
soldier brothers and his heartfeels glad when he meets them
(19:42):
and shakes their hands infriendship.
The chief of 44 further statedAll other Indians may take the
war trail, but Black Kettle willforever keep friendship with
his white brothers.
Upon leaving Fortes, theCheyennes moved eastward toward
the settlements and camped thefirst night on the Saline near
the mouth of Spilman Creek.
(20:03):
That evening three Indians whospoke English rode up to the
Bacon cabin in the neighborhoodand told Mrs Bacon that one was
Arapaho, one was Sue and thethird was Cheyenne.
That one was Arapaho, one wasSioux and the third was Cheyenne
.
They captured and violated thelady occupant Two days after
Spillman Creek on August 14th,after the killing of Ben White
(20:24):
and capturing his daughter.
The real killing began 35 milesnorth of Spillman Creek along
the Solomon.
Can you provide our audiencewith background information on
some raids in early August 1868?
Speaker 2 (20:39):
along the Saline.
Yes, I can, and there's acouple of errors.
What was said in that came fromthe research that you did.
This was Bacon was attacked inthe afternoon and released in
the evening.
Sarah White was captured on.
Well, she's not mentioned.
Yeah, that's been white.
That was on August 13th and itwas on August 12th that the
(21:13):
killings really took place.
Bad on the.
These are documents notavailable on microfilm, not
available in any other way thanto visit there and pay for a
copy.
I learned of a book written in1995 called Indian Depredation
Claims by Larry Scogin, a notedhistorian, and he talked about
their importance for study byhistorians.
(21:34):
And he talked about theirimportance for study by
historians and I noted that onlyone historian of all the people
I'd ever read, a guy named JohnMcDermott Jack, his friends
called him had used some Indiandepredation claims in one book.
So I talked to him and Ilearned about those claims.
He'd spent two years up in theNational Archives as a part of
his duty with the National ParkService and he worked in the
(21:55):
Indian depredation claims and hegot me all educated to what I
needed to do and how I needed tohunt.
And I got up in the NationalArchives.
And just to show you and I'llexplain these claims in a minute
, but to show you thesignificance of these, one
record group has 800 storagefeet space holding 12,000
(22:16):
individual claims.
Now, when I say 800 feet almosttwo football fields it's boxes,
boxes that if you laid them ina line it would go almost two
football fields long.
And these Indian depredationclaims go back to 1796 when
Congress started passing lawsallowing for American citizens
to get compensation from Indianswho might rob them if they were
(22:38):
in treaty and receivingannuities and part of the law
two parts of the law required anaffidavit.
That's a sworn statement, astatement under oath.
That's what you do when youtestify in court of what
happened, given the details, thedates and what happened and the
property lost and that sort ofthing.
So here is a hidden voice ofthese settlers that no
(22:59):
historians have consulted otherthan Jack McDermott After me.
Greg McNo is used some of them,but that's about it.
A lot of these, a lot ofhistorians who I say are lazy,
refuse to get into these filesand study them and there is a
fascinating documentation thatyou get from that and that's how
I was able to lay outeverything.
(23:19):
So let's talk about Black Kettlefirst, because something that
kind of kept out of historians'accounts but they're in the
records in the National Archivesin the War Department is
General Sheridan said in hisannual report to Congress on
this war.
He said that after the Indiansreceived their guns and I'm
(23:41):
going to come back and talkabout the controversy there they
went up to Walnut Creek NowWalnut Creek is where Great Bend
is today, it's about 30 milesnortheast of Fort Larned, kansas
and they went up there and theydid their war, preparing all of
their little prayer things andall of their war dances and all
(24:01):
that and General Sheridan'sreport.
He said that Black Kettle wasright there with them, leading
them in that.
And when I got into the Indiandepredation claims, another
thing that was required was toproduce evidence for the
depredation, such as testimonyfrom other eyewitnesses or
newspaper accounts or thingslike that, and many of the
(24:23):
people that lived on thefrontier then that I found in
these when I say many, I'd sayat least five where these white
people that were eitherfreighters or settlers or that
said something like this Blackcattle played both sides on the
war.
He acted friendly to us but weall knew he was nothing but a
spy to give to the other warringIndians.
(24:44):
The newspaper article in Hayeswas correct he did not
participate in the raid, but hedid participate in the
preparations for the raid andthen he intentionally went into
Hayays to profess his peace,knowing full well what those
Indians are about to do and aredoing.
And so when I say that afterthat incident at the car
(25:05):
reservation in Council Grove theannuities were held up and
finally they were senteverything but the guns, and the
Cheyenne were so angry thatthey didn't get the guns with
their annuities that theyrefused them and that was in
late spring, well, after thisraid, and, excuse me, mid-summer
and refused them.
And so finally the Commissionerof Indian Affairs authorized
(25:28):
the issuing of the arms on April3rd and if you study this
Captain Barnett's station atFort Lauderdale where they were
given out, and he wrote his wifeon July 31st I think it was on
July 31st or 29th, one of thosetwo days and he said to her he
said Weinkoop, the agent, is nowissuing his arms to the Indians
(25:51):
and he wondered how long itwould take before there's
another outbreak to his wife.
And then Commissioner Taylorauthorized a release on the 3rd
and then Weinkoop wrote a letteron August 10th and said
yesterday, meaning August 9th, Idistributed all the arms and
ammunition to the Indians.
(26:12):
I think the mistake in hisletter was I finalized giving
out all the arms and ammunitionbecause they did have them and
they did have them at thatincantation that they prepared
for that war and the settlers.
In their Indian depredationclaims many of them noted the
new weapons that they werecarrying.
So as soon as they got themthey took off.
The other thing is finding outwhen and where things happen,
(26:33):
because what is usually usedLonnie White used it and you
quoted from it about the224-member raiding party going
up there and they say that theystarted their raids on the forks
of the Solomon.
But when you read the Indiandepredation claims in the
newspaper reports, those two thesouth and north fork of the
Solomon Solomon come togetherabout 25 miles before the
(26:59):
settlers were hit by the raids.
In other words, the raids werefurther east.
It's today where Beloit, kansas, is.
And that's where the raidsreally happened and they moved
east from that and moved west.
But I will say this theGovernor Crawford, who resigned
his governorship to lead thecall for the 19th Kansas
(27:20):
Volunteer Cavalry whichaccompanied Custer down to the
Ouachita although they missedthe fight because they didn't
get there, it was a snowstormand all that but they were with
him on the rescue of Sarah Whiteand Anna Morgan in March of
1869.
Morgan in March of 1869.
(27:42):
But Governor Crawford says inhis book in Kansas in the 60s he
says that upwards of 40settlers were killed in this
raid.
That might be true.
It's hard to find out becausethere were no newspapers in
these settlements, because therewere no towns.
The town, the closest town wasSalina and that's about maybe 70
, 80 miles from Beloit wherethese raids happened and there
were no newspapers there.
Then Salina had it and then youhad the Junction City Weekly
(28:02):
Union, which is further east,and you had the Leavenworth
Times and Conservatives.
These were the stories thatcame out about the raids and
they came out from reports ofeyewitnesses.
So it was really hard todetermine the number of victims
and stuff.
But it started on August 10th onSpilman Creek and Spilman Creek
, just if people want to have aneye to.
(28:23):
It is about maybe 45 milesnorthwest of Salina, kansas, and
the Saline River runs into thetown that's today called Lincoln
and that was founded in 1972.
So see, there was no town therein 1868.
But the settlers had just comein in the summer of 1867 and
(28:44):
more in 68, and more in 69 andcontinued.
But these were where the Indianraids happened and so there was
just a.
There was a lot of people thatwere new there, and Spilman
Creek comes from the north andenters into the Saline River
about four and a half miles westof present-day Lincoln, and you
(29:04):
have to go up that creek, aboutmaybe 15 miles, to get to where
they raided.
Mrs Bacon, she said that herclosest neighbor was one and a
half miles distant and both ofthem lived on Spillman Creek and
both were the first victims onAugust 10th.
Speaker 1 (29:26):
But before we close, I would like to let our audience
know how they could purchaseone of your autograph books.
Speaker 2 (29:34):
Yeah, thank you for saying that.
And just real quickly let metell you that I got surprised
about a year after my last bookcame out when somebody posted on
my Facebook.
They can get me on my Facebook,jeff Broom.
Just send me a message.
You don't have to be friendswith me.
Send me a message.
I'd like to know about yourbooks.
Get in signed copies and I'llexplain everything there.
That's the best way to get ahold of me.
(29:54):
But a ranger there gave thisshort review of my book.
Indian Raids and Massacres.
This is a ranger at theOuachita Historic Site, so we're
talking about the trails to theOuachita.
Listen to what ranger JoelShockey wrote.
This book debunks age old mythsand deals with the facts about
the Indian raids in Colorado,kansas and Nebraska that would
lead up to the Battle of theOuachita and the Battle of
(30:16):
Summit Springs.
Broome delves into the standardstories and then investigates
firsthand source materials topeel away the fiction and find
the true facts.
I feel this is a must-read foranyone who is really interested
in studying the Indian Wars ofthe Central and Southern Plains.
It already has a spot on mybookshelf next to Green's
Washita book, so that's whereyou can get my book from me by
(30:41):
contacting me that way.
Speaker 1 (30:43):
Thank you very much, jeff.
That is a fantastic review.
That's it for now.
If you'd like to purchase anyof Jeff's books, you can check
out the links on the descriptionpage of this podcast.
Remember to check out our WildWest podcast shows on iTunes or
wildwestpodcastbuzzsproutcom.
You can also catch us onFacebook at facebookcom slash
(31:04):
wildwestpodcast or on ourYouTube channel at Wild West
Podcast Mike King YouTube.
So make sure you subscribe toour shows listed at the end of
the description text of thispodcast to receive notification
on all new episodes.
Thanks for listening to ourpodcast.
If you have any comments orwant to add to our series,
(31:25):
please write us atwildwestpodcast at gmailcom.
We will share your thoughts asthey apply to future episodes.
Music, music, music, musicMusic.
10 years before the massive outbreaks of Indian
depredations on Kansas settlers,a Methodist minister accurately
predicted that eventually thetribes living in the central
plains would not tolerateencroaching settlers much longer
in the Central Plains would nottolerate encroaching settlers
much longer.
James Griffin wrote to his wifein 1854, during the early days
(00:30):
of the Kansas settlement,regarding the tenuous Indian
situation, the followingstatement I sometimes think the
encroachments of our people,repeated and grieving upon the
(00:52):
claims and rights of the red man, may soon be beyond all
endurance and their impatientspirit will.
Wild West Podcast proudlypresents the 1868 Depredations
on the Plains with Jeff Broomthe 1868 Depredations on the
Plains with Jeff Broom.
Today we have a special guestnoted worldwide for his
(01:13):
contributions to Native Americanhistory, james Jefferson Jeff
Broom, a fifth-generation NativeColoradoan.
Born in Pueblo in 1952, jeffmoved to Littleton in 1962.
Attended Arapahoe High Schooland St John's Military School in
Salina, kansas.
He received his BS from CSUPueblo in 1975, an MA from
(01:36):
Baylor University in 1976, and aPhD at CU Boulder in 1998.
His degrees are in philosophyand psychology.
Jeff is a professor emeritus ofphilosophy from a state college
in Metro Denver.
He has worked several yearswith the Arapahoe County
Sheriff's Department, theSalvation Army Adult
(01:58):
Rehabilitation Center in Denverand six years as chaplain and
clinical director.
Dog Soldier Justice wasinitially published in 2003, and
Nebraska University Press tookit over in 2009.
In 2009, custer Into the Westwas published Upton Sons
Publishers and edited DavidHume's New Scene of Thought.
(02:20):
His interest in Indian Warhistory goes back to childhood.
In 2013, he published CheyenneWar, indian Raids on the Roads
to Denver 1864-1869, aberdeenBooks and Logan County
Historical Society.
In 2020, he published IndianRaids and Massacres Essays on
(02:43):
the Central Plains Indian War,caxton Press.
He has also published numerousarticles in journals, magazines
and private historical societies.
Jeff, first and foremost, mikeand I would like to say how
delighted we are to have you onour show.
Over several months, we haveassembled a series leading up to
(03:04):
the Battle of the Ouachita.
This series is entitled Trailsto the Ouachita and our intent
from the beginning was toprovide our listeners with both
sides of the story.
We also wanted to bring to theshow noted historians who could
provide our subscribers insightsinto the 1868 conflicts between
the white settlers in Kansasand the warring faction of the
(03:27):
Southern Plains tribes.
Today, we would like to offerour audience a deeper insight
into the early August andSeptember conflicts that led up
to the Battle of the Ouachita.
Jeff, can you provide ourlisteners with some insights
into some of the reasons thatthe Southern Plains tribes
became aggrieved by the presenceof the white settlers,
(03:48):
especially after the MedicineLodge Treaty, which provided
land and allowed the tribes tocollect annuities or gifts from
the government?
Speaker 2 (03:57):
Yes, in answer to that question, there's a book I
would recommend by Elliot Westcalled the Contested Plains,
indians, gold Seekers and theRush to Colorado.
It's in there where I think hedoes an excellent job of sharing
the causes of the war.
There were multiple causes.
If we go back about 40 years or20 years before this conflict,
(04:19):
the Cheyenne have settled downnear Bent's Fort and trading
well and at peace, no realconflicts, getting along with
everybody, very little conflicton the Santa Fe Trail where
Bent's Fort was, nearpresent-day Lamar, colorado, and
it seemed all was going well.
But beneath this there weresome other things happening.
(04:40):
You see, that was a tradingpost of William Bent and they
were trading first furs and thenbuffalo robes and at this time
in the 1840s it was the buffalorobe and in one source that I
read, a female Indian womancould make and prepare about 12
(05:00):
skins a year.
That's what it took to put onone teepee and generally there
were two took to put on oneteepee and generally there were
two, sometimes three women to ateepee and so there was always
some, you know, making, keepingthose going.
But they're trading them forall the things they're getting
from William Bent and othertraders and they're happy with
that.
They're happy with the thingsthat we bring them.
That's where they got theirbeadwork and stuff.
(05:21):
That's where they got theirweapons, that's where they got
their metal arrow pointsreplacing the iron arrow points,
replacing the stone arrowpoints, and it seemed to be
going pretty good.
And, as Elliot West notes, withthe discovery of gold in
Colorado, that all changed Comesthe rush in 1859.
And actually, if you look atthe census for Colorado for 1860
(05:45):
and 1870, in 1860 it was a partof Kansas territory and they
had their Colorado faction atabout 34,000.
In 1870 it's now Coloradoterritory and it's still just
about 700 more than that number.
And well, wait a minute, didn'ta hundred thousand gold miners
(06:05):
come through on the trails?
Yes, they did, and I can'texplain why the population is
the same in those two censusreports.
But there was an onrush ofpeople coming.
And how are they getting intothe gold fields?
They're following the watercourses, either the Arkansas
River, which is the bottom partof the central plains, or the
Platte River, which is the toppart of the Central Plains, or
the Platte River, which is thetop part of the Central Plains.
(06:26):
So it's that area from Casper,wyoming all the way down to
Pueblo, colorado, and followingthe rivers about halfway into
Kansas, that was Cheyenne to theCheyenne and Arapaho in the
1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie onHorse Creek, and so they had all
that territory that was theirs.
But they loved to trade withWilliam Benton.
(06:47):
The Southern Cheyennes weredown there.
But as these watercourses comethrough Kansas and Colorado and
Nebraska, all of a sudden weneed stages.
So there's stage stations aboutevery 15 miles and then of
course come all these otherranchers.
There were two kinds of ranchesthat you read in the accounts
then Ranch spelled as it'snormally spelled and ranch with
(07:11):
an E at the end.
A ranch with an E at the endwas a trading ranch, so that
people coming through thefreighters and that sort of
thing and bringing all thepeople into the gold field can
replenish supplies and stuff.
And so, starting in about 1861,actually let's go back In 1860,
we have the Treaty of Fort Wisesigned, which is Fort Lyon.
But it was originally calledFort Wise.
But he left and became ageneral in the Confederacy, so
(07:35):
they named it for the firstofficer killed in the Civil War
Lyon treaty.
All of a sudden, this land whichthey had from Casper to Pueblo
over to Salina, kansas, insidethose rivers that I mentioned,
was reduced by at least 15 times, maybe 16.
If you look at a map and put itout, they basically have
(07:58):
southern end, southeastern endof Colorado and a tiny bit in
Kansas, roughly from Kit Carsondown to Lamar in the Kansas.
And that's what they agreed to.
But when I say they, there wereonly a few.
Cheyenne that signed that BlackKettle was one of the Council
of 44 that had been appointed in1854, and he voted for it, but
(08:20):
the Dog Soldiers, cheyennedidn't.
So they gave up that land whichopened up that North Platte and
South Platte trails for allkinds of people coming in.
Well, what happens when thathappens?
You have all of the naturalresources gone.
Gone are the feeding for thehorses on the water routes,
(08:41):
upsetting the buffalo migration,and these are right where all
of the state stops are and allof the ranches, and all of a
sudden it's white peopleeverywhere.
(09:01):
At first it's okay, we'll tradewith them, we'll trade with
them, but soon they see thattheir natural resources are
being depleted their water,their trees, their buffalo,
their meat, their hunting,everything was disrupted.
It wasn't the railroad thatdisrupted the buffaloes, it was
the coming of the white man andthey saw that and something
happened in 1862 up in UM,minnesota, in August and that
(09:24):
was an outbreak there the Lakotathere who killed the annual
report of the Commissioner ofIndian Affairs has almost 700
killed, the numbers of the 640or something like that and other
accounts put it up as close to800, but we know that almost 700
were killed, the majority ofthem women and children, in
roughly a three-week outbreak.
(09:45):
And as they chased them there'ssome fights in what would be the
Dakotas today with the militarypunishing them.
But these warring leaders camedown and smoked the war pipe
with the Southern Lakota, that'sthe Ogallala and Brulee, not
the Hunkpapa but the Ogallalaand Brulee, and also with the
(10:06):
Southern Cheyenne saying if yougo to war like we did up in
Minnesota, you'll chase them out.
Governor Evans was receivingreports on this as early as late
1862.
They're in his reports in theCommissioner of Indian Affairs
Several times.
All of his agents at all of hisplaces in Colorado reported to
him in 1863 that the Indians aresmoking the war pipe and acting
(10:30):
as if they're peaceful untilthey get enough arms and
ammunition to open up a war.
And this is what Evans washearing for almost a year and a
half before the Sand CreekMassacre happened.
And then, after that, there'sanother treaty on the Little
Arkansas, where they try to.
They promise reparations thatwere never given to the Cheyenne
that were victimized at SandCreek, but they also gave them a
(10:52):
new territory in which to live,a smaller one, and tried to
prepare the plains for thesettlement with the Homestead
Act of 1862.
And this is where so manypeople were coming in.
This is what they were seeingand this was brewing.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
Oh yeah, Jeff, we got a few more questions to get to
as well, but, man, that is afantastic introduction.
Thank you.
Well, thank you.
Next up, in 1867, 50,000immigrants converged on Kansas,
as you mentioned, determined toclaim the state's rich central
prairies.
Moreover, the rapid expansionof commercial farming
(11:35):
foreshadowed the end of theclassic Plains Indian culture.
Hundreds of thousands of acresof prairie were busted out by
the plow each year as thebison's feeding ground became
rigorously converted to wheatand cornfields.
Ironically, the cessation ofthe buffalo herds forewent that
of the prairie itself, as thelumbering animals were preyed
upon just for sport of killingor for the financial returns
(11:58):
realized from the sale of hidesfor factories or selected cuts
of meat.
By late spring of 1868, ageneral onslaught was once again
unleashed along the frontier bythe southern tribes.
As the casualties mounted, thefrightened populace flocked to
the safety of small towns.
They barricaded themselvesagainst the atrocities befalling
(12:20):
many friends who remained ontheir homesteads.
The homesteaders abandonedtheir crops and livestock in the
fields to choose poverty overthe risk of sudden death.
Can you provide us a shortsynopsis of what is occurring in
Kansas in 1868 that drives awedge between some of the Plains
tribes and the settlers ofKansas and why military
(12:41):
intervention became necessary.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
Well, we can go back to these treaties and find our
answer there.
Because in that Treaty of theLittle Arkansas, as well as the
Fort Wise Treaty, or let's's goback to Fort Laramie in 1851.
There, it was noted that thebuffalo population was rapidly
diminishing.
This was because of their tradewith the fur traders, mind you,
(13:05):
more than any other reason, andit was predicted that within 20
years the buffalo would be gone.
That's 1851.
We go to 1868, and that'salmost 20 years, isn't it?
And so this was alreadypredicted.
That's 1851.
We go to 1868, and that'salmost 20 years, isn't it?
And so this was alreadypredicted.
And so what the Indians got thetwo treaties of Fort Lyon and
Little Arkansas, was permissionto continue to hunt the buffalo
(13:27):
so long as they were there.
And that's where the conflictbegan, because the buffalo were
interfering with thehomesteaders.
I mean, they were coming inthere.
When you read the accounts ofthese raids in 1868, in fact,
one victim, his boy, was havinga third birthday and he took his
son with him and another personand they went out hunting
(13:47):
buffalo.
They'd only gone about a mileand a half when they met up with
the Cheyenne in the raid,killed the two men and wounded
the boys.
The buffalo were right there.
They were gone by 1873.
So it was that the permissionthat allowed the Indians to be
around the buffalo and promisingto stay away from the
settlement that they ran intothe settlement, so to speak.
(14:11):
And another thing needs to besaid about this too, for the
conflict is that the Cheyennewere actually for centuries up
in the Minnesota area and theymade a decision in maybe the
late 1600s, early 1700s tobecome nomadic and follow the
buffalo and live in teepees andthey began to migrate down.
(14:33):
They got into the southernplains here, or the central
plains, and wiped out theIndians that had been there for
centuries, the Pawnee, the Ka,the Ute.
They took that land over.
They only had it for twogenerations.
When this conflict broke out, itcould be seen with these
conflicts that it was inevitable.
So the year before 1868, therewas a military campaign to try
(14:58):
to get the Indians to come inand stop the warring and make
another treaty this is theMedicine Lodge Treaty that ends
up in 1868, or to fight, if youwant to fight, and it was led by
General Hancock, 1,400 soldiers, and some bad decisions were
made there by Hancock.
Probably the worst is theburning of two villages that had
(15:18):
come in, one Cheyenne and oneOguwala, that belonged to Pawnee
killer.
When they left their villagesbecause Hancock moved his men
too close to the villages andthey remembered Sand Creek and
they fled.
So this 1868 was to try to fixthat and repair that.
So we have this Medicine LodgeTreaty and it was agreed to in
(15:39):
the fall of 1867.
And then they were to get theirannuities and all that and the
conflict broke out pretty muchwhat was going on and why the
military was trying to intervenethen.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
So, according to TJ Stiles in his book entitled
Custer's Trials, a Life on theFrontier of a New America states
that the chain of events thatpulled Custer back into active
service began in June 1868, whena band of Southern Cheyenne
warriors raided a Kaw villagenear Council Grove.
On June 3rd 1868, some 400Cheyenne Indians flooded Council
Grove, kansas, armed andpainted for war.
(16:21):
When the Indians reached thewest end of town, they divided
their forces, one half followingalong Elm Creek to the south of
town, while the other continuedto march along Main Street.
The people were takencompletely by surprise but held
themselves in readiness forwhatever might happen.
What did happen at CouncilGrove on June 3, 1868, and why
(16:44):
did this conflict between twoPlains tribes, the Kaw and
Cheyenne, prompt the need formilitary involvement?
Speaker 2 (16:51):
Well, this is a situation again where the Kha
had long established in Kansasand the Cheyenne had fought them
when they came down.
So there had been conflict.
This raid was actually inresponse to some Cheyenne being
attacked earlier by the Kha inthe year before, the summer
before.
So they went out, the 400 ofthem led by Little Robe and
(17:14):
Taubo, and they got in there andthere was a few Indians wounded
.
There was really not much moregoing on than that.
It was reported in the papersand stuff and that.
And the papers reported thatseveral settlers had their homes
raided and things destroyed andstuff.
And in my research in theNational Archives I found I
think it was six Indiandepredation claims of settlers
(17:37):
whose houses were destroyed orseverely damaged.
In one case Indiansintentionally marched their 400
horses over all the crops anddestroyed them and did things
like that.
No whites were killed in that,but it did get reported and this
bothered the government.
(17:58):
An interesting thing about thesetreaties it wasn't until we get
into around 1868 here that thetreaties also tried to get the
Indians to stop fighting theirIndian enemies.
Before there was nothing saidabout that.
There was no treaty violationsfor attacking cause and that
sort of thing, but this one was.
So this caused a problem andthey withheld the annuities.
(18:22):
That included guns andammunition.
Actually they refused the guns.
That came down as an order bothfrom the Commissioner of Indian
Affairs and the General of theArmy.
So the Indians were complainingabout that.
But that's what the conflictwas about.
Speaker 1 (18:39):
Next up.
According to Lonnie J White inhis works titled the Cheyenne
Barrier on the Kansas Frontierstates.
On August 3rd a 224-memberraiding party comprising 200
Southern Cheyenne, includingfive sub-chiefs from Black
Kettle's camp, 20 Sioux, likelyOglala, lakota and four Arapaho,
(19:02):
left above the forks of WalnutCreek and proceeded north.
Black Kettle was not among them, for he was a member of the
Council of 44, a group of chiefswho were in charge of keeping
the peace within the tribe andcaring for the women, children
and elderly.
The raiding party crossed theSmoky Hill near Fort Hayes and
(19:22):
at Fort Hayes, on the evening ofAugust 7th, black Kettle smoked
a peace pipe.
A post trader named Hill PWilson reported that Black
Kettle was set on peace and heshook the hands of his white
brothers.
Kettle was set on peace and heshook the hands of his white
brothers.
At the time Black Kettle statedBlack Kettle loves his white
soldier brothers and his heartfeels glad when he meets them
(19:42):
and shakes their hands infriendship.
The chief of 44 further statedAll other Indians may take the
war trail, but Black Kettle willforever keep friendship with
his white brothers.
Upon leaving Fortes, theCheyennes moved eastward toward
the settlements and camped thefirst night on the Saline near
the mouth of Spilman Creek.
(20:03):
That evening three Indians whospoke English rode up to the
Bacon cabin in the neighborhoodand told Mrs Bacon that one was
Arapaho, one was Sue and thethird was Cheyenne.
That one was Arapaho, one wasSioux and the third was Cheyenne
.
They captured and violated thelady occupant Two days after
Spillman Creek on August 14th,after the killing of Ben White
(20:24):
and capturing his daughter.
The real killing began 35 milesnorth of Spillman Creek along
the Solomon.
Can you provide our audiencewith background information on
some raids in early August 1868?
Speaker 2 (20:39):
along the Saline.
Yes, I can, and there's acouple of errors.
What was said in that came fromthe research that you did.
This was Bacon was attacked inthe afternoon and released in
the evening.
Sarah White was captured on.
Well, she's not mentioned.
Yeah, that's been white.
That was on August 13th and itwas on August 12th that the
(21:13):
killings really took place.
Bad on the.
These are documents notavailable on microfilm, not
available in any other way thanto visit there and pay for a
copy.
I learned of a book written in1995 called Indian Depredation
Claims by Larry Scogin, a notedhistorian, and he talked about
their importance for study byhistorians.
(21:34):
And he talked about theirimportance for study by
historians and I noted that onlyone historian of all the people
I'd ever read, a guy named JohnMcDermott Jack, his friends
called him had used some Indiandepredation claims in one book.
So I talked to him and Ilearned about those claims.
He'd spent two years up in theNational Archives as a part of
his duty with the National ParkService and he worked in the
(21:55):
Indian depredation claims and hegot me all educated to what I
needed to do and how I needed tohunt.
And I got up in the NationalArchives.
And just to show you and I'llexplain these claims in a minute
, but to show you thesignificance of these, one
record group has 800 storagefeet space holding 12,000
(22:16):
individual claims.
Now, when I say 800 feet almosttwo football fields it's boxes,
boxes that if you laid them ina line it would go almost two
football fields long.
And these Indian depredationclaims go back to 1796 when
Congress started passing lawsallowing for American citizens
to get compensation from Indianswho might rob them if they were
(22:38):
in treaty and receivingannuities and part of the law
two parts of the law required anaffidavit.
That's a sworn statement, astatement under oath.
That's what you do when youtestify in court of what
happened, given the details, thedates and what happened and the
property lost and that sort ofthing.
So here is a hidden voice ofthese settlers that no
(22:59):
historians have consulted otherthan Jack McDermott After me.
Greg McNo is used some of them,but that's about it.
A lot of these, a lot ofhistorians who I say are lazy,
refuse to get into these filesand study them and there is a
fascinating documentation thatyou get from that and that's how
I was able to lay outeverything.
(23:19):
So let's talk about Black Kettlefirst, because something that
kind of kept out of historians'accounts but they're in the
records in the National Archivesin the War Department is
General Sheridan said in hisannual report to Congress on
this war.
He said that after the Indiansreceived their guns and I'm
(23:41):
going to come back and talkabout the controversy there they
went up to Walnut Creek NowWalnut Creek is where Great Bend
is today, it's about 30 milesnortheast of Fort Larned, kansas
and they went up there and theydid their war, preparing all of
their little prayer things andall of their war dances and all
(24:01):
that and General Sheridan'sreport.
He said that Black Kettle wasright there with them, leading
them in that.
And when I got into the Indiandepredation claims, another
thing that was required was toproduce evidence for the
depredation, such as testimonyfrom other eyewitnesses or
newspaper accounts or thingslike that, and many of the
(24:23):
people that lived on thefrontier then that I found in
these when I say many, I'd sayat least five where these white
people that were eitherfreighters or settlers or that
said something like this Blackcattle played both sides on the
war.
He acted friendly to us but weall knew he was nothing but a
spy to give to the other warringIndians.
(24:44):
The newspaper article in Hayeswas correct he did not
participate in the raid, but hedid participate in the
preparations for the raid andthen he intentionally went into
Hayays to profess his peace,knowing full well what those
Indians are about to do and aredoing.
And so when I say that afterthat incident at the car
(25:05):
reservation in Council Grove theannuities were held up and
finally they were senteverything but the guns, and the
Cheyenne were so angry thatthey didn't get the guns with
their annuities that theyrefused them and that was in
late spring, well, after thisraid, and, excuse me, mid-summer
and refused them.
And so finally the Commissionerof Indian Affairs authorized
(25:28):
the issuing of the arms on April3rd and if you study this
Captain Barnett's station atFort Lauderdale where they were
given out, and he wrote his wifeon July 31st I think it was on
July 31st or 29th, one of thosetwo days and he said to her he
said Weinkoop, the agent, is nowissuing his arms to the Indians
(25:51):
and he wondered how long itwould take before there's
another outbreak to his wife.
And then Commissioner Taylorauthorized a release on the 3rd
and then Weinkoop wrote a letteron August 10th and said
yesterday, meaning August 9th, Idistributed all the arms and
ammunition to the Indians.
(26:12):
I think the mistake in hisletter was I finalized giving
out all the arms and ammunitionbecause they did have them and
they did have them at thatincantation that they prepared
for that war and the settlers.
In their Indian depredationclaims many of them noted the
new weapons that they werecarrying.
So as soon as they got themthey took off.
The other thing is finding outwhen and where things happen,
(26:33):
because what is usually usedLonnie White used it and you
quoted from it about the224-member raiding party going
up there and they say that theystarted their raids on the forks
of the Solomon.
But when you read the Indiandepredation claims in the
newspaper reports, those two thesouth and north fork of the
Solomon Solomon come togetherabout 25 miles before the
(26:59):
settlers were hit by the raids.
In other words, the raids werefurther east.
It's today where Beloit, kansas, is.
And that's where the raidsreally happened and they moved
east from that and moved west.
But I will say this theGovernor Crawford, who resigned
his governorship to lead thecall for the 19th Kansas
(27:20):
Volunteer Cavalry whichaccompanied Custer down to the
Ouachita although they missedthe fight because they didn't
get there, it was a snowstormand all that but they were with
him on the rescue of Sarah Whiteand Anna Morgan in March of
1869.
Morgan in March of 1869.
(27:42):
But Governor Crawford says inhis book in Kansas in the 60s he
says that upwards of 40settlers were killed in this
raid.
That might be true.
It's hard to find out becausethere were no newspapers in
these settlements, because therewere no towns.
The town, the closest town wasSalina and that's about maybe 70
, 80 miles from Beloit wherethese raids happened and there
were no newspapers there.
Then Salina had it and then youhad the Junction City Weekly
(28:02):
Union, which is further east,and you had the Leavenworth
Times and Conservatives.
These were the stories thatcame out about the raids and
they came out from reports ofeyewitnesses.
So it was really hard todetermine the number of victims
and stuff.
But it started on August 10th onSpilman Creek and Spilman Creek
, just if people want to have aneye to.
(28:23):
It is about maybe 45 milesnorthwest of Salina, kansas, and
the Saline River runs into thetown that's today called Lincoln
and that was founded in 1972.
So see, there was no town therein 1868.
But the settlers had just comein in the summer of 1867 and
(28:44):
more in 68, and more in 69 andcontinued.
But these were where the Indianraids happened and so there was
just a.
There was a lot of people thatwere new there, and Spilman
Creek comes from the north andenters into the Saline River
about four and a half miles westof present-day Lincoln, and you
(29:04):
have to go up that creek, aboutmaybe 15 miles, to get to where
they raided.
Mrs Bacon, she said that herclosest neighbor was one and a
half miles distant and both ofthem lived on Spillman Creek and
both were the first victims onAugust 10th.
Speaker 1 (29:26):
But before we close, I would like to let our audience
know how they could purchaseone of your autograph books.
Speaker 2 (29:34):
Yeah, thank you for saying that.
And just real quickly let metell you that I got surprised
about a year after my last bookcame out when somebody posted on
my Facebook.
They can get me on my Facebook,jeff Broom.
Just send me a message.
You don't have to be friendswith me.
Send me a message.
I'd like to know about yourbooks.
Get in signed copies and I'llexplain everything there.
That's the best way to get ahold of me.
(29:54):
But a ranger there gave thisshort review of my book.
Indian Raids and Massacres.
This is a ranger at theOuachita Historic Site, so we're
talking about the trails to theOuachita.
Listen to what ranger JoelShockey wrote.
This book debunks age old mythsand deals with the facts about
the Indian raids in Colorado,kansas and Nebraska that would
lead up to the Battle of theOuachita and the Battle of
(30:16):
Summit Springs.
Broome delves into the standardstories and then investigates
firsthand source materials topeel away the fiction and find
the true facts.
I feel this is a must-read foranyone who is really interested
in studying the Indian Wars ofthe Central and Southern Plains.
It already has a spot on mybookshelf next to Green's
Washita book, so that's whereyou can get my book from me by
(30:41):
contacting me that way.
Speaker 1 (30:43):
Thank you very much, jeff.
That is a fantastic review.
That's it for now.
If you'd like to purchase anyof Jeff's books, you can check
out the links on the descriptionpage of this podcast.
Remember to check out our WildWest podcast shows on iTunes or
wildwestpodcastbuzzsproutcom.
You can also catch us onFacebook at facebookcom slash
(31:04):
wildwestpodcast or on ourYouTube channel at Wild West
Podcast Mike King YouTube.
So make sure you subscribe toour shows listed at the end of
the description text of thispodcast to receive notification
on all new episodes.
Thanks for listening to ourpodcast.
If you have any comments orwant to add to our series,
(31:25):
please write us atwildwestpodcast at gmailcom.
We will share your thoughts asthey apply to future episodes.
Music, music, music, musicMusic.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!