NOV. 29, 1864 E
arly on the morning of Nov. 29, 1864, Chivington ordered his Third Regi- ment of 100-day volunteers to take
off their overcoats and, as recounted in Stan Hoig’s 1961 book, The Sand Creek Massacre, yelled to them “remember the murdered women and children on the Platte!” Captain Silas S. Soule, who was photo-
graphed with Black Kettle at Camp Weld, had protested plans for the attack and refused to order his unit to fire on the people at Sand Creek. Black Kettle tried to stop the incoming troops by hoisting a large American flag with a white flag below it on a long lodge pole above his tepee. The flag had been given to him in 1860 by A.B. Greenwood, the Commissioner of Indian Affairs at the time. But the cavalry continued to attack. Although Black Kettle miraculously sur-
Graves in Concho, Okla., of repatriated victims of the Sand Creek Massacre. The remains pictured were buried in the manner of a Cheyenne Camp Circle, which has an opening to the east. There are a total of 18 remains buried there; among the remains are others from engagements with the military in Kansas and Ft. Supply, Okla.
trolled warriors, who had disrupted emigra- tion routes and, for a time, isolated Denver. Black Kettle came to the meeting to assure the Coloradans there would be no general Indian war and to lay down his arms. But Black Kettle’s compliance wasn’t
enough for the territorial politicians. Gov. John Evans and the commander of his territo- rial militia, John M. Chivington, who both at- tended the Camp Weld council, refused to ac- cept the Cheyenne peace offer, without telling the chiefs. Perhaps they wanted to seize more Indian land. Perhaps they wanted to make a name in politics for their pro-statehood fac- tion. Senior military brass egged them on, undercutting the Army negotiator at Camp Weld. Major General Samuel R. Curtis wired Chivington during the council, “I want no peace until the Indians suffer more.” Curtis replaced his Camp Weld negotiator,
Major Edward Wynkoop, who had assured Black Kettle of protection, and Chivington prepared his Third Colorado Cavalry for an attack. Unable to catch up with the actual raiding bands, Chivington settled on Black Kettle’s camp as his target. So began one of the worst U.S. atrocities of the Indian fights in the West.
vived the attack, others were not so fortunate. White Antelope ran toward the cavalry “hold- ing his hands high in the air and yelled at them not to fire,” and also folded his arms over his chest signaling that he did not wish to fight. He was shot down there, was scalped and his nose, ears, and testicles were cut off – the latter ostensibly for a tobacco pouch. It was one of many grotesque mutilations inflicted by the Colorado militia. Indian men, women and children con-
tinued to be chased down and killed. Many congregated in the streambed about 200 yards to a half-mile above the village. They franti- cally dug holes and trenches in the creek bed to shield and hide themselves. However, these defenses were no match for the howitzers and fire from the small arms of the cavalry. The attack left more than 150 Cheyenne and Arapaho dead out of the 500 to 600 in the camp. Since many of the men were away on a buffalo hunt, the victims were mostly women, children and the elderly.
E 20 AMERICAN INDIAN WINTER 2014
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