American West: 1861-76

Lesson 2: The Army, Politics & Government, Indians & Wars

The Cheyenne Make Peace and Are Told to Move to Sand Creek

That Black Kettle and his Cheyenne were coming to Denver to talk peace was not the only upsetting news Governor Evens of Colorado Territory received that fall of 1864. On September 13, statehood lost the vote. Putting that aside for the meantime, Evans had to deal with the Indians who were about to converge upon him for peace talks.

All the past summer Evans had cried the alarm of an Indian war to those that mattered back in Washington. He could not reveal to them now that the Indians wanted peace. If he did, he could forget furthering his political aspirations. Chivington would be riding the same lame mule.

Washington D.C., 1862

Besides, Evans had to keep his name in good graces in Colorado. The Third Regiment was ready to fight Indians. Officials in Washington and Chivington’s superiors at Fort Leavenworth were anxiously waiting to hear that the Indian revolt had been put down. Evans could not now concede to peace.

He must have felt some relief when General Samuel R. Curtis, who was Chivington’s superior, made his position clear on September 28.

“I want no peace till the Indians suffer more. No peace must be made without my directions,” Curtis telegraphed.

Chivington made his own statement concerning the situation. “My rule of fighting white men or Indians is to fight them until they lay down their arms and submit to military authority.” Chivington went on to say that when the Indians were ready to lay down their arms they could go to Major Wynkoop.

Taking Chivington’s words at face value, Black Kettle and his chiefs surrendered to Wynkoop. In mid-October, Little Raven with 113 lodges of Arapahos arrived at Fort Lyon. In November Black Kettle and his followers rode in, leaving their village on Sand Creek where 115 lodges stood about thirty-five miles northeast of the fort. Here Black Kettle and his people met with a problem.

When the Arapahos arrived, Wynkoop began to feed them. Now Wynkoop was being called away to explain to General Curtis why he’d been doing this. Black Kettle had expected to be under Wynkoop’s protection but Major Scott J. Anthony was taking his place, and the army did not have enough rations to feed so many Indians. The results were that the Arapahos were told to move out to hunt. The Cheyennes were instructed to remain in their village on Sand Creek. They were to also hunt.

During the fall of 1864, Chivington was considerably abused by the Colorado Press. They ridiculed him and his troops for their inactivity. This was a bitter pill to swallow. As November approached, he become desperate for a solution and considered leading an expedition to the upper Republican River where hostile Sioux and other Indians were camped. But there was a big drawback to this idea. The Third’s hundred-day enlistment was running out, a fact that was also giving him considerable anxiety. Time was running out also for this Methodist minister turned military man with political office aspirations.

Homesteading in Colorado was still going on in the early 1900s. Here's an interesting article about that time in Colorado history at:

Springtime on a Colorado Homestead By Mary Trotter Kion http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/grea... This article explains how my grandfather induced a rooster to become a mother.

Suggest topics for discussion from this lesson.

• Was Black Kettle wise in attempting to make peace, or was he acting out of innocence?
• Putting your self in Governor Evans’ place at this period in history and considering the general attitude whites had towards Indians, faced with the Cheyennes wanting to make peace after he’d cried War to Washington, what were his alternatives?
• Concerning Chivington's attitude of “My rule of fighting white men or Indians is to fight them until they lay down their arms and submit to military authority.” Was his rule of all or nothing wrong or right under the circumstances?

  Bibliography:

  Pioneers-The Old West, The. Time-Life Books. 1974.

  Stratton, Joanna L. Pioneer Women: Voices From the Kansas Frontier. Simon & Schuster, New York, 1983.

  Utley, Robert M. The Lance and the Shield: The Life and Times of Sitting Bull. Henry Holt and Company, New York. 1993.

  Utley, Robert M. The Indian Frontier of the American West, 1846-1890. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque. 1984.

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