The Indians of the Pike's Peak Region: Including an Account of the Battle of Sand Creek, and of Occurrences in El Paso County, Colorado, during the War with the Cheyennes and Arapahoes, in 1864 and 1868Howbert, Irving
History
The Indians of the Pike's Peak Region: Including an Account of the Battle of Sand Creek, and of Occurrences in El Paso County, Colorado, during the War with the Cheyennes and Arapahoes, in 1864 and 1868
Howbert, Irving
El Paso County, Colo. -- History; Indians of North America -- Colorado; Sand Creek Massacre, Colo., 1864
In the Indian camp we found an abundance of flour, sugar, bacon, coffee,
and other articles of food, sufficient for our maintenance, had we needed
it, for a time. In many of the tents there were articles of wearing
apparel and other things that had been taken from wagon-trains which
the Indians had robbed during the previous summer. In these same tents
we found a dozen or more scalps of white people, some of them being
from the heads of women and children, as was evidenced by the color
and fineness of the hair, which could not be mistaken for that of any
other race. One of the scalps showed plainly from its condition that
it had been taken only recently. Certain members of our regiment found
horses and mules in the Indian herd that had been stolen from them by
the hostiles in their various raids during the preceding year. The camp
was overflowing with proof that these Indians were among those who had
been raiding the settlements of Colorado during the previous summer,
killing people, robbing wagon-trains, burning houses, running off stock,
and committing outrages of which only a savage could be guilty; this
evidence only corroborated in the strongest possible manner what we
already knew. Among the members of our regiment, there were many who
had had friends and relatives killed, scalped, and mutilated by these
Indians, and almost every man had sustained financial loss by reason of
their raids; consequently it is not surprising they should be determined
to inflict such punishment upon the savages as would deter them from
further raids upon our settlements. Notwithstanding the fact that this
grim determination was firmly fixed in the mind of every one, I never
saw any one deliberately shoot at a squaw, nor do I believe that any
children were intentionally killed.
About noon of the day following the battle, our wagon-train came up,
and was formed into a hollow square in the center of our camp, the
lines being drawn in, so that if necessary the wagons could be used as
a means of defense. We knew that on the Smoky Hill River, from fifty to
seventy-five miles distant, there was another large body of Cheyennes
and Arapahoes which might attack us at any time. In every direction
throughout the day, many Indians were seen hovering around our camp.
Scouting parties were seldom able to get very far away from camp without
being fired upon, and several of our men were killed and a number wounded
in the skirmishes that took place. During the second night of our stay
on the battle ground, we were kept in line continuously, with our arms
ready for use at a moment's notice. At intervals during the entire night,
there was an exchange of shots at various points around the camp.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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