0:20

The end of the Civil War unleashed an

0:22

immense amount of the nation's progressive

0:25

energy on its frontier Emigration

0:27

westward . Almost a gridlock

0:30

during the war , was revitalized

0:32

with expanded vigor In

0:35

the spring of 1865 , the

0:37

immigration population regained an

0:39

exuberance that sped industrialization

0:42

, settlement and expansion . To the Kansas

0:44

frontier , extending

0:46

beyond the Mississippi for thousands of miles

0:48

, lay the expansive , unsettled

0:50

west , dominated by hard-riding

0:53

, hard-fighting nomadic Indians

0:55

equipped with the fairest horses on

0:57

the continent and frequently the

0:59

best arms . As

1:01

the country aspired to bring order and protection

1:04

to this westward expansion , it

1:06

engaged an army in designated forts

1:08

along its wayward routes . These

1:11

newly established forts , with a strategic

1:14

design , were tasked to keep open

1:16

communication lines and secure

1:19

travel routes . These travel

1:21

routes included protecting stage and

1:23

freight lines , new ones like

1:25

the railroads , and keeping the hostile

1:28

Indians from pouncing upon widely scattered

1:30

settlements strewn along the plains

1:32

. Wild

1:37

West Podcast proudly presents in

1:40

the midst of antagonism , part 1

1:42

, a Prelude to Sovereignty . In

1:44

December of 1864

1:48

, major General Grenville Dodge

1:51

was placed in command of

1:53

the Department of the Missouri to

1:55

wage a punitive campaign against the plains

1:57

Indians . As a Civil

1:59

War soldier , dodge had few

2:02

equals . He was an able officer

2:04

who could be relied upon in an emergency

2:06

. Sherman himself

2:08

was in high praise of Grenville Dodge when

2:11

he wrote . General Dodge is

2:13

one of the generals who actually fought throughout

2:15

the Civil War with great honor and great

2:17

skill , commanding a regiment , a

2:20

brigade division and finally

2:22

a corps to army , the highest

2:24

rank command to which any officer can attain

2:26

. After being placed

2:29

in command of the Department of the Missouri

2:31

, general Dodge was repelled

2:33

by the news that reached him upon arriving

2:35

at Fort Leavenworth in 1865

2:37

. The stage lines had

2:39

been jolted , travel across the

2:41

plains had stopped and most

2:43

of the telegraph lines had been eradicated

2:45

. The settlers who had remained

2:48

in western Kansas were without mail

2:50

and in general panic . Dodge

2:53

considered every tribe from Texas

2:55

to Nebraska to be on the warpath , mainly

2:57

in response to the success of the Kiowa

3:00

Comanche and Cheyenne and Arapaho

3:02

on the Plains of Kansas during the summer

3:04

of 1864 . Dodge's

3:07

first order of business was to dispatch

3:09

scouts onto the plains to warn

3:11

traders to stop bartering guns and

3:14

locate warring bands of Indians raiding

3:16

the trade routes . He

3:18

rescinded all licenses to any traders

3:20

who were selling contraband and ammunition

3:22

to the Indians . Dodge

3:24

also ordered all officers in his command

3:27

into the field to restore order and

3:29

if rejected , they would be court-martialed

3:32

. On March

3:34

17th 1865 , as

3:36

the civil war drew near to a close , general

3:39

Dodge commenced a Kansas campaign

3:41

against the Kiowa , Apache and Arapaho

3:44

tribes . His scouts

3:46

reported that one of the raiding parties from

3:48

these tribes established a campsite

3:50

on an old Indian campground south of

3:52

the Arkansas River near the Cimarron

3:55

and Crooked Creek . After

3:58

learning of the tribes' whereabouts , major

4:00

General Dodge issued an order to Brigadier

4:03

General James H Ford , the

4:05

commanding officer of the District of

4:07

Upper Arkansas . The

4:09

order specified the need to establish

4:11

a military presence for a new post along

4:13

the southern border of the Santa Fe Trail near

4:16

the old site to Fort Atkinson . The

4:20

original Fort Atkinson was established

4:22

on August 8th 1850 by

4:24

the US Army to dissuade Indians

4:27

in the area from attacking travelers

4:29

on the Santa Fe Trail . Even

4:32

before Atkinson , a site nearby

4:34

named Fort Mann was inhabited in April

4:36

of 1847 by

4:38

40 Teamsters under Captain

4:40

Daniel P Mann . The

4:43

post was named Fort Mann after him

4:45

. Fort Atkinson of 1850-1854

4:49

was the first regular Army

4:51

post on the Santa Fe Trail in the heart

4:54

of the Indian country . On

5:06

April 6th 1865

5:08

, captain Henry Pierce left

5:11

Fort Lawnard , kansas , with a company

5:13

of Kansas volunteers to establish a

5:15

new post . Pierce

5:17

selected a site six miles east of Fort

5:19

Atkinson that guarded the Santa Fe Trail and

5:23

stood midway between the two major Indian

5:25

crossings on the Arkansas River , the

5:27

Cimarron and the Mulberry . The

5:30

site of Fort Dodge was an old campground

5:33

for wagons traveling along the Santa Fe Trail , just

5:36

east of the western junction of the Wet and Dry Routes and

5:38

near the middle of Cimarron Cut-Off . With his

5:40

two companies , captain Pierce quartered

5:43

the troops in tents while

5:47

devising dugouts along the banks of the Arkansas River . The

5:51

enduring high winds of the region made living in tents problematic

5:53

and highly unwanted . As

5:57

quickly as possible , the troops constructed

5:59

and inhabited dugouts . Captain Pierce officially established

6:02

the post on April 10th 1865

6:04

and

6:07

named it in honor of the departmental commander , general Dodge . The post rested

6:09

on the north bank of the Arkansas

6:11

River , on

6:14

a narrow meadow approximately one-fourth of a mile

6:16

wide . To

6:20

the north , overlooking the Fort's location was

6:22

a limestone bluff that rose 70 to 80 feet above

6:24

the elevation of the Fort's location . To

6:28

the north of this bluff , a series of

6:30

prairie ravines blended into the open plains . A factor of noteworthy

6:32

regard in determining the site

6:34

was

6:38

the availability of water . Under sustained invasion

6:40

, it would be necessary to have continual access to water . Thus

6:42

the dugouts were constructed as close to the riverbed

6:45

as possible . By

6:50

building on the narrow meadow , the military sacrificed the alternative of controlling

6:52

the high ground which

6:57

circled the post , except on the southern side along the river . Indians

6:59

later utilized this plateau to attack the garish before

7:02

preparations to receive the assault could be made by

7:04

the men defending the fort . The

7:08

shallow ravines to the north of the

7:11

bluff were equally beneficial to the Indians . Through

7:16

the beds of these ravines , the Indian

7:19

invaders could easily approach the plateau

7:21

without being noticed by the soldiers below . By early April , brutish earth

7:23

dugouts had been fashioned along

7:26

the north banks of the Arkansas River . Troops

7:28

soon arrived at Fort Dodge to defend the unpretentious adobe

7:30

fortifications . The

7:34

officers and enlisted men who served at the fort in

7:36

1865

7:40

were subjected to extraordinary hardship and deprivation . The

7:43

troops who garrisoned Fort Dodge during the initial years of the post-existence

7:46

questioned

7:52

the wisdom of Captain Pierce's building site

7:54

selection . During

7:59

the first year , 70 sod dugouts were

8:01

completed . The dimensions of

8:03

each unit were 10 by 12 feet in

8:05

circumference , while the soddies

8:07

were 7 feet deep . The

8:09

bottom 5 feet of depth was underground

8:11

. The dwellings were topped by

8:14

a 2-foot ledge of sod covered

8:16

with cottonwood branches , brush

8:18

and tents . The

8:20

tents were of questionable value as the

8:22

gusty prairie winds quickly tore them

8:25

from their moorings . A shallow

8:27

door was fashioned along the south side of each

8:29

dugout facing the river , and

8:31

a hole was left in the roof to provide fresh air

8:33

and light . Each

8:36

dugout was equipped with a sod chimney

8:38

for heating and cooking to shield the

8:40

soldiers from turbulent weather . Banks

8:43

of earth were left around the inside perimeter

8:46

of the dugout to be utilized as sleeping

8:48

bunks . From two to four men

8:50

were quartered in each unit . The

8:53

post-location and the dugout's crudeness

8:55

left much to be desired for sanitation

8:57

practices . During

8:59

the spring , the river usually flooded

9:01

and underflow would invariably

9:04

ooze into the dugouts , even if

9:06

they were not submerged in floodwater . In

9:09

addition , the ground on which the fort was situated

9:11

was a mixture of silt and sand

9:13

. The ground remained

9:16

moist for some time following rains

9:18

due to drainage from the high ground

9:20

surrounding the post . Unsanitary

9:23

quarters resulted in exposure to the elements

9:25

, causing malaria , fever , diarrhea

9:28

, dysentery and pneumonia , which

9:31

were usually frequent at Fort Dodge . The

9:34

monotonous diet of staples , with a marked

9:36

absence of fresh fruit or vegetables , resulted

9:39

in a prevalence of scurvy among the garrisoned

9:41

men . This isolation

9:44

from Fort Dodge's sister post lasted

9:46

until spring returned . The

9:49

primary sanitation advantage for the

9:51

closeness of the river was its service

9:53

as a garbage dump and place of bathing

9:56

for gritty soldiers willing to take

9:58

the chance at the betrayal of the waters , shifting

10:00

sand and undertow . Mother

10:03

Nature compounded the woes of the defenders

10:05

during the first winter at Fort Dodge . The

10:08

blizzards of 1865 were unusually

10:11

severe . The troops were forced

10:13

to shiver through the monotonous months with

10:15

barely enough kindling to ward off the cold

10:18

and cook their diet of plain food

10:20

. Moreover , the fort

10:22

was utterly isolated during the winter as

10:24

travel along the Santa Fe Trail stopped

10:26

. It

10:32

was difficult for the garrison to forget the

10:34

lack of recreation they experienced during

10:36

the winter of 1865

10:39

, so instead the troops at the garrison banded

10:41

together the following spring as a

10:43

volunteer labor force during

10:45

their spare time , to construct a

10:47

settler's store , which their commander

10:49

referred to as the diminutive , wretched

10:52

sod building . By

10:57

early summer a settler , william

10:59

Ladd , had been selected . But

11:01

the troops' greetings were short-lived . The

11:04

commodities sold by Ladd were supplied

11:06

by his partner , theodore Wishelbaum

11:08

, who had pre-arranged an agreement

11:11

to manage several stores on military posts

11:13

west of Fort Leavenworth . Their

11:15

store at Fort Dodge provided a surprising

11:17

list of goods to the soldiers Food

11:20

, cooking utensils , dishes

11:23

, sewing supplies , building

11:25

materials , clothing , guns

11:27

and ammunition , liquor , horse

11:29

supplies , pencils and paper

11:31

and playing cards . In

11:34

August , the young commander of Fort

11:36

Dodge , captain Andrew Sheridan

11:38

reprimanded Ladd for charging

11:40

the soldiers excessively for purchases

11:42

made and ordered him to reduce

11:44

his prices . In

11:47

addition , a post-counsel of administration

11:49

was organized to oversee the settler's

11:51

store and any other civilian

11:53

enterprises that might be undertaken

11:56

near the fort in the immediate future

11:58

. During the fall

12:00

and early winter of 1866

12:02

, the command's difficulties multiplied

12:05

rapidly . Desertion

12:07

became more engaging for the troops who

12:09

faced duty at the quarry or lumbering

12:12

site while on garrison duty , or the

12:14

equally demanding hardships of long

12:16

rides and Indian danger during

12:18

field assignments . Fall

12:21

was a favored season for desertion as

12:23

the troops realized that another winter

12:25

of isolation and monotony was

12:28

approaching . Passing

12:33

wagon trains were preferred vehicles of

12:35

escape for the deserting forces . It

12:38

became necessary to periodically send

12:40

mounted military details to search

12:42

the prairie fleet's wagons for wayward

12:45

soldiers from Fort Dodge or

12:47

her sister posts along the Santa Fe and

12:49

Smoky Hill routes . A

12:51

small-framed guardhouse was constructed

12:54

to restrain wayward soldiers and

12:56

civilians . Still

12:58

, justice was administered rather slowly

13:00

and several months often elapsed

13:02

before the post-officers could spare the time

13:05

to convene court-martial hearings . Occasionally

13:09

, lesser offenders were released without

13:11

standing before a court-martial hearing because

13:13

the length of their pretrial detention was

13:16

regarded as just disciplinary action

13:18

for their crime . In

13:20

addition , growing numbers of civilian

13:22

artisans and laborers eroded

13:25

military discipline . While

13:27

reminiscing on the post's first year of service

13:30

, several years after he had retired

13:32

from the army , general Dodge

13:34

suggested that the post had been named

13:36

for him by disgruntled soldiers

13:38

who thought him personally to blame

13:40

for their discomfort while stationed at

13:42

such a primitive garrison . Fort

13:48

Dodge was named after me , not as

13:50

an honor by a command that I was

13:52

sent out there in the winter after

13:54

it was too late to furnish them lumber or

13:57

anything for an encampment and

13:59

they had to make dugouts in the bluffs for the

14:01

purpose of wintering . And the colonel

14:03

in command of the detachment wrote me

14:05

that they were so mad at being sent there

14:07

in the winter with so little accommodations

14:10

that they had named the place Camp

14:12

Dodge . This location

14:14

was a celebrated crossing of the southern Indians

14:17

of the Arkansas Valley . There

14:20

was a practical fort of the Arkansas near

14:22

here and the trails all centered

14:24

here , and it had been an important point

14:26

during all the time I was in command

14:28

of the Plains From Camp Dodge

14:30

. When a permanent post was ordered there , they

14:33

named it Fort Dodge . On

14:40

March 14th 1866 , general

14:43

Grant issued Sherman a general directive

14:45

pointing out that the only

14:47

information he had of general conditions

14:50

in the West was Major General John

14:52

Pope's report of the conditions

14:54

and necessities of the Department of

14:56

Missouri . Grant instructed

14:59

Sherman , in

15:03

the middle belt of the country described by General

15:05

Pope where it is uninhabitable , select

15:08

such travel routes as you think ought to be protected

15:10

and compel all travel to pass

15:13

over them . Select posts

15:15

to be temporarily occupied with the best

15:17

information on hand . Inspections

15:20

during the summer will determine points that should be

15:22

permanently occupied . Pope's

15:26

report was the basis of Sherman's tactical

15:28

beginning . The travel

15:30

routes along the frontier and logistics

15:33

support through the placements of forts would

15:35

be intended not only to control the

15:37

areas but as bases for

15:40

removing the Indians from all the territory

15:42

between the Arkansas and Platte Rivers

15:44

. These logistics

15:46

would drive the remaining bands of Indians

15:48

into selected reservations and

15:51

leave the territory open for white settlement

15:53

. The priority

15:55

was protecting travelers on the major routes

15:58

across the Great Plains . The

16:00

southern routes were the Santa Fe and Smoky

16:02

Hill trails . Pope

16:04

suggested the following force dispersal on

16:06

the Santa Fe trail Fort

16:09

Riley , three infantry companies

16:11

, two cavalry companies . Fort

16:13

Harcker , three infantry , two

16:16

cavalry . Fort Larnard

16:18

, three infantry , two cavalry

16:20

. And Fort Dodge , two

16:22

infantry , one cavalry . He

16:26

further recommended that the existing posts

16:28

on the trail be made permanent Fort

16:30

Dodge occupied a position of strategic

16:33

importance in these recommendations , and

16:35

its assistance to the expanding frontier

16:38

would be significant . Throughout

16:41

the spring and summer of 1866

16:43

, infantry divisions from Fort Dodge

16:46

, fletcher , wallace

16:48

and Fort Larnard patrolled stage

16:50

stations and wagon trains along

16:53

overland trails . These

16:55

were defensive actions which generally

16:57

tied down troops to static positions

16:59

. They did not , however

17:01

, hinder the movement of the Indians , who

17:04

typically evaded the soldiers

17:06

and sought more lucrative prey . In

17:09

most cases , when the Indians did strike

17:11

solitary , unprotected farms or wagons

17:13

, the soldiers arrived after

17:15

the raid . This was more

17:17

of an Indian movement followed by an army

17:19

response . For a nation

17:22

that did not consider itself at war , this

17:24

action-reaction cycle was

17:26

a typical reaction of the army . Further

17:30

through that year , a notable portion

17:32

of Western Kansas Frontier was subjected

17:34

to continued outbursts of Indian

17:36

hostility . The commercial

17:39

routes and the outer boundary of settlements

17:41

were still favored targets . Nevertheless

17:44

, the newly established military posts

17:46

along the Smoky Hill in Santa Fe routes

17:49

endured an increasing share

17:51

of the attacks as the natives aspired

17:53

to regain their supremacy on the plains

17:55

. Much of

17:57

the Indian aggression committed near Fort Dodge

17:59

appears to have been unprovoked

18:01

, while the mistreatment of the tribes

18:04

definitely precipitated others . In

18:13

February 1866 , a

18:15

party of freighters came to the post with

18:17

a report that several southern Cheyenne

18:19

Indians had ridden into their camp

18:22

six miles south of Fort Dodge . After

18:25

having been given tobacco and food by their hosts

18:27

, they had butchered and scalped a 16-year-old

18:30

boy before the other members of the party could

18:32

come to his protection . When

18:38

Cheyenne agent Major Edward W

18:40

Wynkoop visited their camp two weeks

18:42

later , while distributing annuities , he

18:45

inquired into the attack and was given

18:47

a completely different account . The

18:50

Cheyenne readily acknowledged slaying the boy

18:52

. However , they viewed the act justified

18:55

as the boy's father and several

18:57

of his companions had earlier ridden

18:59

into their camp and cheated a member of the

19:01

tribe . The culprit

19:03

, mr Boggs , had convinced one of

19:05

the Cheyenne to trade 11 $10

19:07

bills for 11 $1

19:09

bills . When the brave

19:11

was later informed of the nature of the trade , he

19:14

rode to the freighters camp escorted by several

19:16

companions , and insisted that the

19:18

money be repaid . Upon

19:21

Boggs' refusal , a melee followed

19:23

during which the boy lost his life

19:25

. Additionally

19:29

, satanta or White Bear

19:31

, a Kaioa chief born around 1820

19:34

in the Kaioa domain of Oklahoma . During

19:36

the zenith of the plains Indians' power began

19:39

raids in and around Fort Dodge . Among

19:43

the Indian nations of the Midwest , a

19:45

tribe's importance was measured by the size

19:47

of their horse herds and their fierceness

19:49

in battle . The Kaioa

19:52

were second only to the Comanche in both categories

19:54

. Charles M Robinson

19:57

III tells us that Satanta

19:59

entered conventional history in the mid-1850s

20:02

when he first attracted the attention of the soldiers

20:04

linked to military expeditions

20:07

in Kaioa country . Although

20:10

he was still a sub-chief , everyone

20:12

noticed his large frame and sheer features

20:15

. One officer , captain

20:17

Richard T Jacob , described him as a man

20:19

of magnificent physique , being

20:22

over six feet tall , well-built

20:24

and finely proportioned , a

20:26

characterization that would be replicated throughout

20:28

Satanta's life . Whites

20:31

also noted his cleverness , assertive

20:33

personality and arrogance . He

20:36

had a fine sense of the dramatic , but

20:38

anyone who considered his posturing nothing

20:40

but show entirely miscalculated

20:43

the man Beneath

20:45

his theatrics . He was a superior warrior

20:47

and leader At the height of his

20:49

prominence in the late 1860s

20:52

. Frontier Whites despised and feared

20:54

him . Satanta

20:56

figured prominently in the inter-tribal

20:58

warfare of the 1850s

21:01

and in treaty negotiations with the US

21:03

government . During

21:06

a treaty conference at Fort Atkinson , kansas

21:08

Territory , in 1853 , he

21:11

vented Kaioa grievances to a dragoon

21:13

officer , major Robert Hill Chilton

21:15

. One of the soldiers

21:17

, private Percival Lowe , thought

21:20

Chilton and Satanta were well matched , rigid

21:22

, uncompromising and understood

21:25

the other . By

21:27

the time of this treaty , satanta was almost

21:29

40 years old and a noted warrior . In

21:32

battle he wore red paint on his upper , torso

21:34

, face and hair and

21:37

a buckskin vest painted red on one side

21:39

and yellow on the other . Among

21:41

his associates was the ancient medicine

21:44

man , blackhorse , who provided

21:46

Satanta's most crucial battle equipment

21:48

, one of the sacred shields used

21:50

during the Kaioa Sundance . To

21:53

obtain it , satanta had to sacrifice

21:56

his flesh to the sun by having

21:58

four deep gashes cut into the back

22:00

of each shoulder , just above

22:02

the joint with the arm . A painful

22:04

and enduring offering . He

22:07

carried the shield during the raids against other

22:09

tribes and into Mexico . Kaioa's

22:12

shields were made of several layers of thick

22:15

buffalo hide and wooden sticks to

22:17

give them form . They

22:19

weren't instrumental against bullets or arrows

22:21

. Still , the Kaioa

22:23

believed shields were infused with supernatural

22:26

solid defense . So this

22:28

gift attested to the Blackhorse's belief

22:30

that Satanta would be a great warrior . Blackhorse

22:33

often carried the shield into battle and

22:36

escaped uninjured . Ironically

22:38

, he was slain soon after giving the shield

22:41

to Satanta . While

22:43

the Kaioa might have regarded the sun shield

22:45

as Satanta's most noteworthy position among

22:48

the Whites , his best known trademark

22:51

was the bugle he blew to signal aggression

22:53

or disclose his presence . The

22:56

Kaioa say he captured the bugle during a

22:58

fight with federal troops after

23:00

observing the soldiers responding to the different

23:02

bugle calls . Although

23:05

, whether Indians carried bugles and signaled

23:07

warriors with army calls during

23:09

fights , whites linked it with

23:12

Satanta . They automatically

23:14

assumed he was present if they heard a bugle

23:16

during an Indian battle . As

23:23

Whites , settlers continued to stream across Kaioa

23:25

lands , tribesmen , aggrieved

23:28

, with the condition that they declined their territory

23:30

to a small reservation , continued

23:32

to plunder settlements and torment

23:34

immigrants . This

23:37

situation , unstable in and of itself

23:39

, deteriorated considerably with

23:41

the death of Dohasen in 1866

23:44

. Without his decisive

23:46

leadership , kaioa unity disbanded

23:49

as several sub-chiefs , principally

23:51

Gupego Tenadopted

23:53

, and Satanta attempted to fill

23:56

the void . Their fierce

23:58

competition set off a surge of raids

24:00

across the southern plains during the

24:02

fall of 1866 . In

24:05

one instance , satanta and his party

24:07

embarked into the panhandle and

24:09

, after killing James Box , apprehended

24:12

the man's wife and four children . During

24:18

the fall of 1866

24:20

, scouts reported that several captive White

24:22

women were being held by Indian bands

24:24

and camped in the vicinity of Fort Dodge

24:27

. In response to these

24:29

reports , lieutenant Heselberger

24:31

was ordered to take an interpreter and a guard

24:33

of two enlisted men and investigate

24:36

the rumors . Upon

24:38

visiting a Kiowa camp some 35

24:40

miles below the fort , he discovered

24:43

the reports were accurate and was

24:45

allowed to talk with two captive women . He

24:48

learned that their names were Margaret and

24:50

Josephine Box and that the

24:52

teenage girls had been captured , along

24:54

with their mother and three other sisters

24:57

in August of the same year while

24:59

the Kiowas were raiding in northern Texas

25:01

. James Box

25:04

, the father of the family , had been slain

25:06

instantly , while the others were taken

25:08

as captives to a nearby Kiowa encampment

25:11

. The youngest girl

25:13

had died a few days after their capture , but

25:15

the mother , mary Box , and her daughters

25:18

, maisie and Ida , had been

25:20

bartered by a band of Apaches . Robert

25:23

M Wright in his book Dodge City

25:25

, the Cowboy Capital , describes

25:27

in Chapter 4 , wild Days

25:29

with the Soldiers , a short excerpt

25:31

on capturing the Box family from the Indians

25:34

, one of the many exciting

25:36

events that occurred at Fort Dodge . The

25:49

rescue of the two older girls took

25:51

place south of Fort Dodge , near the Wichita

25:54

Mountains , perhaps nearly 200

25:56

miles , but the sentiment

25:58

of acquiring the girls away from the Indians

26:00

originated at Fort Dodge , with

26:03

Major Sheridan , who was in command of

26:05

the fort , and in October 1866

26:07

. At this time , the

26:10

troops garrisoning the fort consisted

26:12

of Company A 3rd United

26:15

States Infantry , of which I was a member

26:17

, holding a non-commissioned officer's

26:19

rank . On

26:21

a sunshiny day about the 1st

26:24

of October 1866 , the

26:26

Sentinel reported what appeared to

26:28

be a small party of mountain men

26:30

approaching the fort from the south

26:33

side of the Arkangis River , perhaps

26:35

two miles away , and just

26:37

coming into sight out of a

26:39

range of bluffs which ran parallel

26:42

with the river . They proved

26:44

to be Indians and glittering

26:46

ornaments adorned with each could

26:48

be seen before either of the Indians

26:51

or their ponies . After

26:53

the Indians came down to the river and

26:56

were partway across , a guard

26:58

consisting of a corporal and two men

27:01

met them at the north bank of the river

27:03

, just below the fort , and

27:05

halted them . It

27:07

was noticed they carried a pole attached

27:10

to an old piece of what had been a white

27:12

wagon cover , but was very

27:14

dirty white at this time . This

27:17

was to depict a flag of truce

27:19

and a peaceful mission , which

27:22

was the idea that they had gotten from

27:24

the whites . Though the Indians were very

27:26

poor respecters of flags of truce

27:28

. When approached with

27:30

one by white men , they on several

27:33

occasions killed the bearers of the flag

27:35

, scalped them and used their

27:37

scalps to adorn their wigwams . They

27:40

considered a flag a joke and

27:42

warranted the bearer an easy mark . The

27:46

guard learned from the Indians that they were

27:48

Kiowas old Chief Satandas

27:50

tribe . Fred Jones

27:53

, an Indian interpreter at Fort Dodge

27:55

, was requested to come down and

27:57

established what was wanted . The

28:00

Indians told Jones that they had two

28:02

pale-faced squaws whom they wished

28:04

to trade for guns , ammunition

28:07

, coffee , sugar and flour . What

28:10

the Indians really wanted was all

28:12

there was in the fort . As they placed

28:14

a very high value on the two girls

28:16

, the commanding officer's

28:19

instructions allowed them to come into

28:21

the fort to discuss the matter After

28:24

passing the pipe around and each council

28:26

member taking a puff . The customary

28:29

procedure then negotiated

28:31

a swap , as the Indians termed it

28:33

. The Indians wanted everything

28:35

in sight , but a trade or swap

28:37

was finally consummated by promising

28:40

the Indians some guns , powder

28:42

and lead , coffee , sugar

28:44

, flour and a few trinkets consisting

28:47

mainly of block tin , which

28:49

was quite a bright , glittering tint . This

28:52

was used to make finger rings , earrings

28:55

and bracelets for the squaws . The

28:58

bracelets were worn on both ankles

29:00

and arms of the squaws and

29:02

when fitted out with their buckskin leggings

29:04

and short dresses covered with beads

29:07

, they made a beautiful appearance . The

29:10

Indians knew they had the advantage

29:12

and drove a sharp bargain at

29:15

least they thought they did . They

29:17

insisted on the goods being delivered to

29:19

their camp near the Wichita Mountains , which

29:22

was quite an undertaking considering that

29:24

a white man had never been in that section , except

29:27

as a prisoner , a renegade or possibly

29:29

an interpreter . Two

29:32

wagons and an ambulance were ordered

29:34

to be ready , and the wagons were loaded

29:36

. Our party consisted

29:38

of Lieutenant Heselberger of Company

29:41

A , 3rd United States Infantry

29:43

, an old , experienced Indian

29:45

fighter , one non-commissioned

29:48

officer , myself and

29:50

seven privates , with Fred Jones

29:52

as interpreter . We

29:54

crossed the river about half a mile below

29:56

Fort Dodge and took a southerly course

29:58

, traveling for days before

30:01

we came to the Kayao Camp . One

30:04

evening , just as the sun was going down

30:06

, we came to a high hill and

30:08

as we gained the crest , going

30:10

in a southeasterly direction , I

30:13

witnessed the most beautiful sight I ever

30:15

saw . The whole Kayao

30:17

tribe , several thousand in number

30:19

, were camped on the banks of a lovely

30:21

sheet of water half a mile away . The

30:24

sun setting and sun's rays reflecting

30:27

on the camp gave it a fascinating

30:29

appearance . Lieutenant

30:32

Heselberger attempted to convince the Kayaos

30:35

to turn over the girls to his detail . Still

30:38

, they declined to liberate the captives unless

30:41

the army ransomed them . On

30:43

his return to Fort Dodge , the Lieutenant

30:45

reported the demands to the commanding officer

30:47

, who approved purchasing and

30:50

delivering the goods necessary to

30:52

secure the girls' release . Word

30:55

of the thriving trade made by the Kayaos

30:57

soon reached the band of Apaches

30:59

holding the remainder of the box women

31:02

, and they immediately moved

31:04

to an encampment close to the fort to

31:06

negotiate for the ransoming of the captives

31:08

they held . Although

31:26

a bargain on the terms of trade was reached

31:28

, general William T Sherman

31:30

visited Fort Dodge during an inspection

31:32

tour . An on-hearing of the method

31:34

used to secure the freedom of the first two

31:36

girls declined to

31:38

allow the remainder of the family to be ransomed

31:41

. Sherman

31:43

reprimanded Captain Sheridan for providing

31:45

the demanded goods in order that

31:47

no further exchange be made . The

31:51

general feared that such a precedent would

31:53

encourage further endeavors by plains

31:55

tribes to capture white women and

31:57

present them for ransom . Sherman

32:00

then ordered that the proposed meeting for exchange

32:03

proceed as planned . The

32:05

leading tribesmen of the Apaches were then lured

32:07

into the fort to receive the ransom . Once

32:11

there , they were placed under guard and threatened with

32:13

death unless the remaining women were

32:15

unleashed . Below

32:19

is a statement given by Mary Matthews

32:21

on October 20 , 1866

32:24

to Captain Andrew Sheridan , fort

32:26

Dodge , after her rescue .

32:36

My name is Miss Matthew Box . I

32:39

am about 42 years of age . I

32:41

was born in Gibson , tennessee , and went

32:43

to Texas when I was 8 . I married

32:46

James Box in Titus County , texas

32:48

, when I was 17 . After

32:50

marriage we lived in Titus County For

32:53

three months , then moved

32:55

to Hopkins County , westport . We

32:59

lived in Westport Hopkins County

33:01

for a long time . All

33:03

my children but one was born in Westport

33:05

. About the breaking out of the

33:07

late rebellion we moved

33:09

to Montague , texas , on

33:12

the extreme frontier . The

33:14

cause of our moving was owed to

33:17

my husband being a union man

33:19

and did not wish to fight in the rebellion

33:21

. It was sometime in May

33:23

1861 that

33:25

we moved . There were five

33:28

families of us , all relations

33:30

. While we

33:32

were living in Montague County my

33:34

husband learned that one of his brothers was

33:36

lying at the point of death but

33:39

another of his brothers had had a leg

33:41

amputated in Hopkins County

33:44

and that they wished to see him

33:46

at once . So we

33:48

went to Westport Hopkins County

33:50

and stayed with my husband's

33:52

brothers until they were nearly well , about

33:55

five weeks . We

33:57

started for home . About the 10th

34:00

of August last my

34:02

husband had put a quantity of leather

34:04

in one wagon to take home no

34:08

leather in Montague County . On

34:10

our journey home it rained a great

34:13

deal . About five days after

34:15

we started , and when we were within three

34:17

miles of our home , my husband

34:19

saw somebody on the hill whom he

34:21

supposed to be one of his neighbors . He

34:24

said I wish that man

34:26

would come down to us so that I could borrow

34:28

his horse for our jaded one . Then

34:31

we could get home faster . I

34:34

looked in the direction where he pointed and

34:36

said why . There

34:39

are three or four of them . He

34:41

then said they are Indians

34:43

. We are gone , margaret

34:47

, get my six shooter quick . Margaret

34:50

went to get it and before she could give it

34:52

to me , the Indian

34:54

came upon us and shot him

34:56

in the breast . He

34:58

fell over in the wagon , pulling

35:01

the arrow from his breast . He arose

35:03

and fired at them . He was

35:05

then shot through the head by an arrow

35:07

. He pulled the arrow from his head

35:10

and jumped out of the wagon and

35:12

around to the left side of the wagon . When

35:14

he fell to the ground , the

35:16

Indians then scalped him twice

35:18

and cut his left jaw . They

35:21

then pulled me out of the wagon

35:23

by , the hair of the head robbed

35:26

and took everything out of the wagon . They

35:28

took Josephine , maisie and

35:31

Ida and tied

35:33

them to ponies . They

35:35

put Margaret on one , but she jumped

35:37

off and ran around to her father

35:40

and held him until they pulled

35:42

her from him . They put

35:44

Margaret back on the pony and started on

35:46

a gallop . We traveled

35:48

14 days , night and

35:50

day , before we stopped . About

35:53

11 days after we were taken

35:55

, my baby Laura died . They

35:58

took her from me and threw her in a ravine

36:00

. We traveled until we got to

36:02

the camp where all the Indians were

36:04

. I stayed at this camp

36:07

for about four days with my children

36:09

when they moved me out about six

36:11

miles farther to another camp

36:13

where I

36:15

stayed until they brought me in here

36:18

. I had to stack wood

36:20

and carry water . When I

36:22

was delayed , they would whip and

36:24

beat me and even the squaws would

36:26

knock me down . I was

36:28

very sick while , the Indians not

36:30

withstanding , they would beat me . It

36:33

was a terrible life . They gave

36:35

us nothing to eat but boiled meat

36:37

nothing but that . My

36:40

husband , three brothers are

36:42

still living in Texas . Wade

36:45

Box lives in Johnson County , texas

36:47

. Young Box lives

36:49

in Hopkins County , texas , westport

36:53

and John Box in Westport , hopkins

36:55

County , texas . My

36:58

mother's brother and niece reside at

37:00

our home in Montague County , 25

37:04

miles from Gainesville . Signed

37:07

Mary Matthews Bucks .

37:26

As we close , we must remember the

37:28

importance of preservation and

37:30

the need to sustain Fort Dodge's historic

37:33

buildings . It

37:35

is important to note that landmark conservancy

37:37

is a vital practice that benefits

37:40

society greatly . Maintaining

37:42

deep connections with historic places gives

37:45

us a sense of belonging , continuity

37:48

, stability , identity

37:50

and memory . The

37:53

quality of upkeep of venerable buildings

37:55

is crucial , as they record our

37:57

community's history and culture . Therefore

38:00

, it is essential to recognize the value

38:02

of preservation and work towards maintaining

38:05

our heritage for future generations

38:07

. Doing so can

38:09

ensure that our antiquity and culture remain

38:11

intact and that future generations

38:13

can appreciate and learn from our past

38:16

. To this end

38:18

, we must consider Fort Dodge as an integral

38:20

part of our community's history as

38:22

far back as 1864 , before

38:25

a city , county or railroad

38:28

prevailed . To support

38:30

the preservation of historic buildings , the

38:32

Fort Dodge Historical Society has worked

38:34

to create places like memorable homes

38:37

and museums that are open to

38:39

the public . They also plan

38:41

to include Walt Hall at Fort Dodge as

38:43

a residence for homeless veterans

38:45

, while keeping the historic character

38:47

of this landmark building and using

38:50

it through adaptive reuse . You

38:52

can support the Fort County Historical Society

38:55

efforts by contacting them at

38:57

info at fortcountyhistoryorg .

39:00

That's it

39:03

for now , remember to check out our

39:05

Wild West Podcast shows on iTunes or Wild .

39:11

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39:13

. You can also catch us on Facebook at Facebook

39:15

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39:19

. Slash Wild West Podcast or

39:21

on our YouTube channel at Wild West Podcast

39:24

Mike King YouTube . So

39:27

make sure you subscribe to our shows listed

39:29

at the end of the description text of this podcast

39:31

to receive notifications on all

39:33

new episodes . Thanks

39:35

for listening to our podcast and make

39:37

sure you check out the Western Cattle Trail Association

39:40

website at westerncattletrailassociationcom

39:43

. If you have any comments or

39:45

want to add to our series , please write

39:47

us at wildwestpodcastgmailcom

39:50

. We will share your thoughts as they apply

39:52

to future episodes . Join

39:55

us next time as we travel along the Fort

39:57

Riley-Larnard Trail with Major

39:59

Henry Douglas and his family to Fort

40:01

Dog . Thank

40:31

you .