At the Medicine Lodge Treaty 1867
The summer of 1867 was a very busy one for Teamster Billy Dixon. As Fort Harker was served by the Kansas Pacific Railroad, supplies were streaming in.
Because of Indian unrest, outposts were being resupplied, repaired and fortified. Freight wagons were reloaded almost as fast as they returned form a trip. Billy went to Fort Wallace, Fort Lyon, Fort Zarah, and Fort Larned. By October, most of the wagon train outfits were camped at Fort Harker, awaiting orders and loads. Word soon circulated for some trains to make preparations to accompany the Peace Commissioners to Medicine Lodge, Kansas.
The Peace Commission had been established in July of 1876 to negotiate with the Indians on the Southern Plains-as a system of “civilizing” the Tribes. President Andrew Johnson signed the Senate bill into law, and preparations to meet with the tribes had been underway all summer. The Chiefs would only meet at a site far from any fort or town. The Medicine Lodge Valley was sacred to the Kiowas and suitable to the other tribes . The date was set for the October full moon.
The Medicine Lodge Valley, nestled east of the Gypsum Hills, was so named after the Kiowa discovered the medicinal qualities of the Medicine River, and built ‘Medicine Lodges’ along its banks.
Amid the orderly chaos of loading moving out freight wagons, Billy’s wagon was not called to the Fort to pick up freight, and he feared he would not get to see this historic meeting. He had only seen Indians a few at a time, as the teamsters hauled their freight to the Forts, and then mostly from a distance. “I was eager to go, but as no orders had been given I was fearful I would be left behind” he remembered. “Here was the opportunity I had long looked for-to see a big gathering of Indians close at hand, without danger of getting scalped, when an orderly galloped up from headquarters, saying two more wagons must be sent forward at once”. Luckily for Billy, the wagon-master quickly picked him and another man named Frickie. Billy raced off to harness his mules and hitch his wagon, but in his haste, he spooked one of the mules which promptly kicked Billy with both feet, square in the back, sending him straight to the ground. He couldn’t get to his feet, and Frickie had to help him up, and still he couldn’t straighten his back. Frickie helped Billy harness his team and hitch his wagon, and promised ton to mention to anyone the incident, for fear of Billy being replaced. It was nightfall by the time they reached Fort Harker and loaded their wagon. Billy remembered their freight loads:
“The last two wagons were loaded with ammunition for a small Gatling gun, not an undesirable equipment on Indian peace expeditions in those days.”
The wagons pulled out at sunrise the next morning for a four day journey. Along the way, young Billy was treated to spectacular sights. They traveled through countless buffalo, and between the Arkansas River and Medicine Lodge they were met by a number of noted Indian Chiefs. They were mounted upon their finest horses, and wore their finest outfits and headdresses. Billy recalled:
“they carried themselves with dignity, and in every feature was revealed their racial pride and their haughty contempt of the white man. Among them I recall Satanta, Kicking Bird, and Black Kettle”.
Satanta, Chief of the Kiowa, rode a big black horse , and presented a magnificient appearance. He was one of the signer of the Treaty and argued against the destruction of the buffalo, and the losing of the nomadic life of his people.
The outfit consisted of sixty wagons, strung out of two miles. Escorted by 200 troopers of the Seventh Calvary. There were 211 vehicles, about 600 men and 1250 animals, according to Henry Stanley, journalist for the Missouri Democrat. When they went into camp on Medicine Lodge Creek and estimated five thousand Indians were already there in tribal camps: Cheyennes, Kiowas, and Kiowa-Apache. Everywhere were tipis, horses, dogs, and Indian men, women and children. General Harney had parked the ambulances in a hollow square, deploying two Gatling guns, while the wagons were circled nearby. Billy described a group of Indians arrival:
“I shall never forget the morning of October 28th, 1867. At a distance of about two miles from our camp was the crest of a low swell in the Plains. The background was blue sky- a blue curtain that touched the brown Plains. For a moment I was dumbfounded at sight of what was rising over that crest and flowing with vivid commotion toward us. It was a glittering, fluttering, gaily colored mass of barbarism, the flower and perfection of the war strength of the Plains Indian tribes. The resplendent warriors, armed wit hall the equipment and adorned wit hall the regalia of battle, seemed to be rising out of the earth”.
To further impress the watchers, the Indians began to spread their ranks wider and wider, and soon they could be heard chanting, impressing everyone with their power. Within a quarter mile of the camp, the Indians charged, war whooping and firing their guns and waving them over their heads. Then suddenly coming to a stop, close by, and silent, waiting.
While the Indians were still about a mile from camp, an order was given for every man to retire at once to his tent, and hold himself ready to resist an attack, should one occur. As his “boyish curiosity got the best of him” Billy was standing outside his tent gazing in awe at the spectacle. Meanwhile, General Harney was walking up and down through the camp, encouraging every one to be steady and unafraid. He remember this the rest of his life:
“He saw me as he was passing my tent. Tapping me on the shoulder with his riding whip, he said ‘Get back into your tent, young man.” I lost no time in obeying him. This fine old warrior made a lasting impression upon me, and I can see him now, as if it were only yesterday, passing back and forth in the camp street, with the fire of valor burning in his eyes. He felt the responsibility of the critical moment, and knew that the slightest break on either side would precipitate war on the spot. He made an imposing appearance that memorable fall morning . He was gray-haired, straight, broad shouldered and towered to the commanding height of six feet and six inches.”
General Harney was an experienced Indian fighter, and exerted a powerful influence among the plains tribes. They knew him and respected him, believing that he had always told them the truth.”
Chief Kicking Bird, Kiowa, left
Cheyenne Chief Black Kettle, right
Several days of oratory and feasting ensued, and a great deal of trading was done between the soldiers, teamsters and Indians. Billy traded his cap and ball revolver to an older Indian for three buffalo robes and some other Indian items.
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The Teamsters soon harnessed their mules and started the return to Fort Harker, arriving about the first of November. While they were unloading their wagons, a rumor circulated around the camp which caused Billy a good bit of concern. The rumor was that any man who had traded any of his government supplied arms with the Indians would be facing a fifty dollar fine. Sure enough, the men were required to turn in their arms. It looked bad for Billy, but his friend Frickie loaned him his personal pistol to turn in. Billy later received another pistol, which he gave to Frickie. Billy soon grew ” rather tired of telling the boys that had stayed behind all about the Medicine Lodge.”
officers at fort Leavenworth
Soon the wagons were loaded again, this time moving General Winfield Scott’s heavy artillery, which had been stored at For Harker, to Fort Leavenworth. The heavy cannons and gun carriages had proved useless on the Plains. Upon arriving at Fort Leavenworth, the teamsters were paid off. Billy recalled “I had a comfortable stake for a young fellow, and spent the winter in Leavenworth and Kansas City.” Billy visited friends at the McCall Farm and also spent time mingling with veteran frontiersmen, “listening delightedly to their incomparable tales of adventures.”
As typical of the Plains at the time, the government had successfully “signed a Peace Treaty” with the southwestern Tribes, to which each side would pick and choose exactly which part of the treaty they would abide by. While the Peace Commissioners next negotiated with the Northern Tribes, mediating the Treaty of Fort Laramie in 1868, white hunters had already penetrated the Indians traditional hunting lands. The Indians, armed with guns provided by the Medicine Lodge Treaty, struck back.
The Frontier began to descend into all out war. Many of the younger Chiefs and Warriors refused to become relegated to the reservations. They turned against their leaders and the signers of the treaties.
They prepared to fight for their nomadic lifestyle.
BLACK KETTLE’S 52 CALIBER PERCUSSION SHARPS CARBINE
NEXT: LIFE OUT WEST
