northern cheyenne exodus

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Northern Cheyenne Exodus

The Northern Cheyenne Exodus, also known as Dull

Knifes Raid,[1] theCheyenne War,[2] or theCheyenne

Campaign,[3] was the attempt of theNorthern Cheyenne

to return to the north, after being placed on theSouthern

Cheyenne reservation in the Indian Territory, and the

United States Armyoperations to stop them. The period

lasted from 1878 to 1879.[4][5]

1 Background

Following theBattle of the Little Bighornattempts by the

U.S. Army to subdue the Northern Cheyenne intensified.

In 1877, after theDull Knife Fight, whenCrazy Horse

surrendered atFort Robinsona few Cheyenne chiefs and

their people surrendered as well. The Cheyenne chiefs

that surrendered at the fort wereDull Knife,Little Wolf,

Standing Elk, andWild Hog with nearly one thousand

Cheyenne. On the other handTwo Moonsurrendered at

Fort Keoghwith three hundred Cheyenne in 1877. The

Cheyenne wanted and expected to live on the reserva-

tion with theSiouxin accordance with an April 29, 1868

treaty ofFort Laramieof which both Dull Knife and Lit-tle Wolf had signed.[6] However shortly after arriving at

Fort Robinson it was recommended that the Northern

Cheyenne be moved to the reservation atFort Renowith

the Southern Cheyenne.

2 Confinement in the South

Following confirmation from Washington the Cheyenne

started their move with 972 people; upon reaching the

Cheyenne-Arapaho reservation on August 5, 1877 there

were only 937.[7] Some elderly had perished along the

way and some young men crept away and headed back

north. When reaching the reservation the Northern

Cheyenne noticed how poverty-stricken the reservation

was and began to fall sick in late summer of 1877. How-

ever when conditions did not improve upon a federal in-

vestigation into reservation conditions the Cheyenne were

given authorization to hunt.[8] When the Cheyenne at-

tempted to find game to hunt none was found, just a

wasteland of dead buffalo remains; this was the winter of

1877-1878. Unfortunately in 1878 there was a measles

outbreak that struck the Northern Cheyenne, and in Au-

gust 1878 the Cheyenne chiefs began the organization tomove north. On September 9, 1878 Little Wolf, Dull

Knife, Wild Hog, and Left Hand told their people to or-

ganize to leave, leaving were 297 (the number could be

as high as 353) men, women, and children.[6]

3 Escape to the North

In the early morning of September 10 the band fled up the

North Canadian River. By 3 AM the alarm was sounded

that the Cheyenne were gone. Passing the present sites ofWatonga, Oklahoma and Canton, Oklahoma they crossed

north over the watershed into the Cimarron basin, cross-

ing the Cimarron River the evening of September 10.

There, near the present site ofFreedom, Oklahomathey

rested then trailed 11 miles up Turkey Creek to Turkey

Springs. After a few hours rest there Dull Knife and a few

others led the women and children on to St. Jacobs Well

and The Big Basinin what is nowClark County, Kansas

where they camped.[9]

4 The fight at Turkey Creek

The Cheyenne, anticipating pursuit, prepared an ambush

at Turkey Springs.[10] While one band prepared rifle pits

at the springs, other bands fanned out over the country

looking for supplies. In one case, attacking and killing

two cowboys, they obtained two mules, in another, at-

tacking some cowboys during breakfast, obtained both

breakfast and aSharps carbine.[11]

Battle Canyon, site of Battle of Punished Womans Fork

1
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2 8 DIVISION

5 Battle of Punished Womans

Fork

After crossing the Arkansas River the Cheyenne were fol-

lowed closely by a mixed command of 238 soldiers of the

19th Infantryand4th Cavalryunder Lieutenant ColonelWilliam H. Lewis of the 19th Infantry. On Septem-

ber 27, the Cheyenne prepared an ambush in a canyon

on Punished Womans Fork (north of present-day Scott

City, Kansas), but it was aborted due to an over-eager

brave who fired on the scouts before the ambush was

sprung. Lewis deployed a company of infantry to block

the entrance to the canyon and attacked late in the af-

ternoon along the rim of the canyon with four troops of

dismounted cavalry, advancing by bounds, pinning the

Cheyenne including their families in the closed end be-

low. However Lewis was unaware of the Cheyennes

marksmanship and was shot in the leg, severing hisfemoral artery. This left a vacuum in Cavalry Regi-

ments leadership which the Cheyenne were able to ex-

ploit, escaping after dark. Lewis bled to death the next

day and several other soldiers were wounded. However,

the Cheyenne lost 60 horses, much baggage, and all of

their food when part of the pony herd was discovered by

the troopers.[12]

6 Depredations in Kansas

A party of drovers encountered Cheyenne camped onPrairie Dog Creek, in northwestern Kansas on Septem-

ber 29 and lost 80 cattle. Between September 30 and

October 3, 1878, in northwestern Kansas in present day

Decatur County, Kansas and Rawlins County, Kansas

near Oberlin, Kansas, then a tiny hamlet, small parties

of Cheyenne foraging for horses, cattle, and supplies fell

on isolated settlers who had recently homesteaded along

Sappa and Beaver Creeks, some of whom, recent immi-

grants from eastern Europe, had never seen an Indian;

men and boys were killed; women and older girls raped.

Often the settlers were approached in a friendly man-

ner; then shot point blank. About 40 men and boys were

killed and perhaps 25 women and girls raped. Some ob-

servers link the actions of the Cheyenne with theBattle

of Cheyenne Hole, an action in the spring of 1875 in the

same area when a small village of Cheyenne was surprised

and destroyed by army troops.[13][14]

7 On to Nebraska

From Turkey Creek on it was a running battle across

Kansas and Nebraska, and soldiers from all surround-

ing forts (Fort Wallace,Fort Hays,Fort Dodge,Fort Ri-ley, andFort Kearney) were in pursuit of the Cheyenne.

About ten thousand soldiers and three thousand settlers

chased the Cheyenne both day and night.[15] During the

last two weeks of September the army had caught up to

the Cheyenne five times but the Cheyenne were able to

evade the army by keeping to arduous grounds where it

was challenging for the army to follow.

Stump Horn and family (Northern Cheyenne); showing home

and horsedrawntravois.

8 Division

In the fall of 1878 after six weeks of running the

Cheyenne chiefs held council and it was discovered that

34 of the original 297 were missing, most had been killed

but a few had decided to take other paths to the north.

This is where the Cheyenne split into two groups. Theones that wished to stop running were going along with

Dull Knife to Red Cloud Agency, Wild Hog and Left

Hand also decided to follow Dull Knife. Little Wolf con-

tinued north intending to go to the Powder River country.

8.1 Dull Knifes band

On October 23, 1878 Dull Knifes band of Cheyenne,

only two days from Fort Robinson happen to be sur-

rounded by the army. After hearing thatRed Cloudand

Spotted Tailhad been relocated to Pine Ridge, decided

due to weather and his peoples condition to go to Fort

Robinson anyhow. The Cheyenne decided that night to

take apart their best guns, women hid the barrels un-

der their clothing and the smaller pieces were attached

to cloths and moccasins as ornaments. On October 25,

1878 Dull Knife, Left Hand, Wild Hog and rest of the

Cheyenne finally reached Fort Robinson. The barracks

that were built to hold seventy-five soldiers now held one

hundred and fifty Cheyenne. In December Red Cloud

was brought to Fort Robinson for a council with Dull

Knife and the other chiefs. Dull Knife agreed to fight

no more if the great father in Washington would let his

people live onPine Ridgethat now held Red Cloud andhis tribe. However on January 3, 1879 the Cheyenne

were ordered to return south to the Southern Cheyenne
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_Ridgehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spotted_Tailhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Cloudhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Cloud_Agencyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travoishttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Kearneyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Rileyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Rileyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Dodgehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Hayshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Wallacehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cheyenne_Holehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cheyenne_Holehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oberlin,_Kansashttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rawlins_County,_Kansashttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decatur_County,_Kansashttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Femoral_arteryhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_City,_Kansashttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_City,_Kansashttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4th_Cavalry_Regiment_(United_States)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/19th_Infantry_Regiment_(United_States)


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3

reservation. When the Cheyenne refused to return to the

reservation in the south, bars were put on windows and

no rations were given, including wood for heat. On Jan-

uary 9, 1879 Dull Knife still refused to go back south,

however Wild Hog and Left Hand had agreed to talk but

said their people would not go. Upon hearing this Wild

Hog was held as a prisoner and shackled. At 9:45 thatnight the Cheyenne tried to make a daring escape us-

ing the dismantled guns they had hidden upon arriving at

the fort. The Cheyenne were immediately followed and

many were killed, the Fort Robinson massacre. By morn-

ing sixty-five Cheyenne, twenty-three of them wounded

went back to Fort Robinson as prisoners. Only thirty-

eight Cheyenne had escaped and were alive, thirty-two of

these were together moving north pursued by the army.

Six Cheyenne were hiding only a few miles from the fort

among rocks, and were found during the next few days.

At the Hat Creek Bluffs, 32 Cheyennes led by Little Fin-

ger Nail were trapped, and after the final battle at the pit,only nine were left alive.[16]

After the final battle at The Pit. Painting byFrederic Reming-

ton, 1897

In January 1879 Dull Knife reached Pine Ridge where

Red Cloud was being held as a prisoner. After months of

delay from Washington the prisoners from Fort Robinson

were released and allowed to go to Fort Keogh, where Lit-

tle Wolf had ended up. However several of the escapees

later had to stand trial for the murders that had been com-

mitted in Kansas, and in 1994 the remains of those killed

were repatriated.

8.2 Little Wolfs band

After the council near the North Platte where the North-

ern Cheyenne split up, Little Wolfs band continued north

to theSand Hills of Nebraskawhere they wintered along

Wild Chokecherry Creek where there was plentiful deer,

antelope and cattle. They saw a few white men during the

winter but were undisturbed. In early spring they moved

north to the Powder River. There they were located by

scouts attached to troops from Fort Keogh commanded

byLieutenant W.P. Clark, an army officer known asWhite Hat to the Cheyenne and who had been friendly

with Little Wolf in the past. After negotiation with first

the scouts, then later Lieutenant Clark, the band agreed to

surrender and go with the troopers to Fort Keogh. There

they were offered service in the army as scouts. After

some discussion even Little Wolf agreed to become a

scout, as didRed Armed Panther.[17]

9 Northern Cheyenne Reservation

After some delay, a reservation for the Northern

Cheyenne was established in southeastern Montana near

the Black Hills, theNorthern Cheyenne Indian Reserva-

tionand they were never forced to return to the south.

10 Notes and references

[1] Page 19, Maddux,In Dull Knifes Wake

[2] Military history of the United States Articles and In-

formation. Neohumanism.org. 2001-09-11. Retrieved

2012-07-29.

[3] List of wars involving the United States. Issuu.com.

2010-10-15. Retrieved 2012-07-29.

[4] Chapter 14, Cheyenne Exodus, pages 331 to 359,Bury

My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the

American West,Dee Brown, Henry Holt (1970, Owl pa-

perback edition 1991), trade paperback, 488 pages,ISBN

0-8050-1730-5

[5] Chapter 29, Little Wolf and Dull Knife, 1876-79,pages 398 to 413 and Chapter 30, The Fort Robinson

Outbreak, pages 414 to 427, The Fighting Cheyennes,

George Bird Grinnell, University of Oklahoma Press

(1956, Scribners Sons 1915), hardcover, 454 pages

[6] Brown, Dee (1970). Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee ,

pp.332-349. Holt, Rinehart and Winston. ISBN 0-8050-

1730-5.

[7] Bourke, John G. (1966). Mackenzies Last fight with the

Cheyennes, .New York Arogonaut Press.

[8] US Congress (1860-1891). Senate Report 708,

p.153,266,269. 46th, 2nd Session.

[9] Pages 20 to 22, Maddux,In Dull Knifes Wake

[10] Page 22, Maddux,In Dull Knifes Wake

[11] Pages 27, 31 to 33, Maddux,In Dull Knifes Wake

[12] Maddux (2003), pp. 88-92

[13] Pages 78 to 103, Monnett,Tell Them We Are Going Home

[14] Pages 177 to 191, Boye,Holding Stone Hands

[15] Wright, Peter M. (1968).The Pursuit of Dull Knife from

Fort Reno in 1878-1879, pp141-154. Chronicles of Ok-

lahoma, Volume 46.

[16] Lackie, William H. (1941). Liquidation of Dull Knife,

pp.109-110. Nebraska History Vol.22.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0805017305https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0805017305https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Bird_Grinnellhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0805017305https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0805017305https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dee_Brown_(writer)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bury_My_Heart_at_Wounded_Kneehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bury_My_Heart_at_Wounded_Kneehttp://issuu.com/senzalamundi/docs/list_of_wars_involving_the_united_stateshttp://neohumanism.org/m/mi/military_history_of_the_united_states.htmlhttp://neohumanism.org/m/mi/military_history_of_the_united_states.htmlhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Cheyenne_Indian_Reservationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Cheyenne_Indian_Reservationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Armed_Pantherhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W.P._Clarkhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Keoghhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sand_Hills_(Nebraska)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederic_Remingtonhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederic_Remingtonhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Robinson_massacre


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4 10 NOTES AND REFERENCES

[17] Pages to 409 to 413, Grinnell,The Fighting Cheyenne

Chapter 14, Cheyenne Exodus, pages 331 to 359,

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian His-

tory of the American West,Dee Brown, Henry Holt

(1970, Owl paperback edition 1991), trade paper-

back, 488 pages,ISBN 0-8050-1730-5

Chapter 29, Little Wolf and Dull Knife, 1876-

79, pages 398 to 413 and Chapter 30, The Fort

Robinson Outbreak, pages 414 to 427, The Fight-

ing Cheyennes, George Bird Grinnell, University

of Oklahoma Press (1956, Scribners Sons 1915),

hardcover, 454 pages

Maddux, Vernon R. (2003). In Dull Knifes Wake:

The True Story of the Northern Cheyenne Exodus of

1878, Horse Creek Publications. ISBN 0-9722217-

1-9

Dennis Collins, The Indians last fight or the Dull

Knife raid, Press of the Appeal to Reason (1915),

hardcover, 326 pagesRead on line or Download

Holding Stone Hands: On the Trail of the Cheyenne

Exodus, by Alan Boye, Bison Books (September 1,

2001), trade paperback: 347 pages, ISBN 0-8032-

6185-3 ISBN 978-0803261853 Google Books

Tell Them We Are Going Home: The Odyssey of

the Northern Cheyennes, by John H. Monnett, Uni-

versity of Oklahoma Press (December 2004), trade

paperback, 255 pages ISBN 0-8061-3645-6 ISBN978-0806136455

Cheyenne Autumn, Mari Sandoz, Bison Books

(February 1, 1992), trade paperback, 290 pages,

ISBN 0-8032-9212-0 ISBN 978-0803292123
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780803292123https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0803292120https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mari_Sandozhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780806136455https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780806136455https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0806136456http://books.google.com/books?id=-Sk6vT92J5QC&pg=PA90&lpg=PA90&dq=%2522Turkey+Springs%2522+%2522Turkey+Creek%2522+kansas&source=bl&ots=_FSd0PqEmr&sig=KEJSnfJoTBVg4iAJF8ouS5_ew54&hl=en&ei=tVeYSqmdLY-0sgOwm7mZAg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4#v=onepage&q=%2522Turkey%2520Springs%2522%2520%2522Turkey%2520Creek%2522%2520kansas&f=falsehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780803261853https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0803261853https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0803261853http://www.archive.org/details/indianslastfight00collrichhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0972221719https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0972221719https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Bird_Grinnellhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0805017305https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dee_Brown_(writer)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bury_My_Heart_at_Wounded_Knee


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