Cotton, Cattle, and
Railroads
UNIT 9, SECTION ONE NOTES – THE INDIAN
WARS
Indians During the Civil War
During the Civil War, the Plains Indians were able to
easily attack settlements on the frontier because
most Texas men had gone off to fight. Even when the
war was over, there were not enough troops to
protect the frontier settlements. In an effort to end
violence, the U.S. government attempted to negotiate
peace treaties with various Plains Indian groups.
The Buffalo Soldiers
After the Civil War in 1866, regiments of African American
soldiers were formed. They were created to help keep peace
among the Kiowa, Comanche, and other Native American
tribes in the West. During the early years of their history,
the buffalo soldiers served mainly in Kansas, Texas, and
New Mexico. In 1885, several companies from the 9th
Cavalry were detailed to Indian Territory to remove the
white homesteaders who were trying to stake illegal claims
on Indian lands. They are remembered for their bravery
and valor.
The Treaty of the Little Arkansas
In 1865, government representatives were sent to
negotiate a peace treaty with the Comanche and
Kiowa. Both groups of Native Americans agreed to
settle on a reservation in the Texas Panhandle, but
the peace didn’t last because the U.S. never created
the reservation. Both groups continued their attacks
and many settlers moved back further east, away
from the open frontier.
Treaty of the Little Arkansas 1865 - Black Kettle
Speaks
By Bryan Haynes
The Treaty of Medicine Lodge
In 1867, the U.S. government sent officials to bargain
a new treaty with Plains Indians at Medicine Lodge
Creek, Kansas. The government representatives
brought gifts and offered 3 million acres of land for
a reservation, including building, farming tools,
and money. Some of the Indian leaders were
against the reservation, while others felt that it was
the only way for the Native Americans to survive.
Many Plains Indians agreed to the Treaty of
Medicine Lodge and several thousands moved onto
reservations known as Indian Territory.
Native American Reactions
Kiowa chief, Satanta, bitterly opposed the new treaty,
arguing that the Panhandle belonged to the Kiowa
and Comanche. He made a famous speech at the
meeting – “I have heard that you intend to settle us
on reservations near the mountains. I don’t want to
settle. I love to roam over the prairies. There I feel
free and happy, but when we settle down we grow
pale and die…These soldiers cut down my timber;
they kill my buffalo; and when I see that, my heart
feels like bursting.”
Satanta –
Means
White Bear
The Peace Policy
In 1869, President Ulysses S. Grant created a Board
of Indian Commissioners to carry out the terms of
the peace treaty. The board was created to teach
the Plains Indians to make a living by farming and
adjust to reservation life. Still, there were many
problems with the reservation system. Though they
wanted them to farm, the land they gave them had
poor soil and they often starved for food and lacked
basic supplies. Indian attacks continued.
The Salt Creek Raid
As the attacks continued, Texas officials began to
complain to the federal government, and in 1871,
General William Tecumseh Sherman was sent to
investigate. Sherman did not think that the Indians
were a threat until the Salt Creek Raid, in which 7
men were killed by Satanta and other Kiowa and
Comanche leaders. The leaders of this attack were
arrested, tried for murder, and sentenced to death,
but many for the peace policy felt that if the men
were hanged, it would make matters worse.
Satanta was later released from prison for good
behavior.
Interestingly….
On May 17, 1871, the day before the Salt Creek Raid in
North Texas, General Sherman was in a wagon on
the way to Fort Richardson. Unknown to Sherman, a
group of Kiowa and Comanche considered attacking
the wagon train. Instead, decided to attack the next
one that came along – and this would later be known
as the Salt Creek Raid.
Mackenzie’s Raiders
In response to the Salt Creek Raids, the U.S. War
Department sent out Colonel Ranald S. Mackenzie
to attack Plains Indians who refused to live on the
reservations. Mackenzie’s men became known as
Mackenzie’s Raiders. They began their raids in
1871, attacking Comanche groups throughout the
state. Eventually, many Comanche abandoned life
on the plains and moved to the reservations.
Cynthia and Quanah Parker
Cynthia Parker was captured by the Comanche at the
age of 10 and remained with the Comanche for
almost 25 years. She married a Comanche man and
had four children, including one son, Quanah
Parker. Quanah became one of the most important
Comanche leaders of his time. Cynthia was later
captured by Texans and forced to live with her
relatives, though she continued to see herself as
Comanche.
The Slaughter of the Buffalo
Along with attacks by U.S. soldiers, Plains Indians
were also being threatened by the slaughter of the
buffalo. In the 1870’s, railroad companies began to
kill buffalo to feed the rail crews. Then, the price of
hides rose to three dollars a piece, sending many
buffalo hunters into Texas. With buffalo guns, a
good hunter could kill 75 to 100 buffalo a day.
Millions Killed
Buffalo hunters were not supposed to be allowed on
Indian land, but many people in Texas welcomed
them, thinking that killing the buffalo would force
the Indians onto reservations. Between 1872 and
1874, hunters killed an estimated 4.3 million buffalo.
The hunters often killed the buffalo, took the hides,
and left the meat to rot. This outraged the Plains
Indians.
The Battle of Adobe Walls
By the spring of 1874, the Plains Indians were
starving on the reservations and desperate. In June
of 1874, Quanah Parker led the Comanche, along
with a group of Kiowa. They targeted the trading
post at Adobe Walls in the Texas Panhandle. 700
Plains Indians attacked 28 men and one woman at
the trading post. The people at the trading post had
buffalo guns, and so could hold off the Native
Americans. Still, the Plains Indians began a
widespread war against buffalo hunters and
settlers.
Painting printed in a magazine in Texas in 1908
The Red River War
After the battle, General Sherman was ordered to
attack raiding Indians, to kill or remove remaining
American Indians in the Panhandle. In August of
1874, the army began an offensive known as the Red
River War. Many Texas Rangers joined the group,
hoping to defend the frontier. The soldiers forced
hundreds of Indians, mainly women and children,
onto reservations.
The Battle of Palo Duro Canyon
Colonel Mackenzie and his raiders learned that there was
a group of Plains Indians camping out in Palo Duro
Canyon, east of Lubbock. Before dawn on September
28, 1874, Mackenzie and 500 troops surprised the
Indian villages and killed three Comanche. Though few
were killed, the battle took a terrible toll on the
Comanche. The Indian group left behind most of their
supplies when they fled, including 1,400 horses, which
Mackenzie had shot. The Comanche were forced to
move onto Indian Territory.
The Indian Wars End in Texas
After several other altercations between the U.S. Army
and Plains Indians, most Texas Indians were moved
onto reservations in what is now Oklahoma. They
had to give up their traditional way of life – hunting
buffalo – and take up farming. Their efforts often
failed because the land they received was not suited
for farming or ranching. They often faced starvation
when the U.S. government did not provide them with
food subsidies.
Limited Rights
Also, the federal government banned many Native
American religious practices in 1883. Indians had to
hold their celebrations in secret. Many Indian groups
continued to speak in their own languages and tried
to preserve their customs and styles of dress. Still,
the U.S. government tried to limit these traditional
aspects of the Indians’ lives.
Quanah Parker
After surrendering and moving onto reservations in
1875, Quanah Parker worked to improve Native
American relations with the federal government
and often went to Washington D.C. as an Indian
representative. He tried to improve the lives of the
Comanche through agreements until his death in
1911. Even though promises were made, much of
the land promised to the Native Americans was
later sold and American Indians were not granted
full citizenship until 1924.
The Effect on Native Americans
The difficulties of reservation life, military attacks, and
the slaughter of the buffalo took a toll on Texas
Indians. By the 1880’s, their population in Texas had
been greatly reduced and most had either been killed
or moved out of the state. The land left behind was
quickly filled by settlers looking to farm and ranch,
though the Indians had called that land home for
hundreds of years.