The Tulia Herald (Tulia, Tex.), Vol. 70, No. 28, Ed. 1 Thursday, July 13, 1978 Page: 1 of 70
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Dallas, TX ?$235
Col. Mackenzie Saw Slaughter Of Horses
Crowning Blow To Dominance Of Indians
The Tulih Herald
B\ LANA PAYNE BARNETT
Darkness enveloped rugged Tule Canyon and
suspended stars shone down on 500 weary
cavalrymen finally at rest within its confinement in
the wee hours of the morning on September 29.
1874. For thirty four hours they had been in the
saddle and breakfast later would be their first meal
in two days.
Beyond that meal lay the gory task of
destroving several hundred Indian horses captured
the previous day in the Battle of the Halo Duro some
twenty miles north.
This assignment, carried out by the famed
Fourth Cavalry under the command of Col. Ranald
S. Mackenzie, would be a crowning blow to the
Plains Indians and their struggle to maintain
dominance over the Texas Panhandle.
By removing their mode of travel. Mackenzie
theorized, the Indians would be rendered helpless
and be forced back onto lands set aside by the
government. His theory proved right.
What was the prelude and what was the
aftermath of the famous Battle of the Palo Duro
which proved to be a turning point in the history of
our area.
On October 21. 1867, an historical meeting was
held in Kansas It brought together many leaders of
the Plains Indians and officials of the United States
government for the purpose of peace and agree-
ment. Arapahoes. Cheyennes. Comanchcs. Kiowas
and Kiowa-Apaches signed the Medicine Lodge
Treaty agreeing to reside on 5,546 square miles of
reservation lands in Indian Territory (Oklahoma).
One provision of the treaty was that the Indians
would have access to hunting south of the Arkansas
River. This area included the extreme southern
portion of Kansas and the Oklahoma and Texas
Panhandles.
What the Indians did not know, and possibly
the representatives of the government as well, was
that Texas had retained all its public lands w'hen it
became a state. Therefore no one had the authority
to guarantee Texas lands.
In the early 1870’s adventuresome buffalo
hunters began to enter the forbidden territory in
search of the shaggy oxen w hose hides w ere always
in demand. The Indians were infuriated with the
advent of the paleface hunters and retaliated by
attacking the intruders. Two men were killed on the
Salt Fork of the Red River and two more killed and
mutilated on Chicken Creek (Roberts County).
Now preparations were being made for an
attack on the newly organized trading post called
Adobe Walls.
Twenty eight men and one woman occupied
the tiny settlement' on the morning of June 27,
1874, as hundreds of Cheyennes and Comanches
descended the surrounding hills in a joint effort to
rid their designated hunting ground of trespassers.
The trespassers included such notables as Bat
Masterson. famous lawman and sports writer, and
Billy Dixon who achieved his fame as a buffalo
hunter and Indian fighter.
The ensuing battle resulted in death to three of
the frontiersmen and to numerous Indians. Chief
(Juahah Parker, who participated in the battle, was
wounded.
The attack on Adobe Walls, several raids, and
the fact that 190 whites had been killed in a period
of two months caused the government to study its
peace policy further. A decision was made for an all
out campaign that would force the Indians back to
their reservation in Indian Territory. The Army
campaign, known as the Red River War would
involve more soldiers than had ever been used
against the red man and pave the way for
settlement in the Panhandle.
The Army offensive of 1874 employed five
contingents to converge on the general area of the
Texas Panhandle and specifically on the upper
tributaries of the Red River as the Indians were
thought to be at this location. Surrounding the area
with intentions of preventing escape were the
following:
(1) From Fort Dodge. Kansas: Col. Nelson A.
Miles, leaving in early August, 1874, and moving
southward toward the Washita, Antelope Hills, and
the headwaters of the Red River. Camp Supply,
Indian Territory, was to be his base.
(2) From Fort Union, New Mexico: Maj.
William A. Price, leaving on August 28, 1874 and
moving eastward across the Panhandle, with four
troops of the Eighth Cavalry.
(3) From Fort Sill, Indian Territory: Lt. Col.
John W. Davidson, leaving September 10, 1874 and
marching westward, commanding six troops of the
Tenthy Cavalry (all Negro with white officers) and
three companies of the Eleventh Infantry.
(4) From Fort Concho, Texas: Col. Ranald S.
Mackenzie, leaving on August 23 and leading his
famed Fourth Cavalry northward, with five com-
panies of the Tenth Infantry.
(5) From Fort Richardson, Texas: Lt. Col.
George P. Bueli, leaving in late August, com-
manding 253 men of Ninth Cavalry, Tenth Cavalry,
(both Negro Cavalries) and Eleventh Infantry. He
marched westward, filling in the area between
Mackenzie and Davidson.
In all 46 companies involving 3,000 men were
mobilized for action. Orders were to keep the
hostiles moving, allowing no time for rest, grazing
animals or hunting for food. To carry out the orders
meant the soldiers must suffer the same depri-
vations as the Indians.
Fall and winter brought unseasonably harsh
weather that year as snow began to fall in early
autumn. The Red River War became known as the
Wrinkled Hand Chase to the Indians and involved
seven major battles and seven minor ones. The
major battles listed chronologically:
(1) August 30—Miles’ first battle of the Palo
Duro Canyon
(2) September 7—Baldwin’s Engagement in
Donley County
(3) September 9-14—Battle of Lyman’s
Wagon Train (Battle of Upper Washita)
(4) September 12—Battle of Buffalo Wallow
(near the Washita)
(5) September 28—Mackenzie's second Battle
of the Palo Duro Canyon
(6) November 6—Farnsworth’s Engagement
on McClellan Creek
(7) November 8—Baldwin’s Wagon Charge
(McClellan Creek)
Gradually the exhausted and dispirited Indians
began to proceed slowly back to the reservation.
The vast grassy plain where the buffalo grazed
freely, the colorful craggy canyon that afforded
game and shelter, the land guaranteed them in the
treaty at Medicine Lodge was now reluctantly
surrendered.
Mackenzie troops departed the Panhandle on
December 20, 1874. Without many casualties, they
had dealt the most damaging blow of the Red River
War by destroying 1,600 Indian horses and mules.
Since August they had spent four months and 900
miles in the saddle. The Texas Panhandle was now
ready for settlement which began almost
immediately.
Today, not far from the site where the famed
Fourth Cavalry made camp over a century ago,
stands the tallest non-federally funded earthen dam
in the state of Texas. Named after the famous
Colonel, Lake Mackenzie is one of the newest
tourist attractions in the Panhandle. Each year
thousands of visitors enjoy the tranquil beauty and
remote atmosphere enjoyed by the Plains Indians
for many centuries.
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Baggarly, H. M. The Tulia Herald (Tulia, Tex.), Vol. 70, No. 28, Ed. 1 Thursday, July 13, 1978, newspaper, July 13, 1978; Tulia, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth506686/m1/1/?q=yaqui: accessed April 2, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Swisher County Library.