'Do You Deny then, Mr. Chivington, that you're a vicious psycho hose beast?' No sir, Mr. Congressman sir, I swear I didn't know there was anyone there! The tragic massacre at Sand Creek, 1864.
What images come to your mind, when you dream of the American West, Dear Reader? Something like this?
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I know that this is one of the more recognized fantasies about the western experience. Hopefully by now, we all know that this depiction is COMPLETE bulls*&t.
THERE WERE ALREADY PEOPLE THERE, FOLKS.
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For my druthers, I prefer pictures like the above. Images that compel impressions of space and wild beauty.
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Buffalo, coupled (of course) with that endless sky.
Whenever I think about the American West, I think poetically. I think tectonically. It's impossible to gage this landscape against the span of a single human life. But, that is essentially what we have to do here, isn't it Dear Reader? We must create condensed sketches of larger events, even if those happenings are tragic in nature.
Which brings us to Sand Creek.
The events surrounding the Massacre at Sand Creek began in November, 1864, but we all know it began before that--decades before. This was but one tragedy, which was a part of other tragedies, culminating in December, 1890, at a place called Wounded Knee.
You might have heard about Sand Creek, but more likely you have not. It astounds me that everyone knows about Custer's Last Stand, and yet know little about other battles (massacres).
Why? Perhaps because it’s an uncomfortable past, particularly for whites. They were called the Plains Indian Wars, and were fought because whites demanded more lands to settle. And they didn’t care how they acquired it.
We'll start with why Native Americans (mostly Cheyenne & Arapaho) were camped out approximately 40 miles from Ft. Lyon, in the Colorado Territory:
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As you might imagine, Dear Reader, there was never any chance for peace, on the part of the whites. As usual, whites just wanted land for farming; land for mining. It was also an evolving informal US military policy at the time, to 'solve the indian problem' by simply getting rid of them, to free lands for whites, who 'would (gag) use it (vomit) properly (convulse)'. It was all about land use, really--whites would farm, build, and squeeze the land, whereas Native Americans would live off and with it. I suppose, Dear Reader, if you understand that conundrum, you understand it all. But then, the truly ghastly historical realities are usually like that.
675 volunteer 'soldiers' led by Colonel John Chivington (d*ckhead) marched toward reportedly (lie) 'hostile indians' (lie), encamped near Sand Creek in November, 1864. But, before we go to that tragic day in November, we must first learn a little bit about Chivington, a.k.a. that rat murdering bastard.
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So, who was John Chivington?
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He was a racist. A killer of old men, women, and children. An unabashed hater of Native Americans. Don't believe me? Well then, let's just see what you think of this: "Kill and scalp all, big and little; nits make lice."
How charming. Tell me, do ya think Chivington would have liked this variation of his portrait?
Personally, I think it's too attractive, and believe me, you'd have to go a country mile to find an uglier character than Col. Chivington.
He was (among other dastardly things) a Methodist minister.
No, you didn't hallucinate, a minister.
As a young man, he worked at the Payson Circuit to the Illinois Conference, as a minister. As of 1853, he began a mission among the Wyandot people. OK. He was an ardent abolitionist. Ummmm. As his rhetoric evidenced a growing emotional instability (i.e. passionate contradictions), he was moved by his church to a remote pulpit in Omaha, Nebraska.
He lasted there one year before he moved even farther West to the Colorado Territory, where he served until 1862, when his appointment as a church elder was not renewed (he wasn't doing his job in delivering sermons apparently). In other words: Chivington wasn't effective as a minister, and had a nasty habit of pissing his Church bureaucracy off, so he was moved from church to church, until he was "retired" circa 1862. There is some debate about that last fact, some historians (Isaac Beardsley) wrote that Chivington was ousted from his position by Church hierarchy.
One reason Chivington was not popular within his church, was his ambition to fight for the Union in the Civil War--which he did. In 1862, Chivington (now a Union officer) led 418 soldiers into a place called Apache Canyon. It was March, 1862, when Chivington and his guys came upon 300 enemy Texans--who were quickly beaten, and yet some of the Confederates escaped.
It was at Glorieta Pass, NM, that Chivington apparently 'distinguished' himself: There was a skirmish between Union and Confederate forces taking place, and his arrival aided the Union defense. Although the Union forces ultimately withdrew, Chivington directed his soldiers to decimate the Confederate wagons and supplies which were burned/destroyed, forcing his opponents to retreat (remember they were in desert country, Dear Reader). The Texans were instead forced to retreat back into Texas, many of them starving and nearly dying of thirst.
What a neato thing for Chivington to do to his enemies, yeah? 'War is hell' be damned.
By April, 1862 (it was quite a year for ole Johnnie), when he was appointed colonel in the Colorado cavalry. But, Chivington got into trouble again, when one of the POW's taken near Glorieta Pass reported to Union authorities that Chivington wanted to kill his prisoners, but ultimately did not.
Looking at Chivington's eccentric history, it's tempting to conclude that something else may have been going on with him. Depression, perhaps? Or the fashionable mental illness of the 21st century, bi-polar disorder? Who knows. All we can ascertain from this biographical sketch, is that Chivington was unstable at best--job histories can perhaps reveal a great deal about a person.
Which brings us to Sand Creek, 1864.
The Events:
It was in the summer of 1864, that Colorado governor, John Evans, directed all so-called "friendly" Native Americans to go to Ft. Lyon, in order to be re-supplied and find supposed 'safety.' Whoops. I guess that Evans forgot the fact that he’d also directed all military forts within Colorado Territory to shoot or kill any Indians that even approached their fort. But perhaps that was a deliberate action on his part?
See what I mean? Here's what this asshole, John Evans looked like:
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I think he looks better with this hair.
Whatever hairstyle Evans wore, he was a barbarian, who later abdicated any and all responsibility for the massacre, screaming at anyone who would listen, that he never told Chivington to murder and pillage the innocents at Sand Creek. He was, in effect, a politician who said one thing at first (I guess he thought it would make him more popular with his constituents), and another thing altogether when the sh*t later hit the fan.
In response to Evans/ proclamation, Black Kettle, et. al., applied to Major Wynkoop at Ft. Lyon for some kind of assistance, but the Major's hands were tied by essentially conflicting orders: to keep peace or shoot? Really, Wynkoop was in an impossible position.
Eventually, Black Kettle directed his people to set up his camp around Sand Creek, located near the American fort. Among their company were Cheyenne and Arapaho elderly men, women, and children. Few, if any, of the infamous 'Dog Soldiers' were among their company. Their number was approximately 750, but exact numbers were and are impossible to ascertain.
In the meantime, Chivington and the first and third regiments of Colorado Cavalry Volunteers were underway to the same area, ostensibly following reports of Native activity (there had actually been some pretty brutal, if isolated hostile attacks on whites that summer). The men arrived at Ft. Lyon on November 28th. They did not tarry long, but quickly set out for Black Kettle's camp. The natives travelling with Black Kettle hadn't done anything--the only ones of real interest to US authorities were a few Dog Soldiers who'd taken temporary refuge with Black Kettle and his people. That's really important to remember: Black Kettle & Co., hadn't done anything wrong.
As D*ckhead (i.e. Chivington) and his entourage approached Black Kettle's camp (some 700 whites facing roughly 500 natives), he ordered his men to open fire. Only two officers, Cpt. Silas Soule and Lt. Joseph Cramer absolutely refused to follow Col. Underpants' order, telling their companies (D and K) to hold their fire. The rest of the force, however, followed D*ckhead into the village, and attacked.
I should mention, at this juncture, that Black Kettle was flying both a white AND an American flag over his tent. It didn't make any difference to Ghengis Chivington and his barbarian horde.
It was all over pretty quickly. The fake Colorado soldiers shot at anything that moved, not caring if their victims were children.
Some escaped, but most were slaughtered. The final number of Indian dead, was probably around 160, but again, this figure is fluid. What rendered the Massacre at Sand Creek more memorable to whites at the time, were the various reactions to the horrific events.
OK. So what about the aftermath?
Next week, Dear Reader, next week. Enough sorrow for now.
For more reading:
https://www.amazon.com/Massacre-Sand-Creek-Methodists-Involved/dp/1501819763/ref=asc_df_1501819763/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=693407082171&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=13125162942878486585&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9031174&hvtargid=pla-566685973867&psc=1&mcid=7e9cb32d091136d1b507d8cea4e64244&gad_source=1
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