Fort Robinson tragedy
Encyclopedia
The Fort Robinson tragedy (winter 1878-1879) refers to a series of events which occurred during the winter of 1878-1879 at Fort Robinson
Fort Robinson
Fort Robinson is a former U.S. Army fort and a present-day state park. Located in the Pine Ridge region of northwest Nebraska, it is west of Crawford on U.S. Route 20.- History :...

 in northwestern Nebraska. After having been forced to relocate south to the Darlington Agency in the Southern Cheyenne Reservation
Cheyenne and Arapaho Indian Reservation
Cheyenne and Arapaho Indian Reservation were the lands granted the Southern Cheyenne and the Southern Arapaho under the Medicine Lodge Treaty signed in 1867. The tribes never lived on the land described in the treaty and did not desire to...

, a band of Northern Cheyenne fled back north in September 1878 because of the terrible conditions. The US Army intercepted part of the Northern Cheyenne Exodus
Northern Cheyenne Exodus
The Northern Cheyenne Exodus, also known as Dull Knife's Raid, the Cheyenne War, or the Cheyenne Campaign, was the attempt of the Northern Cheyenne to return to the north, after being placed on the Southern Cheyenne reservation in the Indian Territory, and the United States Army operations to stop...

 and took a band of nearly 150 Cheyenne to Fort Robinson
Fort Robinson
Fort Robinson is a former U.S. Army fort and a present-day state park. Located in the Pine Ridge region of northwest Nebraska, it is west of Crawford on U.S. Route 20.- History :...

 in Nebraska. In January, after the Cheyenne refused an order in early January to return to the south, the soldiers began to treat them more harshly to try to force them south: they were confined to a barracks without rations or wood for heat. Most of the band escaped on January 9, but the US Army hunted them down. They quickly returned 65 to the fort, and by January 22 cornered and killed most of the last 32 escapees, as they were poorly armed and greatly outnumbered by 150 soldiers.

Journey north

In September, 1878 a band of nearly 300 Northern Cheyenne, under the leadership of Little Wolf
Little Wolf
Little Wolf was a Northern Cheyenne Chief...

 and Dull Knife, fled from the Indian Territory north through Kansas to return to their traditional lands in the Powder River country of Wyoming and Montana. They were pursued by US Army troops, but the warriors successfully fought the soldiers off as they crossed Kansas. They lived off the land, sometimes raiding settlers and cattlemen along the way to obtain horses and food.

Division

In the fall of 1878 beyond the North Platte River, after crossing into Nebraska, the Cheyenne held council. They realized that 34 of the original 297 were missing; most had been killed but a few had decided to take other paths to the north. The Cheyenne decided to split into two groups. Those who wished to stop running, including Wild Hog and Left Hand, planned to go with Dull Knife to the Red Cloud Agency
Red Cloud Agency
The Red Cloud Agency was an Indian agency for the Oglala Lakota as well as the Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho, from 1871 to 1878. It was located at three different sites in Wyoming Territory , before being moved to South Dakota. It was then renamed the Pine Ridge Reservation.- Red Cloud Agency No...

, where the Lakota were located. The Cheyenne who wanted to return to the Powder River country went with Little Wolf.

Surrender

On October 23, 1878 in a blinding snowstorm, Dull Knife's band found they were surrounded by the US army; the encounter was accidental, as neither party saw the other due to the snow. Dull Knife convinced his warriors not to attack the soldiers; likewise, the army troops stood down. Representatives held a short parley, and the two groups camped overnight. By morning a foot of snow covered the ground. The soldiers offered some food and a few spare blankets to the Cheyenne, and suggested a move to a better camp nearby. The army confiscated the Cheyenne ponies but distributed more rations, including sugar and coffee. The next morning after a two-hour council, the Cheyenne agreed to surrender their weapons. They turned over only the older ones and concealed many. After learning that Red Cloud
Red Cloud
Red Cloud , was a war leader and the head Chief of the Oglala Lakota . His reign was from 1868 to 1909...

 and Spotted Tail
Spotted Tail
Siŋté Glešká was a Brulé Lakota tribal chief. Although a great warrior in his youth, and having taken part in the Grattan massacre, he declined to participate in Red Cloud's War, having become convinced of the pointlessness of opposing the white incursions into his homeland; he became a...

 had been relocated to Pine Ridge, Dull Knife decided, due to the weather and his people's condition, to go to Fort Robinson. That night they took apart their best guns to hide the pieces: women hid the barrels under their clothing, and the smaller pieces were attached to clothes and moccasins as ornaments.

Fort Robinson

At sundown on October 26, 1878 the Cheyenne reached Fort Robinson. They were housed in an empty barracks about the size of a tennis court. The first night they were closely guarded and their baggage searched; the Army found a few guns. Sentries were posted in the barrack, but the Cheyenne otherwise had their run of the post. They could leave the Fort during the day, but all had to return by nightfall. The soldiers warned them that if anyone left, the rest of the band would be confined to the barracks. In November, 148 Cheyenne were counted.

By November 22 Carl Schurz
Carl Schurz
Carl Christian Schurz was a German revolutionary, American statesman and reformer, and Union Army General in the American Civil War. He was also an accomplished journalist, newspaper editor and orator, who in 1869 became the first German-born American elected to the United States Senate.His wife,...

, the Secretary of the Interior
United States Secretary of the Interior
The United States Secretary of the Interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior.The US Department of the Interior should not be confused with the concept of Ministries of the Interior as used in other countries...

, had decided that the Cheyenne had to be returned to the south. This was also recommended by General Phillip Sheridan
Philip Sheridan
Philip Henry Sheridan was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War. His career was noted for his rapid rise to major general and his close association with Lt. Gen. Ulysses S...

, commander of the Division of Missouri.

Late in November, Bull Hump, Dull Knife's son, borrowed a horse from Tangle Hair and left to see relatives who were living with the Sioux. The Army withdrew privileges and confined the Cheyenne to the barracks. The US Indian agent tried to negotiate with the Cheyenne about returning to the south, but they said they would rather die than return. While the US representatives did not accept the strength of the Cheyenne attitude then, later they realized its truth.

On December 4, 1878 Captain Henry W. Wessells, Jr. took command of the post. Born in Sacketts Harbor, New York, and educated in Connecticut, Wessells had served in the west since 1870. At first he got on well with the leader Dull Knife and his family. The Cheyenne called him "Long Nose".

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 on Pine Ridge Reservation, which held Red Cloud and his tribe. But, on January 3, 1879 the Cheyenne were ordered to return south to the Southern Cheyenne reservation.

Confinement

When the Cheyenne refused to return to the reservation in the south, the soldiers put bars on the barracks windows and ended the rations. They gave no wood or heat. On January 9, Dull Knife still refused to go back south. Wild Hog and Left Hand agreed to talk with the soldiers, but said their people refused to return south. The soldiers took Wild Hog as a prisoner and put him in shackles.

Escape

At 9:45 that night, the Cheyenne escaped, using the guns they had hidden. The soldiers followed them quickly and killed many. By morning the soldiers had returned 65 Cheyenne to the fort as prisoners, among whom were 23 wounded. Thirty-eight Cheyenne had escaped, and the Army continued to pursue them to the north. Over the next few days, soldiers found six Cheyenne who had hidden near the fort and took them back as captives.

The Pit

On January 22, two weeks after the Cheyenne escape, the soldiers cornered the 32 remaining band members above the Hat Creek bluffs, about 35 miles northwest of Fort Robinson. Led by Little Finger Nail, 18 men and boys, and 14 women and children prepared a defensive position in a dry creek bed, which came to be known as "The Pit". Wessells led four companies of soldiers, about 150 men, to attack the position from three directions. Despite withering Cheyenne fire from the pit, the soldiers repeatedly charged to its rim and fired in at the escapees. The soldiers' calls for surrender were met with gunfire. The soldiers killed or fatally wounded all the warriors, along with four women and two children. They found eight survivors, most beneath bodies of the dead. The Cheyenne killed several troopers and Wessells was wounded in the assault.

Dull Knife

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 Robertson, including Little Wolf, were released and allowed to go to Fort Keogh
Fort Keogh
Fort Keogh is located on the western edge of Miles City, Montana. Occasionally spelled Fort Keough. Originally a military post, today it is a United States Department of Agriculture livestock and range research station. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places...

, Montana, where they settled on a nearby reservation. Later several of the band were charged and tried for murders committed in Kansas during their exodus north. In 1994 the Northern Cheyenne reclaimed the remains of those killed and buried in Nebraska.
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