White Horse (chief)
Encyclopedia
White Horse
White Horse (Kiowa: Tsen-tainte (? - 1892), was a chief of the Kiowa
. White Horse attended the council between southern plains tribes and the United States at Medicine Lodge
in southern Kansas which resulted in the Medicine Lodge Treaty
. Despite his attendance at the treaty signing he conducted frequent raids upon other tribes and white settlers.
In 1867 White Horse joined a war party of Comanche
s and Kiowas on a revenge raid against the Navajo
s, who were then living in exile on the reservation near Fort Sumner
, New Mexico.
On June 12, 1870, White Horse led a raiding party on an attack on Fort Sill
in Indian Territory
and stole seventy-three mules. On June 22 in an attack on a cattle drive on the Chisolm Trail, White Horse killed and scalped two men, prior to the arrival of a cavalry detachment which drove them off.
On the 9th day of July, 1870, the Kiowa Indians made a raid into Montague County, Texas
. They scattered a herd of cattle, killed two yoke of oxen, stole nine horses, one mule, a large amount of provisions, one tent, one wagon-cover, etc., all of which property was at the time owned by and in the possession of Colonel Samuel Newitt Wood
.
In a raid on August 7, 1870 in Montague County, Texas
, they killed German immigrant farmer, Gottlieb Koozer, and took his wife and five children captive along with fourteen-year-old Martin Kilgore; the family was ransomed for $100 each at Fort Sill. Quaker Indian agent Lawrie Tatum
bargained upon behalf of the hostages, not paying until they were all returned. The raiding would continue until April 19, 1875 when he and his band surrendered at Fort Sill.
When forced by General Philip Sheridan
to choose those among his tribe to be imprisoned in the east, White Horse was among those chosen by Chief Kicking Bird
. He would join other Kiowa as well as tribe members of the Comanche
, Caddo
, Southern Cheyenne and Arapaho
imprisoned at Fort Marion
in St. Augustine, Florida
. While incarcerated at Fort Marion, White Horse was among the prisoners who became artists in what would be called Ledger Art
, for the ledgers they were drawn in.
In 1878 he was returned and the other Kiowa were returned to the reservation in Indian Country near Fort Sill.
White Horse (Kiowa: Tsen-tainte (? - 1892), was a chief of the Kiowa
Kiowa
The Kiowa are a nation of American Indians and indigenous people of the Great Plains. They migrated from the northern plains to the southern plains in the late 17th century. In 1867, the Kiowa moved to a reservation in southwestern Oklahoma...
. White Horse attended the council between southern plains tribes and the United States at Medicine Lodge
Medicine Lodge, Kansas
Medicine Lodge is the most populous city in and the county seat of Barber County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 2,009.-19th century:...
in southern Kansas which resulted in the Medicine Lodge Treaty
Medicine Lodge Treaty
The Medicine Lodge Treaty is the overall name for three treaties signed between the United States government and southern Plains Indian tribes in October 1867, intended to bring peace to the area by relocating the Native Americans to reservations in Indian Territory and away from European-American...
. Despite his attendance at the treaty signing he conducted frequent raids upon other tribes and white settlers.
In 1867 White Horse joined a war party of Comanche
Comanche
The Comanche are a Native American ethnic group whose historic range consisted of present-day eastern New Mexico, southern Colorado, northeastern Arizona, southern Kansas, all of Oklahoma, and most of northwest Texas. Historically, the Comanches were hunter-gatherers, with a typical Plains Indian...
s and Kiowas on a revenge raid against the Navajo
Navajo people
The Navajo of the Southwestern United States are the largest single federally recognized tribe of the United States of America. The Navajo Nation has 300,048 enrolled tribal members. The Navajo Nation constitutes an independent governmental body which manages the Navajo Indian reservation in the...
s, who were then living in exile on the reservation near Fort Sumner
Fort Sumner
Fort Sumner was a military fort in De Baca County in southeastern New Mexico charged with the internment of Navajo and Mescalero Apache populations from 1863-1868 at nearby Bosque Redondo.-History:...
, New Mexico.
On June 12, 1870, White Horse led a raiding party on an attack on Fort Sill
Fort Sill
Fort Sill is a United States Army post near Lawton, Oklahoma, about 85 miles southwest of Oklahoma City.Today, Fort Sill remains the only active Army installation of all the forts on the South Plains built during the Indian Wars...
in Indian Territory
Indian Territory
The Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...
and stole seventy-three mules. On June 22 in an attack on a cattle drive on the Chisolm Trail, White Horse killed and scalped two men, prior to the arrival of a cavalry detachment which drove them off.
On the 9th day of July, 1870, the Kiowa Indians made a raid into Montague County, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. They scattered a herd of cattle, killed two yoke of oxen, stole nine horses, one mule, a large amount of provisions, one tent, one wagon-cover, etc., all of which property was at the time owned by and in the possession of Colonel Samuel Newitt Wood
Samuel Newitt Wood
Samuel Newitt Wood was an American attorney and politician.Wood represented Chase, Morris, and Madison counties in the Kansas Territorial Legislature in 1860 and 1861, was a member of the first Kansas State Senate in 1861 and again in 1867, a member of the Kansas House of Representatives in 1864,...
.
In a raid on August 7, 1870 in Montague County, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, they killed German immigrant farmer, Gottlieb Koozer, and took his wife and five children captive along with fourteen-year-old Martin Kilgore; the family was ransomed for $100 each at Fort Sill. Quaker Indian agent Lawrie Tatum
Lawrie Tatum
Lawrie Tatum was a Quaker who was best known as an Indian Agent to the Kiowa and Comanche tribes at Fort Sill agency in Indian Territory....
bargained upon behalf of the hostages, not paying until they were all returned. The raiding would continue until April 19, 1875 when he and his band surrendered at Fort Sill.
When forced by General Philip 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...
to choose those among his tribe to be imprisoned in the east, White Horse was among those chosen by Chief Kicking Bird
Kicking Bird
Kicking Bird Also known as Tene-angop'te, "The Kicking Bird," or "Eagle Striking," and as Watohkonk, "Black Eagle," was the high chief of the Kiowa Native American tribe. He was born around 1835, not a lot is known of his early life except his grandfather was a Crow captive that was adopted by the...
. He would join other Kiowa as well as tribe members of the Comanche
Comanche
The Comanche are a Native American ethnic group whose historic range consisted of present-day eastern New Mexico, southern Colorado, northeastern Arizona, southern Kansas, all of Oklahoma, and most of northwest Texas. Historically, the Comanches were hunter-gatherers, with a typical Plains Indian...
, Caddo
Caddo
The Caddo Nation is a confederacy of several Southeastern Native American tribes, who traditionally inhabited much of what is now East Texas, northern Louisiana and portions of southern Arkansas and Oklahoma. Today the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma is a cohesive tribe with its capital at Binger, Oklahoma...
, Southern Cheyenne and Arapaho
Arapaho
The Arapaho are a tribe of Native Americans historically living on the eastern plains of Colorado and Wyoming. They were close allies of the Cheyenne tribe and loosely aligned with the Sioux. Arapaho is an Algonquian language closely related to Gros Ventre, whose people are seen as an early...
imprisoned at Fort Marion
Castillo de San Marcos
The Castillo de San Marcos site is the oldest masonry fort in the United States. It is located in the city of St. Augustine, Florida. Construction was begun in 1672 by the Spanish when Florida was a Spanish territory. During the twenty year period of British possession from 1763 until 1784, the...
in St. Augustine, Florida
St. Augustine, Florida
St. Augustine is a city in the northeast section of Florida and the county seat of St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorer and admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, it is the oldest continuously occupied European-established city and port in the continental United...
. While incarcerated at Fort Marion, White Horse was among the prisoners who became artists in what would be called Ledger Art
Ledger Art
Ledger Art is a term for Plains Indian narrative drawing or painting on paper or cloth. Ledger art was primarily from the 1860s to about 1900, although some of the old style drawing continues to the 1930s. There is also a contemporary group of accomplished Native American artists who work in the...
, for the ledgers they were drawn in.
In 1878 he was returned and the other Kiowa were returned to the reservation in Indian Country near Fort Sill.