West Texas at War Chapter 17 Section 2

The Peace Policy Ends (pages 395–396) The Peace Policy failed and the Native American raids continued. General William T. Sherman went to West Texas to investigate. He thought the reports of Indian attacks was exaggerated.

Warren Wagon Train Raid at Salt Creek Wagon train attacked by a group of Kiowas led by Satanta, Big Tree, and Satank. 7 men were killed and 5 escaped. One man reported the incident to Sherman and Col. Ranald Mackenzie.

Warren Wagon Train Raid at Salt Creek The attack at Salt Creek changed Sherman’s mind, and he arrested Satanta, Big Tree, and Satank personally Fort Sill on the Indian Reservation. Satank tried to escape and was killed. Big Tree and Satanta were put on trial for murder

The Peace Policy Ends (pages 395–396) Satanta was sent to the state prison at Huntsville. He found prison life intolerable and is believed to have killed himself. The peace policy was then abandoned, and the army began a campaign to destroy Native American camps and force them onto reservations.

Mackenzie Leads the Early Texas Campaigns (page 397) During 1871 and 1872, the army, under the command of Colonel Ranald S. Mackenzie, led campaigns against Native Americans of the South Plains. In 1873 the army concentrated efforts along the Rio Grande in South Texas, eventually crossing the border.

Native Americans Depend on the Buffalo (page 397) Native Americans feared the decreasing numbers of buffalo would end their way of life. Native Americans used every part of the buffalo, including skins, horns, and sinews

Buffalo Herds Are Slaughtered (pages 397–398) The era of the buffalo hunt in Texas was begun by Charles Rath and John and J. Wright Mooar. The slaughter began in the 1870s, and by 1873 the herds north of Texas were gone. Hunters then began moving onto the Texas plains.

Buffalo Herds Are Slaughtered (pages 397–398) A law was proposed in the Texas legislature to protect the buffalo, but General Philip Sheridan, commander of the U.S. military of the Southwest, helped to defeat the bill. Without the buffalo for food, clothing, shelter, and other necessities, the Native Americans of the Plains could not survive, so they struck back to save their culture.

The Attack on Adobe Walls (page 399) In June 1874 Quanah Parker led several hundred warriors from five Native American nations in an attack on a buffalo hunters’ camp at Adobe Walls. 28 men and 1 woman in camp took up a defense in a saloon and 2 stores in the town. They held the off the Native American attacks losing only 3 men.

Billy Dixon Quanah Parker

The Attack on Adobe Walls (page 399) Enraged by their inability to defeat the buffalo hunters Quanah Parker and the other warriors retreated. Joined by many Native Americans on reservations, the Plains people spread across 5 states and territories, killing 190 Anglo Americans in 2 months.

The Red River Campaign (pages 399–400) President Grant put the army in charge of Native American affairs in West Texas. About 4,000 Comanches, Kiowas, and Cheyenne spread their camps into canyons and valleys in the Texas Panhandle.

The Red River Campaign (pages 399–400) The first battle of the Red River campaign was fought in late August 1874. The army did not halt the search for Native Americans’ camps until the following spring.

The Battle of Palo Duro Canyon (page 400) The Battle of Palo Duro Canyon, on September 28, 1874, was the most decisive battle of the Red River campaign. By early November most of the Native American bands had given up and were headed toward reservations.

The Battle of Palo Duro Canyon (page 400) After the Red River campaign, Native Americans rarely were seen on the prairies of Central and West Texas. Kickapoo and Apache warriors, however, continued their struggle for a few more years in the border country along the Rio Grande.