Sand Creek
Colonel John Chivington, leader of the Third Colorado Volunteers, and the Third Colorado Volunteers on the dawn of November 29, 1864 had a plan to attack the Cheyenne Indian Resorvation. His troops had been unsuccessful in finding a Cheyenne band
to fight, so when he learned that Black Kettle had returned to Sand Creek, he attacked the
encampment. As the Cheyenne village was asleep the Third Colorado Volunteers attacked. First the Third Colorado Volunteers fired the cannons and then shot into the village then they attacked. The village woke up to the screems and the firing of the weapons.
Hundreds of Cheyenne women and children were gathering around Black Kettle's flag... After all, had not Col. Greenwood told Black Kettle that as long as the United States flag few above him no soldier would fire upon him? White Antelope...strode toward the soldiers. He was still confident that the soldiers would stop firing as soon as they saw the American flag and the white surrender flag which Black Kettle had now run up.
He was wrong. White Antelope was shot down as he stood there, unarmed and motionless.
There were some thirty or forty squaws collected in a hole for protection; they sent out a little girl about six years old with a white flag on a stick; she had not proceeded but a few steps when she was shot and killed. All the squaws in that hole were afterwards killed.
The body of White Antelope with the privates cut off, and survivors heard a soldier say he was going to make a tobacco pouch out of them. They saw one squaw whose privates had been cut out.. A little girl about five years of age who had been hid in the sand; two soldiers discovered her, drew out their pistols and shot her, and then pulled her out of the sand by her arm.
Survivors did not see a body of man, woman or child but was scalped, and in many instances their bodies had been mutilated in the most horrible manner - men, women and children's privates cut out... Survivors heard one man say that he had cut out a woman's private parts and had them for display on a stick... Survivors also heard of numerous instances in which men had cut out the private parts of females and stretched them over the saddle-bows and wore them over their hats while riding in the ranks.
Many people don't talk about this part of history. During my history class in school we said something about the Sand Creek Massacre. I thinkg I can remember it word for word ya. It went something like this. "The Sand Creek Massacre was a battle between the Cheyenne and Americans. From fifty to five hundred Cheyenne warriors died in that battle." Battle? It was a massacre. The Cheyenne did not have a chance.
The funny thing is that during World War II I was told of how the Germans massacred the Jews. How the Germans would get babie and slam them against walls to kill them. How the Germans would take a sledge hammer and crush someones scull. Everything that the Germans did when they massacred the Jews. How is this different? I think I know. Was it because the people who massacred the Cheyenne were the Americans the good guy. I am proud to be an American, but that makes me want to hide in shame. How could someone massacre people like that. The thing that I hate the most is that most of the schools don't teach you of what the Native Americans went through.
"Nits make lice!" - Colonel Chivington, advocating the killing and scalping of all Native Americans, including youngsters. Colonel Chivington was the commanding officer for the U.S. forces that participated in the Massacre at Sand Creek.
Black Kettle miraculously escaped harm at the Sand Creek Massacre, even when he
returned to rescue his seriously injured wife. And perhaps more miraculously, he
continued to counsel peace when the Cheyenne attempted to strike back with isolated
raids on wagon trains and nearby ranches. By October 1865, he and other Indian leaders
had arranged an uneasy truce on the plains, signing a new treaty that exchanged the Sand
Creek reservation for reservations in southwestern Kansas but deprived the Cheyenne of
access to most of their coveted Kansas hunting grounds. Some two hundred Cheyenne
died in the ensuing massacre, many of them women and children, and after the slaughter,
Chivington's men sexually mutilated and scalped many of the dead, later exhibiting their trophies in Denver.
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