Fighting Men of the Indian Wars: A Biographical Encyclopedia of the Mountain Men, Soldiers, Cowboys, and Pioneers Who Took Up Arms During America's Westward Expansion Page: 7
xv, 255 p. : ill., ports. ; 26 cm.View a full description of this book.
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A BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA "COWBOYS AND INDIANS"
"Cowboys and Indians"
LIKE MANY OTHER BOYS, I spent a great deal of time
during my grade-school years playing "Cowboys and
Indians." This familiar term has created the impression that
numerous skirmishes were fought between cattlemen and
Indian war parties, and it is difficult to avoid the assump-
tion that fighting cowboys were instrumental in the con-
quest of the western tribes. In reality, clashes between
cowboys and Indians were infrequent, and the cowboys
often fared badly in combat.
In 1870, for example, rancher Jacob Hershfield and
fourteen cowboys were trailing three hundred cattle north
through Indian Territory. Forty miles south of Camp
Supply they were jumped by Satanta and a large Kiowa
war party. The Indians routed the cowboys, stampeded
their cattle, raided their wagons, then rode off with all of
their sugar, bacon, coffee, and tobacco, as well as $150 in
cash. Hershfield and his men spent the next five hours
rounding up the herd, whereupon Satanta struck again.
Once more the entire herd was driven off, and this time
none could be recovered.
Comanches and Kiowas raided heavily in Atascosa
County, Texas, in 1868, killing eight men and stealing
several hundred horses. A cattlemen's posse rode in pur-
suit, but after intercepting a war party, the cowboys and
ranchers were badly whipped. Nearly a decade later, when
the Nez Perc6s were being hounded out of Oregon, a band
of cowboys volunteered to accompany Captain David
Perry and his cavalrymen toward the Indian encampment
in White Bird Canyon. Fighting broke out, and the cow-
boys dismounted and joined the skirmish line. Soon two
cowboys were felled by Nez Perc6 warriors in hot pursuit.
The headlong retreat continued for four miles, but the
appearance of a large party of cowboys caused the Indians
to turn back, relieving the dead white men of their guns and
ammunition along the way.
Cowboys continued to participate in the Nez Perc6
campaign, proving especially helpful to the army as hard-
riding couriers. During the fight at Cottonwood, seventeen
cowboys, led by a drover named Randall, rode to the reliefof Captain Perry's soldiers. Two miles from Cottonwood,
however, the cowboys encountered a war party driving
stolen horses and cattle. The Indians swung toward the
cowboys at a gallop, but Randall ordered his men to charge
the onrushing warriors. He shouted at the cowboys to hold
their fire until the two lines collided, then to shoot the
nearest brave and try to break out of the melee. When the
thundering riders clashed, Randall and a man named Evans
were killed, but the other cowboys shot their way into the
clear and headed toward the soldiers' position. The Indians
quickly wheeled, however, and pursued so rapidly that the
cowboys had to dismount atop a knoll and form a defensive
ring. Within an hour, twenty-five cowboys rode to their
relief, along with a detachment of cavalrymen, and the
drovers on the knoll were delivered from danger.
Another group of cowboys who defied hostiles was
masterfully led by Nelson Story. In 1866 Story and twenty-
nine drovers headed six hundred Texas longhorns north
toward the Montana gold center, Virginia City. Near Fort
Reno, Indian raiders wounded two of the cowboys and
drove off a portion of the herd. Story, who had armed his
men with Remington breechloaders, promptly rode in
pursuit and jumped the Indians in camp. The warriors
scattered and the cattle were driven back to the herd.
Leaving his wounded men at the fort, Story proceeded up
the Bozeman Trail, but he was stopped at Fort Phil Kearny
by Colonel Henry Carrington, who had closed the trail
because of intense hostile activity.
Story restlessly spent two weeks near the fort, guarding
his cattle while winter drew nearer. After one of his
cowboys was slain by lurking warriors, Story resolved to
defy the military and finish his drive. He told his men that
he intended to slip away at night, and the drovers by now
had so much faith in their daredevil leader that when one
man expressed opposition, he was "arrested" and forcibly
carried along. Story pulled out after taps and pushed up the
trail all night to outdistance military pursuit. The drive at
night was so successful that he decided to travel nights and
rest the herd during the days, with the result that there wereA BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA
"COWBOYS AND INDIANS"
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Fighting Men of the Indian Wars: A Biographical Encyclopedia of the Mountain Men, Soldiers, Cowboys, and Pioneers Who Took Up Arms During America's Westward Expansion (Book)
This book "is a compendium of America's Indian Wars and the mountain men, soldiers, cowboys and pioneers who took part in them" (dust-jacket). It includes information about all the major American Indian battles, the lives of notable men who fought in the battles, and the combat techniques employed. The index begins on page 247.
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O'Neal, Bill. Fighting Men of the Indian Wars: A Biographical Encyclopedia of the Mountain Men, Soldiers, Cowboys, and Pioneers Who Took Up Arms During America's Westward Expansion, book, 1991; Stillwater, Oklahoma. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth151417/m1/27/: accessed May 2, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Panola College.