1873 — Aug 5, Massacre, Dakota (Sioux) attack Pawnee hunting party ~Trenton, NE — 70
— ~70 Blanchard estimate.[1]
— 173 Wikipedia. “Massacre Canyon,” 12-17-2016 modification.[2]
–50-118 New York Times, “The Recent Indian Massacre,” 8-21-1873.[3]
— 100 Pawnee men, women, children. NYT, “The Recent Indian Massacre,” 8-21-1873.[4]
— ~70 Pawnee men, women, children. Riley. “The Battle of Massacre Canyon,” 1973, p. 222.
— 60-70 New York Times, “The Recent Indian Massacre,” 8-21-1873.[5]
— 69 Riley, Paul. “Massacre Canyon, Hitchcock County, NE.” McCook Gazette, 1967.[6]
— 63-69 NE State Historical Society. Nebraska Historical Marker: Massacre Canyon. 10-5-2017.
Narrative Information
Nebraska State Historical Society: “Location: Intersection of U.S. 34 and Old Hwy 34, 3.5 miles east of Trenton, Hitchcock County, Nebraska….
“Marker Text…. Massacre Canyon is the large canyon about half a mile west of here. The battle took place in and along this canyon when a Pawnee hunting party of about 700, confident of protection from the government, were surprised by a War Party of Sioux. The Pawnee, badly outnumbered and completely surprised, retreated into the head of the canyon about two miles northwest of here. The battle was the retreat of the Pawnee down the canyon to the Republican. The Pawnee reached the Republican River, about a mile and a half south of here, and crossed to the other side. The Sioux were ready to pursue them still further, but a unit of cavalry arrived and prevented further fighting. The defeat so broke the strength and spirit of the tribe that it moved from its reservation in central Nebraska to Oklahoma.
“The Battle of Massacre Canyon Considered to be the last battle between Indian tribes in American history and one of the largest intertribal battles in the historical record, the Battle of Massacre Canyon was fought between Pawnee and Sioux Indians on August 5, 1873.
“Origins Once a powerful tribe occupying much of Nebraska, the Pawnee were weakened by disease, war and removal. In 1857, the Pawnee signed a treaty ceding most of their land for a reservation in east-central Nebraska (present-day Nance County). The government promised to protect them against their enemies, but they were often raided by Sioux bands. The Loup River system in central Nebraska connected the Sioux and the Pawnee, making it easy for the Sioux to come into Pawnee territory to kill women and steal horses. After the Civil War, the Pawnee helped the military fight against the Sioux and their other old enemy, the Cheyenne. During the administration of President Ulysses S. Grant (1869-1877), Quaker missionaries came to the Pawnee and urged pacifism as part of Grant’s peace policy. Many Pawnee agreed to stop fighting, but many continued to go on horse stealing raids. Tensions rose during this time when white settlers used up Pawnee resources like timber and grazing land. In 1871, the Quakers urged the Pawnee and Sioux to sign a peace treaty. Many Pawnee were skeptical of the Sioux’s trustworthiness, and the treaty never came to be.
“Buffalo Hunts While the Pawnee did plant some crops, they relied on annual buffalo hunts for meat. As the number of buffalo in the Great Plains decreased with white overhunting, the Pawnee had to go farther and farther away from their reservation to find game, meaning they had to go farther and farther away from the control of the reservation. It also meant they had more interaction with the Sioux. The buffalo hunts were indeed a source of violence. In the winter of 1872, three Pawnee were killed by white hunters after they allegedly tried to steal bread. Shortly after that incident, some Sioux raided an encampment of Pawnee and Oto Indians, ruining their food supply and morale.
“The Battle: On July 3, 1873, 350 Pawnee left the reservation for what would become the last major Pawnee buffalo hunt. After a successful hunt, the Pawnee began to return home on August 2. On August 4, they camped near present-day Trenton in Hitchcock County. They were warned that there were Sioux in the area, but assumed that the warning, coming from white hunters, was a trick to get them to leave the area. In fact, there were some 1000 Sioux in the region. The agent of the Pawnee, John Williamson, tried and failed to convince the Pawnee chief, Sky Chief, of the danger. (Another source, however, reports that the Pawnee had asked the military for protection but was denied help, since they deemed the Sioux to not be a threat. See the Blaine essay in the references for further discussion.)[7] On the morning of August 5, the Pawnee moved into the canyon. After spying some buffalo, several Pawnee, including Sky Chief, rode ahead in an attempt to catch them. However, they were ambushed by Sioux and killed. (Williamson reported that Sky Chief was killed early in the battle, but some Pawnee oral history sources say he died later in the fight, after rallying the troops against the Sioux. One account says that Sky Chief killed his young son (who was 3 or 4) so he wouldn’t be dismembered by the Sioux.)
“Pawnee tribal accounts indicate three waves of Sioux attacks. The Pawnee were thrown into chaos at first but regrouped and began to fight back. When the Pawnee saw how outnumbered they were, Williamson was sent out in an attempt to make peace with the Sioux but had his horse shot out from under him. The Pawnee began to retreat while the Sioux continued to fire at them. When the Pawnee reached the Republican River Valley, the Sioux withdrew and returned to the canyon to rape and mutilate the bodies still there. It is not known exactly why the Sioux withdrew when they did; perhaps they were aware of the military presence in the region (which did not arrive in the canyon until much later) or they had simply accomplish what they had come to do: make off with Pawnee prisoners and treasure. Accounts differ about the number of casualties in the battle. Immediately after the battle, the army found 63 Pawnee dead- 13 men and 50 women and children. A census taken at the Pawnee Reservation found 69 dead- 20 men, 39 women and 10 children. The census also noted 12 wounded, 11 prisoners (who were later returned) and several missing children. Other sources give numbers in the 100s. It is not known how many Sioux were killed. One source says that none died, while other evidence suggests the Sioux lost at least 6 men. Regardless, it was clearly a huge victory for the Sioux.
“Accounts of the Battle Facts about the battle are difficult to ascertain with certainty. Only two written accounts from the time survive. One was written by Williamson; the other was written by Lester Beach Platt, a minister who accompanied the Pawnee on their hunt. Both accounts are problematic. Beach published his version in 1888 in The Cosmopolitan. The time difference between the event and the publication of his account, along with its rather romantic style, cast some doubt on its veracity. Williamson’s account is more trustworthy, but contradicts with Pawnee oral records and other eyewitness accounts. For example, many Pawnee claim that Williamson ran away during the battle while Williamson himself claimed he stood and fought with the Pawnee. The Pawnee oral records, while not written down until much later, are perhaps the best source of information about the battle.
“Problems with Numbers In 2013, some fourth grade students at Randolph Elementary in Lincoln were informed by their teacher, Thomas Pargett, that a discrepancy existed between two Nebraska State Historical Society markers about the Battle of Massacre Canyon. The battle’s main marker says that 700 Pawnee were present at the fight, while another marker describing the battle, Pawnee Woman’s Grave (Marker 206), claims that there were only 350. The class wrote letters to the NSHS asking about the conflicting data. Why is there a conflict? As noted, the sources about the battle differ. The nature of the battle made it difficult to get accurate numbers about the battle. The marker at Pawnee Woman’s Grave was written later and is believed to be more accurate. The marker at Massacre Canyon also incorrectly notes that the battle caused the Pawnee to leave Nebraska. As the following paragraph will show, this is not true.
“Aftermath The Pawnee never made another buffalo hunt in Nebraska after 1873. Between 1875 and 1876, the tribe was moved to Indian Territory (modern-day Oklahoma). Some have suggested that the massive casualties suffered at Massacre Canyon were a major reason the tribe decided to leave Nebraska. However, Pawnee removal had many other, more significant causes. The tribe’s population had decreased considerably in the previous decades. There were about 10,000 Pawnee in the 1830s but only 3,000 in 1873. War and disease were the primary causes of this drop. The Pawnee, once the most powerful tribe in Nebraska, had also already lost much of its land and culture.
“Pawnee Woman’s Grave A Pawnee woman who survived the battle but lost a child was discovered by a homesteader, who brought her to Indianola, a settlement established one year previous. The settlers there cared for her, but she died a few days later and was buried in a crude coffin near Coon Creek. In 1975, she was reburied as part of the American Revolution Bicentennial Year with a representative from the Pawnee Tribe present….”
(Nebraska State Historical Society. Nebraska Historical Marker: Massacre Canyon (webpage). 10-5-2017 modification.[8])
New York Times: “Washington, Aug. 20. — The following accounts of the fight between the Pawnee and Sioux Indians, on the 4th of August, have been received at the War Department, through Gen. Sherman:
“Pawnee Agency. Nebraska, Aug. 9, 1873. Respected Friend: I have sorrowful tidings from the Pawnee hunt yesterday. After reading the encouraging letter from the War Department respecting peace with the Sioux, a runner came in from the hunt, and informed me that the Pawnees were attacked in camp, on the waters of the Republican, by the Sioux, and great numbers had been killed….
“This morning, John Williamson, sub-agent, in charge of the Pawnee hunters, returned, and confirmed the sad news. After a successful hunt, in which they had killed a thousand buffalo, and being heavily laden with meat and hides, on their return home they were surprised in camp by the Sioux, supposed to be 1,000 strong, and before they could escape or make successful resistance nearly 100 men, women, and children were slain and scalped.
“The wounded, dead, and dying women and helpless children were thrown into a heap and burned in the most barbarous manner possible. Comparatively few of the women and children of the tribe were with them, but nearly all who were there became victims of the ruthless and unprovoked slaughter.
“Buffalo had just been seen, possibly decoyed within their view. Many of the men were out after them. Sky Chief was killed. Williamson made his escape on horseback, but lost his pack-horse and all his goods. Young Platt, companion to Williamson, also lost a horse. They met a few soldiers from Fort McPherson, and gave them the particulars of the massacre.
“The Pawnees, sorrowful and disheartened, are returning home as fast as possible. Williamson brought six badly wounded ones in the train to Silver Creek Station, and Dr. Davis, with the teams, has left to bring them home. I will write further as soon as I can learn the exact date, numbers, and other particulars. Much excitement prevails, and the spirit of war is running at fever heat. Williamson’s runners report only two Sioux killed so far as they know. Respectfully, thy friend, William Burgess.
“….Mont Platte, Neb., Aug. 11, 1873.
“To Gen. George D. Ruggles, Omaha, Neb.:
“Two of Capt. Winhold’s men who got lost came in here to-day, via Alkali Station. They report that the Captain came on the ground of the Pawnee and Sioux battle about four hours after it took place, at 3 P.M. on the 5th. They counted between sixty and seventy bodies, all squaws and children except eight or ten, most terribly mutilated, and scalped, and some still alive, but in a dying condition. The Sioux had left, but the Captain communicated with the Pawnees. The fight took place between the White Man’s Fork and the Republican, about eighty miles a little west of south from this place. {signed} Anson Mills, Captain Third Cavalry.” (New York Times. “The Recent Indian Massacre.” 8-21-1873.)
Riley in McCook Gazette: “….Today, that stretch of the canyon looks no different than any other in Southwest Nebraska, but on the afternoon of Aug. 5, 1873, the view was far from ordinary. The first visitors to the battlefield on that afternoon were Captain Charles Meinhold and Co. B, U. S. 3rd Cavalry, and Acting Assistant Surgeon D. F. Powell who described the battlefield in a letter to the Omaha Herald:
“It was a horrible sight. Dead braves with bows still tightly grasped in dead and stiffened fingers; sucking infants pinned to their mothers’ breasts with arrows; bowels protruding from openings made by fiendish knives; heads scalped with red blood glazed upon them-a stinking mass, many already fly-blown and scorched with heat.”
“These were the Pawnee dead.
“During the preceding decade, the Pawnee, once Nebraska’s proudest and most powerful Indian nation, had allied themselves with the whites and had half-heartedly tried to learn new ways. They found themselves and their herds of horses continually threatened by the still free and warlike bands of Brule and Oglala Sioux,[9] who found the Loup valley a natural highway from the Sioux country to the Pawnee reservation in present Nance County….
“During the Indian wars of the late sixties, the Pawnee found one release for their hatred of the Sioux. Under the famous North brothers, the Pawnee served as scouts for the U.S. Army, and their determined zeal in seeking out the Sioux and Cheyenne did not lessen the tribal antagonisms. During the early seventies, the Sioux settled into an uneasy truce with the army, but their raids against the Pawnee continued….
“The Pawnee retained hunting rights in the Republican valley, but, after 1870 as white settlements spread up the river, they were forced further west each year in their search for the buffalo herds. Each year the risk of the hunt increased, for bands of Oglala and Brule Sioux also frequented the Upper Republican country….
“In June 1873, the Pawnee chiefs began petitioning their new Quaker agent, William Burgess, for permission to leave on their summer hunt, requesting that John Williamson accompany them as trail agent, Williamson, 23, was an employee at the Genoa agency, but he was not familiar with life on the buffalo range….
“Sky Chief, described as one of the ablest Pawnee chiefs, aided by Sun Chief and Fighting Bear, was selected as leader of the hunt, in charge of the 250 men, 100 women, and 50 children….
“The Pawnee left their reservation on July 3rd, crossing over from the Loop to the Platte, which they then followed as far as Plum Creek (Lexington), before crossing over to the Republican, which they reached at a point near Arapahoe. Near Burton’s Bend (Holbrook), they crossed the river and on across the divide to the Beaver….
“For three weeks the Pawnee hunted on the Prairie Dog and Beaver creeks in Nebraska and Kansas, during which time they made several successful surrounds. Then on August 4th they crossed over to the Republican and spent the night somewhere in the vicinity of Trenton. Three white hunters visited the camp that night and warned Williamson that a large number of Sioux were in the region, and they had been spying upon the Pawnee….
“The Cut-off band of Sioux under Sub-Agent Nick Janis were on the Upper Frenchman, while a party of Brule with Sub-Agent Stephen F. Estes were on the Stinking Water. The latter had but recently arrived in the area, for on July 26th, Estes had wired the commissioner of Indian Affairs in Washington, from Julesburg, requesting that the military be ordered to supply his band with a few rations, while on their buffalo hunt. Apparently the Indians were restless, for Estes hoped that the rations would “go far toward keeping them satisfied and contented.”….
“The order of events at the Sioux camps is not easily traced, but it appears that the Cut-off band, was the first to discover the Pawnee, and the first to decide to attack. The day after the battle, Janis wrote: “Little Wound (a chief) came to me and asked if I had any orders to keep him from going to fight them. I told them I had not. He said he had orders not to go to their reservations or among the whites to fight them but none in regard to this part of the country.”
“Preparing for the attack, the Oglala rode to the Brule camp on the Stinking Water, inciting them to join in against the Pawnee. Also writing the day after the battle, Estes said, “I used every effort to induce the Indians under my charge to make peace with the Pawnees… but the young men would listen to nothing.”
“On August 28th, after having read the letter Janis wrote on the 5th, Estes stated, “My failure to avert the attack…was due in a great measure to the ignorance and bad advice given by Sub-agent Janis to the Indians under his charge…leaving Little Wound impressed with the idea that he had a perfect right to make war upon the Pawnees.”
“On Tuesday morning, August 5, 1873, the Pawnee packed their gear and started up the draw which is now Massacre Canyon. Feeding buffalo, perhaps camouflaged Sioux horses, were sighted out on the divide, and the Pawnee men left the women and the pack horses to make their way alone.
“The Sioux attack was sudden. The first wave of warriors suddenly appeared on the rim of the canyon, and, while the Pawnee warriors rushed back to defend them, the women and children huddled in fear. Just before leaving the reservation, L.B. Platt of Baltimore, related to a prominent agency family, had requested and received permission to attend the hunt. Under a white flag, Williamson and young Platt rode out to treat with the Sioux, but after being fired upon they retreated to the canyon. Some of the warriors, including the great Sky Chief, were killed out on the divide, although during the first hour the Pawnee were able to hold their own, for the Sioux numbered only about one hundred warriors.
“Until then only a few Pawnee had been killed, but then the Sioux were re-enforced, and all sources agree that the Sioux then numbered about one thousand warriors, against the two hundred and fifty of the Pawnee, who had their women and children to defend as well as themselves. The canyon was narrow and the banks were low; the Pawnee panicked. The Sioux were on both banks, and they could easily fire down into the Pawnee without danger of hitting their own on the opposite banks. Discarding all their possession, the Pawnee attempted to flee down the canyon, and, because of the terrain, there was little the Pawnee could do to protect the women and children….
“While the Pawnee fled down the canyon and then down the valley of the Republican, the Sioux halted and vent their fury upon the dead and wounded Pawnee. Pawnee possessions were piled and put to the torch. Bodies, sometimes still breathing, were thrown into the flames, while the wounded squaws were raped; children were brutally killed. The Brule took four prisoners and the Cut-off seven, all later returned….
“Captain Charles Meinhold in command, Lt. Lawson, Surgeon Powell, and forty-seven enlisted men of Co. B, U.S. 3rd Cavalry, guided by Leon Palladie, left Fort McPherson on July 30th, on a routine scout of the Republican valley. On the morning of the 5th, they were near the mouth of the Blackwood, when the first of the Pawnee refugees galloped up to the command and informed them of the massacre. They wanted Meinhold to lead them back against the Sioux, but the captain wisely refused their request, knowing that if the Sioux were as many as reported his small command would be unable to defend the Pawnee.
“After conferring with Williamson, one of the last to retreat, Meinhold directed the Pawnee down the valley to Red Willow, while he led his command to the canyon, as described by Surgeon Powell. Williamson and young Platt had become separated during the retreat, but Platt accompanied the cavalry to the battlefield, while Williamson went downstream with the Pawnee. Platt had been captured, disarmed, and then freed, after having had his hand shaken and been told to go to the settlement at Culbertson. The military saw no sign of the Sioux, numbered the Pawnee dead at fifty-seven, and returned to the mouth of the Frenchman, where they camped for the night. On a scout the following day, they failed to discover the Sioux camps, believing they had fled back north of the Platte, though the Sioux remained on the Frenchman and Stinking Water for several days.
“Besides those killed on the battlefield, several died later. A census taken at the Pawnee Agency in September, according Agent Burgess, showed that twenty men, thirty-nine women, and ten children had been killed, while the eleven prisoners were returned through the efforts of Stephen Estes.
“Two weeks after the battle, Janis, the nearest thing to a villain in this story, submitted a bill of $42.50 to the Pawnee Agent, representing it as his expense for the return and care of the Pawnee captives. As far as is known the bill was not paid, while evidence shows that Estes played the major role in their return.
“The Sioux casualties are not fully known. Estes said that one Brule was killed and three were mortally wounded. Janis said non of the Cut-off Band were killed, and three were mortally wounded. Janis said non of the Cut-off band were killed, though two were wounded. A few weeks later, however, Robert H. Williams, a Red Willow County settler out on a buffalo hunt, discovered six new Sioux tree burials near the mouth of the Stinking Water, and it has always been assumed that they resulted from the battle….
“The Battle of Massacre Canyon deserves to be remembered for several reasons. First, it was the last battle between the Sioux and Pawnee and the last inter-tribal battle in Nebraska, as well as having been one of the few major battles between two Indian tribes.
“The second reason is of greater importance. A small number of Pawnee had been eager to move to a new reservation in the Indian Territory, but a majority of the tribe, particularly the old people, had successfully fought leaving Nebraska, in spite of the Sioux raids and the white settlements which were growing up around the reservation. After the Battle of Massacre Canyon, however, the whole tribe was so demoralized that the pro-removal faction gained popular support.
“The same fall approximately fifty Pawnee slipped away from the reservation and went south to winter with the Wichita. They returned the following summer and continued their agitation. Because of the battle, the Pawnee had not been allowed their annual winter hunt, though they had finally allowed the agent to purchase buffalo meat from white hunter, and Sioux raids had continued against the Pawnee horse herds.
“After much debate the Pawnee decided to cede their Nebraska lands back to the United State in return for Indian Territory lands. After this decision the Pawnee began their long trek south, leaving Nebraska behind forever. Homesteaders flocked into the region and Nance County was organized.
“It is ironic that the major Nebraska monument to its most powerful Indian ally, is a monument not to their grandeur but to their most demoralizing defeat. Unfortunately it is an apt memorial to an Indian policy which only suffered the Indian ally, while tending to over-placate the Indian hostiles.” (Riley, Paul. “Roadside Park marks Indian Battle scene.” McCook Gazette Centennial Edition 1867-1967. Reproduced on USgennet.org website as “Massacre Canyon, Hitchcock County, NE.”)
Riley in Nebraska History: “….Two miles east of Trenton, Hitchcock County…stands a towering granite shaft erected by the federal government in 1930 to commemorate the Battle of Massacre Canyon, which occurred on Tuesday morning, August 5, 1873….
“…more than a thousand Sioux [descended] upon 350 Pawnee men, women, and children as they moved up the west bank of the canyon on their summer buffalo hunt. It was one of the largest inter-tribal battles in historic times, leaving approximately seventy Pawnee dead….” (Riley, Paul. “The Battle of Massacre Canyon,” Nebraska History, Vol. 54, 1973, pp. 220-249.)
Sources
Nebraska State Historical Society. Nebraska Historical Marker: Massacre Canyon (webpage). 10-5-2017 modification. Accessed 8-29-2019 at: http://www.e-nebraskahistory.org/index.php?title=Nebraska_Historical_Marker:_Massacre_Canyon
New York Times. “The Recent Indian Massacre.” 8-21-1873. Accessed 12-19-2016 at: http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9C0DEFDC1E3DE53BBC4951DFBE668388669FDE
Riley, Paul. “Roadside Park marks Indian Battle scene.” McCook Gazette Centennial Edition 1867-1967. Reproduced on USgennet.org website as “Massacre Canyon, Hitchcock County, NE.” Accessed 12-20-2016 at: http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ne/county/hitchcock/history/canyon.html
Riley, Paul D. “The Battle of Massacre Canyon,” Nebraska History, Vol. 54, 1973, pp. 220-249. Accessed 12-19-2016 at: http://www.nebraskahistory.org/publish/publicat/history/full-text/NH1973Massacre_Cnyn.pdf
Wikipedia. “Massacre Canyon.” 12-17-2016 modification. Accessed 12-19-2016 at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massacre_Canyon
[1] We use the Pawnee Agency “census” report of 69 killed in the attack. The Nebraska State Historical Society also notes this as one of the death-toll statements. Further down in it’s webpage devoted to “Massacre Canyon,” it notes that an injured Pawnee woman was found by a homesteader who took her to Indianola where “she died a few days later…” We add her death to the 69 reported at the massacre site to derive “approximately 70,” given the uncertainty surrounding an exact number. We note other accounts note “approximately” 70 deaths , or a range of 60-70. We do not include the small number (if any) Sioux (Dakota) deaths in that they were the attackers and not victims.
[2] Writes: “‘A census taken at the Pawnee Agency in September, according Agent Burgess…’…found that ‘71 Pawnee warriors were killed, and 102 women and children killed’, the victims brutally mutilated and scalped and others even set on fire’[footnote 3] although Agent John Williamson’s account states 156 Pawnee died (page 388).” Footnote 3 is for “The Chicago Tribune, Saturday, August 30, 1873; New York Times, August 21, 1873 (reported by William Burgess, Pawnee Indian agent). BWB: We have located and reproduced the NYT article and Burgess reports “nearly 100 men, women, and children were slain and scalped.” We also have seen what Riley has reproduced from the “census” at the time (69 deaths total), and thus do not use the Wikipedia figures.
[3] Men, women and children. From letter dated Aug 5, from Antoine Janis, Agent “In charge of the Southern Indians of the Ogallala and Sioux bands,” writing from Ogallala, Sioux Agency, White Man’s Fork, to Col. Woodward, Commanding Post at Sydney, Nebraska, reporting the numbers of killed “variously estimated from fifty to 118” by Sioux participants.
[4] The NYT transcribes a letter report from William Burgess, Pawnee Indian Agent, relaying information from John Williamson, sub-agent, who had been with the Pawnee party when attacked.
[5] From Captain Anson Mills letter of Aug 11, 1873 to Gen. George D. Ruggles, writing from Monte Platte, NE.
[6] 20 males, 39 females and 10 children, according to “A census taken at the Pawnee Agency in September, according to Agent Burgess.”
[7] Garland James Blaine and Martha Royce Blaine. Pa-re-su A-ri-ra-ke: The Hunters that Were Massacred.” Nebraska History. Fall 1977: 343-357.
[8] In addition to Blaine and Riley, cites: A. L. Taylor. “Massacre Canyon Memorial.” Nebraska History Magazine, July-September 1935, pp. 171-177.
[9] Sioux is a French word applied to the native people who today generally refer to themselves as Dakota.