176 CALENDAR HISTORY OF THE KIOWA [eth.ann.17 



The white chief is a fool. He is a coward. His heart is small — not larger thau a 

 pehble stoue. His men are not strong — too tew to contend against my warriors. 

 They are women. There are three chiefs — the white chief, the Spanish chief, and 

 myself. The Spanish chief and myself are men. We do had toward each other 

 sometimes, stealin.g horses and taking scalps, hnt we do not get mad and act the 

 fool. The wliite chief is a cliild, and like a child gets mad qnick. When my young 

 men, to keep thi'ir women and children from starving, talce fiom the white man 

 passing through our country, killing and driving away onr bufi'alo, a cup of sugar or 

 coffee, the wbite chief is angry and threatens to send Ins soldiers. I have looked 

 for them a long time, but they have not come. He is a coward. His heart is a 

 woman's. I have spoken. Tell the great chief what I have said (Report, 7). 



SMALLPOX EPIDEMIC OP 1861-62 



111 the wiuter of 1861-62 the smallpox, brought back from New Mex- 

 ico by a party of Kiowa returning from a trading trii), again ravaged 

 the Kiowa, Comanche, and other tribes of the plains (see the calen- 

 dar). To prevent a recurrence of the disease, the government soon 

 afterward took measures for vaccinating the western Indians. In the 

 summer of 1863 a delegation of Kiowa visited Washington and gave 

 permission for the establishment of mail stations along the roads 

 through their country in southeastern Colorado [Report, 8). 



INDIAN WAR ON THE PLAINS, 1861 



The chronic raiding still continued. In 1860 the troops had been 

 ordered to chastise the Kiowa and Comanche, but apparently with 

 little effect. Then came the rebellion, involving all the civilized and 

 partly civilized tribes of the south and reacting on the wild tribes of 

 the i>lains. At the same time the fugitive hostiles from the Sioux war 

 in Minnesota in 1862, who had taken refuge with their western brethren 

 of the same tribe, helped to increase the ferment. There is evidence 

 also that agents of the Confederacy had something to do with this 

 result. In the fall of 1863 it was learned that a combination had been 

 formed by the Dakotn, Cheyenne, part of the Arapaho, the Kiowa, 

 Comanche, and Apache — all the xjrincipal fighting tribes — to inaugu- 

 rate a general war along the plains in the spi'ing. To meet the emer- 

 gency, messages were sent out to the different tribes in June, 1861, 

 directing all friendly Indians to repair at once to certain designated 

 military posts, with a warning that all found away from these posts 

 after a certain date would be considered hostile. As it was difficult 

 for troops to distinguish one tribe from another, an order was issued 

 at the same time i)rohibitiug the friendly Indians in eastern Kansas 

 from going out on their usual buffalo hunt upon the plains. 



Only a part of the Arapaho, and later some of the Cheyenne, 

 responded and came in. After waiting a sufficient time. Governor 

 Evans of Colorado issued a proclamation in the summer of 1861 desig- 

 nating all Indians remaining out as hostiles, whom all persons were 

 authorized to kill and destroy as enemies of the country, wherever 

 they might be found [Report, 9). In August the agent at Fort Lyon, 



