MooNEY] CHEYENNE OUTBREAK OF 1874 201 



Ageut Miles thus tersely sums up the provocation : 



The lack of power to administer the law — to remove improper characters I'rom 

 this reservation, to break up the various bands of dissolute white men, horse and 

 cattle thieves, known to be operating in our vicinity — is the prime cause that may be 

 assigned for the serious outbreak among the Cheyennes on this reservation. As 

 elsewhere stated, the Cheyennes and Arapahoes were assured by the President, ou 

 their recent visit to Washington, that improper white men and buft'alo hunters 

 should be kept from their country at all hazards, and they very naturally expected 

 that some effort would be made to keep that promise; but they have looked in vain, 

 and the Cheyennes, being the most restless of the two tribes, grew tired and endeav- 

 ored to avenge their own wrongs. The result of such a proceeding could have but 

 one ending, and that was to bring them into conflict with the general government 

 {Seport, 35). 



THE COMANCHE MEDICINE-MAN 



At this critical juncture a young medicineinau named I'siitai arose 

 among the Kw4hadi Comanche — the wildest and most intractable por- 

 tion of the tribe — with claims of supernatural powers. He asserted 

 his ability to cure all diseases and to restore the dead to life, and said 

 that he had been taken up repeatedly into the home of the Father of 

 the Indians, above the sun and far above the abode of the white man's 

 God, and that there he had been given control of the elements, with 

 power to send rain, wind, thunder, lightning, or drought upon the earth 

 as be pleased. What was most to the purpose, he promised to protect 

 all who should believe in him, as he could produce cartridges in unlim- 

 ited quantities from his stomach for his friends, and could so intiueiice 

 the guns of the whites, and particularly of the soldiers, that they 

 would not shoot Indians, even though the latter stood in front of the 

 muzzles. It was the old story of the Indian medicine-man that has 

 been familiar from the time of the Shawano prophet to the messiah of 

 the ghost dance. 



His words created great excitement among the Comanche, nearly all 

 of whom believed him. Some of his deluded followers asserted tliat 

 they had themselves seen him ascend into the sky and again descend 

 to earth, and at another time had seen him produce from his stomach 

 nearly a wagon load of cartridges. Finally he commanded the tribe 

 to assemble in May, 1874, at the junction of Elk creek (JJond'i P'a, 

 "Pecan river") with the North fork of Eed river, to see the proofs of 

 his mission and to hear his message to the people. So great an impies- 

 sion had his fame produced by this time that even the friendly chiefs 

 attended, as well as the main body of the Cheyenne and a part of the 

 Kiowa. This was a new departure for the Comanche, who, according 

 to all authorities, had never before "made medicine" as a tribe (Beporf, 

 36; Bdttey, 5). 



On assembling at the designated spot the Indians were harangued 

 by the medicineman, who told them that their god commanded them 

 to avenge their murdered kindred. Accordingly a party was made up 

 to go to Texas and kill the Tonkawa, who, as has been stated, were can- 

 nibals, for which reason, and for the additional one that they constantly 

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