By Mike Bowen, co-author, We Found the Lost Sand Creek Site
On this date, September 3, 1868, Indians killed several, including two little boys aged eight and eleven, another boy aged seventeen and a sheep herder. According to a memorial marker, the raiding Indians were Arapaho.
Text on plaque: “September 3rd, 1868, occurred on this mesa the last massacre of whites by Indians. The raiders were Arapahoes. Near this spot they killed Charles Everhart, age 17, and a short distance west of Mt. Washington and on the west bank of Shooks Run they also killed George Robbins, age 11, and Franklin Robbins, age 8.”
Irving Howbert, a soldier at Sand Creek, and a pillar in his community, wrote about the murderous raids in his book, Memories of a Lifetime in the Pike’s Peak Region, published in 1925.
Charley Everhart, a young man about eighteen years of age, had started from his home west of Monument Creek, near the present railway bridge above the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad Station, to look after his father’s cattle, which were grazing on the present site of Colorado Springs. After crossing Monument Creek, the boy followed a trail that led eastward along the south rim of the high bank north of what is now known as Boulder Crescent. Everhart knew that there were Indians in the country and no doubt was on the lookout for them. He was mounted on a small pony and probably had gone as far east as the present location of Tejon Street when he saw the Indians as they rode out into open view to the north of him. He then turned his pony toward home and urged it to its highest speed, making a desperate effort to escape from the savages, but the little animal was no match for those of the Indians and they soon overtook him. Everhart had reached a point near what is now the intersection of Platte and Cascade Avenues (Boulder Crescent Park), when a shot from one of the savages caused him to fall from the pony. One of the Indians then came up, ran a spear through his body and scalped him, taking all the hair from his head except a small fringe around the back part. This tragic occurrence was witnessed from a distance by several persons. An hour later, when the Indians had gone and it was safe to do so, a party went out to where the boy’s ghastly, mutilated body lay and brought it in to Colorado City.
After killing Everhart, the Indians evidently saw, half a mile or more down the plateau, a lone sheep herder generally known as ‘Judge’ Baldwin, and a part of the band immediately started after him. Baldwin was mounted and tried his best to escape when he saw the Indians coming. Having neither spur nor whip, he took off one of his long-legged boots and used it to urge on the animal. This, however, was ineffectual as his mount was not the equal of those of the Indians, and they overtook and shot him before he had gone very far. The bullet struck him in the shoulder and, as he was leaning forward at the time, angled up through his neck and came out through the jaw. Baldwin fell from his horse near the site of the present Lincoln school building. Although badly wounded, he now used the boot to fight off the Indians. The latter evidently thought his wound mortal, so without wasting any more ammunition upon him, one of their number proceeded to take his scalp. The savage ran a knife around the back part of Baldwin’s head, partly severing the scalp from the skull, and then discovered that the herder had been scalped at some previous time. For some reason, probably of a superstitious nature, the Indians then abandoned their purpose of again scalping the man, and the entire band rode off, leaving their victim on the prairie to die, as they doubtless thought. It is true that Baldwin had been scalped by Indians in South America some years before, a piece about the size of a silver dollar having been taken from the crown of his head.
This group of Indians now divided into two parties, one of which went in a northeasterly direction and crossed Shook’s Run near the point where Platte Avenue intersects it, at which place they were joined by other Indians that had been in hiding near by. During all this time two or three Indians, who were stationed on the hill where the Deaf and Blind Institute now is located, apparently directed the movements of those doing the killing by wigwagging with flags in a manner similar to that in use by the army at that time. The signal men fell in with the others as they came along and all rode rapidly to the eastward and soon disappeared out on the plains.
Meanwhile, the other band continued on down the Fountain Valley, and at a point near the Rio Grande railroad bridge across Shook’s Run they came upon two small boys, sons of Thomas H. Robbin’s, who lived on the south side of the Fountain not far away. These two boys, eight and eleven years of age, were looking after their father’s sheep. Evidently they saw the Indians coming when still some distance away and were using every possible endeavor to escape, but they had not gone far when overtaken. It was said that one of the boys fell upon his knees and lifted his hands, seeming to be begging the Indians to spare his life, but the savages never heeded any such appeals. Two Indians reached down from their horses, each grabbing a boy by the hair held him up with one hand, and with a revolver in the other, shot him through the head, and then flung the quivering lifeless body to the ground (Irving Howbert, Memories of a Lifetime in the Pike’s Peak Region, pages 195-198, 1925)
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Robbins Boys killed by Indians
Text of memorial at Boulder Crescent Park, corner of Platte and Cascade avenues, Colorado Springs, Colorado:
“September 3rd, 1868, occurred on this mesa the last massacre of whites by Indians. The raiders were Arapahoes. Near this spot they killed Charles Everhart, age 17, and a short distance west of Mt. Washington and on the west bank of Shooks Run they also killed George Robbins, age 11, and Franklin Robbins, age 8.
In memory of these boys this tablet is placed September 3rd 1913
by the El Paso County Pioneers Association.”
More information about the marker can be found here: HistoricalMarkerDatabase
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The murderous raids by the Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians didn’t start after Sand Creek—they started before. Raids were unfortunately of common occurrence, especially in the spring and summer of 1864. Read more about Indians committing atrocities here: CheyenneAtrocities.
Learn more about Howbert in chapter six of our book, We Found the Lost Sand Creek Site. He was a founding father of Colorado Springs.
You can get our book by clicking the Buy the Book Tab at the top right of the page or by clicking the link here: WeFoundTheLostSandCreekSite.
The discovery by Chuck Bowen of over 4,000 battle and village artifacts doesn’t simply place a massacre in a different location, it changes the story. Branding Sand Creek as a massacre was for political reasons to destroy Colonel Chivington, by his known enemy Lt. Colonel Sam Tappan, who led the hearings following the battle. The massacre claim is now used to tell a story to destroy patriotism. The location artifacts were found debunk the massacre claim—they tell a clear story of a running battle, verifying what Irving Howbert said about the event.
The massacre claim alleges the Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians were camped in a small congested area below the bluff at what is now the National Park Service Sand Creek site. The bluff serves as a backdrop for the entire claim, alleging the Indians could not see or hear an approaching enemy. No period artifacts have ever been found below that bluff. Instead, the artifacts were found starting over a mile up the creek from the bluff, placing most of the village and running battle locations on the Bowen family ranch. Chuck Bowen and his wife Sheri documented their discovery of the Lost Sand Creek Site in October 1998. It is an amazing discovery, leaving no doubt to the real location of the village, running battle areas and that Indians were indeed armed as well.
You will also learn in our book we get a lot of information from George Bent, who was half Cheyenne and lived in Black Kettle’s village as a Dog Soldier (warrior). He wrote letters to historians nearly forty years after Sand Creek while working as an Indian agent in Colony, Oklahoma, answering their questions about his Cheyenne life and time at Sand Creek.
It’s also been claimed all of the soldiers were the worst of the worst, but we’ve learned the opposite is true. Many of the soldiers were leaders and pillars in their communities. We’ve also learned the warriors were not off hunting, but were indeed in the village on November 29, 1864. There were a few soldiers that killed an Indian toddler, according to Major Anthony. But he only gave one account of that happening. Most soldiers were occupied with fighting warriors. There were over 70 soldier casualties, including being killed by warriors.
The truth about Sand Creek is eye opening.
Seeking is truth is being cancelled and accurate history is being erased and retold. The artifacts, the tangible evidence, do not lie. Make sure to read about the story they tell.
Get a copy of our book and leave us a rating and review on Amazon. Click on the link here: AmazonReview.
Truth matters. Truth wins.
