By Mike Bowen
Co-author, We Found the Lost Sand Creek Site
The Minnesota Massacre was carried out August 17, 1862, leaving about 800 white people dead on the frontier. Nearly 300 Indians carried out the massacre, over two years before Sand Creek. Citizens of Colorado Territory were on high alert, and the Minnesota Massacre was certainly a catalyst to Sand Creek.
President Lincoln ordered for 39 of the Indians that committed the Minnesota Massacre to be executed, and they were hanged on December 26, 1862 (The Weekly Commonwealth, January 15, 1863).
The following is a letter to the editor from someone named “Dry Bones.” It was printed in the Rocky Mountain News (Weekly), Jan. 8, 1863.
Letter to the Editor from “Dry Bones”
Dec. 21, 1862
‘DEAR NEWS: — In the course of human events there occur at times transactions that cause a thrill of horror to run through our souls and fairly makes our heart’s blood freeze with terror. An event of this kind has occurred not long since and is fresh in the memory of every man, woman and child on the frontier. An event unlooked for, but most fearful, barbarous and fiendish in its cool, deliberate barbarity. I allude to the Indian massacre in Minnesota. The true cause of this terrible onslaught against tender women, old men and children, has never been stated to the public by the Government. There is no doubt but what the true facts are in possession of our rulers and we ought to be informed of them too. I will quote from the late message of our worthy President:
‘It is estimated that not less than eight hundred persons were killed by the Indians, and a large amount of property destroyed.’
Eight hundred persons killed! and for what? Was it an open, honorable fight, or was there the chances of war allowed these poor, unfortunate souls? No—Great God—‘twas done: the deed was enacted by stealth. In the dead of night, while all was still and wrapped in peaceful slumber, these murderous fiends of hell in human shape came creeping down upon the defenseless inhabitants; the only warning received was the horrid war whoop and the tomahawk buried in the brain.
The senses of bloodshed and fearful acts are beyond the pen of human nature to describe; the suckling babe torn from the mother’s breast, the mother outraged before the husband’s eyes…scalp tortures too sickening to be enacted except by these red devils, took place and will again take place if the weak policy of the Government is carried out.
And pardon is to be extended to all but thirty nine! Thirty-nine to be hung—‘Eight hundred’ whites miserably butchered. Look at the comparison. Contrast the feelings of so many breaking hearts causes by this outbreak, with the stoical indifference of the ‘noble red man of the forest’ as the yellow covered pamphlet writers delight in calling them, and then you have a fair idea of the good the execution of the thirty nine Indians will do. Out on such policy. Either pardon the whole, or hang the three hundred; no half way policy is just, in such a matter as this.
Look for one moment at the former prosperous and thriving condition of happy Minnesota. We all know how readily she turned out her thousands of brave men for the protection of the general Government, leaving the homes of their wives and children utterly defenseless: and the result we all know. Now that the perpetrators of this outrage are in the hands of the law, let the law be carried out. Hang these thirty-nine, and release the balance, and the next gale from the east will bring us tidings of an outrage more thrilling and bloody than the last. Revenge, will, (in connection with the uncalled for, suicidal leniency of the powers that control) instigate a feeling of still greater hatred and animosity in the heart of the Indian, not only in Minnesota but the whole frontier will be in a state of suspense at our very doors we will have these incarnate fiends thirsting for our lives, our homes, and the lives of the wives and children of those who live far apart from the more thickly settled portion of the Territory will be liable at any moment to be torn from them, and a fate that sickens any one to think of will their doom.
The prompt attention of the News to this question of most vital importance to the inhabitants of of Colorado, is truly refreshing. What care we for politics or the intrigues of the day so long as we are at any moment liable to the same outbreaks as Minnesota has so lately witnessed. Petitions to Congress from the east have no doubt been presented in overwhelming numbers to allow the red fiends—‘the noble red man,’ to go ‘scot free’ ‘Twas only a freak of their natural instinct, ebullition of the natural overwhelming of the former happy, but now oppressed race— so say these philanthropists—these kid gloved denizens of the thickly settled and far removed from all such dangers—cities of the east. What do they know of the hardships and privations of those who leave all comforts behind them, and seek a home in the howling wilderness, and by their perseverance overcome the dreary and heretofore considered impenetrable waste, and turn darkness into day?
We, of the frontier can have no sympathy in their unlooked for, uncalled for, and I must say, impudent and imprudent interference in a matter that they have no business to meddle with.
Most Respectfully Yours,
DRY BONES’
A similar slaughter was nearly carried out in Colorado Territory, though, the efforts of a man who claimed to be the grandson of a signer of the Declaration of Independence thwarted the attack. Look for our blog on Elbridge Gerry early next week.
The people of Colorado Territory were fearful of an attack like the Minnesota Massacre happening to them.
Sand Creek was not a starting point. The massacre story claims the Indians at Sand Creek were unarmed, had not committed atrocities against white settlers, and were killed as they awoke and came out of their tipis. It’s documented by George Bent, a Cheyenne Dog Soldier (Warrior), the Indians saw the soldiers from miles away as a “long black line” on the horizon (Bent to Hyde, 4-14-1906). Most of the Indians had fled the village when the soldiers arrived. It was at the Minnesota Massacre where white people were killed as they slept.
Colorado Territory Governor Evans provided sworn testimony concerning the many attacks by the Indians at Sand Creek.
“It is proper for me to say, that these attacks during the summer, and up to the time I came away, were of very frequent occurrence. The destruction of property was very great. Our people suffered wonderfully, especially in their property, and in their loss of life. They murdered a family some twenty-odd miles east of Denver. The attacks by hostile Indians, about the time I came away, were very numerous along the Platte,” Governor Evans testified (Report on the Conduct of the War, 38 Congress, 2nd session, Washington, Government Printing Office, 1865).
Black Kettle’s village at Sand Creek also was not filled with defenseless women, children and elderly. See our blog about who ordered Sand Creek here: (GeneralCurtisSandCreek)
It is imperative to seek the truth and tell the truth. The Sand Creek massacre claim is unverified, starting with the alleged location—no period artifacts have ever been found below or near the NPS Sand Creek bluff, where the NPS claims the Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians were camped.
As has been stated before, no bullets no battlefield. No village artifacts no village site.
The running battle account by soldiers including Irving Howbert is verified by several thousand village and battle artifacts Chuck Bowen discovered on the Bowen family ranch, at the Lost Sand Creek Site, starting nearly two miles up the creek from the NPS bluff.
Preserving accurate history is crucial. We can’t learn from the past if we’re not learning the truth.
The physical evidence tells us where the village was located and where fighting took place at Sand Creek—it also tells us what happened at Sand Creek.
There is no doubt, based on the artifacts and where they were found, along with eyewitness accounts, that Sand Creek was a running battle between soldiers and warriors that covered at least seven miles near and along the creek. It is also clear the village and battle locations are two separate locations. Read more in our book.
The artifacts do not lie.
Make sure to read about the discovery of the true Sand Creek location in We Found the Lost Sand Creek Site.
Click on the Buy the Book tab in the top right corner of the page.
Truth matters. Truth wins.
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