By Mike Bowen, co-author, We Found the Lost Sand Creek Site
Arapaho Indians were raiding about five miles east of Kiowa, Colorado August 25, 1868 when they killed thirty-one-year-old Henrietta Dietemann and her five-year-old son, John, while he was running to his mother. Mr. Dietemann was not at home. Kiowa is about 50 miles southeast of Denver.
Only two days after the attack, it was covered by the Rocky Mountain News.
Mrs. Dietemann ‘evidently believed the Indians were near, for she hurriedly started with her sister-in-law and the two children for a neighbor’s house some distance away. After having gone a few hundred yards she remembered that she had left a considerable sum of money in the house, and with her small son went back to get it. They reached the house, got the money, and started away again, but had gone only a short distance when they were overtaken by the Indians, who at once shot and killed both of them. The savages shot the boy repeatedly and finally broke his neck. The mother was shot through the body, stabbed, and scalped, and the bodies of both were dreadfully mutilated. Those who afterwards saw the victims said that it was one of the most horrible sights they had ever looked upon. Meanwhile, the sister-in law and daughter ran to where the German (farmhand) was working in the field near by. He stood the Indians off by pointing the handle of his hoe at them, making them believe it was a gun’ (Rocky Mountain News August 27, 1868).
This took place nearly four years after Sand Creek. If the Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians were peaceful, as claimed, why would Arapaho Indians murder a defenseless mother and young child? What happened to the Dietemanns wasn’t any sort of retaliation. It was murder, in cold blood. Those are not the actions of peaceful people.
Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians were raiding and killing settlers before and after Sand Creek.
Indians attacked settlers as they traveled west looking for a better life. Many believed it was a divine right to expand across America, known as Manifest Destiny. The Homestead Act of 1862 gave settlers the right to acquire land and western expansion included settling on land that was part of the Louisiana Purchase. The Louisiana Purchase included the location of the 1864 Sand Creek event. For those who have claimed it was a reservation, Major Anthony, Commanding Officer of Fort Lyon, testified under oath that is was not a reservation. You can find that quote and citation in the section of our book on the Sand Creek hearings, following chapter 14.
The Dietemanns were innocent people, looking to make a better life. Some have claimed Black Kettle’s village was also innocent people. According to George Bent, Cheyenne Dog Soldier, the Dog Soldiers, who were in Black Kettle’s village, were constantly on the warpath in the spring and summer of 1864, months before Sand Creek. Read about this in chapter four of our book. The surgeon who was at Sand Creek, testified to identifying multiple white scalps found in the tipis. His testimony can be found in the section covering the hearings in our book.
We don’t have a dog in this fight—we’re about truth and telling the story of the artifacts. We’re just following the evidence from 4,000+ battle and village artifacts Bowen discovered at the Lost Sand Creek Site on the Bowen family ranch. Our conclusions are based on where village and battle artifacts were found and eyewitness accounts. The best clues for finding artifacts came from Sand Creek soldier Irving Howbert, which shows him to be a credible witness. All of his Sand Creek claims need to be considered, which you can read about in great detail in We Found the Lost Sand Creek Site.
According to Cheyenne Dog Soldier, George Bent, the Cheyenne and Arapaho were raiding, killing and scalping white settlers before Sand Creek, not just after Sand Creek. Read more about Bent in our book.
The Dietemann murders is one of many accounts of innocent settlers killed by Indians.
Many Indian raids led to Colorado Territory Governor Evans pleading for help from the government to fight back. According to Evans and many eyewitnesses, Sand Creek was not a random attack on peaceful Indians. The Bowens’ Lost Sand Creek Site discovery of over 4,000 village and battle artifacts verify Sand Creek was a running battle between soldiers and warriors.
Read about this massive history correcting archaeological discovery in We Found the Lost Sand Creek Site.
Our book includes over 100 photos of artifacts and maps detailing the artifacts and where they were found.
The truth about Sand Creek needs to be known.
Truth matters. Truth wins.
Click the Buy the Book tab at the top right of the page or click here: LostSandCreek.
