Tales of Early Days.
Tales of Early Days.

TALES OF EARLY DAYS

    The Steamboat Springs Pilot brings us the following bit of history in which Fort Collins is interested. The Arapahoes were joined with the Cheyennes in this treaty, but the Cheyennes and a faction of the Arapahoes afterward went on the war path against the whites and did a great deal of mischief. Chief Friday's band of Arapahoes refused to join in making war on the whites and became wards of the nation. In 1864 Friday's band was sent to Fort Collins to get them out from under the influence of Chief Roman Nose and under the protection of United States troops stationed here. For a short time they were camped on John G. Coy's farm, but were later moved to the north side of the river opposite what was then known as the Sherwood ranch. President Lincoln appointed the late F. W. Sherwood agent to look after these Indians and keep them supplied with food.
    Chief Friday had been educated in St. Louis in his youth and could read, write and speak the English language. After the soldiers left here in 1867, Chief Friday and his band were sent to Fort Washakie, to be taken care of and provided with food and clothing. Becoming dissatisfied with his treatment by government officials, he and his followers broke out of camp and went on the war path and he was killed in one of the battles of that period.
    All of Northern Colorado, until the treaty of 1862, belonged to the Arapahoe tribe:
    How much do you suppose the white men paid for Colorado and what would such a country in its raw state be worth, anyhow, asks the Denver Field and Farm. In 1862 the Cheyennes, who claimed the plains region of Colorado as their own, held a treaty conference at Fort Larned, on the Pawnee fork, and agreed to relinquish their possessory rights, title and interest in Colorado, which was then known as Jefferson territory, for $60,000; which was some money at that in those pinchy days. This enormous sum looked as big as Pike's Peak to the starved out Cheyennes, who saw by that time that the white men had them for sure and any kind of sale with wampum in it was a good bargain.
    The meeting was arranged between a commission from congress, upon the one hand(,) the five Cheyenne chiefs, Yellow Robe, Spotted Horse, Black Kettle, Whirl Wind and Roman Nose on the other. The last of these, however, was not a recognized chief at the time but was regarded by his dusky compatriots as the smartest buck in the tribe and was therefore called into the conference for his cunning. The Colorado contingency was composed of Col. Jacob Downing who presided, Maj. Ned Wynkoop of the army, Col. A. G. Boon and Tom Boggs. The Indians were tricky and did not meet their white brethern at the time and place agreed upon but the chiefs finally were rounded in and made to toe the scratch.
    While the pow-wow was going on Major Downing became wrathy two or three times and invited the big Cheyennes to come out in a bunch and fight him at thirty paces and he would get all of them in a minute. When the sutler, Waxlebaum, had finally given the Indians a big feed at the expense of the whites they came to terms and the bucks decided to take $60,000 for their interest in Colorado, but strange to relate they never got a cent of money in the deal, but had to take blankets, grub, salt horse and gew-gaws, so they did not become millionaires over night as they had hoped.
    This circumstance recalls another incident of similar nature which occurred two years later. The Sioux chiefs, Red Cloud and Spotted Tail, went to Washington for a heap big talk with the great father, who was then Mr. Lincoln. They made a treaty for the relinquishment of the Black Hills and the Big Horn country and the price agreed upon was $50,000. When the negotiations had been completed and the treaty had been duly signed and acknowledged Red Cloud--who was the noblest Roman and best statesman of them all--got up on his hind legs and delivered himself of a great speech which had been roosting under his belt for some time.
    The substance of this most extraordinary talk was a sort of an ultimatum, in which Red Cloud declared in very forcible language that he and his people had been horsed around by the government long enough and this time they wanted a square deal or no play. "What we want," he said, "is the money divided up in silver dollars so that I can pass them out equally among my peop[l]e and they will then know what they are getting. We have made treaties before and all we ever got was a lot of foolish things we did not need. We want no more coffee pots and plows, but the wampum," and strangest of all strange things that ever happened in Washington, the United States treasurer paid him the full amount in shining silver dollars. The coffee pot spell was broken, and so was the treaty for that matter, for no Indian tribe ever lived up to its agreement with Uncle Sam, and all things considered no one can blame them very much.


Source:

Unknown, "Tales of Early Days," Weekly Courier, Fort Collins, Larimer County, Colorado, Friday, 31 December, 1915, Page 4.

Created December 15, 2005; Revised December 15, 2005
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