"At one time I took two pieces of artillery and 125 men, and went down to meet the Indians. As soon as I got there they were apparently friendly. A Kiowa chief perhaps would say to me that his men were perfectly friendly, and felt all right towards the whites, but the Arapahoes were very bad Indians. Go to the Arapahoe camp, and they would perhaps charge everything upon the Comanches; while the Comanches would charge it upon the Cheyennes; yet each band there was professing friendship towards us....
"When the Indians took their prisoners (in fact, however, they generally took no prisoners) near Simmering Spring, they killed ten men. I was told by Captain Davis, of the California volunteers, that the Indians cut off the heads of the men after they had scalped them, and piled them in a pile on the ground, and danced around them, and kicked their bodies around over the ground, etc. It is the general impression of the people of that country that the only way to fight Indians is to fight them as they fight us; if they scalp and mutilate the bodies we must do the same.
"I recollect one occasion, when I had a fight on Pawnee fork with the Indians there, I had fifty-nine men with me, and the Indians numbered several hundred. I was retreating and they had followed me about five miles. I had eleven men of my party shot at that time. I had with my party then a few Delaware Indians, and one Captain Fall Leaf, of the Delaware tribe, had his horse shot; we had to stop every few minutes, dismount, and fire upon the Indians to keep them off. They formed a circle right around us. Finally we shot down one Indian very close to us. I saw Fall Leaf make a movement as though he wanted to scalp the Indian. I asked him if he wanted that Indian's scalp and he said he did. We kept up a fire to keep the Indians off, while he went down and took off his scalp, and gave his Delaware war-whoop. That seemed to strike more terror into those Indians than anything else we had done that day. And I do think if it had not been for that one thing, we should have lost a great many more of my men. I think it struck terror to them so that they kept away from us."
"Did the troops mutilate the Indians killed at Sand Creek?"
"They did in some instances that I know of, but I saw nothing to the extent I have since heard stated."
"Did you not feel that you were bound in good faith not to attack those Indians after they had surrendered to you and after they had taken up a position which you yourself had indicated?"
"I did not consider that they had surrendered to me; I never would consent that they should surrender to me. My instructions were such that I felt in duty bound to fight them wherever I found them; provided I considered it good policy to do so. I did not consider it good policy to attack this party of Indians on Sand Creek unless I was strong enough to go on and fight the main band at the Smoke Hills, some seventy miles further. If I had had that force, I should have gone out and fought this band on Sand Creek...."
"You think the attack made upon those Indians, in addition to the other characteristics which it possesses, was impolitic?"
"I do, very much so. I think it was the occasion of what has occurred on the Platte since that time. I have so stated in my report to the headquarters of the district and of the department. I stated before Colonel Chivington arrived there that the Indians were encamped at this point; that I had a force with me sufficiently strong to go out and fight them; but that I did not think it policy to do so, for I was not strong enough to fight the main band. If I fought this band, the main band would immediately strike the settlements. But so soon as the party should be strong enough to fight the main band, I should be in favor of making the war general against the Indians. I stated to them also that I did not believe we could fight one band without fighting them all; that in case we fought one party of Indians and whipped them, those that escaped would go into another band that was apparently friendly and that band would secrete those who had been committing depredations before. As it was with Little Raven's band; his own sons attacked a train a short distance above Fort Lyon, killed one soldier, took a government wagon and mules, some horses, and took some women prisoners. One woman they afterwards outraged and she hung herself; the other one, I think, they still hold. Some of the Indians have married her, as they call it, and she is still in their camp, as I have understood; not now in the camp of those who took her prisoner, but she has been sold to the Sioux and Cheyennes. The instructions we constantly received from the headquarters both of the district and the department, were that we should show as little mercy to the Indians as possible...."
In another part of his testimony, Major Anthony said referring to the Arapahoes, "I considered them differently from the Cheyennes," and when asked if they were with the Cheyennes at Sand Creek, replied, "I understood, afterwards, that some six or eight or ten lodges of the Arapahoes were there."