According to information given by the Indians to Battey, Lone-wolf's son, with a few other young Kiowa warriors, had accompanied a raiding party of Comanche into Mexico. On their return they were attacked at a night camp by Mexican troops and the two Kiowa were killed. The remaining Kiowa at once returned home with the news, but the Comanche crossed the Rio Grande into Texas and began a series of raids on Nueces river, when they were attacked by soldiers and several killed. The rest started for home, but meeting another party of Comanche, they turned back with them and were again attacked by the troops, losing, in both encounters, twenty-two killed. A desire to avenge these losses had much to do with the ferment among them which led to the outbreak in the following summer; they also tried to make it appear that the Kiowa had been raiding in Texas when killed, in order to involve that tribe with themselves, although it seems beyond question that the Kiowa were killed in Mexico and had not been engaged in the Texas raids.
Fig. 156—Summer 1874—The medicine lance; Bluff-end sun dance.
Lone-wolf went to Mexico to bury the body of his son, the sun dance having been postponed in the meantime, and it is said that on finding it he knelt down beside it and vowed to avenge his death with the life of a white man. A lot of government horses were soon afterward stolen from Fort Concho (or Clark?), in Texas, and it was charged that this was done by Lone-wolf and his party on their return, although they denied it. The killing of his son was the chief reason assigned by Lone-wolf for his part in the outbreak which followed (Battey, 22; Report, 91).
SUMMER 1874
Tsó`kakánă-de K`ádó, "Sun dance at the end of the bluff." The dance was held at a place called Tsó`kakán, "end of the bluff," on the south side of the North fork of Red river, above the junction of Elm fork, at a mountain called by the Kiowa the "Last mountain," in Greer county, Oklahoma. On the Anko calendar the bluff is indicated by a projection from one side of the medicine pole.
At this dance Set-t'aiñte, in thanksgiving for his release from prison, gave his famous zébat, or medicine arrow-lance, to Ä´`to-t'aiñ, "White-cowbird," brother of the chief Sun-boy, thus resigning his own chieftainship in favor Ä´`to-t'aiñ. There were only two lances of this kind in the tribe, both being regarded as medicine lances, the other belonging to Tän-gúădal (see winter [1868—69]).
WINTER 1874—75
Fig. 157—Winter 1874—75—Gi-edal killed; Kiowa imprisoned.