PRISONERS SENT TO FLORIDA
It had been determined, on the surrender of the hostiles, to select some of the most prominent leaders from each tribe concerned for a term of confinement at some military prison in the east. Accordingly thirty-three of the Cheyenne were selected, with two Arapaho, who, though not concerned in the outbreak, had been guilty in other ways. Among the Cheyenne selected was one woman, who was identified as having participated in the murder of the Germaine family. While ironing the prisoners on April 6, a young warrior named Black-horse, stung by the taunts of the women, kicked over the blacksmith and attempted to escape, but was immediately shot down by the guard. The Cheyenne at once attacked the guard with guns and arrows. A troop of cavalry was quickly ordered up from Fort Reno, 2 miles away, when the Cheyenne fled to the sandhills on the river bank across from the agency, where they had secreted a quantity of firearms and ammunition, and, digging pits in the sand, opened fire on the troops. A severe engagement ensued, the Indians holding their position until dark, several being killed or wounded on each side. During the night they fled, and when daylight came nothing remained of the prison camp but a few worn-out tipis. Most of the Indians soon afterward surrendered; but a band of about sixty, including the murderers of the Germaine family, attempted to escape to the Dakota country, and had made their way to the vicinity of Fort Wallace, Kansas, when they were intercepted by a detachment under Lieutenant A. Henley, Sixth cavalry, who cut off about half of them from the rest. On their refusal to surrender, he attacked them and killed nineteen, captured over one hundred and twenty-five ponies, and burned their camp, with the loss of two soldiers killed. The remainder escaped to the northward. The thirty-five Cheyenne and Arapaho prisoners selected for imprisonment were sent to Fort Marion, near St Augustine, Florida (Record, 9; Report, 49).
THE GERMAINE FAMILY
The Germaine girls referred to were part of a family of that name who had been attacked by the Cheyenne at their home on Smoky Hill river, Kansas, on September 13, 1874. The father, mother, brother, and one sister were killed, and four other sisters carried off, two of whom were young women. On November 8, 1874, the two little girls, aged five and seven, were rescued by Lieutenant Baldwin, as already noted, in an encounter on the edge of the Panhandle. The two elder sisters were held until the Cheyenne under Stone-calf surrendered, after having been prisoners nearly seven months, during which time they had suffered all the horrors of Indian captivity. General Miles became the guardian of all four, a comfortable home was provided for them at Fort Leavenworth, and Congress authorized the stoppage of an amount sufficient for the support of the children from the annuities of their captors, the southern Cheyenne. A woman identified by them as having taken part in the murder was sent with the other prisoners to Florida (Record, 10; Report, 50).
Atrocities were, however, not confined to one side. In April, 1875, a party of Texans attacked six Comanche, killing four men and a woman, only one man escaping. The dead Indians, including the woman, were beheaded, and the heads carried to the nearest town, where they were said to have been preserved in alcohol (Report, 51).
SURRENDER OF THE COMANCHE
In response to overtures made through scouts Stilwell and Kilmartin, another party of Comanche, numbering nearly two hundred, partly Kwáhadi, came into Fort Sill in April and surrendered to Colonel (General) R. S. Mackenzie, who had succeeded Colonel Davidson in command of the post, delivering up their arms and over seven hundred horses and mules. Soon afterward Mackenzie sent another message to the Kwáhadi Comanche, Quanah's band, through Dr J. J. Sturm, an experienced frontiersman. He found them near the head of Red river and succeeded in persuading them to return with him to Fort Sill, where they arrived on June 2, 1875, and surrendered their arms and over fifteen hundred head of stock. The band numbered over four hundred, including a few Apache. These were practically the last of the hostiles, and thus the outbreak came to a close about a year after it had begun. Although the Indians had become impoverished by loss of stock and camp equipage, their loss in killed was very small. Only about twenty were captured, the remainder having surrendered voluntarily (Report, 52).
About thirty-five hundred horses and mules had been surrendered by the Kiowa and Comanche when they came in. Of these nearly eight hundred were shot, one hundred were given to the Tonkawa scouts, several hundred more were given to the military scouts or were stolen, some were returned to their owners, and about sixteen hundred were sold for the benefit of the Indians, realizing about $22,000, which Colonel Mackenzie decided to invest in sheep and goats, with the intention of converting them into pastoral tribes like the Navaho (see the [calendar, 1875—76]). The first horses surrendered had been shot before this economic idea occurred to anyone. In addition to their losses by the surrender, about two thousand horses and mules had been stolen by Texas horse thieves from the friendly Indians camped near the agency (Report, 53).
PROPOSITION TO DEPORT HOSTILE TRIBES
As a means of rendering the late hostiles forever harmless, and compelling them to give up their nomadic hunting life and settle down to earn their own living, it was proposed to deport several thousands of them, practically about all of the Cheyenne, Comanche, and Kiowa tribes, to a remote district, where they were to be disarmed, dismounted, and compelled to work in return for the supplies to be furnished by the government. Congress having appropriated funds for the purpose, arrangements were made with the Quapaw in April, 1875, by special agent Major C. F. Larrabee for the purchase of a portion of their reservation in the northeastern corner of Indian Territory. Preparations were commenced for their removal, but in consequence of an adverse report made by the commissioner appointed to remove them, the plan was abandoned (Report, 54).