Beecher Island history told 7A

By Karen Krien volver ammunition. ment were not wildly [email protected] Each carried seven days of cooked wailing. Today, the battle site which took rations in his haversack. Also taken As darkness fell, place on Beecher Island, 19 miles with the scouts was a pack-train of the Indians did Thursday, September 13, 2007 Saint Francis Herald west of St. Francis on U.S. 35, then four mules carrying camp kettles, not attack, giv- north, is a peaceful place. The cotton- picks, shovels, 4,000 extra rounds of ing the scouts a woods shade the area which is just ammunitions, some medical supplies chance to take north of the Arikaree River which la- and extra rations of salt and coffee. care of their zily moves along. This quiet setting The 50 men were selected and were wounded, fix is a far cry from the fierce battle which easy to find as work was scarce and something to took place in 1868. the money offered was good. eat and dig The Battle of Beecher Island did They made their way across the Sa- trenches to bet- not take place until Sept. 17, 1868, but line River and south fork on the ter cover them from the cause may be traced back to 1864 Solomon and then struck Beaver the Indian attacks. All of the horses when the Brule-Sioux and Ogallalah Creek where the Short Nose Creek had been slaughtered but they had Indians murdered all of the settlers in emptied into it. It was evident that taken the bullets meant for the scouts. three counties in Minnesota. They there had been a great sun dance and For the next six day, the scouts would took all of the guns, ammunition and that is where the Indians had probably exist on horse flesh, even as it became stock of these settlers. decided to go to war with the whites. spoiled, as there was nothing else to Home guards were raised and then The scouts were called to the site eat. never let up. The Indians were driven of an Indian attack where two Mexi- Major Forsyth’s account of the across the Mississippi and Missouri cans had been killed. They were part battle is very detailed and takes many rivers and then into Nebraska. of a freighter’s train. pages of The Battle of Beecher Island For a year and a half, they were Following the tracks, they eventu- book. At one point, he describes the very destitute but, by 1866, they had ally met up with a dead end. They attack made by Roman Nose, the MCDONALD was the scene of destructive weather on Thursday evening. tanned enough buffalo robes for tee- again found tracks which led them to leader of the Indians: “I saw their Times staff photo by Casey McCormick pees to be comfortable and had cured believe that there was a very large chief facing his command, and by his enough meat for provisions, but they tribe of Indians ahead. gestures, evidently addressing them did not have ponies. They were very They followed the signs for some in a few impassioned words. Then Intense microburst strikes quiet for about 10 months and, in time, but, on Sept. 16, horses tired and waving his hand in our direction, he 1866, they visited the Cheyennes and hungry, they stopped early. The val- turned his horse’s head toward us and Arapahoes and also the Red Cloud ley was small and well grassed. at the foot of the island. The McDonald area received not totally confined to southwest termed microbursts. band of Sioux to get acquainted. Nearby, was a river which had an is- “As Roman Nose dashed gallantly damage Thursday evening as a McDonald, but damage intensity Microburst winds can produce The council decided to murder all land about 200- by 50-feet and about forward and swept into the open at the microburst occurred about 7:30 diminished considerably just a damage comparable to a tornado, the frontier people in Colorado, Kan- 70 yards from either side of the bank. head of his superb command, he was p.m. block to the east. No injuries or fa- however they are not rated on the sas and Nebraska but there were two The book, The Battle of Beecher Is- a very beau ideal of an Indian chief. The National Weather Service in talities were reported. EF-scale. Microbursts are thunder- drawbacks: 1) they had two enemies land,” describes the long sage grass Mounted on a large, clean-limbed Goodland reported a cold front The trailer house, belonged to storm outflow winds on a local whom they dreaded more than they growing on the center of the island chestnut horse, he sat well forward on moving across the tri-state region Joice Pedersen. She was staying scale, often resulting from the sud- did the whites. They were the Pawnee while, just at its foot stood a young his bare-backed charger, his knees helped trigger scattered strong to there, fixing it up. However, she den collapse of a large core of rain Indians of Nebraska and the Kaw In- cottonwood tree that was 20-feet tall. passing under a horsehair lariat that severe thunderstorms across por- was not in the house at the time of and hail within the storm. When this dians of Kansas. These Indians were Evidently sensing danger, the ma- twice loosely encircled the animal’s tions of northwest Kansas. the storm. Bins belonging to the core of rain and hail reaches the sur- “reservation Indians” and they would jor ordered his men to not only hobble body, his horse’s bridle grasped in his Wind-driven hail shredded trees, McDonald Equity were damaged face, winds accelerate outward help the whites. the horses, but also see that every left hand which was also closely gardens and crops in the vicinity. and at least one of which had wheat from the storm, sometimes produc- The council figured the only way horse’s lariat was perfectly knotted. wound in its flowing mane, and at the Thunderstorm outflow winds es- in it. ing a swath of damage. to accomplish their plan was to steal Early the next morning, a small same time his rifle, while its barrel, timated at close to 90 miles per hour A building belonging to Duane One way in which meteorologists the ponies of the Pawnee and Kaw In- tribe of Indians attack the camp, rush- crossing diagonally in front of his distinguish between damage asso- dians.... without their ponies, they ing down on the camp shouting, beat- body, rested slightly against the hol- resulted in damage to grain bins, a Wilkens was flattened. A shop be- ciated with a tornado and that asso- would be “out of commission.” ing Indian drums and rattling hides in low of his left arm, leaving his right trailer home and a large storage long to George Louderbaugh was Another fact in favor of the fierce an endeavor to stampede the horses free to direct the course of his men. building located in the southwest damaged. ciated with a microburst is the pat- Indians was there was only one regi- but every man was standing with his “He was a man of over six feet and part of town. The Weather Service said strong tern of debris. Microbursts typically ment of United States soldiers guard- horse’s lariat and ready for a shot, three inches in height, beautifully Four power poles were snapped concentrated downdrafts associ- display a damage pattern where de- ing an area of 400 miles north and thus, only a few horses were lost. formed and save for a crimson silk on U.S. 36 just west of town, result- ated with thunderstorms are often bris is blown radially outward from south, and 500 miles east and west. By the time it was light enough to sash knotted around his waist and his ing in a power outage lasting sev- called downbursts, and when these the storm. Thunderstorm outflows The Indians began stealing stock see the surrounding objects a few moccasins on his feet, perfectly na- eral hours in McDonald and Bird downbursts occur on a scale of such as these are also called until they had stolen 400 head of po- hundred yards away, the Indians were ked. His face was hideously painted City. Tree and shrub damage was about 2 miles or less, they are straight-line winds. nies from the Kaw. They raided the seen. In Major Forsyth’s account of in alternate lines of red and black and settlers on the Neosha River, Smokey the incident, “The ground seemed to his head crowned with a magnificent Hill River and the Saline River. grow with them. They appeared to war bonnet....” They killed frontiersmen, outraged start out of the very earth. On foot, on During this attack, both Roman and murdered their women and car- horseback, over the hills, out of the Nose and the medicine man were ried their younger children into cap- thickets, from the bed of the stream killed. The wild shrieks from women tivity. Many of the settlers on the Sa- from the north, south, east and west, and children on the hill had increased. line River were people who had along the bank and out of the long It should be noted that the Indians served in the Civil War and they were grass on every side of us.” rode their mounts with their knees un- ready to fight. In all, there were approximately der lariats because, if they were in- About this same time, General P.H. 1,000 warriors. jured or killed, their ponies would Sheridan appointed Major George When they saw that they were out- carry them off and their enemies Forsyth to command a group of numbered, the scouts were ordered to would not be able to scalp them. If the scouts against hostile Indians. The go to the island, make a circle with Indian lost his scalp, he believed that Major would personally select the their horses, tying them to the bushes. he would not be allowed to go to the scouts and offer them $1 a day and 35 They threw themselves on the ground “Happy Hunting Ground.” cents a day for the use of their horses. and, working two men together, tried After the first day of battle, two While they would not be enlisted to throw up the earth to cover them- scouts, walking backward with their men, they would still have equipment selves. As the Indians attacked, the feet bound in rags to resemble moc- from the government and soldiers’ ra- men shot from beneath their horses. casins and wrapped in blankets to re- tions. Major Forsyth’s second in The Indians saw their error too late semble an Indian, were able to escape command was Fred Beecher. as they had not planned on the scouts to go for help over 100 miles away. What’s going on? Residents at Good Each scout’s equipment consisted occupying the island. The attacks The second night, two more scouts of a blanket, saddle, bridle, lariat, were constant and by the end of the tried to sneak out but could not find a picket-pin, canteen, haversack, day, Lieutenant Beecher was killed, way. The third night, two more were Samaritan Village keep up by hearing the Saint butcher knife, tin plate and cup. The several seriously wounded including able to escape and eventually, all also received a Spencer repeating the major. brought help but it wasn’t until the Francis Herald when each issue is published. rifle (carrying six shots in the maga- Evidently, the Indians had many sixth day of the siege that help ar- zine besides the one in the barrel), a killed and injured as the women who rived. By that time, most of the Indi- How about you? Missing the school or com- Colt’s revolver (Army size) and 140 had come to watch the scouts slaugh- ans had left. rounds of rifle and 30 rounds of re- tered and chant words of encourage- munity activities? A Herald (or Bird City Times) subscriptions keep you up to date on timely OPEN HOUSE SAT SEPT 22nd events and future activities. DW0DSOH&OD\&HQWHU.6RU(WK0LQGHQ1( Subscription rates: Tour homes in various stages of production and a furnished Saint Francis Herald Subscription rates: model home. 4,500 homes built since 1971 with 2x6 construc- Jamestown I 1,232 sq ft Area $33 Bird City Times tion. New high performance ENERGY STAR specs. Our stan- Area $30 dards include windows with Low-E glass, R-23 spider fiber blown Kansas #38 %ULGJHSRUWVTIW insulation & 90+% efficient furnaces. Custom build. Out-of-State $42 Other $34 College $30 College $27 Also visit us at Out-of-State $30 :LOORZ&UHHNVTIW 20870 Hwy 34 Out-of-State $36 Ft. Morgan, CO To subscribe contact: Jamestown III 1,568 sq ft

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