Witness Accounts

“My shame is as big as the earth…I once thought that I was the only man that persevered to be the friend of the white man, but it is hard for me to believe the white man anymore.”

-Black Kettle
Southern Cheyenne Chief

“The massacre lasted six or eight hours….I tell you Ned it was hard to see little children on their knees have their brains beat out by men professing to be civilized….there was no organization among our troops, they were a perfect mob….You would think it impossible for white men to butcher and mutilate human beings as they did there, but every word I have told you is the truth….It was almost impossible to save any of them. When the women were killed the Bucks did not seem to try and get away, but fought desperately….Charly Autobee saved John Smith….They were going to murder Charlie Bent, but I run him into the Fort….I expect we will have a hell of a time with the Indians this winter.”

-Captain Silas Soule
1st Colorado Cavalry (USV) to Major Edward Wynkoop, former commander, Fort Lyon, Colorado Territory. December 14, 1864.

“I was in the camp of the Cheyennes when Chivington made his attack…I was, at the time of the attack, sleeping in a lodge…I could see the soldiers begin to dismount. I thought they were artillerymen and were about to shell the camp (Chivington brought 4 12lb canons to Sand Creek-It was the only time in Colorado history canons were used in any type of fighting conflict)…I went to the northeast, I ran about five miles, when I came across an Indian woman driving a herd of ponies…she was a cousin of mine-one of White Antelope’s duaghters. I went with her to the Smoky Hill (river). I saw as soon as the firing began, from the number of troops, that there could be no resistance, and I escaped…”

-Edmond Guerrier, mixed-blood son of the French trader William Guerrier and the Cheyenne woman Walks in Sight

“Everyone was crying, even the warriors and the women and children…Nearly everyone present had lost some relations or friends, and many of them in their grief were gushing themselves with their knives until the blood flowed in streams.”

-George Bent, mixed-blood son of trader William Bent, Sand Creek survivor

“I heard Colonel Chivington give no orders in regard to prisoners. I tried to take none myself, but killed all I could…I think and earnestly believe the Indian to be an obstacle to civilization and should be exterminated.”

-Major Jacob Downing
3rd Colorado Cavalry (USV

Respect

I worked with Cheyenne and Arapaho people on a documentary film. It was their story, and they told it, on film. One thing surfaced more than any other during the several years it took to get the job done. Respect. Respect has never really been shown to the Cheyenne and Arapaho people. If respect is shown, and it is meant, then, it will be most helpful to the Cheyenne and Arapaho people.

When writing about the Sand Creek Massacre, one should always interview Cheyenne and Arapaho people. They tell quite a story (check my award-winning documentary, “The Sand Creek Massacre”, and you will understand what I mean). If one doesn’t interview Cheyenne and Arapaho people, then they are showing disrespect to the Cheyenne and Arapaho.

Southern Cheyenne Chief Laird (Whistling Eagle)Cometsevah told me that over 400 Cheyenne people were murdered at Sand Creek. He also told me that the Arapaho people always traveled and camped about 8 miles away from the Cheyenne. He said the Arapaho were not at Sand Creek. He bases these statements on what has been passed down through his family. His great-great grandfather survived the Sand Creek Massacre.

The Cheyenne oral histories must also be respected, particularly since whoever presently writes about the Sand Creek Massacre, were not there on November 29, 1864. Cheyenne people’s ancestors were there. Cheyenne people’s ancestors passed their oral histories down through their families. So, these oral histories must be respected. They contain more facts about the Sand Creek Massacre than most Caucasians can find, many more facts.

Southern Cheyenne Joe Big Medicine
Southern Cheyenne Joe Big Medicine