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97-715: In 1850, U.S. Army Corps of Topographical Engineers Captain Howard Stansbury 's expedition was returning east. At Fort Bridger , Jim Bridger advised Stansbury of a shorter route than the Oregon Trail. According to Erb, Brown and Hughes, "From the Green River this trail went eastward along Bitter Creek , skirting the Red Desert to Muddy Creek, following the Muddy Canyon to Bridger's Pass where

194-573: A few Cheyenne, as their horses were fresh. This was the first battle that the Cheyenne fought against the US Army. Casualties were few on each side; J.E.B. Stuart , then a young lieutenant, was shot in the breast while attacking a Cheyenne warrior with a sabre. The troops continued on and two days later burned a hastily abandoned Cheyenne camp; they destroyed lodges and the winter supply of buffalo meat. Sumner continued to Bent's Fort . To punish

291-640: A mustering officer in Columbus, Ohio and as a recruiting officer in Wisconsin during the early years of the Civil War . He died in Madison on April 13, 1863. The Stansbury expedition to Utah was a huge scientific success. He was the first to determine that the lake was actually a remnant of a larger inland freshwater pluvial lake (today called Lake Bonneville ). The method of triangulation used to map

388-830: A retaliatory attack with about 1000 warriors on Camp Rankin, a stage station and fort at Julesburg . The Indians made numerous raids along the South Platte, both east and west of Julesburg, and raided the fort again in early February. They captured much loot and killed many European Americans. Most of the Indians moved north into Nebraska on their way to the Black Hills and the Powder River. (See Battle of Julesburg , Battle of Mud Springs , Battle of Rush Creek , Powder River Expedition , Battle of Platte Bridge ) Black Kettle continued to desire peace and did not join in

485-550: A small hotel and resting spot for Overland Trail passengers. The city of Sterling, Colorado , operates the Overland Trail Museum, located on US route 6, just east of the South Platte River . Opened in 1936, the museum contains dioramas and artifacts that relate to the history of the trail and to the city of Sterling. Howard Stansbury Howard Stansbury (February 8, 1806 – April 17, 1863)

582-504: A telegraph station. The smaller, or swing stations, built on one-quarter to one-half acre plots, just provided fresh teams for the coaches." Holladay retained the mail contract on the route until 1866, when it was sold to Wells Fargo . Stage operations continued until 1869, when the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad made stage service unnecessary. Over time, increasing emigrant traffic and homesteading in

679-658: A transcontinental railroad. The expedition consisted of 18 men including second-in-command Lieutenant John Williams Gunnison . During the next two years, the expedition explored the Great Salt Lake, Utah Lake and the Cache Valley of northern Utah all the way to Fort Hall in southern Idaho. When he arrived in the Utah Territory, the Mormon leaders were worried that the expedition was part of an effort by

776-566: A unified tribe. The Cheyenne tribes today descend from two related tribes, the Tsétsėhéstȧhese / Tsitsistas (Cheyenne proper) and Só'taeo'o / Só'taétaneo'o (better known as Suhtai or Sutaio). The latter merged with the Tsétshéstȧhese in the mid-19th century. Their oral history relays that both tribal peoples are characterized, and represented by two cultural heroes or prophets who received divine articles from their god Ma'heo'o, whom

873-630: Is Sáhea'eo'o , a word that sounds similar to the Lakota word Šahíya . Another of the common etymologies for Cheyenne is "a bit like the [people of an] alien speech" (literally, "red-talker"). According to George Bird Grinnell , the Lakota had referred to themselves and fellow Siouan -language bands as "white talkers", and those of other language families, such as the Algonquian Cheyenne, as "red talkers" ( Šahíyena ). The etymology of

970-555: Is kept in the vonȧhéome (old term) or hóhkėha'éome (new term) ("Sacred Hat Lodge, Sacred Hat Tepee"). Erect Horns gave them the accompanying ceremonies and the Sun Dance . His vision convinced the tribe to abandon their earlier sedentary agricultural traditions to adopt nomadic Plains horse culture . They replaced their earth lodges with portable tipis and switched their diet from fish and agricultural produce, to mainly bison and wild fruits and vegetables. Their lands ranged from

1067-565: Is located on the western side of the Tooele valley, and the community of Stansbury Park, Utah and Stansbury High School is located within the valley. In addition to Uta stansburiana , Stansbury was also honored with Purshia stansburyana (cliff-rose). Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( / ʃ aɪ ˈ æ n / shy- AN ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains . The Cheyenne comprise two Native American tribes,

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1164-419: Is the Cheyenne prophet who predicted the coming of the horse, the cow, the white man, and other new things to the Cheyenne. He was named for motsé'eonȯtse ( sweetgrass ), one of the sacred plant medicines used by many Plains peoples in ceremonies. The Maahótse (Sacred Arrows) are symbols of male power. The Ésevone / Hóhkėha'e (Sacred Buffalo Hat) is the symbol of female power. The Sacred Buffalo Hat and

1261-545: Is the Contrary Warrior Society, most notable for riding backward into battle as a sign of bravery. All six societies and their various branches exist among the Southern and Northern Cheyenne nations in present times. Warriors used a combination of weapons from war clubs , tomahawks , and bows and arrows, and lances to firearms acquired through raiding and trade. The enemies of the Cheyenne included

1358-655: Is very gratifying to be able to state that these results are in a high degree satisfactory more so indeed than I had anticipated. It has been ascertained that a practicable route exists through the chain of the Rocky Mountains at a point sixty miles south of that now generally pursued and in a course as much more direct as the chord of an arc is than the arc itself. After the Utah expedition, Stansbury oversaw construction projects in Minnesota and Ohio. He served briefly as

1455-520: The Apsáalooke (Óoetaneo'o – "crow (bird) people"), Shoshone (Sósone'eo'o), Blackfeet (Mo'ȯhtávėhahtátaneo'o, same literal meaning), Interior Salish and Kuntenai (Kȧhkoestséataneo'o – "flat-headed-people"), Nez Perce (Otaesétaneo'o – "pierced nose people"), Arikara , Gros Ventre (Hestóetaneo'o – "beggars for meat", "spongers" or Mȯhónooneo'o – lit. "scouting all over ones"), Assiniboine , and Plains Cree (Vóhkoohétaneo'o – "rabbit people") to

1552-549: The Colorado Gold Rush , European-American settlers moved into lands reserved for the Cheyenne and other Plains Indians. Travel greatly increased along the Emigrant Trail along the South Platte River and some emigrants stopped before going on to California. For several years there was peace between settlers and Indians. The only conflicts were related to the endemic warfare between the Cheyenne and Arapaho of

1649-526: The Colorado War . General warfare broke out and Indians made many raids on the trail along the South Platte, which Denver depended on for supplies. The Army closed the road from August 15 until September 24, 1864. On November 29, 1864, the Colorado Militia attacked a Cheyenne and Arapaho encampment under Chief Black Kettle , although it flew a flag of truce and indicated its allegiance to

1746-777: The Continental Divide was crossed, then down Sage Creek crossing the North Platte River and dropping down onto the Laramie Plains ." General William Henry Ashley had crossed the Laramie Plains in 1825, and John C. Fremont had explored the area near Bridger Pass in 1842, while natives had used this and other trails for years, including the Cherokee Trail as recently as 1849. In 1858, Lieutenant F.T. Bryan made his third expedition over

1843-740: The James River in 1836, and the Illinois and Kaskaskia Rivers in 1837. In 1838 he oversaw the construction of a road from Milwaukee to the Mississippi River . In July 1838 he joined the new U.S Corps of Topographical Engineers as a first lieutenant. As a member of the corps, he surveyed the Great Lakes in 1841 and conducted an extensive survey of the Portsmouth, New Hampshire harbor between 1842 and 1845. In 1848 he oversaw

1940-520: The Mississippi River and Mille Lacs Lake . Their economy was based on the collection of wild rice and hunting, especially of bison , which lived in the prairies 70 to 80 miles west of the Cheyenne villages. According to tribal history, during the 17th century, the Cheyenne were driven by the Assiniboine (Hóheeheo'o) from the Great Lakes region to present-day Minnesota and North Dakota , where they established villages. The most prominent of

2037-614: The Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation . Tribal enrollment figures, as of late 2014, indicate that there are approximately 10,840 members, of which about 4,939 reside on the reservation. Approximately 91% of the population are Native Americans (full or part race), with 72.8% identifying themselves as Cheyenne. Slightly more than one-quarter of the population five years or older spoke a language other than English. The Southern Cheyenne , known in Cheyenne as Heévâhetaneo'o meaning "Roped People", together with

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2134-729: The Northern Cheyenne Tribe of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation in Montana . The Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family . Over the past 400 years, the Cheyenne have changed their lifestyles from Great Lakes woodlands to Northern Plains and by the mid-19th century, the US government forced them onto reservations. At the time of their first European contact in

2231-529: The Red Desert , and skirting the northern side of Elk Mountain across the Laramie Plains . They passed over the Laramie Mountains and made their way to Fort Laramie where they struck the Oregon Trail heading east. Having now brought our reconnoissance [ sic ] for a new route from the waters of the Pacific to a point where its results can be at least approximately ascertained it

2328-651: The Republican River . The Indian agent at Fort Laramie negotiated with the Cheyenne to reduce hostilities, but the Secretary of War ordered the 1st Cavalry Regiment (1855) to carry out a punitive expedition under the command of Colonel Edwin V. Sumner . He went against the Cheyenne in the spring of 1857. Major John Sedgwick led part of the expedition up the Arkansas River , and via Fountain Creek to

2425-550: The South Platte River . Sumner's command went west along the North Platte to Fort Laramie, then down along the Front Range to the South Platte. The combined force of 400 troops went east through the plains searching for Cheyenne. Under the influence of the medicine man White Bull (also called Ice) and Grey Beard (also called Dark), the Cheyenne went into battle believing that strong spiritual medicine would prevent

2522-724: The Só'taeo'o or Só'taétaneo'o (more commonly spelled as Suhtai or Sutaio ) and the Tsétsėhéstȧhese (also spelled Tsitsistas , [t͡sɪt͡shɪstʰɑs] ); the tribes merged in the early 19th century. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations : the Southern Cheyenne , who are enrolled in the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes in Oklahoma , and the Northern Cheyenne , who are enrolled in

2619-693: The 16th century, the Cheyenne lived in what is now Minnesota . They were close allies of the Arapaho and loosely aligned with the Lakota . By the early 18th century, they were forced west by other tribes across the Missouri River and into North and South Dakota , where they adopted the horse culture . Having settled the Black Hills of South Dakota and the Powder River Country of present-day Montana and Wyoming, they introduced

2716-413: The 20th century. Remains of stage stops are scattered throughout Wyoming and northern Colorado including well preserved buildings at Virginia Dale, Colorado and Point of Rocks, Wyoming . The trail is occasionally marked with markers and historical signs where the trail crosses a highway. Switchbacks on the route can be clearly seen when on highway 287, just north of the town of Laporte, Colorado, above

2813-585: The Black Hills, while others chose to remain near the Platte Rivers of central Colorado. With the Arapaho , the Cheyenne pushed the Kiowa to the Southern Plains. In turn, they were pushed west by the more numerous Lakota . The Northern Cheyenne, known in Cheyenne either as Notameohmésėhese, meaning "Northern Eaters" (or simply as Ohmésėhese meaning "Eaters"), live in southeastern Montana on

2910-782: The Bridger Pass route, when a topographical party with engineers determined a roadway that included built bridges, and filled-in gullies. From 1859, the Leavenworth and Pike's Peak Express operated mail stages from Missouri along the South Pass Oregon-California trail. The Chorpenning contract was annulled in 1860 and was subsequently awarded to the Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express Company (C.O.C and P.P Express), which ran stage lines between Missouri and Utah along

3007-795: The Cheyenne and Arapaho territory on the Great Plains between the North Platte River and the Arkansas. This territory included what is now Colorado, east of the Front Range of the Rockies and north of the Arkansas River; Wyoming and Nebraska , south of the North Platte River; and extreme western Kansas . In April 1856, an incident at the Platte River Bridge (near present-day Casper, Wyoming ), resulted in

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3104-416: The Cheyenne further west, and they, in turn, pushed the Kiowa to the south. By 1776, the Lakota had overwhelmed the Cheyenne and taken over much of their territory near the Black Hills . In 1804, Lewis and Clark visited a surviving Cheyenne village in what is now North Dakota. Such European explorers learned many different names for the Cheyenne and did not realize how the different sections were forming

3201-486: The Cheyenne homeland is Tsistano . The Cheyenne of Montana and Oklahoma speak the Cheyenne language , known as Tsėhésenėstsestȯtse (common spelling: Tsisinstsistots). Approximately 800 people speak Cheyenne in Oklahoma. There are only a handful of vocabulary differences between the two locations. The Cheyenne alphabet contains 14 letters. The Cheyenne language is one of the larger Algonquian-language group. Formerly,

3298-744: The Cheyenne, he distributed their annuities to the Arapaho. He intended further punitive actions, but the Army ordered him to Utah because of an outbreak of trouble with the Mormons (this would be known as the Utah War ). The Cheyenne moved below the Arkansas into Kiowa and Comanche country. In the fall, the Northern Cheyenne returned to their country north of the Platte. Starting in 1859 with

3395-678: The Comanche, Kiowa, and Plains Apache ended in 1840 when the tribes allied with each other. The new alliance allowed the Cheyenne to enter the Llano Estacado in the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles and northeastern New Mexico to hunt bison and trade. Their expansion in the south and alliance with the Kiowa led to their first raid into Mexico in 1853. The raid ended in disaster with heavy resistance from Mexican lancers, resulting in all but three of

3492-580: The Comanche, Kiowa, and Plains Apache to fight invading settlers and US soldiers. The Arapaho were present with the Cheyenne at the Sand Creek Massacre when a peaceful encampment of mostly women, children, and the elderly were attacked and massacred by US soldiers. Both major divisions of the Cheyenne, the Northern Cheyenne and Southern Cheyenne were allies to the Arapaho who like the Cheyenne are split into northern and southern divisions. The Southern Cheyenne and Southern Arapaho were assigned to

3589-704: The Council Bluff in Nebraska, the commission had successful negotiations with the Otoe , the Pawnee and the Omaha . Increased traffic of emigrants along the related Oregon , Mormon and California trails, beginning in the early 1840s, heightened competition with Native Americans for scarce resources of water and game in arid areas. With resource depletion along the trails, the Cheyenne became increasingly divided into

3686-503: The Kiowa, Comanche, Ute , Plains Apache , Osage , Wichita , various Apache tribes, and Navajo . Many of the enemies the Cheyenne fought were only encountered occasionally, such as on a long-distance raid or hunt. Some of their enemies, particularly the Eastern Plains tribe such as the Pawnee and Osage would act as Indian Scouts for the US Army, providing valuable tracking skills and information regarding Cheyenne habits and fighting strategies to US soldiers. Some of their enemies such as

3783-510: The Lakota would later in their history become their strong allies, helping the Cheyenne fight against the United States Army during Red Cloud's War and the Great Sioux War of 1876 . The Comanche, Kiowa and Plains Apache became allies of the Cheyenne towards the end of the Indian wars on the Southern Plains, fighting together during conflicts such as the Red River War . The Cheyenne and Arapaho formed an alliance around 1811 that helped them expand their territories and strengthen their presence on

3880-460: The Missouri River, the Cheyenne came into contact with the neighboring Mandan , Hidatsa (Tsé-heše'émâheónese, "people who have soil houses "), and Arikara people (Ónoneo'o), adopting many of their cultural characteristics. They were first of the later Plains tribes to move into the Black Hills and Powder River Country . About 1730, they introduced the horse to Lakota bands (Ho'óhomo'eo'o). Conflict with migrating Lakota and Ojibwe people forced

3977-439: The Missouri, they negotiated treaties of friendship and trade with tribes of the upper Missouri, including the Arikara , the Cheyenne, the Crow, the Mandan , the Ponca , and several bands of the Lakota and Dakota. At that time, the US had competition on the upper Missouri from British traders, who came south from Canada. The treaties acknowledged that the tribes lived within the United States, vowed perpetual friendship between

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4074-403: The North Platte and Yellowstone rivers. The groups became the Southern Cheyenne, or Sówoníă (Southerners), and the Northern Cheyenne, or O'mǐ'sǐs (Eaters). The two divisions maintained regular and close contact. In the southern portion of their territory, the Cheyenne and Arapaho warred with the allied Comanche, Kiowa, and Plains Apache. Numerous battles were fought including a notable fight along

4171-403: The Northern Cheyenne and Southern Cheyenne, where they could have adequate territory for sustenance. During the California Gold Rush , emigrants brought in cholera . It spread in mining camps and waterways due to poor sanitation. The disease was generally a major cause of death for emigrants, about one-tenth of whom died during their journeys. Perhaps from traders, the cholera epidemic reached

4268-409: The Oregon Trail. In 1860, the C.O.C and P.P Express started the Pony Express , which followed the Oregon and Mormon Trails to Salt Lake City and the Central Nevada Route to Sacramento. The Pony Express only lasted a year before the C.O.C and P.P Express went bankrupt and the assets were sold to Ben Holladay. In 1861, Holladay was awarded the Postal Department contract for overland mail service between

4365-415: The Plains Indians in 1849, resulting in severe loss of life during the summer of that year. Historians estimate about 2,000 Cheyenne died, one-half to two-thirds of their population. There were significant losses among other tribes as well, which weakened their social structures. Perhaps because of severe loss of trade during the 1849 season, Bent's Fort was abandoned and burned. In 1846, Thomas Fitzpatrick

4462-509: The Plains, the government officials "assigned" territories to each tribe and had them pledge mutual peace. In addition, the government secured permission to build and maintain roads for European-American travelers and traders through Indian country on the Plains, such as the Emigrant Trail and the Santa Fe Trail , and to maintain forts to guard them. The tribes were compensated with annuities of cash and supplies for such encroachment on their territories. The Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851 affirmed

4559-442: The Sacred Arrows together form the two great covenants of the Cheyenne Nation. Through these two bundles, Ma'heo'o assures continual life and blessings for the people. The Só'taeo'o prophet Tomȯsévėséhe ("Erect Horns") received the Ésevone (aka Is'siwun – " Sacred (Buffalo) Hat Bundle ") at Tȯhóonévose (″Stone Hammer Mountain″) near the Great Lakes in the present state of Minnesota. The Ésevone / Hóhkėha'e (Sacred Buffalo Hat)

4656-433: The Smoky Hill and Republican basins, between the Arkansas and the South Platte, where there were plentiful buffalo. Efforts to make a wider peace continued, but in the spring of 1864, John Evans , governor of Colorado Territory, and John Chivington , commander of the Colorado Volunteers, a citizens militia , began a series of attacks on Indians camping or hunting on the plains. They killed any Indian on sight and initiated

4753-497: The Southern Arapaho, form the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes , in western Oklahoma. Their combined population is 12,130, as of 2008 . In 2003, approximately 8,000 of these identified themselves as Cheyenne, although with continuing intermarriage it has become increasingly difficult to separate the tribes. The Cheyenne called themselves Tsétsêhéstâhese (more commonly as the Tsitsistas ; singular: Tsétsêhéstaestse ), which translates to "those who are like this". The Suhtai, also called

4850-469: The Só'taeo'o (Só'taétaneo'o) or Suhtai (Sutaio) bands of Southern and Northern Cheyenne spoke Só'taéka'ėškóne or Só'taenėstsestȯtse , a language so close to Tsėhésenėstsestȯtse (Cheyenne language), that it is sometimes termed a Cheyenne dialect. The earliest written record of the Cheyenne was in the mid-17th century, when a group of Cheyenne visited the French Fort Crevecoeur , near present-day Peoria, Illinois . The Cheyenne at this time lived between

4947-445: The Só'taeo'o called He'emo. The Tsétsėhéstȧhese / Tsitsistas prophet Motsé'eóeve (Sweet Medicine Standing, Sweet Root Standing, commonly called Sweet Medicine) received the Maahótse ( (Sacred) Arrows Bundle ) at Nóávóse (″medicine(sacred)-hill″, name for Bear Butte , northwest of Rapid City, South Dakota, which they carried when they waged tribal-level war and were kept in the maahéome (Arrow Lodge or Arrow Tepee). He organized

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5044-524: The Só'taeo'o, Só'taétaneo'o, Sutaio (singular: Só'taétane) traveled with the Tsétsêhéstâhese and merged with them after 1832. The Suhtai had slightly different speech and customs from the Tsétsêhéstâhese. The name "Cheyenne" derives from the Lakota Sioux exonym Šahíyena meaning "little Šahíya ". The identity of the Šahíya is not known, but many Great Plains tribes assume that it means Cree or another people who spoke an Algonquian language related to Cree and Cheyenne. The Cheyenne name for Ojibwe

5141-465: The U.S government to oust the settlers. Stansbury held a meeting with Brigham Young where he assured the leader that the expedition was purely scientific. Young responded by assigning his personal secretary, Albert Carrington , to assist the expedition. In his report, Stansbury wrote: This pledge thus heartily given was as faithfully redeemed and it gives me pleasure here to acknowledge the warm interest manifested and efficient aid rendered as well by

5238-408: The US and the tribes, and, recognizing the right of the United States to regulate trade, the tribes promised to deal only with licensed traders. The tribes agreed to forswear private retaliation for injuries, and to return stolen horses or other goods or compensate the owner. The commission's efforts to contact the Blackfoot and the Assiniboine were unsuccessful. During their return to Fort Atkinson at

5335-423: The US government. The Sand Creek massacre , as it came to be known, resulted in the death of between 150 and 200 Cheyenne, mostly unarmed women and children. The survivors fled northeast and joined the camps of the Cheyenne on the Smoky Hill and Republican rivers. There warriors smoked the war pipe, passing it from camp to camp among the Sioux, Cheyenne and Arapaho. In January 1865, they planned and carried out

5432-436: The Washita River in 1836 with the Kiowa which resulted in the death of 48 Cheyenne warriors of the Bowstring society. In summer 1838, many Cheyenne and Arapaho attacked a camp of Kiowa and Comanche along Wolf Creek in Oklahoma resulting in heavy losses from both sides. Among the losses were White Thunder (keeper of the Medicine Arrows and Owl Woman's father), Flat-War-Club (Cheyenne), and Sleeping Wolf (Kiowa). Conflict with

5529-426: The already established Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming with their former enemies the Shoshone . In the summer of 1825, the tribe was visited on the Upper Missouri River by a US treaty commission consisting of General Henry Atkinson and Indian agent Benjamin O'Fallon , accompanied by a military escort of 476 men. General Atkinson and his fellow commissioner left Fort Atkinson on May 16, 1825. Ascending

5626-455: The ancient Cheyenne villages is Biesterfeldt Village , in eastern North Dakota along the Sheyenne River . They first reached the Missouri River in 1676. A more recent analysis of early records posits that at least some of the Cheyenne remained in the Mille Lac region of Minnesota until about 1765, when the Ojibwe defeated the Dakota with firearms — pushing the Cheyenne, in turn, to the Minnesota River, where they were reported in 1766. On

5723-402: The band was hostile or friendly. Historians believe that Chief Black Kettle, head of the band, was not part of the war party but the peace party within the Cheyenne nation. But, he did not command absolute authority over members of his band and the European Americans did not understand this. When younger members of the band took part in raiding parties, European Americans blamed the entire band for

5820-425: The end of the western terminus of the railroad in Missouri and Kansas and Salt Lake City. Service from Utah to California was given to the Overland Mail Company and other stage lines. Holladay initially operated along the original South Pass route, but changed the route further south to the Bridger Pass route after Shoshone attacks. This more southerly route would also allow connecting routes to Denver. In 1862,

5917-414: The enforcement of laws within the nation. Each of the six distinct warrior societies of the Cheyenne took turns leadering the nation. The four original military societies of the Cheyenne were the Swift Fox Society, Elk Horn Scrapper or Crooked Lance Society, Shield Society, and the Bowstring Men Society. The fifth society is split between the Crazy Dog Society and the famous Dog Soldiers . The sixth society

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6014-406: The first serious scientific exploration of the flora and fauna of the Great Salt Lake Valley as well as a favorable impression of the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , who had settled there beginning in 1847. Stansbury was born in 1806 in New York City. He was trained as a civil engineer and joined the Topographical Bureau in 1828. In the service of the bureau he surveyed

6111-455: The government's orders, some of its members had been linked to raiding into Kansas by bands operating out of the Indian Territory . Custer claimed 103 Cheyenne "warriors" and an unspecified number of women and children killed whereas different Cheyenne informants named between 11 and 18 men (mostly 10 Cheyenne, 2 Arapaho, 1 Mexican trader) and between 17 and 25 women and children killed in the village. There are conflicting claims as to whether

6208-403: The horse culture to Lakota people around 1730. The main group of Cheyenne, the Tsêhéstáno, was once composed of ten bands that spread across the Great Plains from southern Colorado to the Black Hills in South Dakota. They fought their historic enemies, the Crow and later (1856–79) the United States Army . In the mid-19th century, the bands began to split, with some bands choosing to remain near

6305-404: The keeper of the bundle demanded the keeper Broken Dish give up the bundle; he agreed but his wife did not and desecrated the Sacred Hat and its contents; a ceremonial pipe and a buffalo horn were lost. In 1908 a Cheyenne named Three Fingers gave the horn back to the Hat. The pipe came into possession of a Cheyenne named Burnt All Over who gave it to Hattie Goit of Poteau, Oklahoma who in 1911 gave

6402-643: The lake was a first for the Topographical Corps, and the method was put into standard use by the Corps and later by the US Geological Survey . The expedition collected many different species of birds, plants, lizards and mammals as well as rock samples and fossils. Several esteemed scientists of the day provided commentary in the expedition report, including Spencer Fullerton Baird (ornithologist and ichthyologist), Charles Frédéric Girard (ichthyologist and herpetologist), John Torrey (botanist) and James Hall (paleontologist) . Several discovered species were heretofore unknown to science including Uta stansburiana which

6499-538: The name Tsitsistas (Tsétsėhéstȧhese), which the Cheyenne call themselves, is uncertain. According to the Cheyenne dictionary offered online by Chief Dull Knife College , there is no consensus and various origins and translation of the word have been proposed. Grinnell's record is typical and states, "They call themselves Tsistsistas [sic, Tsitsistas is the correct pronunciation], which the books commonly give as meaning "people". It most likely means related to one another, similarly bred, like us, our people, or us. The term for

6596-434: The new route was reconnoitered, and on 21 July 1862, mail coaches began using it. According to Erb, Brown and Hughes, "Stations were located approximately every 10 to 15 miles apart and stocked with the finest horses, mules, tack and coaches. The larger places, called Home Stations, located approximately every 50 miles, where the driver's route ended, were built to accommodate travelers with meals and overnight lodging, and had

6693-436: The north and west of Cheyenne territory. By the help of the Medicine Arrows (the Mahuts), the Cheyenne tribe massacred a Crow camp in 1820 . To the east of Cheyenne Territory they fought with the Lakota , Dakota , Pawnee , Ponca , Kaw , Iowa , Ho-Chunk , and Omaha (Onéhao'o). The Pawnee captured the Cheyenne's Sacred Arrows during an attack on a hunting camp around 1830. South of Cheyenne territory they fought with

6790-527: The official expedition report provided many Americans with their first in-depth look at the Mormon faith. In 1853 Gunnison returned to Utah to survey a railroad route and was killed with 7 of his men by a band of Pah Vants . The Stansbury expedition named numerous geographical features in the Salt Lake Valley and environs. Some islands in the Great Salt Lake are named for members of the expedition, including Stansbury Island and Stansbury Bay, Carrington Island and Gunnison Island . The Stansbury Mountain range

6887-460: The pipe to the Oklahoma Historical Society. In 1997 the Oklahoma Historal Society negotiated with the Northern Cheyenne to return the pipe to the tribal keeper of the Sacred Medicine Hat Bundle James Black Wolf. After being pushed south and westward by the Lakota, the Cheyenne began to establish new territory. Around 1811, the Cheyenne formally allied with the Arapaho people (Hetanevo'eo'o), which would remain strong throughout their history and into

6984-744: The plains and shifting buffalo herds forced Native American tribes into southern Wyoming and northern Colorado, leading to conflicts on the Overland Trail, especially in the eastern portion along the South Platte River and in the western portion along the Laramie Plains . Attempts to force the Native Americans onto a reservation came to a head during the Colorado War in 1864. Camp Collins , near present-day Fort Collins, Colorado , and Fort Sanders and Fort Halleck in Wyoming were established to protect travelers against Sioux raids on

7081-587: The plains and the Utes of the mountains. US negotiations with Black Kettle and other Cheyenne favoring peace resulted in the Treaty of Fort Wise : it established a small reservation for the Cheyenne in southeastern Colorado in exchange for the territory agreed to in the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851. Many Cheyenne did not sign the treaty, and they continued to live and hunt on their traditional grounds in

7178-538: The plains. Like the Cheyenne, the Arapaho language is an Algonquian language , although the two languages are not mutually intelligible. The Arapaho remained strong allies with the Cheyenne and helped them fight alongside the Lakota and Dakota during Red Cloud's War and the Great Sioux War of 1876, also known commonly as the Black Hills War. On the Southern Plains, the Arapaho and Cheyenne allied with

7275-597: The present day Forks Lumber company, and portions of the route just east of that spot are well preserved and easily seen (although they are crossing through private property). Cabins from Camp Collins an army post and stop along the Overland Trail are located at the Heritage Center at the Fort Collins Museum and Discovery Science Center . Included is the oldest cabin of Fort Collins "Auntie" Stone , who provided food to Camp Collins post officers and

7372-484: The present. The alliance helped the Cheyenne expand their territory that stretched from southern Montana, through most of Wyoming, the eastern half of Colorado, far western Nebraska, and far western Kansas. By 1820, American traders and explorers reported contact with Cheyenne at present-day Denver, Colorado , and on the Arkansas River. The Cheyenne likely hunted and traded in Denver much earlier. They may have migrated to

7469-522: The president as by all the leading men of the community both in our welfare and in the successful prosecution of the work. In 1850, he advised Brigham Young on the extermination of the Timpanogos , which he said "could not but meet my entire approval" and gave supplies for the Battle at Fort Utah . Upon completing the mission in Utah, the expedition started back east to Leavenworth. Rather than follow

7566-750: The railroad descend the Wasatch Mountains via Provo Canyon and cross the valley to the south of the lake rather than the actual path taken through Weber Canyon to the north. In the 20th century two major highways also followed the route: the Lincoln Highway and Interstate 80 . Lieutenant Gunnison wrote a book entitled The Mormons or Latter-Day Saints, in the Valley of the Great Salt Lake: A History of Their Rise and Progress, Peculiar Doctrines, Present Condition that together with

7663-481: The same reservation in Oklahoma Indian Territory and remained together as the federally recognized Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes after the reservation was opened to American settlement and into modern times. The Northern Arapaho were to be assigned a reservation of their own or share one with the Cheyenne; however, the US federal government failed to provide them with either and placed them on

7760-560: The same route as the Overland Trail. Interstate 76 follows the South Platte River to Fort Morgan, Colorado , and U.S. Route 34 goes between Fort Morgan and Greeley. North of Fort Collins, U.S. Route 287 follows the path of the Overland Trail north to Laramie. West of Laramie the Overland Trail route was closely followed by the Union Pacific Railroad in 1869 and the Lincoln Highway and Interstate 80 in

7857-424: The second raid or in the plan to go north to the Powder River country. He left the large camp and returned with 80 lodges of his tribesmen to the Arkansas River, where he intended to seek peace with the US. Four years later, on November 27, 1868, George Armstrong Custer and his troops attacked Black Kettle's band at the Battle of Washita River . Although his band was camped on a defined reservation, complying with

7954-490: The soldiers' guns from firing. They were told that if they dipped their hands in a nearby spring, they had only to raise their hands to repel army bullets. Hands raised, the Cheyenne surrounded the advancing troops as they advanced near the Solomon River . Sumner ordered a cavalry charge and the troops charged with drawn sabers; the Cheyenne fled. With tired horses after long marches, the cavalry could not engage more than

8051-481: The south for winter. The Hairy Rope band is reputed to have been the first band to move south, capturing wild horses as far south as the Cimarron River Valley. In response to the construction of Bent's Fort by Charles Bent , a non-Native trader and ally, a large portion of the tribe moved further south and stayed around the area. The other part of the tribe continued to live along the headwaters of

8148-526: The specific coups required to become a war chief. Specific warrior societies evolved. Each society had selected leaders who would invite those that they saw worthy enough to their society lodge for initiation into the society. Often, societies would have minor rivalries; however, they might work together as a unit when warring with an enemy. Military societies played an important role in Cheyenne government. Society leaders were often in charge of organizing hunts and raids as well as ensuring proper discipline and

8245-612: The standard Oregon Trail route from Fort Bridger over South Pass through the Sweetwater River valley, Stansbury wanted to scout a more direct route east. Following the advice of Jim Bridger and local trappers and traders, the expedition followed the Blacks Fork River east, crossed the Green River near the present town of Green River, Wyoming and proceeded east along the Bitter Creek valley, crossing

8342-852: The start of construction of the Carysfort Reef Light in Florida. During the Mexican–American War he oversaw the building of fortifications in the Dry Tortugas in the Gulf of Mexico . In 1849 Stansbury was ordered to travel from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas to survey the Great Salt Lake in Utah, to evaluate emigration trails along the way (especially the Oregon and Mormon trails), and to scout for possible locations for

8439-465: The structure of Cheyenne society, their military or war societies led by prominent warriors, their system of legal justice, and the Council of Forty-four peace chiefs. The latter was formed from four véhoo'o (chiefs or leaders) of the ten principal manaho ( bands ) and an additional four ″Old Man″ meetings to deliberate at regular tribal gatherings, centered around the Sun Dance . Sweet Medicine

8536-614: The trail during the 1860s. Stagecoach stations and ranches along 150 miles (240 km) of the South Platte River were burned down by an army of Cheyenne , Arapaho , and Sioux in January and early February 1865 as part of a campaign of reprisals after the United States Army committed the Sand Creek Massacre . (See Battle of Julesburg .) According to Erb, Brown, and Hughes, "Holladay's Mail and Stage route extended from Atchison, Kansas to Salt Lake City and California. As

8633-1364: The trail entered the northeast corner of Colorado along the South Platte River at Old Julesburg, it departed from the Oregon-California trail, which continued on north to the North Platte and Ft. Laramie and over South Pass, while the new mail route continued to the west and became known as the Overland Stage and Mail Line, or simply the Overland Trail." Stations along the route, proceeding east to west, included Julesburg, Antelope, Spring Hill, Dennison's, Valley, Kelley's, Beaver Creek, Bijou, Fremont's Orchard, Eagle's Nest, Latham, Laporte, Bonner, Cherokee or Stonewall, Virginia Dale, Willow Springs, Big Laramie, Little Laramie, Cooper Creek, Rock Creek, Medicine Bow, elk Mountain (Fort Halleck), Pass Creek, North Platte, Sage Creek, Pine Grove, Bridger's Pass, Sulphur Springs, Washakie, Duck Lake, Dug Springs, LaClede, Big Pond, Black Buttes, Point of Rocks, Salt Wells, Rock Springs, Green River, Lone Tree, Ham's Fork, Church Buttes, Millerville, and Fort Bridger. Stations north from Denver to Laporte included Childs or Churches, Boones, St. Vrain, Little Thompson, Big Thompson, and Spring Creek. Stations north from Denver to Latham included Pierson's, Fort Lupton, and Big Bend. The Walbach cut-off

8730-508: The upper Missouri River into what is now Wyoming , Montana, Colorado, and South Dakota. The Ésevone / Hóhkėha'e ("Sacred Buffalo Hat") is kept among the Northern Cheyenne and Northern Só'taeo'o. The Tséá'enōvȧhtse (″Sacred (Buffalo) Hat Keeper″ or ″Keeper of the Sacred (Buffalo) Hat″) must belong to the Só'taeo'o (Northern or Southern alike). In the 1870s tribal leaders became disenchanted with

8827-409: The war party being killed. To the north, the Cheyenne allied with the Lakota, which allowed them to expand their territory into part of their former lands around the Black Hills. By heading into the Rocky Mountains, they managed to escape the 1837–39 smallpox epidemics that swept across the plains from white settlements but were greatly affected by the 1849 cholera epidemic. Contact with Euro-Americans

8924-470: The wounding of a Cheyenne warrior. He returned to the Cheyenne on the plains. During the summer of 1856, Indians attacked travelers along the Emigrant Trail near Fort Kearny. In retaliation, the US Cavalry attacked a Cheyenne camp on Grand Island in Nebraska . They killed ten Cheyenne warriors and wounded eight or more. Cheyenne parties attacked at least three emigrant settler parties before returning to

9021-406: Was a major in the U.S. Army Corps of Topographical Engineers . One of his most notable achievements was leading a two-year expedition (1849–1851) to survey the Great Salt Lake and its surroundings. The expedition report entitled Exploration and survey of the valley of the Great Salt Lake of Utah, including a reconnaissance of a new route through the Rocky Mountains was published in 1852 providing

9118-471: Was appointed US Indian agent for the upper Arkansas and Platte River . His efforts to negotiate with the Northern Cheyenne, the Arapaho and other tribes led to a great council at Fort Laramie in 1851. Treaties were negotiated by a commission consisting of Fitzpatrick and David Dawson Mitchell, US Superintendent of Indian Affairs , with the Indians of the northern plains . To reduce intertribal warfare on

9215-544: Was heavily traveled by emigrants in the 1850s, avoiding the dip down south into Colorado and back north. It originated near Julesburg and followed Lodgepole Creek , across the Laramie Mountains , and Laramie Plains, before joining the Overland Trail at the Little Laramie Station. Camp Walbach was located along the trail where it entered the Laramie Mountains. Several modern highways follow

9312-553: Was mostly light, with most contact involving mountain men, traders, explorers, treaty makers, and painters. Like many other Plains Indian nations, the Cheyenne were a horse and warrior people who developed as skilled and powerful mounted warriors. A warrior in Cheyenne society is not a fighter but also a protector, provider, and leader. Warriors gained rank in Cheyenne society by performing and accumulating various acts of bravery in battle known as counting coups . The title of war chief could be earned by any warrior who performs enough of

9409-576: Was named for the expedition leader. In the late 1850s, Native American conflicts on the Oregon Trail forced the government to establish a new trail through Colorado and Wyoming known as the Overland Trail . Between Laramie and Fort Bridger, the trail follows almost exactly the route mapped by the expedition. In the 1860s the First transcontinental railroad also followed the path through southern Wyoming and Utah, although Stansbury had suggested that

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