Affidavit of John Smith
Creator: United States. Congress. Senate
Date: January 15, 1865
This affidavit given by John Smith, an interpreter for the United States military, was presented to the military commission investigating the massacre of Cheyenne Indians at Sand Creek, Colorado, in 1864. Smith's account focuses primary on the events prior to the massacre, including the attitudes of the Cheyenne leaders One Eye and Black Kettle. The affidavit is part of a larger report containing evidence obtained at this hearing, titled Report of the Secretary of War, Communicating, In compliance with a resolution of the Senate of February 4, 1867, a copy of the evidence taken at Denver and Fort Lyon, Colorado Territory, by a military commission, ordered to inquire into the Sand Creek massacre, November, 1864.

A memory of old Fort Harker
Creator: The Club Member
Date: February 1908
This reminiscence by Mrs. Henry Inman, published in The Club Member, describes her experiences as a Kansas pioneer. She moved to Fort Harker in January 1868 after a difficult journey in severe winter weather. She details various aspects of frontier life, including the U.S. military's conflicts with Native Americans and the daily struggle for survival. She also mentions how she met "Mother" Bickerdyke, and that her husband served in the Seventh Cavalry under General George Armstrong Custer.

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad. Land department
Creator: Railway Directory and Advertiser
Date: 1872
This advertisement promotes the sale of 100,000 acres of land along the line of the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad. According to the ad, these lands have fertile soil and "considerable timber," and are in such high demand that white immigrants are flooding the area.

Buffalo hunt
Date: 1869
This photograph depicts a buffalo hunt along the Big Timber River, located in Ellis County south of Hays, Kansas. Some more well-known members of the hunting party include General George Armstrong Custer, Hill P. Wilson, Captain Tom Custer, and General Samuel D. Sturgis. In the years that followed this hunt, the Bison heards that roamed the U.S. were decimated. The death of so many Bison helped bring an end to the nomadic lifestyle of many Native American tribes in the U.S.

Captain Lewis Hanback's final report
Creator: Hanback, Lewis
Date: 1875
This document is Captain Lewis Hanback's final report of an 1875 investigation into a conflict between Captain Ricker's company of state militia and a band of Osage Indians that occurred in 1874. The Osage Indians had filed a complaint with the Department of the Interior, claiming that the U. S. military had attacked a peaceful Indian encampment and stolen their horses and other property. Captain Lewis Hanback was ordered to take down testimonies and determine the circumstances surrounding the conflict. This final report summarizes these testimonies and includes a short history of Barbour County where the altercation took place.

Cheyenne prisoners in Dodge City
Date: April 30, 1879
This stereograph shows a group of Cheyenne prisoners seated on the Ford County courthouse steps in Dodge City, Kansas. These men had taken part in "the last Indian raid in Kansas," when around 350 Cheyenne, led by Dull Knife, had killed around 40 white settlers in western Kansas. These Indians were fleeing from their reservation in Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma) and heading toward their former lands in the northern Great Plains (Kansas, Nebraska, etc.). Several of these Cheyenne men were apprehended and put on trial for murder. They were eventually acquitted of all charges. The individuals in the image are identified as follows: 1) Wakabish; 2) Maniton; 3) Old Cow; 4) Left Hand; 5) Wild Hog; 6) Old Man; 7) Muskekan; 8) George Reynolds; and 9) Franklin G. Adams.

Colonel John M. Chivington to Major General S. R. Curtis
Creator: United States. Congress. Senate
Date: December 16, 1864
This copy of a letter by Colonel John Chivington, commander of the 1st Colorado Cavalry, was included in the report of a military commission called to investigate the Sand Creek massacre in Colorado Territory. In the letter, Chivington describes his pursuit of "hostile" Indians and his actions at Sand Creek. According to Chivington, he took no prisoners, leaving between five and six hundred Indians "dead upon the field." He also captured around 550 ponies and horses, as well as other Indian property. This letter is included in a larger published report, titled Report of the Secretary of War, Communicating, in compliance with a resolution of the Senate of February 4, 1867, a copy of the evidence taken at Denver and Fort Lyon, Colorado Territory, by a military commission, ordered to inquire into the Sand Creek massacre, November, 1864.

Council at Medicine Lodge Creek
Creator: Howland, J.
Date: November 16, 1867
This drawing by J. Howland, originally printed in Harper's Weekly, depicts the council between representatives of the U.S. government and the Kiowa and Comanche tribes at Medicine Creek Lodge, Kansas, in 1867. At this council the Kiowa, Comanche, Plains Apache, Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes signed three successive treaties with the United States government, collectively known as the Medicine Lodge treaty.

Dodge City, Kansas
Creator: Knight, J. Lee
Date: 1872
This photograph of a street scene in Dodge City, in Ford County, depicts three of the town's buildings. The building on the left was the first dance hall in Dodge City, owned by a man named Jones. The second building was a grocery and general store owned by George O. Smith and J. B. Edwards, and the third building, also a general store, was owned by a man named Wolf. Also visible are a crowd of men standing in the street, and two horse-drawn wagons loaded with buffalo hides. Dodge City is located on the Santa Fe Trail in western Kansas.

"From the Plains," New York Times
Creator: New York Times Company
Date: October 19, 1867
This brief article concerns the impending treaty negotiations between various Indian tribes and the U. S. government, which would eventually be signed at Medicine Lodge Creek in Barber County, Kansas. The article mentions that, in case no peace treaties were signed, the military would protect settlers by stationing more soldiers on the plains and by hastening the completion of more railroads. These railroads would ensure that game animals (buffalo), essential to the livelihood of the Indian tribes, would be wiped out. Overall, this article serves to highlight the growing tensions between white settlers and Native Americans.

History of the 19th Kansas Cavalry--Indian War of 1868-69
Creator: Jenness, George B.
Date: 1869
This history of the 19th Kansas, written by the commander of Company F, George B. Jenness, is mainly composed of extracts from his diary. It includes details about where each company was raised, the names of the officers, organization and implementation of orders, the rigors of army life, and troop movements. Jenness' history also includes information about Samuel J. Crawford, the governor of Kansas, who resigned his position to assume command of the regiment on November 5, 1868. The document contains a copy of a letter from General Philip H. Sheridan to Governor Crawford about the need for calling up troops. Information on Native Americans, including interactions between troops and Native Americans, is also contained within this item. Jenness mentions captive chief including Satanta.

Immigration
Creator: Manhattan Independent
Date: January 6, 1866
This article advertises the many reasons that settlers should come to Kansas, including the pleasant climate and rich natural resources. The unnamed author also promises that immigrants who are willing to work hard can make a good living. The author seems convinced that Kansas will experience a population boom, as there is an abundance of "unoccupied land" ripe for the taking.

Indian slaughter
Creator: Manhattan Independent
Date: December 13, 1864
This short article published in the Manhattan Independent discusses the Sand Creek massacre, which took place in Colorado Territory on November 29, 1864. During this massacre the Cheyenne people, led by Black Kettle, were almost completely annihilated. The article also includes a short letter that Colonel John M. Chivington sent to Major General S. G. Curtis detailing the events of the massacre.

Indian treaties. Peace agreed upon with the Comanches and Kiowas
Creator: New York Times Company
Date: October 25, 1867
This brief article published n the New York Times describes the treaty signed by the Comanche and Kiowa tribes at Medicine Lodge Creek, Barber County, Kansas, in 1867. According to the terms of the treaty, these tribes would relocate to Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma) and in return they would receive provisions and annual annuity payments of $2500. The article also mentions that the treaties with other tribes, including the Cheyenne, Apache, and Arapaho, will be concluded shortly.

James R. Mead to his father
Creator: Mead, James R. (James Richard), b. 1836
Date: August 26, 1860
In this letter, written from Burlingame, Kansas Territory, James R. Mead informs his father that he had come back to eastern Kansas to work for Mr. Titus, presumably pro-slavery Colonel Titus. Mead still maintains a ranch and trading post on the Saline River near Ft. Riley. Mead also writes to his father about a home that he was building in Salina. He calls his buffalo hunting "a wholesale butchering establishment," and writes he was going to cure the meat. Apparently he has developed quite a reputation in the area, and he had been made sheriff of Saline County. These typed copies of the James R. Mead's letters were donated to the Kansas State Historical Society by Mr. Mead's family in 1940 when the originals were still owned by the family. The originals are now held by Wichita State University. The buffalo hunting that Mead took part in played a significant role in destroying the traditional way of life for many Native Americans living on the Great Plains because they relied on the buffalo for meat, tools, clothing, and other items.

James R. Mead to his father and others
Creator: Mead, James R. (James Richard), b. 1836
Date: November 7, 1859
In this letter, James R. Mead describes his first buffalo hunt to his family and friends. He had recently returned from this adventure and apparently he was extremely successful, having killed thirty buffalo. He provides a rather detailed description of a buffalo's appearance so his friends and family would have a mental picture of this magnificent animal. Mead also mentions other wild animals, such as prairie dogs and rabbits, commenting on their plumpness. These typed copies of the James R. Mead's letters were donated to the Kansas State Historical Society by Mr. Mead's family in 1940 when the originals were still owned by the family. The originals are now held by Wichita State University.

John Evans to Major S. G. Colley
Creator: Evans, John
Date: September 29, 1864
John Evans, the governor of Colorado Territory and former Superintendent of Indian Affairs, wrote this letter to S. G. Colley, an Indian agent. Evans discusses how he has not made a treaty with the Cheyenne or Arapaho Indians because he does not want to impede the military operations against hostile tribes, arguing that the Arapaho and Cheyenne should make peace with the military, and not with Indian agents. This situation was largely the result of mistrust between Indian Agents and Native Americans that stemmed from broken treaties in the previous decades. Copied from The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies.

Kansas : early routes, old trails, historic sites, landmarks, etc.
Creator: Root, George A. (George Allen), 1867-1949
Date: 1939 December
This map, created by George Allen Root and later reproduced by the Kansas Turnpike Authority, depicts trails, landmarks, and historic sites in the state of Kansas. The original map was compiled by George Allen Root and delineated by W. M. Hutchinson from information obtained from the Kansas State Historical Society.

Letters of Safeguard for To-sa-wi from the Confederate States of America
Creator: Pike, Albert
Date: August 15, 1861
This letter of safeguard was presented to To-sa-wi, a chief of the Comanche Indians, by Albert Pike, Indian Commissioner of the Confederate States of America. The document ensures that To-sa-wi will have safe passage, without molestation, and that he is guaranteed the protection of the Confederate States.

Map of Kansas, with parts of neighboring states and territories
Creator: Hunnius, Ado, 1842-1923
Date: 1870
This map was drawn by Ado Hunnius at the request of Major General J. M. Schofield. It was compiled under the direction of 1st Lieutenant Henry Jackson of the 7th U.S. Cavalry in March 1870. It includes the location of forts in Kansas, southern Nebraska, eastern Colorado, and northern portions of Indian Territory (Oklahoma), as well as noting natural features (rivers, hills, etc.), trails, and Indian reservations.

Map showing Indian reservations in the United States
Creator: Haskell Institute
Date: 1948
This map, created by Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kansas, depicts all Indian reservations within the continental United States. It also includes the names of agencies and non-reservation schools. It was originally part of a brochure for the National Parks Service.

Medical history of the 19th Regiment, Kansas Cavalry Volunteers
Creator: Bailey, Mahlon
Date: 1869
Mahlon Bailey, the regimental surgeon, recorded this medical history of the 19th Kansas Cavalry. This history includes information on the hasty physicals given to new recruits, wounds received in battle, and other medical problems encountered on the trail, as well as general information about the day-to-day activities of the soldiers. Located at the end of the report is a chart detailing the medical problems of the regiment, including the number of cases of dysentery, gonorrhea, pneumonia, ulcers, burns, and sprains (among many others). At the end of these charts, Bailey expresses his appreciation to the commanders of the regiment, thanking them for following his medical advice and showing concern for the health of their soldiers.

Memorandum of trip from Topeka, Kansas, to the Indian Country
Creator: Johnson, Gustaf, 1826-1886
Date: 1868
These excerpts from Gus Johnson's journal record his experiences as a member of the 19th Kansas Cavalry, Company G. The entries are dated from November 12, 1868 to November 26, 1868. Johnson records the movements and activities of his company in addition to the local wildlife (particularly bison), the weather, and the landscape. Johnson's company also had some skirmishes with Indians.

Michael W. Sutton to John Pierce St. John
Creator: Sutton, Michael W.
Date: January 15, 1879
In this brief letter, Michael Sutton, the county attorney of Ford County, Kansas, wrote to Governor St. John regarding warrants for the arrest of the Cheyenne Indians who had been accused of committing depredations against white settlers in western Kansas. This group of Cheyenne, led by Dull Knife, had fled their reservation in Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma) in order to return to their native homeland in the northern Great Plains. Because they had stolen property and killed around 40 settlers in their journey through Kansas, a number of Kansans, including Sutton, argued that these Cheyenne should be arrested and tried in Kansas courts. Sutton wrote in the letter of his concern for the safety of frontier settlements and his desire to prevent a similar situation from occurring in the future. Six of these Indians, including Wild Hog, Run Fast, Frizzly Head, Young Man, Old Man, and Crow would be charged with murder in June, 1879, and for a time Sutton served as the prosecuting attorney in their case. They would eventually be acquitted of all charges.

Philip Henry Sheridan to Governor Samuel Johnson Crawford
Creator: Sheridan, Philip Henry, 1831-1888
Date: October 8, 1868
General Philip Henry Sheridan, a veteran of the Civil War, wrote this telegram to the Governor of Kansas to inform him of the current state of affairs in western Kansas. General William B. Hazen had informed Sheridan that their efforts to secure peace with the Kiowa and Comanche tribes was unsuccessful, and that Crawford should muster a cavalry regiment to assist in the military's efforts to place these tribes on reservations. This regiment was the 19th Kansas Cavalry, consisting of five companies.