By Mike Bowen – co-author, We Found the Lost Sand Creek Site
The following information comes directly from George Bent who lived as a Cheyenne Dog Soldier (warrior). He wrote letters to historians while working as an Indian agent in Oklahoma.
Some of the historians George Bent wrote to included George Hyde and George Bird Grinnell. He answered their questions about his experience at Sand Creek and time living with the Cheyenne as a warrior. He wrote openly about wagon train raids, killing white settlers and scalping many of them, stealing horses and cattle from settlers and the government, taking white captives, plus much more. We only use primary source information. Some have believed the book, The Life of George Bent, was written by Bent. It wasn’t. It is a loose paraphrase somewhat inspired by his letters. Our information comes directly from Bent’s letters. We’ve compared his letters to that book. See more here: GeorgeBent
Some of his experiences he wrote about include how the Indians would brutally kill animals.
He said Indians would make pits large enough for hundreds of antelope to run into. According to Bent, the Indians would chase or lure them into the pits and then run in and club them to death. Some hunts totaled over 1,000 antelope clubbed to death.
In a letter written to Hyde, Bent says the Cheyenne were camped on what he called Red Paint River and then camped on Antelope Pitt River where they were hunting antelope. “On this stream all the Indians used to make their pitts to run antelope onto (into) them. They use to run in from 1500 to 1000 antelopes at one hunt” (Bent to Hyde 5-7-1906).
According to Bent, it was common for the Cheyenne to find locations where pits had been previously dug, and would dig new pits there. The older pits were dug by other tribes. These pits were likely similar to the rifle pits they had at Sand Creek. See chapter 12 of our book, We Found the Lost Sand Creek Site. (Click the Buy the Book tab in the top right of the page).
“Cheyennes found Antelope pits built by Crows and Kiowas. Cheyennes say antelope were over running the whole country and at that time there was no trouble to run herds and herds into these pits. Cheyennes got an idea how to make these pits after seeing these old antelope pits. In making these pits they commenced at forks of the creeks, dug ditch as long as they wanted and deep as they wish. When antelope tumbled into some time there was so many antelope in these drives not half of the antelope would go into the ditch. They build brush wings from this pit this way [Bent draws V on its side, showing brush wings] so the antelope could not jump over those that did not go into the ditch. Men, women and children behind the wings of these brush fences. Of course at the entrance of these brush wings the drivers of the antelope took their places there to keep the antelope from running out…All the antelope were knocked down with clubs or axes. The medicine [man] was given first pick of the antelope. The dead antelope were layed in rows first, then taken afterwards when medicine man got his pick. All the tongues he took.” (Bent to Hyde, 11-26-1912).
While working as an Indian agent, Bent wrote that he had a conversation with an Indian that was present for antelope pit raids in 1865 and 1866.
“I was talking with Prairie Chief…He says both of these pits were made in different places where old pits had been made some years ago so the old Indians said. He says at these 2 pits lot of clubs were scattered around this pits outside to knock the antelope in head with as no shooting of any kind was allowed to kill antelope… If any shooting with guns or bow & arrows no more antelope would ever run into these pits” (Bent to Hyde, 1-28-1914).
The Indians would only shoot the antelope if they got out of the pits, according to Bent. They clubbed them to death in the pits.
“In olden times, Cheyennes made antelope pits to drive the antelope into these pits. In this way they killed hundreds and hundreds. One medicine man acted chief priest. He was the one that sit back of the pit singing and holding 2 hoops in each hand, motioning with these to antelope to come to him. After killing all the antelope with clubs–no shooting was allowed with bows or guns, this was against their medicine–they dragged all the antelope in rows. The buck antelopes 1st row, and she ones next. Then antelope pit medicine [man] had 1st pick and the tongues all went to him. After being cut out then he could give them out again to others” (Bent to Hyde, 9-12-1913).
There were other animals the Cheyenne used for labor, and when they no longer served the purpose they desired, they ate them.
“In winter time when herds of deer and antelope were near their village, all would get out and surround these on foot and drive them into deep snow. In this way they killed many of them. Yet half of the time they were starving. They raised herds of dogs and ate those that were not fit to use in dragging poles or packs” (Bent to Grinnell 2-1-1907).
Bent wrote to George Hyde about Antelope Priests and described how they dressed for hunts.
“These Antelope Priests were painted with white clay. Black clay was used around their eyes and mouth only. This represent buck antelope. They used two hoops. These hoops were painted with red clay. In center of these hoops antelope hair was tied. While Antelope Priest was singing, hoops in each hand. Made motion with these hoops, calling the antelope to come towards him, doing this several times. Some mysterious way antelope ran towards the priest and into the pit. Some times these pits got so full of antelope the last ones ran over the first ones. Pile up full of these pits. Men, Women, Children then made charge for the pit. After the antelope were all killed with clubs or some other thing as bows & arrows and guns were not allowed” (Bent to Hyde, 2-2-1916).
It’s possible the hoops were made from water barrel hoops. The Cheyenne made arrowheads from them. Historian George Grinnell gave his take on what they were made from.
“The pole is three feet long and the hoop about ten inches in diameter. At four places about the hoop and to the pole at the center of the hoop, were tied strips of rabbit-skin, and with each strip a single raven-feather. To the upper end of the upright, by a string, was tied a gray-eagle feather. The pole and hoop were of slender willow twigs, a half or three-quarters of an inch in diameter. Hoops and uprights were painted black” Grinnell stated (The Cheyenne Indians – History and Society – Volume I, George Bird Grinnell, page 284).
Grinnell continues in his book describing the antelope pits:
“In a broad flat they began to build two straight, tight, brush fences, eight or ten feet high, as if for the opposite sides of a square pen. From the ends of these fences on one side two lines of brush heaps about five steps apart stretched away onto the flat for 400 or 500 yards, the ends of the two lines constantly becoming farther and farther apart. This made two wings, which ran out from the ends of the tight fences, to direct the antelope to the pit. Between the ends of the tight fences opposite the side from which the wings extended, the people dug a big hole in the ground, reaching from the ends of one fence to the end of the other. The side of this hole toward the opening between the wings was straight across, stretching from the end of one fence to the end of the other; the other side of the pit was rounding—a part of a circle. They dug this pit about five feet deep and with sides straight up and down. On the rounding side of the pit they drove stakes in the ground and tied low bushes to them, but on the straight side they stuck in the ground bunches of grass, some of it standing up straight and some hanging over the edge of the pit so as to hide it. Outside of both the straight, high, tight fences and outside the wings they dug trenches, deep enough for people to get into and to be hidden when they were lying down. After all this had been done, they made many clubs, which were put on the ground at each end of the pit close to the ends of the high fences” Grinnell stated (The Cheyenne Indians – History and Society – Volume I, George Bird Grinnell, pages 278-279).
Bent and Grinnell both wrote about Indians killing lots of buffalo as well.
Many have claimed it was white people of European descent that killed off the buffalo. According to George Bent, an eyewitness, the Indians killed off buffalo for the hides. We have over 400 pages of George Bent’s letters to historians and there are about two-hundred references to Indians killing large amounts of buffalo.
“An old-time method of killing buffalo among the Cheyennes was with the lance…When the buffalo felt the prick of the lance, it usually ran still faster. Sometimes it tried to turn to charge, but as the man held the lance against it, and pressed it into its side, the buffalo always gave way, and ran on. Sometimes the lance-point might strike a rib, and the man was obliged to make a second thrust. Perhaps the first thrust hurried the buffalo along, so that the man fell behind; but he whipped up his horse, and again got near enough. Often, instead of thrusting for the heart, they thrust down for the kidneys, so striving to break down and cripple the animal” Grinnell stated (The Cheyenne Indians – History and Society – Volume I, George Bird Grinnell, page 263).
There was some behavior from Indians towards the children regarding buffalo hunts that was beyond unusual.
“The men who had been killing buffalo would ask a child, often a mere baby, if it had ever before been present at a chase, and if it had not, would take a handful of blood and smear it all over its face. The children were not permitted to wash off this blood until they had returned to the camp” Grinnell stated (The Cheyenne Indians – History and Society – Volume I, George Bird Grinnell, page 264).
If in fact the child was a “mere baby,” as Grinnell stated, it’s more likely the Indian wouldn’t get a response at all. However, it’s not clear what age Grinnell was inferring. He got a lot of his information about Indians from George Bent—he also spent time observing Indians, per his book.
According to George Bent, it wasn’t just the men that would hunt.
“I have seen the women ride like men after buffalo and deer and antelope. They used lances instead bows and arrows” (Bent to Hyde, 3-4-1916).
Indians saw a plethora of buffalo after they crossed the Missouri River and according to a letter Bent wrote to Hyde, the Indians knew they could kill the buffalo for their lodges.
“Old Indian women that are here say that there was no earth houses built after the Cheyennes crossed Missouri River. Buffalo was plenty and there was not need of building earth houses after they got among the buffalo. They made buffalo skin lodges and found plenty of pine and spruce poles for lodge poles” (Bent to Hyde, 10-25-1917). “They were now killing buffalo to dress the hides for their winter lodges as it was custom for Indians to go in small bands for this purpose” (Bent to Hyde, 4-30-1906).
The buffalo hunt raids covered a large area and Bent talked about several tribes. The letter cited below includes three tribes and he also discusses the Cheyenne killing buffalo in his letters.
“…the Comanches, Kiowas and Apaches always lived in separate villages to hunt buffalo. Kiowas and Apaches lived mostly on Arkansas River. Comanches lived on South Canadian. They made raids to Mexico and Texas. Later on Kiowas & Apaches made raids in Texas” (Bent to Hyde 1-23-1905).
They did also at times kill buffalo for food, but they killed large amounts to feed an entire village and to have hides for their lodges. George didn’t provide the total numbers of Indians in villages, but he did provide approximates for the number of lodges. He said most villages were about 100 lodges. At Sand Creek, for example, no one counted Indians, they counted about 130 tipis and estimated about 4 Indians per tipi. So, we don’t have exact numbers of Indians in a village, but we do have numbers of lodges, per Bent. The Indians would need to kill enough buffalo to make at least 100 tipis. And that would only be for one village. Multiple tribes were killing buffalo to use the hides for their lodges.
“There were so many Sioux in that country they had to scatter out in villages or in bands to get buffalo meat and other meat” (Bent to Hyde, 11-5-1913).
George wrote about a winter that was so bad, animals would fall down and have a difficult time getting back up because of the ice.
“They say the ice was like glass all over the prairie. It was no trouble to kill buffalo. When it got down it could not get up. All the Indians had to do was to walk up to it and shoot it” (Bent to Grinnell 7-12-1905).
The information we’ve learned about this stems from our research on the 1864 Sand Creek battle. Make sure to check out other blogs on this website. Just click on “Blog” at the top of the page.
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