From: www.metallocators.com
Artifact And Relic Collection
From: www.metallocators.com
Artifact And Relic Collection
July 11, 1869
Nestled in the rolling hill country of Eastern Colordo, there's a remote, treeless valley through which flows a small, clear stream named White Butte Creek. The stream has as its origin, a series of free-flowing springs known simply as "Summit Springs". According to historical records, the valley was a favorite camping place for the nomadic Plains Indians long before arrival of the white man. It was also here in July, 1869 that the last major battle between the Plains Indians and the U.S. Cavalry took place in Colorado. Participants in the battle included some 244 officers and men of the United States Fifth Cavalry, commanded by General Eugene A. Carr, together with 50 Pawnee scouts under Major Frank North. A young man by the name of William F. Cody, also known as Buffalo Bill, had been hired as Chief Scout for the Cavalry. The Indians under attack were a village of from 400 - 500 renegade Southern Cheyenne Dog Soldiers (Hota-mita'-nui) led by their Head Chief, Tall Bull (Ta-Tonka-Haska).
(Note:
Click on the right scroll arrow to see the entire panoramic view of the
valley)
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They quickly reported back to the General, who was with the main force some six miles north and east of the Indian camp. Figuring the Cheyennes would probably be looking for any attack to be coming from the east or south, Carr cautiously moved his command around the valley, so as to approach the camp from the northwest. He ordered one column to hit the right flank, another to block escape to the left; then the main force charged directly into the center of the camp about 3:00 pm. A strong wind, resulting in dust clouds, helped to cover their approach and muffle the sounds of the horse's hoofs. The Indians were caught almost completely by surprise. Had not the herd boy in charge of the grazing ponies seen the troopers approaching, and driven the horses into the camp at about the same time the cavalry arrived, the Indians would have suffered even more casualties.
After a short, but fierce battle, a total of 52 Indians, includ-
ing
Chief Tall Bull, were found dead on the battlefield, with only 17
squaws and children taken captive. All of the other Indians
had escaped either on foot or horseback to the south and east.
Only
one superficial wound was incurred by one of the troopers.
However, two white women, those having been taken captive by the
Cheyennes
in their latest raid on homesteader settlements in Kansas Territory,
were
found shot. Susanna Alderdyce died of her wounds and was buried
on
a hill overlooking the valley. However, the other woman, Maria
Weichel,
although severely wounded, managed to survive.
The next morning, with the supply wagons having caught up with the Company, General Carr ordered the troopers to sweep through the camp, pick up and load into the wagons anything they considered of value. Everything else was to be completely destroyed. Before the troops returned to Fort McPherson, everything that would burn was put to the torch.
Over 150 fires were set, including all 84 of the Indians teepees,
together
with all foodstuffs and supplies. The Southern Cheyenne would
never
again pose a threat to white settlement in Colorado.
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F Center section of common tablespoon. |
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( A
) Three
examples of leather punches formed from broken triangle files. ( B ) Various awls, and needles, some commercially produced, some by the Indians from wire, nails, etc. The item 4th from the right is similar to wood- working tools used currently by carpenters to pre-drill holes for wood screws. C Brass plate from a pocket knife. D Broken wood rasp being used as a chisel. E & I Broken scissor blades. The nearly complete pair of scissors (but broken in 5 pieces) was found scattered over a distance of approximately 100 yards. F & G Brass handle screwdriver guards. H An unusual shaped screwdriver blade, complete with brass handle guard. Such "fancy" screwdrivers were frequently included as one of the accessories of muzzle-loading guns sold or traded on the frontier. J Badly eroded "fire steel" used to start fires with flint and charred cloth. K Tin lid - probably used as a makeshift salt shaker. L Flattened piece of tinned can with holes punched in it - may have been used as a food grater. |
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Exhibit 3 contains a wide variety of small, hand-held hide scrapers being used by the Cheyenne. They were fashioned out of manydifferent types of iron objects such as barrel bands (L, Q), buggy springs (A,B,C,E,M,Z,D1, & E1), broken butcherknife handles (D, F, &R), broken tomahawks (H & J), paint spatulas (U,W, & A1), etc., etc. |
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Exhibit 4 contains an interesting
assortment
of larger buffalo hide scrapers:
(A) Although not exactly a hide
scraper, this
object |
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Exhibit 5 is a collection of cutlery excavated at the battle site. Most showed evidence of the blade having been snapped off just above the handle. A, D, F, G, H, J, & K are typical examples of butcher-type knives frequently traded to the Indians. B & C appear to be "dressing" knives, used in trimming heavy hides. H, L, & M fit the description of the so-called "Russell Green River" knives widely traded on the frontier. Only one complete knife was recovered (E) and it had survived only by chance. It was located on a small rocky knoll on the south side of the valley, where it had apparently been stuck upright in the ground for preparation for being "kicked" and broken. For some reason, this was never carried out. It was allowed to remain in this position, where it was nearly perfectly preserved in the well-drained, sandy soil, with even the wooden handle still very much intact. A tooled inscription on the left side of the blade reads "Childers", "Cast". |
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The vest chain and buttons (A),
fancy buttons
(B, N & O), and overall fasterners C, G, & H were undoubtedly
taken
by the Indians in raids on the White settlements, as were shirt and
trouser
buttons containing 2 - 4 holes.
A vast majority of the buttons in Exhibit 6 (those not lettered) were military-style. These brass, and in some cases, gold-plated buttons were found, sometimes in fairly large numbers, in many of the Indian campsites. They apparently originated from uniform articles in possession of the Indians and not just ones having been lost during the battle by the troopers. There are a number of ways these could have been obtained by the Indians. Surplus Civil War uniforms could have been made available to them by Indian Agents. According to historian D.J. Berthrong (1972), Indian Agent A.G. Boone, who was stationed at Fort Wise on the Arkansas River, had trouble convincing the Cheyenne to sign the Treaty of Fort Wise in 1861, which would restrict them to their reservation. He was able to persuade them into signing by promising them thirty-six complete sets of uniforms. They could also have been taken in raids at various military posts. After raids at Julesburg in 1865, the warriors are said to have dressed themselves and their families from clothing and materials taken from the freighting station and captured trains. Historian G.B. Grinnell (1956) mentions that at least one of the Soldier Societies of the Cheyenne, the Blue Soldiers ('Him'oweyuhk'is), were so-named because they frequently wore old-fashioned or surplus white soldier overcoats. It is possible that the Dog Soldiers at Summit Springs, also wore these uniform coats, hence the large number of buttons found at the site. The buttons unearthed, consisted primarily of the standard brass "Eagle" in large overcoat and smaller jacket sizes and plain flat brass trouser buttons. |
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This exhibit dislays some of the
decorative
or orni- mental items found at Summit Springs. Some of those found were handmade by the Indians, such the as the tin cones (beginning with #'s 3 & 4 and continuing to # 75) which were found widely scattered over the valley. The flattened pieces of tin (ex. 2, 6, 13, 19, etc.) cut in the shape of a flattened triangle were used in their construction. #'s 42, 54, & 66 are pieces of artificial sinew &/or leather fringed or in strips to show how the cones were attached for ornimentation. Some of the cones were found linked together in a series of two or more. These "chained" cones may have been linked together for storage or may have provided mandrels on which to form additional cones. #'s 24 & 35 are flatten- ed pieces of cartridge cases, probably used in construct- ion of the cones, although tin was more commonly used. The rings (50 & 51) were probably wedding rings taken by the Cheyennes in their more recent raids on the White settlements, along with the ladies broach pin (5). Long finger rings (1, 10, & 17) made from German silver &/or copper, decorated with etched Indian or Mexican designs. The twisted metal near 17 is that portion of the "finger rings" which encircles the finger, obviously twisted off one of the long rings, even though they appeared to have been silver-soldered to the underside. This being the case, they were probably Mexican in origin and had been traded to the Cheyennes by the whiteman. Berthong, (1972) states that "For about twenty years, the Dog Soldiers, led by Tall Bull, White Horse and Bull Bear, had ranged between the Platte and Republican rivers, rarely visiting the Arkansas river. Consisting of 100 lodges and re- presenting about 500 people, the Dog Soldiers traded with such men as Elbridge Gerry (a white trader)". |
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Some of the more interesting
artifacts found
at Summit Springs relate to the various weapons used, or at least present during the battle. The most widespread of these, were cartridges, cartridge cases, and bullets (the latter are described in a later exhibit). Although probably not complete, those found may represent a major portion of the firearms used. Numbers (11, 21, 22, 23, 27, 41, & 42) are some of the complete 50/70 cal. cartridges found at the battle site. According to Barnes (1965), the .50/70 was the official U.S. military cartridge from 1866 to 1873, when it was replaced by the .45/70. These were fired from the newly issued Sharps Carbines, model 1866, issued to the troops (Hammer, 1970). Fired 50/70 cartridges include those (17, 34, 47, 53, & 55). Those at (24, 25, 30, & 31) were empty, but had not been fired. They showed evidence of having been pried open to remove the powder and lead bullet. These components were probably then used by the Indians in their muzzleloaders. Other complete cartridges found, also used by the troops and possibly the Pawnee scouts, were the .56/50 Spencer cartridges (36, 37, 39, & 44). Empty, fired .56/50 cases are shown at (6, 7, 19, 32, etc.). The shorter .50 cal. cases (8, 49, 52, 56, & 58) are thought to be .56/56 cases. These could have been used by either side during the battle, as the .56/56 was first available in 1860 and used in the Civil War beginning in 1862 (Barnes, 1965). The year before the Summit Springs battle (1868), Colonel Forsyth's scouts successfully held off a large band of Cheyennes (including those at Summit Springs), using thSpencer, 7-shot carbine (Werner, 1989). Some of the Spencer cartridges (2,3,4,5,14, & 15) again appeared to have been pried open, and a hole punched in the base. These may have been strung together to form necklaces, etc. Surprisingly, few cases of other calibers were foound during search operations. Those that were recovered included (13, 18, 40) .44 Henry Flat; (48) .44 Henry Long; .32 short & .30 short. These latter were designed to be used in single shot pistols and revolvers and may have been from pistols frequently carried by army scouts during the plains Indian campaigns. |
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Exhibit 9 is a collection of lead
artifacts
found on the field of battle. No all were fired projectiles. Nos.
1, 10, 33, & 24 were melted down in the lodge fires. The latter piece is unique in that it has small seed beads imbeded in its surface. The larger projectiles (2, 5, 18, 20, 25, 40, 41, 48 & 53) some badly misshapened, were undoubtedly .50/70 and .56/50 caliber bullets. Mini-balls (12 & 24), the first fired, the second unfired, were of .58 calibre Civil War vintage, probably in the Indians possession. Other identifiable bullets found included heeled .44 cal. conical, revolver bullets (6,8,15,21,30,31,32,34, 38,3945,47,50, & 52). Some of these were fired, others appear to have been dropped in the haste of reloading. Other calibres, as near as could be determined were mostly .44 Henry (13,16,17,27,35, & 49). Smaller diameter bullets (7,11,14,36, & 42) were probably .30 to .32).
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The object (A) is a single cavity
round ball bullet mold of approximately .40 cal. The cap (B) labeled "Hazards Powder" is from a flask of black gun powder. The four flattened round balls at (C) were the only ones found on the battlefield, indicating the Indians had little chance to arm themselvesbefore the battle began. Many different calibers of unfired round balls were found scattered around the lodge areas. The circular objects at (E) are percussion cap boxes, some labeled "Eley Bros., London", others "UMC" for Union Metallic Cartridge Co.
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The projectile point (A) is
significant in
that it was found adjacent to the canyon where Chief Tall Bull & 12 other warriors fought a delaying action, allowing many of the villagers time to escape. The 8 points (B, C, D & E) in the upper portion of the display are either points made by white men for trade to the Indians or are examples of unusually finely crafted ones made by the Cheyennes themselves. The points clustered around F were found at one lodge site accomp- anied by the steel chisel (I). Construction of the lance point (H) was incomplete. This point (J) may have been broken while being made. The point (L) was made for ceremonial purposes only as it was crafted from a very thin piece of copper. The object at (M) at first appear- ed to be a scraper. Closer examination showed it has been thus formed on purpose. Arrow points could be cut from it much as one would cut pieces of pie (one cut would form one one side of each of two points. |
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This exhibit shows a wide array of
miscellaneous
gun parts found near the campsites and are mostly from muzzleloading rifles and muskets. It is likely that at least some resulted from destruction of Indian firearms after the battle. However, a good many of them could have been kept by the Indians as spare parts for occasional repair of their guns. They include such things as: lock and butt plate bolts (A); gun screws and cleaning jags (B & D); percussion- & flint-lock parts : drums, bolsters, trigger sears, springs,etc. (C, H, G, J, K, M, O, P, U, V, & E1); Parts of broken trigger guards (E, F & X); percussion nipple (I); ramrod stay (L); ramrod thimbles (N&T); iron nosecap from a halfstock rifle (S); barrel wedges (Q & R); triggers (W, Z, F1), and musket barrel bands (C1 & D1). |
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(A) A complete front-action
percussion lock,
very similar to the type known to have been used on surviving specimens of the Leman Trade Rifle. (B) & (D) Both examples of back-action lock plates. These probably kept by the Indians as spare parts for repair of this type of lock. (C) This "butt plate" was probably from a Civil War vintage musket. It is interesting to note that the screws, used to fasten it to the stock, are still in place. This would seem to indicate that the weapon itself, as with many others, was burned in one of the lodge fires. (E) Broken brass trigger guard. Appears to be identical to ones on surviving H. E. Leman Trade Rifles as illustrated by Ripplinger, 1986. (F) This brass patch box may also have been part of a Leman Rifle. This unique design was known to have been used by the maker. The purpose of the box was to store cloth patches used in loading the muzzleloading rifle. (G) This rather well-made, cast iron hammer, com- plete with engraving, is similar to the one shown in (A). (H) Broken upper "tang" (used to fasten the rifle action to the stock) bears the serial #C35686. According to Sellers (1982) this should be enough to identify it as part of a 1863 .50 cal. Sharps rifle. |
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The items in this exhibit are only
a small
sampling of "horse" and related hardware of the many found
scattered over the entire valley. (A) was used as a picket pin or
tent stake to hold down a lodge cover. The other items range from buckles (B, E, L, etc.), horse bit (C), various sizes and shapes of cinch rings (F, H, I, J), to saddle staples (G) and harness parts (D). Quite a few horses were killed during the battle, but over 400 live horses were retaken by the cavalry.Th |
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The knife blade (A) has the deeply
embossed
figure of a crown and the words "case steel" near one end. It apparently is similar to a folding knife blade, but was designed for some special purpose with a "V" gouge near the center. The items labelled (B, C, & D) are brass disks. The first has been notched and scored with a file and was probably being prepared as an article of clothing adornment. The second has two holes drilled on opposite sides, to aid in attachment to a garment. Finally, the third has only been roughly cut to a round shape. The brass pieces at (E) were probably end pieces for a belt or strap. The small round piece (F) was a tag used to mark "plug" chewing tobacco. The items (G & H) are both dated artifacts. The first is a thin copper plate with the embossed figure of a "walking horse" and the inscription , "HOTCHKISS PATENT", "March 18, 1849" and "July, 8th 1856". It is unknown to what merchandise this was affixed. The second dated item, a round copper label, exhibits the inscription, "J.W.HELLER", "PATENTED", "Jan. 22 1861", "H.M. KUGGENS-MAKER". This was probably a label placed on the back of a saddle. Recently manufactured saddles contain similar information, but it is normally tolled into the leather itself. The two objects at (I) are waistbelt adjustment hooks. The one on the right is identical to ones found at the Custer Battlefield site (Scott, et al, 1989). The broken brass insignia (J) is embossed with the words "E.Pluribus Unum". It was later determined the this was the upper part of a "Jefferson Davis Hat Badge", pictured below the exhibit. The broken insignia of crossed swords (K) was undoubtedly from a troopers campaign or kepi hat.The small brass fastener (L) of indefinite usage, possibly used on an ammunition pouch. Large offset brass key (M) may possibly been used in a bank vault or similar structure. The key (N) is a standard "skeleton key".
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Literature Citations
Barnes, F.C. (1956)
Cartridges
of the World. The Gun Digest Co. First Ed. Chicago:
Follett Publishing Co. 346 pp.
Berthrong, D.J. (1972) The
Southern
Cheyennes. 2nd Printing.University of Okla.
Press. 450 pp.
Grinnell, G.B. (1956) The
Fighting
Cheyennes. University of Okla. Press.
Hammer, K.M. (1970) The
Springfield
Carbine on the Western Frontier. The Old
Army Press, Fort Collins, Colo. 1; 7 pp.
Logan, H.C. (1959)
Cartridges.
New York, Bonanza Books.
Marcot, R.M. (1983)
Spencer Repeating
Firearms. Irvine, Calif.: Northwood Heritage
Press. 316 pp.
Ripplinger, D.S. (1966)
Track
of the Wolf. Box Y: Osseo, Minn. 168 pp.
Russell, C. (1966)
Firearms,
Traps & Tools of the Mountain Men. Univ. of New
Mexico Press. 448 pp.
Scott, D.D., R.A. Fox, M.A.
Conner, & D. Harmon. (1989) Archeological Perspectives
on the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Univ. of Okla. Press: Norman &
London. 309 pp.
Werner, F.H. (1989) The
Beecher
Island Battle. Werner Publications.Greeley, Colo.
First Ed. 198 pp.
Werner, F.H. (1991)
The
Summit Springs Battle. Werner Publications. Greeley, Colo.
First Ed. 185 pp.
Weingardt, R. (1978) Sound
The
Charge, The Western Frontier: Spillman Creek to
Summit Springs. A Jacqueline Enterprises, Inc. Publ.; Englewood,
Colo. 183 pp.
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The first object
recovered was a percussion lock for a muzzleloading rifle with the bolt
and side plate still attached to the lock. Closer examination
revealed that the lock, having been manufactured by Joseph Golcher, a
well-known gun maker of the early- to mid-1800's, had originally
been designed as a flintlock. Examination indicated that it had
later been converted to a percussion lock. The holes drilled for
attachment of the flint frizzen and spring had been filled with
solder. The flint cock had been replaced with a percussion hammer. |
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The
second object found was the mainspring from the back of the lock,
located about 2 feet from the lock itself. |
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The objects shown
here are the brass side pieces of a patch box normally inletted into
the stock of a muzzleloading rifle just above the brass buttplate. The
box was used to contain pieces of cloth, known as "patches", which were
used for cleaning the rifle barrel. |
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Two of the most
interesting pieces found was the double set triggers and the trigger
guard shown here. Double set triggers were preferred by
most mountain men because the front trigger could be
adjusted to just the right "pull", enabling the user to release the
percussion hammer with only a slight touch of the trigger, greatly
improving the accuracy of the rifle. It should be noted that the
trigger guard found was not in it's normal shape. The front plate
attaching the guard to the rifle had been bent almost double,
indicating that some great physical force had been applied to it while
it was still attached to the rifle, resulting in its being bent out of
shape. |
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The final items
found were nine pieces of lead, which had originally been "round balls"
of the type used in muzzleloading guns of the period.
However these, all found in an area measuring 8 inches in
diameter , had obviously been fired from close range into something,
resulting in their being greatly malformed into their present
shape. It is explained below how this might have happened. |
