Historical Archeology 

at the Village on Pawnee Fork, 

Ness County, Kansas 

 

By 

Bruce A. Jones 

Midwest Archeological Center 

Technical Report No. 86 

United States Department of the Interior 

National Park Service 

Midwest Archeological Center 

Lincoln, Nebraska 

2002
This report has been reviewed against the criteria contained in 43CFR Part 7, Subpart A,

Section 7.18 (a) (1) and, upon recommendation of the Midwest Regional Office

and the Midwest Archeological Center, has been classified as

Available

Making the report available meets the criteria of 43CFR Part 7, Subpart A, Section 7.18 (a) (1).
 i 

Abstract 

Extensive inventory and excavation by avocational archeologist Earl Monger and two episodes of 

evaluative testing by Kansas State Historical Society archeologists in 1976 and 1977 have confirmed the 

location of the Cheyenne-Oglala village that was destroyed by the order of Major General Winfield S. 

Hancock in April 1867. Monger’s work and the Society investigations exposed several concentrations of 

burned and broken historic Euroamerican materials, together with some other artifacts that are clearly of 

American Indian manufacture. The artifact concentrations correlate with the piles of Indian belongings 

that Hancock’s troops collected and burned following the villagers’ flight from the military expedition. 

The archeological context of the artifactual materials matches well with the various historical descriptions 

of the village and its destruction. 

Historic trade goods or Indian annuity materials recovered during the excavations include tin cups of 

the Civil War era, a variety of buckles that probably represent harness or tack, firearms parts, helmet and 

uniform buttons, iron kettle and oven fragments, coffee mill parts, bottle glass and crockery, and sheet 

brass scraps. Artifacts of American Indian manufacture include chipped-stone projectile points, a stone 

maul, ochre deposits, and a buffalo stone—a baculite fossil that was modified into a bison fetish. 

No clear evidence of lodge structures was observed, although several small post molds were identified. 
 ii 

Acknowledgments 

When an archeological project takes more than 20 years to complete, it is important to acknowledge 

the many individuals who helped to see the project to its completion. 

Society Archeologist John Reynolds arranged for the 1979 loan of the Kansas State Historical Society artifacts from 14NS403 after I had left the Society to return to work for the National Park Service. 

Twenty years later, Society Archeologists Martin Stein and Virginia Wulfkuhle graciously assisted with 

the second loan of the Society’s artifacts, providing encouragement, useful advice, help with illustrations, 

and recommendations on the write-up. Former Society Laboratory Supervisor and good friend Verna 

Detrich, one of my original 1977 crew, patiently functioned as my conscience throughout the long history 

of the project. Long-lost crew member Marilyn Wyss magically appeared with critical references to what 

was probably the most important artifact that we recovered in 1977, but given her usual optimistic outlook, Marilyn probably didn’t even know that she was lost. Former Society Archeologist Don Rowlison 

reviewed the draft manuscript, as did Verna and Marilyn. 

Fort Larned National Historic Site Superintendent Steve Linderer and Interpreter George Elmore 

provided partial funding for completion of this report, and loaned the Monger Collection of artifacts, 

maps, and field notes generated by Earl's multiple episodes of work at the site. Dr. Leo Oliva, Chairman 

of the Fort Larned Old Guard, provided important corrections in his review of the draft manuscript. 

Midwest Archeological Center Manager Mark Lynott agreed to bear the remaining cost of analysis 

and report preparation. Midwest Archeological Center Archeologist Doug Scott lent his considerable expertise in the identification of the Society and Monger artifactual materials and put his personal reference 

library at my disposal. Tom Frusher willingly provided an opportunity for Doug and Midwest Archeological Center Archeologist Tom Thiessen to examine his personal artifact collection from the site. Both 

Doug and Tom also reviewed the draft manuscript. 

Finally, the discovery and study of the Indian village destroyed by the Hancock Expedition in 1867 

was a personal labor of love for Earl Monger, a gifted avocational archeologist from Larned, Kansas, and 

his wife, Iris. Much of this report simply would not have been possible to write without the field notes 

and maps that the Mongers kept throughout their investigations. 

Bruce A. Jones 

June 19, 2002 
 iii 

Contents 

Abstract.......................................................................................................................................................... i

Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................................................ ii

List of Tables ................................................................................................................................................ v

List of Figures............................................................................................................................................... v

Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 1

Historical Background............................................................................................................................. 1

Project Background ................................................................................................................................. 7

Site Description ....................................................................................................................................... 8

Context and History of Research............................................................................................................. 9

The KSHS Excavations .............................................................................................................................. 11

Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 11

Excavation Methodology ................................................................................................................. 11

Vertical Stratigraphy......................................................................................................................... 11

Area 761/771 ......................................................................................................................................... 12

Description ....................................................................................................................................... 12

Features ............................................................................................................................................ 12

Area 772 ................................................................................................................................................ 14

Description ....................................................................................................................................... 14

Features ............................................................................................................................................ 14

Material Culture.......................................................................................................................................... 15

Prehistoric and Protohistoric Artifacts................................................................................................... 15

Chipped Stone .................................................................................................................................. 15

Ground Stone ................................................................................................................................... 17

Ceramics........................................................................................................................................... 17

Daub ................................................................................................................................................. 17

Fire-Cracked Rock ........................................................................................................................... 17

Firearms and Weapons........................................................................................................................... 18

Bullets, Balls, Cartridges, and Cartridge Cases................................................................................ 18

Percussion Caps ............................................................................................................................... 19

Bar Lead........................................................................................................................................... 19

Firearms Parts................................................................................................................................... 19

Arrowheads and Lances ................................................................................................................... 20

Bayonets........................................................................................................................................... 20

Military Equipment ............................................................................................................................... 20

Insignia............................................................................................................................................. 20

Buttons ............................................................................................................................................. 20

Utensils............................................................................................................................................. 22

Field Equipment............................................................................................................................... 22

Clothing and Personal Items.................................................................................................................. 22

Buttons ............................................................................................................................................. 22

Buckles............................................................................................................................................. 23

Belts.................................................................................................................................................. 23

Ornaments ........................................................................................................................................ 23

Glass Beads ...................................................................................................................................... 24

Fetishes............................................................................................................................................. 25

Ochre/Hematite ................................................................................................................................ 26

Other................................................................................................................................................. 26
 iv 

Camp Equipage and Utensils................................................................................................................. 27

Bottles .............................................................................................................................................. 27

Coffee Mills...................................................................................................................................... 28

Grommets......................................................................................................................................... 28

Hooks ............................................................................................................................................... 28

Cooking Vessels................................................................................................................................ 28

Buckets............................................................................................................................................. 29

Scissors............................................................................................................................................. 29

Strike Steels...................................................................................................................................... 29

Tableware/Cutlery ............................................................................................................................ 29

Tools ...................................................................................................................................................... 30

Awls.................................................................................................................................................. 30

Edged Tools...................................................................................................................................... 30

Abrading/Filing Tools ...................................................................................................................... 31

Miscellaneous Metal Tools............................................................................................................... 31

Bone Tools........................................................................................................................................ 31

Horse Tack and Vehicle Parts................................................................................................................. 31

Bits ................................................................................................................................................... 31

Buckles............................................................................................................................................. 31

Rings ................................................................................................................................................ 32

Mule Shoes and Horseshoe Nails..................................................................................................... 32

Other Horse Tack.............................................................................................................................. 32

Vehicle Parts..................................................................................................................................... 32

Leather.............................................................................................................................................. 33

Fasteners................................................................................................................................................ 33

Bolts ................................................................................................................................................. 33

Nails/Spikes...................................................................................................................................... 33

Rivets................................................................................................................................................ 33

Staples, Strapping, Tacks, and Wire ................................................................................................. 33

Foodstuffs.............................................................................................................................................. 33

Faunal Remains................................................................................................................................ 33

Tin Canisters .................................................................................................................................... 34

Miscellaneous Cultural Material ........................................................................................................... 34

Discussion ............................................................................................................................................. 35

Site Authenticity ......................................................................................................................................... 39

Expedition Archives and Accounts........................................................................................................ 39

The Maps and Notes of Lieutenant Brown ...................................................................................... 39

Written and Illustrated Accounts...................................................................................................... 40

Summary .......................................................................................................................................... 42

The Artifactual Materials....................................................................................................................... 42

Annuity Goods ................................................................................................................................. 42

Historic Inventory Data from Other Cheyenne Village Sites ........................................................... 43

Archeological Transformation.......................................................................................................... 44

Comparing the Archeological Data.................................................................................................. 46

Summary .......................................................................................................................................... 46

Authenticity Conclusions ...................................................................................................................... 47

References Cited ........................................................................................................................................ 49 

Tables ......................................................................................................................................................... 57 

Figures ....................................................................................................................................................... 77 
 v 

Appendix A: Expedition and Annuities Correspondence ...................................................................... 101 

Appendix B: Feature Descriptions from the KSHS Investigations at 14NS403 .................................... 133 

Appendix C: Artifactual Material from 14NS403: The Kansas State Historical Society Collection ...... 141 

Appendix D: Artifactual Material from 14NS403: The Monger Collection ......................................... 155 

Appendix E: Artifactual Material from 14NS403: The Frusher Collection ......................................... 159 

Appendix F: Glass Beads from 14NS403, by Linda J. Hulvershorn ..................................................... 163 

Appendix G: Faunal Remains from 14NS403, Ness County, Kansas, by John R. Bozell ..................... 165 

Tables 

1. Artifactual materials recovered by Earl Monger’s work at 14NS403 ................................................. 57 

2. Monger and KSHS excavation unit numbers at 14NS403 .................................................................. 60 

3. Prehistoric and protohistoric artifacts from 14NS403 ......................................................................... 61 

4. Ammunition from 14NS403 ............................................................................................................... 62 

5. Firearms and weapons parts from 14NS403 ....................................................................................... 63 

6. Military equipment from 14NS403 ..................................................................................................... 64 

7. Clothing-related artifacts and personal items from 14NS403 ............................................................. 65 

8. Camp equipage and utensils from 14NS403 ....................................................................................... 67 

9. Metal and bone tools from 14NS403 .................................................................................................. 68 

10. Horse tack and vehicle parts from 14NS403 ....................................................................................... 69 

11. Fasteners and fastening material from 14NS403 ................................................................................ 70 

12. Foodstuffs and tin canisters from 14NS403 ........................................................................................ 70 

13. Miscellaneous cultural material from 14NS403 .................................................................................. 71 

14. Summary data: Indian annuity goods, captured belongings and equipment, and archeological materials .................................................................................................................................. 71 

Figures 

1. Intermittent stream channel east of KSHS Area 761/771; view to the east ......................................... 77 

2. View to the west from KSHS Area 761/771 across the meander cutoff toward KSHS Area 772 ............ 78 

3. Wagon road at the south end of KSHS Area 761/771; view to the south ............................................ 78 

4. Composite site map, including details from Earl Monger’s map and notes ........................................ 79 

5. Transit map of topography and KSHS excavation blocks in KSHS Areas 771 and 772...................... 80 

6. April 1976 testing atop KSHS Area 761; view to the south ................................................................ 81 

7. The 400-series excavation block atop KSHS Area 761/771; view to the south .................................. 81 

8. The 500-series excavation block atop KSHS Area 761/771; view to the northwest ........................... 82 

9. The 600-series excavation block atop KSHS Area 772; view to the east ............................................ 82 
 vi 

10. Vertical profile of the east wall of KSHS X1, Area 771 ...................................................................... 83 

11. Plan map of the 200- and 400-series excavation block in KSHS Area 761/771 ................................. 84 

12. Wire snap hook exposed just below the ground surface in X235, KSHS Area 761 ............................ 85 

13. Plan map of the 500-series excavation block in KSHS Area 761/771 ................................................ 86 

14. Plan map of the 600-series excavation block in KSHS Area 772 ........................................................ 87 

15. Prehistoric and protohistoric artifacts ................................................................................................. 88 

16. Firearms parts ...................................................................................................................................... 89 

17. Military equipment and clothing-related artifacts ............................................................................... 90 

18. Ornaments and other personal items ................................................................................................... 91 

19. Camp equipage and utensils ................................................................................................................ 92 

20. Utensils and tools ................................................................................................................................ 94 

21. Horse tack and miscellaneous metal items .......................................................................................... 95 

22. Lieutenant Brown’s map of April 14, 1867, indicating the locations of Camps 13 and 14 ................... 96 

23. View to the northwest across KSHS Area 761/771 excavations; a low ridge line is visible 

on the horizon in the left background .................................................................................................. 96 

24. “Indian Village” illustration from Theodore Davis’ article entitled “A Summer on the 

Plains.” Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, February 1868 ................................................................ 97 

25. “Lodges of the Chiefs in the Indian Village Captured by General Hancock” illustration 

from Theodore Davis’ article in the May 11, 1867, issue of Harper’s Weekly .................................... 98 

26. “Old Sioux Captured by General Hancock” illustration from Theodore Davis’ article in the 

May 11, 1867, issue of Harper’s Weekly ............................................................................................. 99 

27. “Burning the Cheyenne Village Near Fort Larned, Kansas, April 19, 1867” illustration 

from Theodore Davis’ article in the May 11, 1867, issue of Harper’s Weekly .................................... 99 
 1 

Introduction 

The Indian village was situated in a beautiful grove on the North Fork of Pawnee Creek, a most charming spot; 

the buffalo grass, which was just beginning to grow, was soft as velvet to the feet. In this lovely abode the red man 

had been living, remote from the public highway, in peace and quietness. But now the army, like a destructive earthquake, had come to demolish their habitations, and send them fleeing, homeless, for their lives. 

Isaac Coates in Kennedy (1997:66) 

Major General Winfield Scott Hancock’s 1867 expedition onto the Great Plains was a high-profile effort by the U.S. Army to end hostile Indian activity on the American frontier. Stung by public criticism 

following Indian attacks upon settlers, railroad workers, and military personnel in previous years and outraged and embarrassed by the Indians’ stunning victory over the Fetterman command in Wyoming the 

previous December, the Army opted for a dramatic, pre-emptive solution. Lieutenant General William T. 

Sherman, commanding the Military Division of the Missouri, ordered Hancock to move onto the Plains in 

the spring of the year with a large, powerful force of men and weapons. Hancock’s mission was to demonstrate the strength of the Army and show its willingness to take the fight to the Indians in order to ensure the safety of Euroamerican populations on the frontier. 

The Cheyenne-Oglala village that was the focus of Hancock’s attention in April 1867 is a physical 

location important to Kansas history, but the larger engagement is also a mirror of the mixed nineteenthcentury Euroamerican attitudes that existed toward the American Indian populations of the Great Plains. 

Any meaningful interpretation of the events of that spring must take into account both the official record 

of orders and reports, together with the accounts and pleas of the Indian agents who watched the events 

unfold. Ultimately, of course, Hancock’s decisions on Pawnee Fork provoked the Cheyenne and Oglala to 

even greater hostile actions, and Hancock’s distinguished military career was tarnished by his order to 

destroy the village. 

The dramatic events that took place on Pawnee Fork are irrevocably synonymous with Hancock’s 

name and actions, and over the past 20 years those of us who have worked at the site have usually called it 

the Hancock Village. However, the Indian encampment on Pawnee Fork was occupied by several hundred 

Southern Cheyenne and Southern Teton Oglala (DeMallie 2001:794; Utley 1987:31) men, women, and 

children who had camped there for several weeks or even months—it was their village, not Hancock’s. In 

this report, the site will be simply be referred to as the village on Pawnee Fork. 

Historical Background 

The background of and events related to Hancock’s 1867 expedition onto the Kansas Plains are welldocumented and described in some detail in the official military correspondence of the period (Hancock, 

Sherman, Wynkoop, and Leavenworth in Appendix A of this report). A multitude of other written sources 

also exist for the event (Davis 1867a–d; Stanley 1895; Grinnell 1956; Custer 1966; Zwink 1974; Utley 

1987; Kennedy 1997; Barnard 2001), together with a recent popular article (Kraft 2000). Clearly, only a 

fraction of this large body of information actually bears upon the archeology of the Cheyenne-Oglala village on Pawnee Fork. However, the many references still document the American Indian and Euroamerican attitudes of the times, and they clearly reflect the considerable philosophical differences between the 

nation’s civilian and military authorities. 

Selections from the official correspondence and other accounts generated during the expedition have 

been reproduced verbatim in Appendix A of this report to provide historical context for the military action 

on Pawnee Fork. Together, these documents include the observations of no fewer than eight eyewitnesses 

to some or all of the events that occurred on the Kansas Plains that spring. However, as the following discussion illustrates, considerable disparity exists between the various accounts, even when they describe 

the same phenomenon. 
 2 

Utilizing the above references, the following pages briefly reiterate the chronology of the Hancock 

Expedition from late March up until April 19, when Hancock’s command destroyed the Cheyenne-Oglala 

village on Pawnee Fork and marched off toward Fort Dodge. Many of the differences between the various 

individual accounts are noted as the story unfolds. At this point, however, any meaningful deciphering of 

Hancock’s intentions vis-à-vis the destruction of the Cheyenne-Oglala camp is 135 years past impossible. 

According to Grinnell (1956:245), the actual number of hostile Indian incidents against Euroamericans on the Kansas Plains was relatively low in 1866. Elsewhere on the Plains, however, 1866 had been 

difficult, and in the winter of 1866–1867, civilians and military alike were bracing for another bad year. 

The U.S. government’s 1865 peace treaty with the Southern Cheyenne and Arapaho, signed by Southern 

Cheyenne head chief Black Kettle and five other chiefs and headmen, had ceded their lands on the Republican and Smoky Hill Rivers in exchange for territory south of the Arkansas River (Kappler 1972:887–

891). But important Cheyenne representatives were absent when the 1865 treaty was signed on the Little 

Arkansas River, and the Dog Soldier band had refused to ratify it. 

Indian Agent Edward W. Wynkoop attempted to get the rest of the influential Southern Cheyenne—in 

particular the Dog Soldier chiefs—to agree to give up the Republican and Smoky Hill drainages in 1866. 

But Grinnell (1956:245) indicates that two such attempts to convince the Dog Soldiers ultimately failed. 

With the Kansas Pacific Railroad laying track along the Smoky Hill, and the Butterfield stage continuing 

west from the end of the track, there was clear potential for Indian problems in 1867. 

Indian agents and civilians in south-central Kansas had been aware for some time of a large Indian 

village on the Pawnee Fork of the Arkansas River west of Fort Larned. It is unclear exactly how long this 

village had been in existence—it may have been occupied throughout the winter of 1866–1867. But it 

was rumored at Fort Zarah, on the Arkansas River to the east, that the village contained as many as 500 

lodges (Grinnell 1956:248), and the conventional wisdom held that the massing of warriors was both purposeful and threatening. Clearly, the Euroamericans believed that the Indians would begin to wreak havoc 

on travelers, settlers, and rail and stage workers as soon as there was sufficient new grass to take their 

horses on the warpath. 

Anticipating such problems and undoubtedly responding to political and military pressure, the U.S. 

Congress appropriated $150,000 for a military expedition onto the Kansas Plains. The U.S. Army was 

clearly tasked with prosecuting any war against the Plains tribes. But the American military was forced to 

acknowledge that the newly formed civilian Office of Indian Affairs, a bureau of the Department of the 

Interior, now had responsibilities for management and control of the various tribes, and the military expedition would thus have to involve the participation of the representative U.S. Indian Agents (Appendix 

A:1). 

Lieutenant General William T. Sherman, commanding the Military Division of the Missouri, ordered 

Major General Winfield Scott Hancock, commanding the Department of the Missouri, to undertake the 

mission (Appendix A:2). In late March 1867, Hancock moved out from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, 

gradually assembling the largest military force yet seen in the region. His goal was to march to Fort 

Larned, on the Santa Fe Trail, and there meet with or confront the Cheyenne and any other potentially 

hostile groups. He was to show the flag and the might of his force, and he was to carry the fight to any 

Indians who provoked it. 

Hancock had overall command of the expedition, while Brevet Major General A. J. Smith, commander of the District of the Upper Arkansas, was also present. The command eventually totaled 1,400 

officers and men, and the expedition’s order of battle reflected Hancock’s desire to be ready for any eventuality. The initial contingent, a battery of the 4th U.S. Artillery, left Fort Leavenworth on March 22, and 

was followed two days later by six companies of the 37th U.S. Infantry. Four companies of the 7th U.S. 

Cavalry, under the command of Brevet Major General George Custer, joined the expedition at Fort Riley 

(ultimately, eight companies of the 7th Cavalry were attached to Hancock’s force), as did another company 

of infantry (Barnard 2001:21–22). 
 3 

Hancock also acquired an engineer detachment complete with pontoon bridge under the command of 

First Lieutenant Micah Brown, as well as an Inspector General, two medical doctors, and quartermaster 

personnel. Civilian and Delaware Indian scouts were present, together with supply and baggage trains. 

Finally, two journalists also attached themselves to the expedition—Theodore Davis, correspondent for 

Harper’s Weekly, and Henry Stanley, who was writing for the St. Louis Missouri Democrat. 

Covering 10–20 miles (mi) per day, the expedition left Fort Riley on the Kansas River on March 27, 

marching first to Fort Harker on the Smoky Hill, then south and west to Fort Zarah, the tiny post at the 

confluence of the Arkansas River and Walnut Creek. There Hancock was joined by Colonel Jesse H. 

Leavenworth, the U.S. Indian agent for the Kiowa and Comanche out of Fort Dodge. Then the expedition 

moved on, arriving at last at Fort Larned, on the Pawnee Fork of the Arkansas, on April 7, where they 

were met by Colonel Wynkoop, U.S. Indian agent for the Cheyenne, Arapaho, and Plains Apache. Hancock had asked Wynkoop to bring in the Cheyenne chiefs from the village to the west (Appendix A:1), 

and Wynkoop had sent runners requesting those chiefs for a council on April 10. 

Upon arriving at Fort Larned, Hancock met with a small contingent of Southern Teton Oglala, finding that these individuals were camped with other Oglala on the Pawnee Fork in the same village occupied by the Southern Cheyenne with whom Hancock sought to talk. Both Hancock (Appendix A:9) and 

Custer (1966:38) described the village as lying a short distance west of Fort Larned. 

On April 9, the day before the council, a late spring storm struck the Fort Larned area. Heavy snow 

fell throughout the day and into the evening (Custer 1966:37), and the council was postponed until April 

11, anticipating the return of good weather. But on that date the Cheyenne sent word to the fort that they 

were delayed by a buffalo hunt, and Hancock again postponed the council until the next day—April 12. 

That day likewise passed with no Indians arriving at Larned, and that evening Hancock issued orders for 

the command to march west toward the village on April 13 (Custer 1966:38). 

Later on the evening of April 12, however, a group of 14 or 15 Southern Cheyenne chiefs and braves 

came to the fort and asked to meet with Hancock. Custer (1966:38) indicates that these visitors included 

two chiefs and twelve warriors, while Grinnell (1956:248) describes the visitors as the principal chiefs of 

the Dog Soldiers and Cheyenne (italics mine). Perhaps an important contextual detail given the bad 

weather conditions, Grinnell (1956:248) further notes that the Cheyenne had ridden a greater distance 

from the village to the fort than was estimated by Hancock and Custer. 

The council took place around a fire built outside the commander’s tent, and the details of the meeting were recorded by Hancock (Appendix A:9), Custer (1966:39–42), Stanley (1895:29–31), 7th Cavalry 

Regimental Surgeon Dr. Isaac Coates, (Kennedy 1997:54–58), and Captain Albert Barnitz, a company 

commander in the 7th Cavalry (Utley 1987). Hancock gave a lengthy opening speech to the Cheyenne, 

citing his reasons for marching out onto the Plains with such a large armed force, expressing his disappointment at having so few chiefs present, and declaring his intent to march on to the village the following day, April 13. 

Hancock had asked Wynkoop to specifically admonish the Cheyenne to stay off the Santa Fe Trail 

and avoid travelers, wagon and supply trains, and stagecoaches—the 1865 treaty concluded on the Little 

Arkansas River specified that the Cheyenne were not to camp within 10 mi of a main traveled road or 

route (Kappler 1972:888). However, Hancock ultimately did not provide Wynkoop with an opportunity to 

give or repeat this warning in the council, and did not specifically warn the Cheyenne off the Santa Fe 

Road himself. After a reportedly ambiguous reply to Hancock’s speech by Cheyenne chief Tall Bull, 

which was recorded by Stanley (1895:34–35) and mentioned by Custer (1966:40), the expedition commander again declared his intent to take the fight to any Indians guilty of hostile actions (Coates in Kennedy 1997:57–58). 

One of two important continuing points of historical argument—from this moment forward and 

throughout the remaining history of the expedition—relates to whether Hancock intended to provoke the 

Cheyenne and Oglala through confrontation. In his initial speech to the Cheyenne on the night of April 12 

(Stanley 1895:30–31), Hancock emphasized his disappointment that more chiefs had not come in to the 
 4 

fort as requested. He further stated that he wanted to meet with them, and told them that if they would not 

come to him, then he would march his command to their village (Stanley 1895:37). Hancock’s continued 

frustration in obtaining the face-to-face meetings that he wanted with the village chiefs almost certainly 

influenced his later actions. 

Supplementing Hancock’s official report and the narratives of Custer, Davis, Coates, Barnitz, and 

Stanley is the account of Cheyenne ethnographer George Bird Grinnell (1956), whose reconstruction relies upon interviews and eyewitness narratives of Cheyenne that had been involved in the events. Grinnell 

routinely includes in his account contextual information that frequently contradicts the official record, 

thus suggesting that Hancock either ignored or misunderstood important details throughout the encounter. 

For instance, Grinnell states (1956:248) that the principal chiefs of the Cheyenne and the Dog Soldiers 

were in fact present that night at the council with Hancock. The only Cheyenne that were specifically 

named by Stanley are the previously mentioned Tall Bull, and White Horse, to both of whom Hancock’s 

remarks were addressed (Stanley 1895:30). Barnitz (in Utley 1987:31) states that Bull Bear and Little 

Robe, two other Cheyenne chiefs, were also present. 

Perhaps also of historical note, Grinnell reports that the Cheyenne were suspicious because of the 

unprecedented nighttime nature of the council on April 12. Since they arrived at Fort Larned after dark, 

the Cheyenne would have presumably found it less suspicious to meet the following morning. It is unclear whether any of the Indians at the council indicated to Hancock the fears of the women and children 

in the village that would result from the approach of an armed military column—the memories of the 

1864 Sand Creek Massacre were very real to many of the Cheyenne in the village. However, it is also 

unknown whether these concerns would have made any difference to Hancock. 

The command marched west from Fort Larned on the morning of April 13, travelling along a road up 

the Pawnee Fork toward the Indian village before making camp (Grinnell 1956:249; Custer 1966:42). As 

was indicated previously, Hancock had wanted Wynkoop to specifically warn the Cheyenne to stay off the 

Santa Fe Trail. But Grinnell notes (1956:249) that the expedition had to march well north of the Santa Fe 

Road to even get to the village, emphasizing that the encampment was a considerable distance off the 

route that the Indians were forbidden to frequent. Grinnell clearly interprets this detail as indicating Hancock’s predisposition to provocation. 

Hancock, Custer, and Barnitz all describe seeing smoke ahead of the column’s line of march in the 

general direction of the village, and both Custer and Hancock note that they later found that the Indians 

had intentionally burned the grass outside their camp to make it a less desirable bivouac for the expedition 

(Custer 1966:43). White Horse and Oglala chief Pawnee Killer met the expedition before it halted, and 

they stayed with the command that night. Custer wrote that “in the morning all the chiefs of the two 

tribes then in the village were to come to General Hancock’s headquarters and hold a council” (Custer 

1966:43). 

Pawnee Killer left the expedition early on the morning of April 14, ostensibly to bring in the chiefs 

for a nine o’clock meeting. The hour passed, however, and Cheyenne Chief Bull Bear arrived to say that 

the rest of the chiefs were delayed. Hancock sent him back with the message that the expedition would 

continue toward the village, and that the council would then be held in the military camp that evening. 

Hancock reportedly asked that the chiefs include Roman Nose, who was in fact not a chief (Grinnell 

1956:249). 

The command broke camp, but traveled only a few miles further to the west (Grinnell 1956:249) before it encountered a force estimated at 300 to 400 Cheyenne and Oglala warriors (Barnitz in Utley 

1987:32). Some were mounted, some were on foot, but all had come out from the village to array themselves across the column’s line of march. Hancock’s command halted, then deployed into line of battle 

parallel to the Indians, the cavalry drawing their sabers as they formed up on the right side (Custer 

1966:46). 

Grinnell (1956:250) states that Colonel Wynkoop rode out first to talk with the Cheyenne. Wynkoop 

also mentions this in his after-action report—Custer and Hancock do not. Subsequently, Generals Han-
 5 

cock and Smith rode out to meet Cheyenne chiefs Bull Bear, White Horse, Gray Beard, and Medicine 

Wolf, led by Roman Nose, who bore a white flag, together with six Oglala—midway between the two 

forces (Stanley 1895:37–40; Custer 1966:48). Assuming that the Indians had blocked his path with hostile intent, and again mistaking Roman Nose for a chief and spokesman, Hancock asked the latter whether 

the Indians wanted peace or war. Roman Nose is reported to have replied, “We don’t want war; if we did, 

we would not come so close to your big guns ...” (Stanley 1895:37–38). When Hancock inquired of Roman Nose why he had not attended the council at Fort Larned, Roman Nose reportedly replied, “My 

horses are poor, and every man that comes to me tells me a different tale about your intentions” (Stanley 

1895:38). 

This dramatic encounter, so vividly described by Custer (1966:44–49), is the stuff of which Hollywood films are made. But the confrontation ended quietly with Hancock’s order that the chiefs meet at 

his headquarters after the expedition had camped. The Indians wheeled about and returned to the village, 

and the expedition followed at what Custer called a leisurely pace. In the early afternoon the command 

halted a short distance from the village (Stanley 1895:37–40; Custer 1966:50), which Barnitz (Utley 

1987:33) described as containing 111 Cheyenne and 140 Oglala lodges (Custer wrote that slightly over 

half of the lodges were Cheyenne). Hancock’s men reportedly returned to the villagers several Indian ponies that they found near the bivouac. 

Around nightfall, three Cheyenne chiefs and Roman Nose appeared in camp to inform Hancock that 

the women and children had fled the village, fearing an attack by his soldiers (Stanley 1895:37–40; Custer 

1966:50). Hancock insisted that they return, promising protection but also warning that he would hold the 

village responsible if they did not come back (Custer 1966:50). At their request, Hancock loaned two 

horses to the chiefs to use in recalling the women and children. 

At about 7 pm, expedition interpreter Edmund Guerrier was sent into the camp to monitor the villagers’ activity. Within a short time—Custer indicated an hour or two—Guerrier reported back that all of the 

chiefs and warriors were preparing to flee, leaving many of their belongings and cutting pieces of lodge 

skins to take along with them for shelter. Stanley wrote that by about 8 pm “it was ascertained that mostly 

all the Indians had left with every article of value they could lay their hands on, leaving their hide wigwams standing” (Stanley 1895:38). 

Hancock roused his command and deployed his troops to surround the village (Barnitz in Utley 

1987:34), positioning artillery on each side of the Indian camp (Stanley 1895:39) while the cavalry encircled the village in a single file (Ryan in Barnard 2001:29). Hancock then ordered Custer to reconnoiter 

the village, and accompanied by Edmund Guerrier, Dr. Coates, and his adjutant, Lieutenant Miles Moylan 

(Utley 1987:48), Custer undertook a moonlit crawl through the silent lodges (Custer 1966:53–64). It is 

possible that the other expedition physician—Dr. Lippincott—and Brevet Major General Davidson, the 

Acting Inspector General, also participated in this first inspection (mentioned in Major General A. J. 

Smith’s October 30, 1867 correspondence in Appendix A:12). 

They found the village to have been abandoned largely intact—most of the lodges still stood, full of 

gear and personal belongings. There are several references to foodstuffs left in the village (Stanley, Custer, and Coates described finding buffalo meat and simmering kettles of cooked dog). Custer reported that 

numerous live dogs were left behind, and several abandoned ponies were also mentioned. But in the end, 

only an elderly Oglala male, an Indian woman, and a young girl were found in the camp. According to 

Davis (1867b:302–302), the old man told an interpreter that the Cheyenne had wanted to stay at the village and fight, but the Oglala had disagreed and left. The Cheyenne soon became frightened themselves, 

and they too fled. 

Learning of the situation, Hancock ordered Captain Barnitz and a squadron of troopers to take possession of the village (Utley 1987:34), and he redeployed his infantry to replace the rest of the cavalry, 

which began preparations to go after the fleeing Cheyenne and Oglala. Barnitz (in Utley 1987:34–35) 

recorded the following observations in a letter to his wife: 
 6 

At first the tents [lodges] very much resemble our ‘Sibley’ tents, being conical and open at the top, to give an 

outlet for the smoke, but on closer inspection one is surprised to find that they are all made of dressed buffalo 

hides—almost as white and soft as kid gloves. They are very costly, and much valued by the Indians, I am 

told, as it costs a great deal of labor (on the part of their squaws!) to prepare the robes, and on their own part 

to obtain the poles, (which are transported from the mountains) the latter are perfectly round and smooth—

generally of hickory—and about 20 feet in length. It requires about 30 for each tent—They are almost 

invaluable to the Indians. Well, I found the tents filled with buffalo robes, Indian saddles, camp kettles of 

iron, brass , and copper, iron pots, axes and other tools, “tom-toms” or Indian drums, papoose baskets &c. 

&c. &c. ad infinitum [italics Barnitz’], some of which I took away with me. ... I was ordered back to camp 

before day light that morning, and marched with the command. 

At dawn Hancock sent Custer and eight troops of cavalry in pursuit of the fleeing villagers. Custer’s 

command followed their flight to the north and west, but the trail grew ever fainter as small groups of fugitives split off from the main party and vanished. On April 15, Hancock and the balance of his expedition crossed the Pawnee Fork and moved a short distance, establishing a new camp closer to the deserted 

village. 

Stanley (1895:39 filed the following description of the village after Custer had departed on April 15. 

The details that he included are useful for the purposes of this report: 

There seems to be a confederation between the Cheyenne and Sioux, for evil purposes. The Indian village 

consists of about three hundred hide lodges. They show unmistakable traces of the haste of their owners to 

get away,—dogs, half eaten up, untanned buffalo robes, axes, pots, kettles, and pans, beads and gaudy finery, 

lately killed buffalo, and stews already cooked in the kettles, are scattered about promiscuously, strewing the 

ground. Detachments of infantry guard the camps to prevent spoliation by the troops. But in spite of the 

strict guard kept, the “boys in blue” are continually carrying away mementos of their bloodless victory, such 

as stiff buffalo robes, dog skins, calumets, tomahawks, war clubs, beadwork, moccasins, and we saw one 

officer of the artillery carrying off a piccaninny Indian pup which looked very forlorn. Arrows and knives are 

picked up by the dozen, and also little dolls, which had been the gratification of the papooses. The soldiers 

rummage and pick up things in the most senseless manner, and after carrying them a few yards, throw them 

away, when they are soon picked up by somebody else and thrown away again. We saw plenty of dog hash 

and dog heads cooked. 

General Hancock is so angry that he intends to burn the camp to-day. But the mail is closing, and I must close. 

The second major point of historical argument thus relates to the time at which Hancock actually decided to burn the abandoned village—perhaps a reflection of the intent of the expedition from the beginning. In a copy of correspondence that appears to be dated April 13 (Appendix A:3), Wynkoop suggests 

that Hancock made the decision on the night that the Indians fled, while Hancock claims in his afteraction report that he waited to hear back from Custer before he actually made the decision. However, 

Grinnell (1956:253) also notes that Wynkoop filed this written protest on April 13, prior to the date that 

word from Custer would have arrived at Hancock’s camp—either April 16 (Grinnell 1956:253) or the 

night of April 17 (Stanley 1895:40). Other written protestations from Agents Wynkoop and Leavenworth 

have been provided in Appendix A:5 and 6. 

No matter when the dispatches from Custer actually arrived, they described Indian attacks at three 

stage stations on the Smoky Hill River to the north, together with the murder of three stage employees at 

Lookout Station (Coates in Kennedy 1997:83). Wynkoop (Appendix A:7 and 8) argued that Custer’s report suggested the fleeing Cheyenne had gone south and were innocent of these crimes; while the Oglala, 

who had fled north, were presumably the perpetrators of the attacks on the Smoky Hill Road. But Hancock, in his August report to the Assistant Adjutant General of the Army (Appendix A:9), stated that there 

was nothing to be inferred from Custer’s report that the Cheyenne had separated from the Oglala before 

the attacks on the Smoky Hill Road. 

While Wynkoop (Appendix A:7) argued that the Cheyenne lodges were distinct from those of the 

Oglala and should not be destroyed, Hancock later wrote (Appendix A:10) that he could not have singled 

out the Oglala lodges for destruction even if he had had evidence that they alone were responsible for the 
 7 

attacks to the north. At the same time, however, Hancock noted that “it was understood that the Sioux 

were on the north side and the Cheyennes on the southern and eastern sides” of the encampment. 

Davis (1868:296) wrote that articles were found in the village that had been stolen from the bodies of 

the soldiers killed in the Fetterman fight the previous year, but there is no mention of such evidence in any 

of the official correspondence or other references. On Pawnee Fork, Hancock delayed his decision on the 

course of action he should take. 

Finally, on April 18 Hancock issued Special Field Order No. 13 (Appendix A:4 and 9), ordering the 

destruction of the village on Pawnee Fork. Hancock’s stated rationale for his order was the bad faith example of the Indians’ flight, together with retribution for the attacks and murders that they subsequently 

committed. In true military fashion, Major General Davidson inventoried the articles that would be destroyed, managing to identify them as to which camp, Cheyenne or Oglala, they belonged (Stanley and 

Wynkoop produced their own lists). Some 40 lodges were loaded up by the quartermaster and sent to Fort 

Dodge to be given as enlistment bonuses for Indian scouts, while other serviceable equipment, “Axes, 

Camp Kettles, Hatchets, Crow-bars, &c., &c” was confiscated (Hancock in Appendix A:9). It is perhaps 

of note that Hancock discriminated between the captured belongings and “Every thing else,” suggesting 

that what was actually destroyed was distinct from and in addition to the confiscated lodges and the confiscated or captured equipment. 

“Every thing else”—apparently all of the remaining Indian belongings—was condemned. Stanley 

explicitly states that these materials were piled in six separate locations throughout the village and noted 

that they were all set aflame at once. The smoke from the fires carried high into the sky, perhaps high 

enough for some of the fleeing Indians to see, and the sparks from the fires ignited the surrounding prairie 

(Stanley 1895:46). 

Then the Hancock Expedition resumed its march, this time toward Fort Dodge, and the story of the 

village and its destruction is essentially at an end. 

Project Background 

While the site of the village destroyed by Hancock’s troops was routinely visited by 10th U.S. Cavalry patrols from Fort Larned in the years following 1867 (George Elmore, personal communication, December 4, 2001), the location of the site was apparently lost or forgotten by the end of the nineteenth century. Earl Monger believed that the village location was subsequently rediscovered in March of 1936 by 

Howard Raynesford and Charles Baugher, two men from Ellis, Kansas, who may have undertaken some 

excavation at the site. However, the results of their work were apparently never made public, and the nature and disposition of any artifactual materials that Raynesford and Baugher found at the village remains 

unknown. 

Monger himself reidentified the site in the fall of 1975 after a lengthy study of written descriptions of 

the events of April 1867 and examination of the maps that were drawn by expedition engineer Lt. Brown. 

Monger and several friends subsequently undertook preliminary testing at the site in October and November 1975 in order to confirm its identity and establish the nature and extent of its deposits. 

Monger formally recorded the site with the Kansas State Historical Society (KSHS) in March 1976, 

at which time it received its official state number, 14NS403. At Monger’s urging, State Archeologist 

Thomas A. Witty, Jr. and KSHS Archeologists Thomas P. Barr and Martin Stein visited the site in April 

1976, conducting one day of testing with Earl, Iris Monger, George and Eldon Elmore, and Bob Button. 

Earl Monger, George Elmore, and Martin Stein excavated another test in an adjacent area the following 

month, and Earl and his colleagues continued to examine the site through metal detector prospecting and 

excavation between May and October 1976. 

Funds were subsequently obtained from the Kansas legislature for additional fieldwork at 14NS403, 

and in July and August 1977 the author worked at the site with a small crew for three weeks, expanding 

the 1976 excavations and opening new ones a short distance to the west. The author left the Society in the 
 8 

fall of 1978, leaving the analysis of the artifactual material incomplete, but in 1979 borrowed the KSHS 

artifact assemblage and produced a draft manuscript that briefly described those materials. Both the 

manuscript and the artifacts were returned to the Society in January 1980, but a finished report remained 

to be completed. 

In 1998 the Fort Larned Old Guard, the friends group for Fort Larned National Historic Site, entered 

into an agreement with the landowner to purchase 14NS403 with the intent to eventually donate it to the 

National Park Service as an outlying property of Fort Larned. The group subsequently received funding 

assistance from the Archaeological Conservancy, and the property was acquired. 

In September 1998 the author was requested by Steve Linderer, the Fort Larned Superintendent, to 

write a synthetic report of the archeological research at 14NS403, one that utilized all of the artifactual 

material that had been recovered from the site. Per the recommendations of the Kansas State Historic 

Preservation Office, the report needed to address two major questions. The first question related to the 

authenticity of 14NS403—whether it really was the Cheyenne-Oglala village that Hancock’s command 

destroyed in 1867. The second question related to the significance of 14NS403 vis-à-vis nomination to 

the National Register of Historic Places. A detailed manuscript addressing those specific issues has now 

been completed (Jones 2002) and forms the basis for this condensed report. 

Site Description 

Site 14NS403 lies along an unnamed tributary to the Pawnee River or Pawnee Fork in Ness County, 

Kansas. Although presently intermittent, the tributary stream is mature, and its lower reach is characterized by tightly looping meanders and one cutoff meander. The lower reach of the stream is also deeply 

incised, the streambed lying 4–6 m below the tops of the adjacent banks (Figure 1). The stream’s downcutting has isolated the erosional remnants formed by the meanders, giving them the appearance of a series of small islands or, in Monger’s notes, mesas (Figure 2). Most of the site lies in shortgrass pasture 

along either side of the stream and does not appear to have ever been plowed, while the western edge of 

the site is presently under cultivation. A number of trees, dead and living, stand along the bottom of the 

streambed. 

Monger’s extensive metal detector prospecting and testing at the site continued over a period of 

roughly two years, and it indicated that 14NS403 contained a variety of surface features and subsurface 

artifactual materials which reflected multiple prehistoric and historic components. While he had originally sought the location of a nineteenth-century Indian village, Monger’s initial identification of human 

occupation at 14NS403 came with the recovery of several small prehistoric chipped-stone projectile 

points and plain pottery sherds in the southern part of the site. Subsequent analysis of the ceramic materials documented a prehistoric Dismal River Aspect occupation that was believed to date to about AD 1700 

(James Gunnerson, personal communication, January 12, 1978). 

However, continued work at 14NS403 in the following weeks quickly produced sufficient artifactual 

materials to confirm the presence of an historic Indian encampment that appeared to Monger to represent 

the village that Hancock had destroyed. This occupation was indicated by an extensive scatter of historic 

debris that covered approximately 35 acres of the pasture and the adjacent cultivated field to the west, an 

area potentially large enough to have held the 250 to 300 Indian lodges mentioned in the various historic 

accounts of the expedition. 

Complicating the interpretation of the 1867 occupation at 14NS403 was evidence of considerable 

historic Euroamerican activity in the area. This information included segments of a probable Army and/or 

settlers’ wagon road (Figure 3) along the eastern edge of the site, together with depressions that were 

thought to be either dugouts (sometimes mentioned in Monger’s notes as a buffalo hunters’ camp) or the 

1936 Raynesford and Baugher excavations. The remains of former farm buildings lay to the east, and a 

lime kiln was identified in the bank of a stream meander. Monger’s site map also notes the presence of an 

“early settler complex” on the bank of the unnamed tributary at its confluence with Pawnee Fork. 
 9 

Context and History of Research 

This report will primarily focus upon the features and artifacts that were identified and recovered 

during the 1976 and 1977 KSHS excavations atop two of the erosional remnants at 14NS403. However, it 

also includes brief description and discussion of some of the material recovered by Monger and his colleagues between the time when Earl first reidentified the site in October 1975 until July 1978, when Earl’s 

field notes essentially end. Finally, this report will also include some brief description of artifacts found 

at the site by Tom Frusher, a collector from Ness City, Kansas. 

Some of the cultural material that Monger recovered at 14NS403 was ultimately donated to the 

KSHS and incorporated into the Society’s collection from the site: the KSHS artifacts form the basis for 

most of the detail contained in this report. Some of the remaining material that Monger recovered from 

the site is contained in the Monger Collection, which Earl donated to Fort Larned National Historic Site 

(accession FOLS-411). 

Part but not all of the Monger Collection was loaned to the Midwest Archeological Center for analysis (Table 1), although artifacts displayed in a standing exhibit at Fort Larned headquarters were not included. Likewise, his artifact collection from the area of the possible historic dugout features in the creek 

bank south of the KSHS excavations, now stored at the Santa Fe Trail Center Museum outside Larned, 

was not included in this analysis. The present report thus addresses all of the KSHS materials, part of the 

Monger Collection, and Frusher’s collection from the site. 

As was indicated previously, Monger and his colleagues used metal detectors to flag subsurface scatters of ferrous material that might reflect the piles of Indian belongings burned by Hancock’s command, 

and then excavated at the locations of the flagged artifacts. The history of all of the post-1975 episodes of 

investigation at 14NS403 is complicated, but because the Monger investigations both precede and follow 

the KSHS work at the site, they all still warrant some brief mention. The excavation unit numbers assigned by Monger and the KSHS during the time period from April 1976 through November 1977 are 

provided in Table 2. 

In the days following his identification of the site, Earl Monger initially distinguished between six 

different physical locales at 14NS403—the North, South, East, and West Mesas; and the East Island and 

West Island Mesas. These general locational settings are illustrated in Figure 4, which is a composite of 

data from Monger’s site map and his field notes. 

Additionally, Monger’s map and notes make four other spatial distinctions that appear in his artifact 

proveniences in Appendix D and in Table 2. First, he designated a low bench immediately south of and 

below his West Island Mesa as Area A, and apparently identified metal artifacts there in August and September 1976. He designated Area B at the west end of his Area 762, where the erosional remnant joins 

the west bank of the intermittent stream. This latter location is in the general vicinity of the westernmost 

of the two possible dugouts, and he apparently worked there in August 1976. Monger identified Area C 

on a right bank bench just below the confluence of the intermittent stream and the meander cutoff. On his 

site map, Area D lay a short distance further downstream on low ground along the right side of the stream. 

No detailed written descriptions of Earl’s work in Areas A through D have been found in his field notes, 

and it may be that he only undertook metal detector prospecting in these locations. 

The first KSHS investigations at 14NS403 occurred on April 29, 1976, near the northeastern end of 

the site atop an erosional remnant formed by the confluence of the intermittent stream with the cutoff meander (Figures 4–6), and were undertaken by KSHS Archeologists Thomas A. Witty, Jr. Tom Barr, and 

Martin Stein, Earl and Iris Monger, George and Eldon Elmore, and Bob Button. Monger identified this 

location in his field notes as the East Island Mesa. Per the KSHS field methodology, the general location 

of the April 1976 testing was designated KSHS Area 761, and the work consisted of a line of excavations 

placed across one of Monger’s flagged concentrations of metal artifacts. Four contiguous 2-m squares 

were opened in KSHS Area 761, and a fifth was laid out but not completed 2 m to the south. All of these 

units were assigned 200-series numbers. 
 10 

Monger continued to open test excavations at 14NS403 in the following weeks, employing the same 

basic KSHS area identification process, but numbering his areas independently in order to track the locations within which his testing occurred. He designated an elongated erosional remnant at the northern end 

of the site (marked North Mesa on his site map and in Figure 4) as Area 761—his Area 761 thus lay some 

distance northeast of the 1976 KSHS Area 761. While he probably prospected across Area 761 with a 

metal detector, Monger apparently opened no excavations there. 

Earl established his Area 762 atop a prominent east-west erosional remnant in the approximate westcentral part of the site, southwest of the 1976 KSHS excavations (Figure 4). He placed four concrete datums at the cardinal corners of an 80 by 80 ft square atop the remnant, and then laid out a grid of 5-ft 

square excavation units within the enclosed area. Monger, his wife, and friends excavated 15 such units in 

Area 762 between May 5 and October 23, 1976. Two old excavations were identified along the south 

edge of the Area 762 remnant that Monger’s map identifies as dugouts. These were presumably the same 

locations mentioned in Earl’s notes as the possible buffalo hunters’ camp (Society Archeologist Martin 

Stein’s field notes of May 5 mention the possibility that these depressions were in fact the 1936 Raynesford and Baugher excavations). 

Earl’s site map designates the western tip of the remnant immediately south of his Area 762 as Area 

763. No record has been found of his work in that area, although Martin Stein participated in testing in 

Monger’s Area 763 on May 5, joining with Monger and George Elmore to open a single unnumbered test 

there. The materials from this work were donated to the KSHS and are hereafter described as part of the 

KSHS Collection. They also completed the fifth test 2 m to the south of the four KSHS units excavated 

on April 29. Monger’s map indicates that the West Island Mesa, the remnant isolated by the cutoff meander 50–60 m west of KSHS Area 761, was designated his Area 764. 

The 1977 KSHS investigations at 14NS403 began on July 18 and continued for 17 days, concluding 

on August 5. The work was supervised by the author and KSHS Archeologist Tom Barr; together with 

Laborers Marilyn Bailey and Verna Detrich; Earl and Iris Monger, and nine other volunteers. 

The initial 1977 excavations were placed directly atop the four-unit block opened in 1976, at which 

time the erosional remnant was redesignated KSHS Area 771 (Figures 4, 5, and 7). Nineteen contiguous 

3-m squares were excavated, with the units assigned 400-series numbers. Midway through the 1977 research, Barr supervised two days of excavation by Kansas Anthropological Association volunteers, opening up a separate block of nine 3-m squares 9 m south of the 400-series excavations (Figures 5 and 8). All 

of Barr’s excavation units were assigned 500-series numbers within Area 771. 

The second area investigated by KSHS personnel in 1977, field-designated KSHS Area 772, lay 70 

m to the west of KSHS Area 771 across the ravine formed by the old meander in Monger’s Area 764 on 

his West Island Mesa. The 1977 excavations placed on this remnant consisted of eleven contiguous 3-m 

squares positioned atop a ring of nine partially exposed limestone cobbles (Figures 5 and 9). The Area 

772 excavation units were assigned 600-series numbers. 

On October 19, 1977 the Mongers established their Area 771 atop a low bench below the south edge 

of their Area 762 (Figure 4). They placed two more concrete reference datums in a line due south of the 

two westernmost datums that they had established in their Area 761, and laid out another grid of 5-ft 

square excavation units. Earl and Iris Monger and Earl’s colleagues ultimately excavated 16 more units in 

their Area 771 between October 19 and November 17, 1977. 
 11 

The KSHS Excavations 

Introduction 

As was indicated previously, the formal KSHS investigations at 14NS403 included two days of work 

in 1976 and 17 days of testing in 1977, all of which occurred in the northern third of the site on either side 

of a deep, abandoned stream channel. Based upon Hancock’s statement (Appendix A:10), these two locales could have included both the area where the Oglala lodges might have stood (the northern part of the 

site) as well as part of the Cheyenne encampment lay (the eastern part of the site). 

The testing in KSHS Area 761/771 took place where Monger had earlier identified subsurface concentrations of ferrous artifacts on what he variously called the East Mesa or East Island Mesa. The goal 

of the KSHS research in this location was evaluation of the nature of the archeological materials as they 

might relate to the illustrated and written historical accounts of the collected village contents destroyed on 

April 19, 1867. By contrast, the block excavations in KSHS Area 772, across the ravine to the west, were 

opened in the hopes of identifying actual lodge locations. 

The written accounts and illustrations of the destruction of the village indicated that the occupants’ 

belongings were gathered at six collection points, then destroyed by fire. The original provenience of 

much of this material—that is, the specific relationship of individual artifacts to other features within the 

site—was irretrievably lost on the day that the belongings were collected and the village destroyed. 

Through all of the 1977 investigations directed by the author, however, it was hoped that distinctive individual artifacts might be recovered which would provide some degree of ethnic identification, that is, 

which could be identified as either of Southern Cheyenne or Oglala origin. 

Excavation Methodology 

The 3-m square excavation units in KSHS Areas 761/771 and 772 were dug by shovel and trowel, 

and soil fill was screened through quarter-inch hardware cloth. While 99 feature numbers were assigned 

to materials or phenomena in the two areas (Appendix B), many of these simply designated individual 

artifacts exposed as the excavation progressed, and the featured material ultimately had no greater significance than did the isolated artifacts that were not featured. The feature designation was most appropriately employed to record in situ phenomena such as shallow, trash-filled pits or possible post molds, but 

these proved to be relatively few in number. 

Vertical Stratigraphy 

A single stratigraphic test was excavated in Area 771 during the 1977 KSHS investigations. Designated X1, this 2-m square was placed roughly 75 m northeast of the 400-series block of excavations on a 

low bench adjacent to the intermittent drainage and 2–3 vertical m below the top of the adjacent erosional 

remnant. Intentionally placed in what was believed to be a culturally sterile part of the site, the unit was 

excavated to a depth of 39 centimeters below the ground surface (cmbs). The following vertical stratigraphy was recorded in the east wall of the unit: 

 0.0 – 3 cmbs: fine light brown wind-laid silt 

 5 – 16 cmbs: darker gray brown silty clay 

 16 – 39 cmbs: lighter gray tan silty clay 

The transition between the darker silty clay and the lighter silty clay was mottled and irregular (Figure 10), suggesting natural soil formation of these basal strata, and there was no clear evidence of a buried 

cultural level at the location of the stratigraphic test. Atop the remnants in both Areas 761/771 and 772, 

all artifactual material was typically confined to the uppermost 5–15 cm of wind-laid silt and silty clay. 

In his Area 762 atop an erosional remnant further to the southwest, Monger recorded the following 

remarkable vertical stratigraphy in X616, a 5-ft square excavation unit: 
 12 

 0.0 – 3.7 cmbs: brown topsoil 

 3.7 cmbs: upper limits, charcoal-stained soil 

 5.0 cmbs: cast-iron vessel fragment 

 7.0 cmbs: dark charcoal stratum 

 7.5 cmbs: ceramic sherd 

 7.5 – 10.0 cmbs: charcoal stains diminish 

 10.0 – 15.5 cmbs: light brown soil with cultural material grading to sterile soil. 

 10.3 cmbs: burned soil lens 

 12.5 cmbs: lithic debris, animal teeth, and bone debris 

The upper limits of the mid-nineteenth-century American Indian occupation on the landform began 

at about 3.7 cmbs and continued to a depth of roughly 7.0 cmbs, with the lower limits of the occupation 

marked by the distinct charcoal lens. Evidence of the prior protohistoric Dismal River Aspect occupation 

was documented by the underlying sherd found at 7.5 cmbs. The lithics and animal bone beneath the 

sherd may relate to the Dismal River occupation(s), or may reflect additional prehistoric use of the erosional remnant. 

No vertical profile has been identified in Monger’s excavation records in his Area 771 (on a bench 

below the south edge of his Area 762). However, all of the cultural material on the bench appeared to lie 

at a greater depth below the surface, probably buried by colluvium from the adjacent slope. A “soot” level 

(probably the mid-nineteenth-century occupation) was exposed in X351 at a depth of about 13 cmbs, 

while a military canteen was exposed in X18 at a depth of 30 cmbs. Bone and a piece of daub (either protohistoric or prehistoric) were found in X126 at a depth of 18–20 cmbs. In X201, the dark soil color 

lightened at 25 cmbs and became yellow-gray (and presumably sterile) below that depth. 

Area 761/771 

Description 

Area 761/771 lay near the northeastern corner of 14NS403 on a point of land formed by the confluence of the intermittent stream and a meander cutoff (Figures 5 and 11) which, based upon Hancock’s 

remarks (Appendix A:10), may have held some of the Cheyenne lodges. The 200- and 400-series block 

excavations in this location were placed atop the landform and directly over a concentration of ferrous 

material believed to represent one of the piles of Indian belongings burned by Hancock’s command. 

Barr’s 500-series excavations were placed atop a smaller complex of buried ferrous materials, the center 

of which lay 9–10 m south of the 200/400-series block but still atop the same landform. Together, the 

1976 and 1977 KSHS excavations in Area 761/771 exposed an area of 239 m2. 

Features 

Sixty-eight feature numbers were assigned to artifacts and other phenomena exposed and recovered 

in the block excavations in Area 761/771. While all of these are described in some detail in Appendix B, 

a number of the features and related materials that were identified warrant additional discussion. 

The 200- and 400-series block excavations in Area 761/771 exposed a substantial scatter of historic 

and possible prehistoric artifactual materials at depths of 5–9 cmbs (Figure 12). The fragmentary condition and horizontal provenience of this material, distributed across an area 20 m or more in diameter, 

strongly suggested predepositional destruction similar to that described by Stanley (1895). 

Featured artifacts in these excavation blocks included fragmentary steel scissors, sections of cast-iron 

vessels—kettles, pans, or a possible Dutch oven, wire bails for pots or kettles, and fragments of several 

Civil War-era tin cups with handles. A rectangular buckle and an iron ring probably reflect horse furniture 

or tack. A variety of gun parts were recovered throughout the excavations, but most were found in X433. 

Refitting produced several reconstructed fragments of glazed clay ale or beer bottles, together with parts 

of a cast-iron coffee mill. 
 13 

Several other features exposed in the 200- and 400-series excavation blocks possibly relate to structural remains. Features 118, 127, 133, 134, 158, and 162 (Figure 11) all initially appeared as small circular to ovate charcoal stains that had cylindrical to tapering vertical profiles. These stains typically measured 5 to 6 cm in diameter and were interpreted in the field as potential impressions of lodge poles, the 

lodges having been pulled down and removed prior to destruction. In the case of F134, the stain was 

somewhat larger than a lodge pole in plan view and actually contained remnants of the burned exterior of 

a wooden pole or post. The F134 stain also extended to a greater depth—19 cmbs—and may represent 

part of an ancillary structure such as a drying rack. The darker fill within the more shallow features 

probably reflects charcoal and other fine organic material that blew into the holes. 

Three features in X462, including F153, F154, and F156, all appeared as shallow basin-shaped depressions ranging in maximum depth from 9 to 14 cmbs. Two of the three depressions contained fragmentary mussel shell and/or animal bone, and two of the three contained ochre fragments. All three depressions may simply reflect expedient storage features, perhaps located within a lodge or lodges. None 

of the features contained any evidence of in situ burning, and none appeared to have functioned as 

hearths. 

Two other important sets of features warrant further discussion. Feature 132 in X433 consisted of a 

complex of gun parts—a bridle for a main spring swivel, two sear springs, three sears, and two tumblers. 

These objects were found in an area that measured only about 20 by 30 cm, and may represent part of a 

gun repair kit that had been contained in a bag or pouch. 

Features 136 and 138 were exposed at the eastern edge of X462. Feature 136 included a small concentration of nine fine-grained and nonlocal chert, jasper, and mossy agate flakes and flake fragments, and 

a fragmentary chipped-stone projectile point. Feature 138 was a second projectile point that lay just beneath the F136 complex. 

Neither of the two projectile points included in Features 136 and 138 appear to represent local or regional point types. Together with a third chipped-stone projectile point found in adjacent X463, the F136 

and F138 artifacts probably have prehistoric origins further to the north. Additionally, with the exception 

of a single jasper flake, none of the lithic raw materials represented in the flake assemblage in F136 appeared to be locally derived. Together, all of these artifacts were probably brought to the site from elsewhere. 

Finally, one segment or camera of a fossil baculite, a type of cephalopod, was recovered from the 

same general area of X462 as were the debitage and chipped-stone points. Designated F139, the fossil 

segment has been modified by light grinding or carving to form a stylized bison figurine or fetish. The 

baculite segment most likely represents a buffalo stone (Reeves 1993:194), known to have been carried by 

a number of Plains tribes as fetishes or charms to promote the number and health of the bison herds. 

In summary, the archeological context of the nonlocal lithic materials in F136, the probable prehistoric projectile points, and the buffalo fetish together suggest a collection of objects that had true cultural 

association—perhaps religious or spiritual—with one another in the historic Indian component at the site. 

Work in the 500-series excavation block (Figure 13) south of the main Area 771 excavations produced a thin scatter of cultural debris generally similar to that of the adjacent 200- and 400-series excavations that extended to a depth of 8–9 cmbs. Featured artifactual materials included two rusted tin tinklers; a glass bead; several horse shoe nails; a steel sear from a rifle, a side lock screw and a side screw 

washer; and an expended .32 cal. lead ball. 

Within the 500-series excavation block, F173 was assigned to a complex of 26 bullet or ball buttons 

exposed in X532, X531, and X546. Twelve more unfeatured ball buttons were recovered elsewhere in the 

fill in adjacent excavations, and it is probable that the entire assemblage was derived from a single garment, other evidence of which was not found. 

Finally two features, F205 and F207, reflect probable structural remains in the 500-series excavation 

block. The former, a small dark circular stain, was interpreted in the field as a filled post mold, probably 
 14 

from a lodge pole. Feature 207 was a small, shallow, basin-shaped pit, the fill of which contained scattered dark orange ochre fragments. The pit was 13 cm deep and roughly 50 cm in diameter. 

Area 772 

Description 

Area 772 lay atop an erosional remnant 70 m to the west of Area 761/771 across an abandoned 

stream channel (Figures 5 and 14). This location lay in the north-central part of the village, and based 

upon Hancock’s correspondence (Appendix A:10), it may have included part or all of the Oglala camp. 

The KSHS Area 772 was coincident with Monger’s West Island Mesa designation (and was further designated on his map as Area 764). In 1976, Monger, Elmore, and Stein flagged a ring of limestone cobbles 

atop the landform as a possible lodge location. In 1977, the Area 772 excavation units were positioned 

atop this same ring of cobbles, and the eleven units excavated in this block exposed an area 99 m2 in extent. 

Features 

Thirty feature numbers were assigned in the Area 772 block excavations, all of which are briefly described in Appendix B. As in Area 761/771, however, the features defined in Area 772 largely reflect individual artifacts. 

Two of the 30 features in Area 772 do not fit this pattern, however. Feature 217 was a large, irregularly shaped stain containing burned animal bone and charcoal that was exposed in X666 and X667. The 

stain outline, exposed at about 5 cmbs, measured roughly 2 m in diameter. When the mixed soil within 

the feature was excavated, the feature was found to reflect a large, shallow, trash-filled basin or depression. Because no evidence of burning was found within the limits of the feature, it probably reflected 

camp and household debris that collected in a depression. 

Feature 219 was assigned to the complex of nine limestone cobbles exposed at and just below the 

ground surface that were thought to reflect a lodge location or tipi ring. The cobbles were ultimately exposed in five excavation units—X651, X666, X667, X681, and X682. Three of the units, X651, X666, 

and X681, contained paired cobbles that lay within a few centimeters of one another. Additional buried 

cobbles were observed in three other unexcavated units around the excavation block. Unfortunately, however, none of the five excavated units produced any additional evidence of a possible tipi. Specifically, no 

post molds or hearths were exposed that confirmed the presence of a lodge. 
 15 

Material Culture 

The artifactual materials recovered at 14NS403 by Earl Monger, Tom Frusher, and the KSHS excavations are listed in Appendices C, D, and E of this report. The KSHS materials are largely organized by 

horizontal provenience. The Monger Collection artifacts are listed by Earl’s horizontal provenience, except for that part of the collection that is on display at Fort Larned, which was organized by artifact type. 

The Frusher artifacts are roughly organized by artifact type. 

Part of the Monger Collection—those artifacts contained in the display at park headquarters, together 

with other Monger artifacts (Table 1)—and essentially all of the Frusher Collection could not be provided 

for study. Consequently, most of those latter materials were only briefly inventoried and photographed as 

a group. Unfortunately, these same artifacts may not be discussed here in the same detail as may the 

KSHS materials that were loaned to the Midwest Archeological Center for the duration of the project. 

The format for the following discussion of artifacts from 14NS403 is somewhat atypical. However, 

it is intended to integrate with subsequent discussion of the trade and annuity goods that were available to 

the Cheyenne in 1867, as well as with the belongings that are known to have been captured by the military 

at other contemporaneous Cheyenne villages on the Great Plains. 

Prehistoric and Protohistoric Artifacts 

A small amount of artifactual material in all three collections from 14NS403 (Table 3) is most likely 

of prehistoric or protohistoric American Indian origin. Some of these artifacts almost certainly relate to 

the protohistoric Dismal River Aspect component that Monger initially identified at the site. Other probable prehistoric materials appear to have been collected either on-site or elsewhere and incorporated into 

the historic American Indian component at 14NS403. These latter artifacts include chipped-stone implements, worked flakes, and debitage; ground-stone artifacts; ceramics; daub; and fire-cracked rock. 

Chipped Stone 

The small quantity of chipped-stone artifacts found at 14NS403 included nine projectile points, 

seven worked flakes, and some nondiagnostic lithic flaking debris. Three of the projectile points were 

recovered during the KSHS excavations in Area 761/771, and two of those three artifacts were found in 

X462. 

The first (Figure 15a) is a fragmentary, medium-sized dart point manufactured from clear chalcedony 

and was recovered as part of the complex of cultural material that was designated F136. Consisting of the 

lower part of a broad triangular blade, this point has shallow corner notches, a short expanding stem, and 

a slightly concave base. The fragment measures 20 mm in width by 5 mm in thickness, and is estimated 

to have been 40 mm long when intact. The point has been bifacially flaked, but both blade edges are quite 

ragged, and it underwent considerable expedient retouch after the tip was snapped. 

The pre-break morphology of this badly damaged implement is difficult to determine. However, it 

bears certain similarities to the Besant projectile point type that is linked to the Plains Woodland potteryproducing Besant Complex found in southern Canada (Wetlaufer 1956 in Perino 1971:8–9) and the Dakotas (Gregg 1985:117–121), where it is associated with radiocarbon ages of 1800–1500 years BP (AD 

200–500). 

The second projectile point fragment from X462 (Figure 15b) has an elongated triangular blade with 

slightly convex edges, small corner notches, an expanding stem, eared tangs, and a shallow basal notch. 

The tip of this artifact has been broken in a simple diagonal snap. Manufactured from a fine-grained redbrown chert, the point has a waxy texture and has probably undergone heat alteration. The fragment 

measures 15 mm in width by 5 mm in thickness, and the implement is estimated to have been 35–40 mm 

long when complete. 
 16 

This artifact is similar in size and shape to the Oxbow projectile point type that was first defined in 

southern Saskatchewan but which has subsequently been found throughout the Northern Plains (Nero and 

McCorquodale 1958 in Perino 1971:68–19; Gregg 1985:105–108). This point type is diagnostic of the 

Oxbow Complex, a Plains Archaic bison-hunting adaptation that is believed to date to 3400–2600 BC. 

The 14NS403 point was recovered as part of the F138 complex of artifacts. 

The last chipped-stone projectile point in the KSHS Collection is a blade and stem fragment that was 

recovered from X463 (Figure 15c). Almost certainly an arrow point, this implement has been manufactured from a waxy red and black moss agate. Its blade is roughly triangular in shape and has deep, narrow 

corner notches, an expanding stem, and a convex base. It has been manufactured on a flake, but has fine 

overall bifacial retouch. The point measures 17 mm in width by 4 mm in thickness, and is estimated to 

have been 35 mm long when intact. It has morphological similarities to the Scallorn projectile point type 

defined on the Southern Plains. In northwestern Kansas, Scallorn points are often found in association 

with Keith Focus Plains Woodland components dating to roughly AD 600 (O’Brien 1984:50–55). 

Five chipped-stone arrow points, both complete and fragmentary, are present in the Monger Collection and were found during excavation of three of Monger’s units, TT-1, X1, and X2, in his Area 763 in 

the southern part of the site. Now on display at Fort Larned, these points were not available for analysis 

or measurement. The five artifacts are all small, triangular arrow points, and were probably manufactured 

on flakes. Two of the points have small side notches, while the rest are unnotched. The lithic raw materials represented in these artifacts are presently unknown. 

All five Monger Collection projectile points are almost certainly prehistoric or protohistoric. The 

two notched points are morphologically similar to the Washita/Harrell projectile point type described by 

Suhm and Krieger (1954) and Bell (1958:98–99) that is associated with late prehistoric occupations on 

the Southern Plains that date to AD 1100–1600. The unnotched points generally resemble the Fresno 

projectile point type (Bell 1960:44–45), which was frequently manufactured on flakes. The Fresno type is 

likewise associated with late prehistoric populations (Suhm and Krieger 1954), and is believed to date to 

AD 800–1750. The dates for these two projectile point types are generally consistent with the mid-1600s 

date for the Dismal River Aspect (Gunnerson 1987:123), and they are probably associated with that component at 14NS403. 

Finally, a single chipped-stone projectile point midsection in the Frusher Collection is missing its 

base and tip, and is nondiagnostic as to time period or cultural affiliation. 

Seven chert, jasper, and moss agate flakes recovered as part of F138 in KSHS X462 have light unifacial flake scars along one or more edges, while one cortical quartzite flake fragment found in X667 in 

KSHS Area 772 may have a single retouch scar. The pattern of edge modification in this material may 

reflect utilization retouch of naturally sharp flake edges, or natural postdepositional damage from cattle or 

human traffic across the site. 

These lithics are largely noncortical, and two appear to represent resharpening flakes. The two jasper 

flakes in the collection may have a local, i.e., Kansas, origin, while lithic material similar to moss agate 

has been reported from Niobrara Formation deposits in Gove County, Kansas (Don Rowlison, personal 

communication, January 23, 2002). However, the remaining flakes, all of extremely high quality raw materials, are believed to reflect other source areas well outside the region of central Kansas. 

Debitage from the investigations at 14NS403 totals 42 individual pieces. The KSHS materials include two flakes found in X237, one found in X463, 25 flakes recovered in X480, one flake found in 

X562 (all from Area 761/771) and a single flake found in X667 in Area 772. Seven pieces of debitage, 

including jasper and possible Alibates flint, were recovered by Monger in his 1976 excavations on the 

next erosional remnant to the south of KSHS Areas 761/771 and 772, and a small flake was recovered in 

the unnumbered test excavated in his Area 763. Finally, the Frusher Collection contains four pieces of 

chert debitage. 
 17 

These flakes and shatter consist of chert and jasper together with a single quartzite flake. Most of 

this material appears to have been heat-altered. One flake in the KSHS assemblage and one in the Monger Collection are resharpening flakes. One of the flakes from KSHS X237 and two from Monger’s X507 

may represent Alibates chert from the prehistoric quarries in Texas or stream gravels in western Oklahoma. All of the flakes in Monger’s materials are noncortical, and six are small pressure flakes. 

Ground Stone 

Probable prehistoric ground-stone implements recovered at 14NS403 include several mano or hand 

grindstone fragments together with the remains of a single ground-stone maul or hammer. 

The manos are represented by nine quartzite fragments recovered in two different KSHS excavations. 

Most of the fragments bear remnant grinding surfaces, and they appear to be derived from utilized stream 

cobbles. These artifacts would not necessarily be expected to represent part of historic Plains Indian material culture. It is thus unclear whether they were manufactured as part of the historic American Indian 

component at 14NS403, or whether they were simply collected from prehistoric occupations elsewhere 

and used by the historic village occupants. The fragmented condition of these otherwise durable artifacts 

suggests that they were destroyed by fire. 

Forty-eight pieces of a single granite cobble found in three excavation units in KSHS Area 772 appear to represent the remains of a stone maul. Seven of the fragments refit (Figure 15d) to form a stream 

cobble that has undergone heavy battering at one end and has had a shallow, transverse, hafting groove 

pecked and ground around its midsection. When complete, the artifact would have measured roughly 100 

mm long by 75 mm wide by 55 mm thick. 

This artifact is similar to hafted ground-stone mauls found in prehistoric sites throughout the Great 

Plains. The context of its presence at 14NS403 suggests that, whether or not it was manufactured at the 

village, it was in use there when the site was abandoned. The refitted fragments are all from X652, while 

other fragments of the same implement were recovered from X652, X653, and X666. 

Ceramics 

A small number of probable prehistoric pottery sherds have been recovered at 14NS403. Monger’s 

notes from his Area 771 X288 indicate that two sherds were sent to James Gunnerson on December 12, 

1977, and these particular artifacts were not included in the material loaned for analysis. However, a subsequent letter from Gunnerson to Monger, dated January 16, 1978, indicates that the sherds appeared to be 

Dismal River ceramics. A third sherd from Monger’s Area 771 X294 (Figure 15e) is gray with fine mica 

or schist temper, and is likewise probably associated with the protohistoric Dismal River Aspect component at 14NS403. 

Daub 

A small quantity of burned clay daub was recovered from KSHS X651, X654, and X667 in Area 

772. While this material may be related to the burned earth described in the Miscellaneous Artifacts section, it differs in that it has actually been fired instead of simply fire-reddened, and some of it contains 

fine grass impressions. Relative to Kansas and Central Plains prehistory, clay daub is usually interpreted 

as evidence of structures, probably the remains of light brush structures with mud or clay packing or covering. It is thus possible that this particular material is a remnant of the Dismal River component at 

14NS403 rather than the later mid-nineteenth-century American Indian occupation at the site. 

Fire-Cracked Rock 

Eight fragments of probable fire-cracked sandstone are present in the Monger Collection materials. 

All were derived from Monger’s X126 in the southern part of the site, an excavation in which he identified a probable hearth feature. 
 18 

Firearms and Weapons 

A moderate amount of historic firearms- and weapons-related artifactual material has been recovered 

in the various episodes of investigation at 14NS403 (Tables 4 and 5), the largest part of which is found in 

the Frusher Collection. The artifacts included in the firearms and weapons category include ammunition 

(balls, bullets, cartridges and cartridge cases, and percussion caps); firearms and firearms parts; and edged 

weapons including a bayonet, iron arrow points, and a lance point. 

Bullets, Balls, Cartridges, and Cartridge Cases 

The ammunition found at 14NS403 includes a considerable range of calibers and types that reflect 

both handguns and long guns. 

Some of this material clearly postdates 1867. A .22 cal. short cartridge case in the KSHS material 

and a .30-06 cal. military bullet and a .44 or .45 cal. bullet in the Frusher Collection all reflect relatively 

recent activity in the area of the site. A .44 cal. Colt-style bullet in the Frusher material dates from 1871–

1873, while a complete .45-70 cal. Benet-primed centerfire cartridge in the Frusher material dates to 1873 

or later (Barnes 1980:81). Two .45 cal. Colt commercial centerfire cartridges in that collection postdate 

1873, and two .50 cal. Maynard centerfire case heads in Frusher’s material date to 1873 or later and thus 

also reflect later activity at the site. Finally, a .58 cal. cast Minié ball in the Frusher Collection is believed 

to be modern, although the projectile type would have been generally contemporaneous with the 1867 

events at the site. 

However, the bulk of the ammunition-related data from 14NS403 almost certainly dates to the time 

period of Hancock’s engagement. Small- and medium-caliber weapons are represented in three artifacts 

found in KSHS Area 761/771. Two .32 cal. balls, one from X477, the other from X547, are both expended, and one was clearly fired from a smoothbore weapon. A single unexpended .40 cal. ball was 

found in X462. 

A single bullet displayed in the Monger Collection at Fort Larned is of unknown caliber, while one 

.56-50 cal. Spencer cartridge case and a .50-70 cal. case in the display would be contemporaneous with 

the 1867 engagement. 

The Frusher Collection contains the remaining ammunition recovered from the site, all of it largecaliber. This assemblage includes one .44 cal. Remington-style bullet, another indeterminate .44 cal. bullet, and a .44 cal. ball. Three .50 cal. bullets are represented in the Frusher material, including one expended Sharps bullet and a single Spencer bullet. Finally, the Frusher Collection contains eight .52 cal. 

Sharps bullets. 

The single remaining complete cartridge and all of the remaining cartridge cases from the midnineteenth-century component at 14NS403 also come from the Frusher Collection. These artifacts include two .44 cal. rimfire cases for a Ballard (New Model) carbine or rifle, and three unfired .44 cal. rimfire cases with torn rims. The collection contains a single .50-70 cal. centerfire cartridge case with a bar 

anvil primer that was fired in a Sharps rifle or carbine, and another .50-70 cal. cartridge with a Martin 

primer. Frusher’s material includes cases from 19 other expended .50-70 cal. rimfire cartridges with bar 

anvil primers. One complete cartridge and six other expended .50-70 cal. centerfire cartridges in the 

Frusher Collection have Benet primers. 

The .56-50 cal. rimfire ammunition category is well-represented in the Frusher Collection. This assemblage includes 15 .56-50 cal. rimfire Spencers with / S. A. W. / (Sage Ammunition Works) headstamps 

(White and Munhall 1977:30), two of which are unfired cartridges. One expended .56-50 cal. cartridge in 

the collection has a / J. G. / (Joseph Goldmark) headstamp (White and Munhall 1977:25), while 21 other 

expended .56-50 cal. cartridges have no headstamp. The last .56-50 cal. cartridge case in the ammunition 

assemblage from 14NS403 is in the Monger Collection display. 
 19 

Percussion Caps 

The Frusher Collection contains one expended musket-sized percussion cap with a straight skirt. 

The Monger Collection materials on display at Fort Larned include a complete percussion cap tin, the lid 

of which reads / ELEY BROS. / LONDON /. 

Bar Lead 

Melted lead occurs in small quantities in all three collections from 14NS403, and includes two fragments from KSHS X547 and one from X667; two melted lead fragments from Area B in the Monger Collection, and eight fragments in the Frusher Collection. This material may represent melted bar lead, but 

alternatively may simply reflect melted rifle or pistol balls or bullets. 

Firearms Parts 

Gun parts are present in small quantities in all three site collections. They include action parts such 

as a trigger, bridles, sears, tumblers, springs, washers, and machine screws together with an almost complete percussion lock; other furniture and fasteners such as an escutcheon plate, a trigger guard, a trigger 

plate and lever latch, and assorted wood screws; and a single pistol barrel. 

Steel bridles for pistol or rifle main spring swivels were recovered in KSHS X235 and X433 (Figure 

16a–b). One tumbler was found in KSHS X235, two were found in X433 (Figure 16c–e), and a fourth, in 

the Monger Collection display at Fort Larned, was found in Monger’s Area 764. Sears and sear springs 

were found in KSHS X433 and X546 and are also present in the Frusher Collection. The sear spring from 

X433 (Figure 16f) is from a Model 1861 U.S. rifle musket, while a sear in the Frusher Collection is large 

enough to reflect either a military weapon or a trade gun. A main spring was found in KSHS X448 (Figure 16g), and another, from a Colt-style Model 1851 or Model 1860 .36 cal. or .44 cal. revolver (Figure 

16h), was recovered from the single test excavated in Monger’s Area 763. 

One or more Remington revolvers are represented by several action parts in the Monger material. 

These include a Remington trigger, a trigger/cylinder stop spring, and a cylinder stop (Figure 16i–k), all 

of which were found in Monger’s unnumbered Area 763 test. The Monger Collection display at Fort 

Larned includes one revolver hammer, most likely from a Remington, that was recovered in Monger’s 

Area 762 X3. 

A single trigger plate and lever latch in the Monger Collection display at Fort Larned, probably from 

a Starr carbine, was found by metal detector in Monger’s Area C. Two machine screws, probably part of 

weapons actions, were found, one in KSHS X561 and the other in the single test in Monger’s Area 763. A 

washer from a lock screw found in KSHS X547 is likely from a Plains rifle (Figure 16l), and one face of 

the artifact is stamped with the number 73. Another side lock screw from KSHS X546 is similar to that of 

a Model 1855 or Model 1863 U.S. rifle musket. 

Gun furniture from the site includes a steel toe plate found in KSHS X466 (Figure 16m) that has incised parallel lines around the perimeter and a decorated tip, and probably represents part of a trade gun 

or Plains rifle. The brass trigger guard, in the Frusher Collection, represents part of a Plains rifle, while 

the escutcheon plate, also in Frusher’s material, is manufactured of German silver. 

Four steel wood screws found in KSHS X546, X547, X651, one recovered from the single test in 

Monger’s Area 763, and two Frusher Collection artifacts are all of the slotted flat head type and may have 

attached side and butt plates. The two largest screws in the KSHS materials are No. 12 x 1 inch in size. 

The two Frusher Collection wood screws are also 1 inch long. 

The single pistol barrel recovered from 14NS403 is part of the Frusher Collection, and is believed to 

be part of a .36 cal. Manhattan pistol manufactured by the Manhattan Firearms Manufacturing Company, 

which began producing firearms in 1840. A serial number on the barrel is either 22886 or 22836. The 

complete percussion lock in the Monger Collection display at Fort Larned is a common mid-nineteenthcentury trade gun lock. Recovered from Monger’s West Mesa area, it is stamped / PSJ & CO. WAR-
 20 

RANTED / and was probably manufactured by P. S. Justice (Hanson 1960:113). Finally, an underrib 

fragment from a long gun was recovered in the single test in Monger’s Area 763. 

Arrowheads and Lances 

Five iron or steel arrowheads were recovered by Monger at 14NS403, four of which are on display at 

Fort Larned, while the Frusher Collection contains four more. All of these artifacts appear to be handmade of sheet stock. Three of the Monger points are triangular and stemmed, and two have notched 

tangs. The remaining two artifacts may be point blanks. Frusher’s arrowheads are essentially similar, 

with two having notched tangs. Three of his four points are unfinished, and his collection also contains 

three more sheet iron fragments that may be point blanks. 

Frusher’s material also contains a large double-edged iron blade that is diamond-shaped in cross section and has a hole in the tang. This artifact is 20 inches long and has a 16-inch blade, and probably 

represents a lance point similar to that illustrated in Russell (1967:332, Fig. 86e). 

Bayonets 

The Frusher Collection contains a single complete steel bayonet that resembles the type that would 

have been used with a British Pattern 1853 Enfield rifle musket (Reilly 1990:77, Figures B110–B111). 

The bayonet still retains some bluing. 

Military Equipment 

A relatively small amount of military equipment has been recovered at 14NS403 (Table 6), most of 

which probably reflects materials abandoned by the village occupants rather than deposited by subsequent 

visitors. These artifacts include military insignia, buttons, possible military utensils, and a small quantity 

of probable field equipment. 

Insignia 

Military insignia from 14NS403 are represented by two artifacts in the Frusher Collection and one in 

the Monger materials. The first of the Frusher artifacts is a crushed, broken brass eagle insignia similar to 

those that were attached to 1855-pattern Hardee hats (Langellier 1998:80), but were also attached to 

1851-pattern enlisted men’s hats (Langellier 1998:64). The Frusher insignia has fastening wires on its 

reverse side. 

The second Frusher artifact is a 1-inch-tall brass uppercase ‘A’ that probably would have been worn 

on a cap or hat as an infantry company or cavalry troop designation. The ornament is similar in style to 

that worn on the front of 1855-pattern cavalry enlisted hats illustrated in Howell (1975:4) and Langellier 

(1998:79). 

The Monger Collection artifact is part of a crushed brass shoulder scale that is on display at Fort 

Larned. Found by metal detector in Monger’s Area B, the piece resembles the 1851-pattern shoulder 

scale that was issued to enlisted mounted troops. In 1854 similar scales were ordered as issue for all 

enlisted personnel (Langellier 1998:59), and part of a similar shoulder scale, described as representing an 

1854 pattern, was recovered from the 1864–1867 military component at Fort Ellsworth, 100 mi to the east 

(Fox 2001:153). 

Buttons 

Two basic military button categories are represented in the three artifact collections from 14NS403. 

The first type is the well-known three-piece yellow metal General Service button that bears a stamped 

eagle device on the convex front piece. The button type has a flat backing or shank plate and a brass wire 

loop shank. The eagle is displayed from the front with its head turned to its right (the viewer’s left) and 

its wings and legs extended. The eagle on this button type typically has a raised spade-shaped shield on 

its chest and grasps three arrows in its left talon and a laurel branch in its right. While the shield of a 
 21 

General Service button bears a pattern of fine vertical lines, it is otherwise devoid of any letter designation 

for a specific arms branch, i.e., infantry, artillery, etc. 

General Service buttons were introduced in the 1840s, and although they did not become official issue until after 1854, the General Service button with eagle device continued to be used until 1902. The 

eagle device remained essentially the same through time, but the style was modified in about 1884 to what 

is called a “Prussianized” eagle design (Brinkerhoff 1972 in Herskovitz 1978:39; Wyckoff 1984:91). 

General Service buttons were manufactured by a variety of contractors in both a smaller and a larger 

size. The smaller button, approximating 9

/16 inch in diameter, was used on blouse cuffs, caps, and hats, 

while the larger size, approximating 3⁄4 inch in diameter, was used on coats. Both button sizes are represented in the collections from 14NS403. Thirteen of the smaller buttons are found in the Monger and 

Frusher materials. One of the seven Frusher Collection small buttons bears a / SCOVILL & CO. EXTRA 

FINE / backmark, but the backs of the remaining twelve small buttons in the Monger and Frusher Collections are unmarked. 

The six Monger small General Service buttons were recovered from X3 in his Area 762, and one 

bears the backmark / W. LANG BOSTON /. McGuinn and Bazelon (1988:64) report that two William 

Langs appeared in the Boston city directory between 1840 and 1860, and they suggest that one of the two 

individuals, a merchant dealing in West India goods, was probably the source of military buttons bearing 

the W. LANG backmark. 

Eighteen of the larger General Service buttons are present in the three artifact collections from 

14NS403, nine of which are in the Monger and Frusher Collections. The backmark of one large General 

Service button in the Frusher Collection reads / SCOVILL WATERBURY EXTRA QUALITY /. One of 

the Monger buttons was recovered from the unnumbered excavation in his Area 763, while two others 

came from X3 and X506 in his Area 762. 

The remaining nine fragmentary and complete large General Service buttons (Figure 17a–c) were recovered from the KSHS excavations. One was found in Area 761/771, while eight others were recovered 

in the Area 772 excavation block. Six of the ten buttons include the front piece, and all six of these have 

the early style (non-Prussianized) eagle device. The diameters of these artifacts—two front pieces and 

four complete buttons—range from 3⁄4 to 13/16 inch. The back piece of one complete button, the one from 

Area 763, is stamped / SCOVILL MF’G CO. WATERBURY / between two concentric recessed circular 

lines, the diameters of which are 5

/8 and 3/8 inch. Eight other large button back pieces in the KSHS Collection are devoid of manufacturers’ marks, but all eight bear a single recessed circular line that ranges in 

diameter from 3

/8 to 1⁄2 inch. Several brass wire shanks, probably from these and other General Service 

buttons, have also been found at the site. 

The Scovill Manufacturing Company began business under that name in 1850, so the first General 

Service button described could not predate that time and may postdate 1854. While the basic style of portrayal of the eagle on the button front changed noticeably either around 1879 or 1884, variation in portrayal before that time was on a minor scale, and all of the varieties of line eagle devices and their associated manufacturers do not yet seem to have been accounted for. 

The largest number of probable military buttons from 14NS403 belong to the bullet or ball category, 

a two-piece button type with a smooth, strongly convex brass front piece attached to a ferrous back piece 

and a ferrous wire loop shank. The bullet button type is represented by two diameter sizes, 5

/16 and 7/16

inch. However, only one example of the smaller size was recovered and was found in KSHS X547. 

All of the remaining 40 bullet/ball buttons from 14NS403 reflect the larger diameter (Figure 17d,e). 

Two of these are in the Frusher Collection, while all but one of the remaining 38 were found in the 500-

series KSHS excavation block, where many of them were recorded in a complex designated F173. The 

brass front pieces of this assemblage are uniformly corroded, while the ferrous back pieces and wire 

shanks are corroded to a greater or lesser degree. Unfortunately, none of the collection has discernible 

backmarks that would indicate a manufacturer. 
 22 

The military buttons from 14NS403 probably reflect articles of clothing that were abandoned and/or 

destroyed. There is abundant photographic and other documentation of Indian warriors wearing or otherwise adopting U.S. military uniform parts that were either captured or received as gifts. The presence of 

37 bullet/ball buttons concentrated within five adjacent units in the 500-series KSHS excavation block 

suggests that they were part of a single garment, perhaps extra decoration or ornamentation similar to an 

array of brass or tin tinklers, that was burned in the immediate area. 

Utensils 

Six separate tin cups are represented in the Monger and Frusher Collections, and all appear to represent the Type 1 Civil War-era cups described by Hedren (1992). This cup type was manufactured of rolled 

sheet tin with soldered seams and a rim that was folded over a length of wire. The cup type had a sheet 

tin handle with wire rolled into the edges, the wire fastening at the rim and riveted at the bottom of the 

cup. The cups in the Monger Collection (Figure 17f) are of two sizes, either about 21⁄2 or 3 inches tall. 

All six cups in the two collections have been crushed. 

A substantially larger number of probable cup fragments have been identified in all three collections. 

These include six cup handles from the Monger and Frusher Collections and 13 handles and handle fragments from the KSHS excavations. Eight of the latter were recovered from KSHS Area 772 X667. Fourteen more cup fragments were present in the Monger Collection materials provided for analysis, and more 

than 50 possible cup fragments were identified in the KSHS materials, with most again found in X667. 

Essentially all of these artifacts are either broken or crushed. 

Parts of two tin pot boilers have been recovered from the site. One, a boiler lid in the Frusher Collection, has a diameter of 7 inches. The other artifact is a pot boiler pull ring that was found in KSHS X668. 

Field Equipment 

Three artifacts in the 14NS403 materials reflect military field equipment. The first, a crushed canteen in the Monger Collection display at Fort Larned, possibly reflects the smooth-sided pattern. A stopper in the Frusher Collection probably represents part of an 1858-pattern military canteen. Finally, the 

Frusher Collection contains either part of a firearm tampion or a drawer pull. 

Clothing and Personal Items 

Artifacts found at 14NS403 that relate to Indian clothing and personal belongings are relatively small 

in number (Table 7), but occur in all three collections from the site. They include a number of garment 

buttons, buckles, and possible belt parts, together with other materials that reflect personal ornamentation. 

These materials also include the single possible sacred object found at the site. 

Buttons 

The artifacts in this assemblage include a single small glass button (Figure 17g) and another that appears to be of hard (vulcanized) rubber, both found in the KSHS Area 772 excavation block. A similar 

16-ligne white glass button was recovered from excavations at the 1864–1867 military component at Fort 

Ellsworth (Fox 2001), and Fox notes that the type was reportedly first introduced in the 1860s (Fontana 

and Greenleaf 1962 in Fox 2001:169). Two small brass buttons, one decorated, the other plain, are present in the Frusher materials, while the Monger Collection contains includes one small Prosser-molded 

clay button that would date to the late 1840s (Ross 2000:159). 

All three collections contain small pressed ferrous four-hole sew-through buttons. Most of these are 

one-piece, although the KSHS Collection contains a single two-piece button. Several of the KSHS artifacts (Figure 17h) have a black residue adhering to them that may either represent burned or oxidized 

paint or some other coating. Although they were not discussed with other military equipment that included General Service and bullet buttons, all of these buttons could conceivably have come from military 

issue garments, and in fact have been found in military contexts at Fort Ellsworth, where they are simply 

called iron buttons (Fox 2001:169). The smaller 22-ligne buttons may represent fly buttons on trousers, 
 23 

the larger 26- or 27-ligne size perhaps suspenders buttons or fasteners on overalls or stable frocks 

(Herskovitz 1978:41). Conversely, some of them may actually be from items of non-military clothing 

obtained through trade or annuities. 

Buckles 

Three essentially identical clothing buckles are present in the Frusher and KSHS materials that appear to represent suspenders or trousers buckles. All of these artifacts have been manufactured of ferrous 

wire and have two prongs. The face of one KSHS buckle is embossed / ... ATENT 1855 / on one side. 

Both of the KSHS buckles (Figure 17i–j) were found in the Area 761/771 excavation block. 

These artifacts are similar in shape to a buckle found in the 1864–1867 military component at Fort 

Ellsworth (Fox 2001:170), but the Fort Ellsworth buckle is of combination ferrous/cuprous manufacture, 

while the 14NS403 artifacts are entirely ferrous. Other similar buckles have been described from Fort 

Bowie (Herskovitz 1978:37–38) and elsewhere in Arizona (Fontana and Greenleaf 1962:86–87). Both of 

the KSHS buckles have the obverse face rope detail mentioned in Type B Variety 2 buckles recovered 

from Fort Union, the trading post on the Upper Missouri River in North Dakota (Perry and Hunt 

1986:21), but are more similar in shape to Perry and Hunt’s ferrous/brass Type B Variety 1. 

The exact function or location of these artifacts on a garment varies with their reports. They may 

represent suspenders grips, but since military-issue suspenders were not actually authorized until 1883 

(Herskovitz 1978:44), the buckles from 14NS403, though identical, would all be non-issue. Conversely, 

the artifacts may in fact represent military trouser buckles, mention of which has been found about eight 

years earlier (Herskovitz 1978:37). Finally, they may reflect fasteners on civilian clothing obtained by the 

villagers through trade or annuities. 

Belts 

Two brass hooks in the Frusher Collection are believed to represent belt adjustments, although one of 

them may instead represent part of a rifle sling. These may be similar to brass strap hooks recovered from 

the 1864–1867 military component at Fort Ellsworth (Fox 2001:155). 

Ornaments 

Artifacts related to personal ornamentation are present in all three collections, the first group of 

which includes a number of brass and ferrous tinklers that have been rolled into cone shapes from sheet 

stock. The brass tinklers, found only in the Frusher Collection, are uniformly small in size, while the ferrous or tin tinklers from the village are also, with one exception, smaller than one inch long. The tin tinklers appear in the Frusher materials, but were also recovered from the KSHS block excavations in Areas 

761/771 and 772 (Figure 18a) and from X3 in Monger’s Area 771. All of these objects would probably 

have been manufactured by the site occupants and worn in clusters or rows on their clothing. 

Part of a probable sheet brass pendant was found during the KSHS excavations in Area 761/771 

(Figure 18b). D-shaped and 12 to 13 mm long, the pendant fragment has had a small hole drilled or 

punched at one end. A small piece of sheet brass in the Frusher Collection has been folded over and perforated along one edge, and may also represent part of a small personal ornament or clothing attachment. 

Three shell artifacts also appear to represent ornaments. The first is a rectangular fragment of freshwater shell (Figure 18c), probably from a Unionidae mussel, which was recovered from KSHS X649, 

where it was designated F187. Approximately 47 mm in length and unperforated, this object is believed 

to represent an unfinished shell pendant. 

The second artifact, also unperforated, is a triangular piece of shell that was found in KSHS X462 

(Appendix G, this report). It measures roughly 23 mm in length (Figure 18d) and is also believed to represent an unfinished shell pendant. The last object (Figure 18e), a small square of shell found in nearby 

X477 (Appendix G), bears several faint incised lines, one set of which is in the shape of an arrow. It is 

unclear whether the latter two artifacts have been manufactured from marine or freshwater shell. 
 24 

Four simple brass wire bracelets have been recovered from 14NS403. Three of these are in the 

Frusher Collection, while the fourth (Figure 18f) was recovered from the test excavated in Monger’s Area 

763. The four bracelets are essentially identical: all have been formed of bent brass wire and are open 

along one long side, and none are further decorated. Such artifacts are relatively common on historic 

American Indian sites on the Plains (Hanson 1975:99), and as such may be considered diagnostic of 

Plains Indian presence at 14NS403. 

Other material from the site probably represents debris from the manufacture of brass ornaments. 

Most of these artifacts are small scraps of sheet brass with one or more curved edges that are slightly 

ragged or serrated, as if they had been cut with scissors or tin snips. The KSHS materials were found in 

both Areas 761/771 and 772, and the Frusher Collection contains similar brass scraps. A small quantity of 

scrap tin may also reflect ornaments or manufacturing debris. Two tin scraps in the Frusher Collection 

have probable ornamental holes, while the KSHS Collection contains a small D-shaped scrap of tin with 

two punched holes. 

Glass Beads 

Whole or intact glass trade beads from 14NS403 are present in small quantities in both the Monger 

Collection and the KSHS materials, while burned beads were recovered in KSHS X562 in Area 761/771 

and in X667, X668, and X682 in Area 772. 

The intact, unburned beads in the site assemblage were analyzed by Linda J. Hulvershorn (Appendix F this report). Using the typology developed by Ross (2000) for the large collection from Fort Union 

trading post, she identified different bead categories represented in the complete or intact materials from 

14NS403. The vast majority of these are either tiny seed or somewhat larger pound beads (Hanson 1989) 

in two categories: either monochrome or polychrome cylindrical drawn beads that are undecorated and 

hot-tumbled. The monochrome beads occur in shades of green or blue-green, white, purplish blue, and 

dark red, or they are clear. The polychrome beads occur in red-on-white, brownish white-on-brownish 

white, and purplish red-on-purplish red colors. 

Finally, two monochrome multisided bead categories are represented by a single bead each, both of 

which were in that part of the Monger Collection materials that came to the Midwest Archeological Center for analysis. These include one drawn, undecorated bead with chopped ends, and one drawn bead with 

chopped ends and two rows of ground facets. The latter bead, black in color, is believed to have been 

manufactured in Bohemia in central Europe (Ross 2000:165). 

It is difficult to draw many useful conclusions about the bead assemblage from the village on Pawnee 

Fork due both to the very small sample size and the likelihood that fire has probably altered some of the 

bead colors. In particular, the blue-green beads identified by Hulvershorn may have originally been blue. 

White and blue glass beads dominate the historic American Indian assemblages on the Northern 

Plains beginning prior to AD 1840 (Ross 2000:161) and continued to be popular through subsequent decades, though not in the same overwhelmingly high percentages seen earlier. By the 1850s and 1860s, a 

much wider range of bead colors had become acceptable (Ross 2000:161–163). However, the two basic 

bead colors represented in the 14NS403 assemblage clearly fit into a 20–30 year time span prior to and 

during the actual village occupation on Pawnee Fork. 

The small individual dimensions of the beads in the assemblage from14NS403 are consistent with 

the gradual reduction of bead size through time in nineteenth-century Plains Indian sites (Ross 2000:166). 

Because they would otherwise be purchased by the pound, Ross believes that the smaller, less-expensive 

seed and pound beads similar to those from Pawnee Fork were more often simply exchanged as gifts. 

Otherwise, the purchaser of a pound of the small, hot-tumbled drawn variety at Fort Union would have 

received 310,000–380,000 individual beads! According to Ross (2000:166), green, blue, and white beads 

were the most expensive to purchase after red ones, and most of the beads in the 14NS403 assemblage 

were probably manufactured in Venice, Italy. 
 25 

Fetishes 

As indicated above in the discussion of features identified during the KSHS investigations, a single 

baculite fossil, one camera or segment of an elongated marine snail, was found in Area 771 X462 (Figure 

18g). This small object is believed to represent a bison fetish, known generically among several American 

Indian groups as a buffalo stone. It measures roughly 30 mm long by 18 mm wide and is 16 mm tall. 

Buffalo stones are a category of objects that were sacred to a number of American Indian groups, and 

ranged in size from as large as an immovable boulder believed to have magical characteristics to various 

small objects that were tied in the hair as charms or amulets. The smaller stones, which include the baculite fossil from 14NS403, are known to have been carried by a variety of Northern Plains and mountain 

tribes that included the Cheyenne, Blackfoot, Piegan, Arapaho, Crow, and Mandan/Hidatsa (Kroeber 

1907,1908; Wissler 1919; Kehoe 1965; Wood 1971; Grinnell 1972; Reeves 1993). 

The general belief among these groups was that the fossil variety of buffalo stones, which in their 

natural segmented state bear a certain physical resemblance to bison, had actual powers over the herds. 

They could also confer benefits or good fortune upon the owner—typically measured by hunting success. 

Used as charms or fetishes, the stones could also be used to call the bison herds to a drive or pound. The 

Cheyenne believed that if such fossils were worn around the neck or in the hair, they would also help the 

owner to either find enemies or evade them (Grinnell 1972:122–123). 

The most complete discussion of Blackfoot buffalo stones, or iniskim, is found in Reeves (1993), and 

much of the information that follows derives from his work. Among the Blackfoot (Grinnell 1892), both 

the coiled ammonite and elongated baculite fossils were called iniskim. The Crow called both types of 

fossils bacoritse (Mails 1972:125), although Wildschut (1960:91) notes that the Crow nonetheless discriminated between the two fossil types: baculites were believed to have male gender, while ammonites 

were thought to be female. Each type had its own rituals and taboos, but when properly stored and left 

alone, the stones were believed to produce additional buffalo, in theory ensuring the growth and viability 

of future bison herds. 

These fetishes were typically carried in leather or hide medicine bundles, usually with other small 

objects that were believed by the owner to have supernatural meaning or power. Wildschut’s (1960) discussion of Crow medicine bundles indicates that they typically contained a variety of oddly shaped rocks, 

but in particular fossils that were found and then dreamed of, or conversely, dreamed of and then found. 

Wood (1971:9) notes that the Mandan/Hidatsa typically assembled the contents of their medicine bundles 

after a personal vision quest or supernatural experience. The contents of the bundles symbolized objects 

and natural beings seen in the vision, and could include plants, powdered paints—ochre or hematite—

bones, horsehair, and other small objects. 

While the owners of iniskim could include shamans who employed the stones to call the bison to the 

hunt, Reeves (1993) indicates that, among the Blackfoot, every tipi (family) may have had their own fetish. Among the Mandan/Hidatsa (Wood 1971:8–9), personal bundles and their contents could be owned 

and held by either males or females, while Crow buffalo stones (Wildschut 1960) were inherited by the 

oldest surviving son or daughter. Among the latter group the fetishes were usually believed to have more 

than one power, potentially influencing success in a variety of endeavors such as hunting, war, or capturing horses. When such medicine was taken on the warpath, the owner wore it on a thong around his neck, 

outside and visible. 

The collection and use of buffalo stones appears to have considerable time depth on the Northern 

Plains, as the objects have been found archeologically in both protohistoric and prehistoric contexts. 

Wood (1971:8) describes a baculite fossil segment that was found in a probable personal medicine bundle 

at a protohistoric Mandan/Hidatsa site near Fort Clark on the Missouri River in central North Dakota. 

The bundle appeared to have been intentionally buried in the wall of a cache pit, cushioned in a bed of 

grass and perhaps wrapped in leather. In addition to the buffalo stone, the bundle contained Basidiomycete mushroom spores; hematite pigment; European trade beads; a ground-stone disk; tobacco, squash, 
 26 

and wild plum seeds; a gunflint; an antler or bone bracelet; a bone whistle; and three pierced elk canines. 

The site within which the feature was found is believed to date between AD 1780 and 1804. 

Evidence of earlier use comes from Kehoe (1965:212–213), who reported that two ammonite segments were recovered during excavations at a Late Prehistoric Period bison drive site in south central Saskatchewan. Kehoe believed their presence at a bison procurement site clearly documented the practice of 

pairing the fetishes during the prehistoric period. 

Finally, Wyss (1991) has reported an ammonite fossil that was found in an isolated prehistoric burial 

in northeastern Montana. The burial was a flexed inhumation, probably that of an adolescent female, with 

associated grave goods that included a cluster of eight large canine teeth coated with red ochre, a single 

large serrated cryptocrystalline flake, a small white pebble, and the buffalo stone. The burial had apparently been placed within a hearth. Assay of charcoal from the hearth fill generated an uncorrected radiocarbon age of 1280 ± 40 BP (Marilyn Wyss personal communication, March 23, 1999), which calibrates 

to a date of AD 1093 to 1176 (calculated at 2σ), seven hundred years before the occupation of the camp 

on Pawnee Fork. 

The Lakota, presumably including the Oglala band, are also known to have recognized and carried 

sacred stones (Ewers 1937). However, specific references to these latter objects (Dorsey 1889:10; 

Densmore 1918:204–206) state that they could be small and spherical and carried in a pouch or bundle, 

white or clear like glass or ice, or as large as boulders. In any case, the Lakota stones apparently did not 

have an animistic shape. 

The buffalo stone from 14NS403 thus represents a small but extremely important artifact diagnostic 

of several Northern Plains tribes that included the Cheyenne but apparently not the Oglala. Hancock 

noted that the Cheyenne lodges stood along the eastern and southern parts of the encampment (Appendix 

A:10), and the KSHS 400-series excavation block lay along the northeastern edge of the artifact scatter at 

14NS403. If 14NS403 is indeed the village on Pawnee Fork, then the fetish would have been recovered 

from that part of the site where the Cheyenne lodges probably stood in April 1867. 

The buffalo stone represents the only object in any of the three archeological collections from the site 

that clearly links a specific native group to the nineteenth-century Indian component. It was found in 

close physical association with a collection of unusual, nonlocal prehistoric projectile points and regionally exotic lithic debris, and it may also be linked to other archeological materials found within the block 

excavations, including scattered ochre (see below) and other objects. This context strongly suggests that 

the buffalo stone, the points and flakes, and perhaps other artifacts in the scatter together formed the contents of a personal medicine bundle. Despite the considerable importance that such a bundle may have 

had to its owner, it was abandoned when the villagers fled. 

Ochre/Hematite 

Traces of yellow and red ochre, quite possibly representing paint pigments, were recovered in six 

KSHS excavation units in Areas 761/771 and 772. Never abundant, these materials were found in somewhat larger quantities in the fill of three features, F110, F154, and F156. Feature 110 was a thin ovate 

ochre stain that included a number of blue and white beads, while Features 154 and 156 were both shallow basins that contained ochre flecks together with animal bone fragments. The latter features may simply have been natural depressions that collected debris from the historic American Indian occupation. 

A small number of hematite pebbles were also found in several excavation units in KSHS Areas 

761/771 and 772. While they may be a natural occurrence in the soil, it is possible that these pebbles represent the raw materials for the ground pigments mentioned above. Both the powdered hematite and 

ochre may also have been part of the complex that contained the buffalo fetish. 

Other 

Five other artifacts, all of them in the Frusher Collection from 14NS403, warrant brief mention as 

possible personal belongings. These include two perforated brass harmonica tone plates, a small brass 
 27 

ferrule tip, and a larger ferrous ferrule. Feathers were included in annuity goods provided to the Cheyenne and Arapahoe (Appendix A:15), and it is possible that one or both ferrules represent the tips of 

manufactured feather plumes. A white metal escutcheon plate in the Frusher material is believed to represent part of a drawer pull, but may ultimately have served as some other form of decoration. 

Camp Equipage and Utensils 

Artifacts relating to camp life—cooking, etc.—are not abundant in the three collections from 

14NS403 (Table 8), but include the remains of several glass bottles, metal cooking vessels, and other 

household implements. 

Bottles 

All three collections from the site contain bottle fragments from either glass or stoneware containers. 

Within the bottle glass category, the Monger Collection contains only two glass sherds, one aqua, the 

other colorless. The Frusher Collection contains the base of a brown glass quart-sized bottle and three 

dark green glass bottle fragments. 

The KSHS bottle glass assemblage is substantially larger in quantity, but still reflects only a small 

number of containers. One hundred thirty-nine colorless glass fragments recovered from X237 in KSHS 

Area 761/771 probably represent the remains of a single small cylindrical medicine bottle. Partial refitting of the fragments indicates that the diameter of the intact container measured 21

/8 inch, but the height 

of the bottle cannot be accurately estimated. The shoulders and sides of the bottle contain embossed lettering that reads / ...HUS... / FIT... / ...OGUE / ...N.J. /. No bottle finish was found for this container. 

Seventeen blue-green glass fragments, most of which were recovered as F146 in KSHS X477 in Area 

761/771, probably represent another medicine bottle, this one having a panel shape and a Windsor Oval or 

Excelsior base profile (Fike 1987:10). The sides of the bottle appear to have been concave with no embossed lettering. The base of the bottle measures about 13⁄4 inches wide by 11⁄4 inches deep, but the original height of the bottle cannot be estimated. No finish was found. 

Finally, the 133 amber glass fragments found in the KSHS Area 772 block excavations probably represent a single broken bottle. Most of this material was recovered in X651, but was also found in adjacent 

X649, X650, X652, and X666. The collection includes neck, body, and base fragments, and partial reconstruction of several larger pieces suggests that the complete container was a large panel bottle with a 

French Square shape and a ring/oil neck finish (Herskovitz 1978:4–5; Fike 1987:8–10; Switzer 1974:30–

33). The intact bottle would have measured 87

/8–91⁄2 inches tall, and the container shape and two fragments bearing embossed letters confirm that this was a bitters bottle, the front panel of which would have 

read DR. J. HOSTETTER’S STOMACH BITTERS. 

Hostetter’s Stomach Bitters was an extremely successful product that saw extensive consumption by 

Union troops in the Civil War (Munsey 1970:112; Switzer 1974), probably due to its high alcohol content 

(Munsey indicates 47 percent at that time, while others report 25–27 percent). Largely developed and 

sold to avoid the taxes that were charged on liquor, bitters were just as potent as gin or rum, but were typically marketed as having medicinal benefits (Munsey 1970:111). The presence of the embossed letters on 

this bottle indicates a manufacture date of 1858 or later. 

The 200- and 400-series KSHS block excavations also produced the remains of at least three glazed 

ceramic containers, two of which are probable stoneware beer or ale bottles represented by a total of 45 

sherds from eleven excavation units. The reconstructed shoulder, body, and base of the one that was 

found in X463 (Figure 18h) is from a wheel-thrown container that had a cream-colored body, a pale yellow ochre or brown Bristol wash over its upper third, and a clear exterior and interior salt glaze. The base 

of the bottle is unglazed and bears no maker’s mark. Intact, this container would have measured 71⁄2 to 8 

inches tall with a diameter of 3 inches, and it would have had a gently constricted neck (Wilson 1974; 

Herskovitz 1978:111). 
 28 

Part of a generally similar salt-glazed bottle was recovered in X434. Light gray in color, this bottle 

lacks the yellow wash on its neck. While it is missing most of its body and base, it appears to have had 

approximately the same pint volume and physical dimensions as the previous bottle. 

Finally, 26 sherds in the KSHS materials represent a third distinctive ceramic container. Recovered 

from five excavation units, these appear to be derived from a relatively tall, cylindrical, wheel-thrown bottle that had a crackled, cream-colored exterior glaze and a dark brown Albanese interior glaze. Dimensions of the complete container cannot be estimated accurately, and there is no indication of the finish or 

maker. 

Coffee Mills 

Parts of cast-iron coffee mills were recovered at two locations at 14NS403 in the course of the KSHS 

investigations. One cluster of five mill parts was found in X405, X463, and X464 in Area 761/771, while 

three other fragments were recovered 70 m to the west in Area 772 X666. The former materials represent 

roughly half of a hemispherical bowl or hopper and part of the housing in the bottom of the hopper 

through which a crank extended (Figure 18i). The hopper is estimated to have had a rim diameter of 4 

inches. The lower inside rim of the hopper has diagonal pulverizing burrs against which the burrs on the 

crank stem would have ground. The crank mechanism passed through a cast-iron housing that stood on 

two short legs in the bottom of the hopper. The lower outside rim of the hopper fragment has a stamped 

date of 1840 or 1846, and the mill was probably one of the box variety similar to those illustrated in an 

1865 hardware catalogue (Russell and Erwin Manufacturing Company 1980:309,311). 

The three cast-iron crank pieces found in X666 may belong to the same coffee mill, but this cannot 

be shown conclusively. The crank handle is S-shaped in plan view (Figure 18j) and roughly 51⁄2 inches 

long. Flat on the underside, it has a reinforcing rib on the top. The outer end of the crank has a 0.20-inchdiameter shaft and a thin ferrous washer for a knob. The inner end of the crank has a 0.32-inch-square 

hole that would have held the shaft that fit into the mill hopper. The three pieces of the crank in X666 

were recovered as F197. 

Three other coffee mill parts, two of them fragmentary stems with grinding burrs that mated with 

burrs in the hoppers, are present in the Frusher Collection. It is unclear whether these stems are from 

box-style mills or other varieties. The third fragment may be part of a cap on the crank. 

Grommets 

Two brass grommets have been found at 14NS403. One in the Frusher Collection is actually half of 

a pressed pair and has a diameter of 1⁄2 inch. The other was found in X666 in KSHS Area 772 and has an 

exterior diameter of 9

/16 inch and an interior diameter of 7/32 inch. These artifacts may have been part of 

canvas tarps or flys. 

Hooks 

Twenty ferrous wire hooks of various shapes and sizes are present in the Frusher Collection, most if 

not all of which were found in the vicinity of the dugouts believed to represent a buffalo hunters’ camp. 

Seventeen of the hooks are S-shaped. One of these is 2 inches long, while 16 others are 41⁄2 inches long. 

The wire diameter for these artifacts is 1

/8 to 1⁄4 inch. Another hook, made of heavier wire, is 6 inches long 

and has been pointed at one end. Finally, two hooks or hangers are W-shaped. All of these artifacts 

probably functioned to hang game or hides. 

Cooking Vessels 

All three collections contain fragments of cast-iron cooking vessels that reflect a range of pots, skillets or frying pans, and Dutch ovens. 

The Frusher Collection contains 26 body and handle fragments and one 10-inch frying pan or skillet 

that is missing its handle. The Monger Collection includes 20 more pieces that were found on Monger’s 

East and West Mesas and in Monger’s Area B. Parts of two of the Monger vessels are on display at Fort 
 29 

Larned, one of which, either a Dutch oven or a skillet fragment, bears embossed letters that read / G.F.F. 

...ey/ ...is No... /. The second vessel fragment, which has a triangular pouring spout along its rim, has 

three illegible letters over / ST LOUIS / 6 /. The first example is attributed to Gilles Filley, a prominent 

St. Louis importer and entrepreneur who resold goods beginning in the 1840s and continuing until the 

1860s (Noble 1997:23; Scott 2001). The second fragmentary vessel on display is probably a Filley product as well. 

While it contains no evidence of maker’s marks, the KSHS assemblage of cast-iron pans, kettles, and 

ovens is more extensive and includes 48 body/base/rim fragments, three lid fragments, and five complete 

or fragmentary bails or handles (Figure 19d–h). The majority of these materials were found in the Area 

761/771 excavation block. 

Based upon the projected curvature of the body fragments, the complete vessels that are represented 

by the KSHS material do not appear to have been very large. The fragments that represent pot or frying 

pan/skillet bodies range in thickness from 0.06 to 0.12 inch, with most between 0.08 and 0.11 inch, and 

rim fragments from X235, X237, and X478 indicate openings or mouths the diameters of which were 5, 

9, and 11 to 12 inches respectively. The shape of one of the vessels, probably a small pot, is illustrated by 

one reconstructed section from X448 that suggests a globular body and a short vertical rim. The several 

flat sections that are present in the KSHS material probably represent the bottoms of skillets or Dutch ovens that appear to have had straight, steep sides. One of these fragments (Figure 19d) has a simple 

blunted conical lug foot. 

The three complete iron or heavy ferrous wire bails, found in KSHS X448, X462, and X478, have 

simple hooked ends and appear to derive from pots, kettles, or ovens that had diameters of 6–91⁄2 inches at 

the mouth. A single bail lug, found in X235 (Figure 19e), is D-shaped and was attached either horizontally to the side or vertically to the shoulder of the vessel. 

Buckets 

A single fragmentary crushed ferrous container present in the Frusher Collection is believed to represent part of a bucket. 

Scissors 

Parts of three steel scissors are present in the material from 14NS403. Two of these are represented 

by four fragments in the Frusher Collection, and three of the four pieces are from 9-inch straight trimmers 

similar to the Seymour No. 14 scissors illustrated in the 1865 Russell and Erwin catalog (Russell and Erwin Manufacturing Company 1980:369). Half of a scissors (Figure 20a), recovered from X235 in KSHS 

Area 761/771, would have measured 71⁄2 inches long and been similar to the Seymour No. 11 style. There 

are no visible makers’ marks on the KSHS artifact. 

Strike Steels 

A single fire or strike steel is on display at Fort Larned. Found by metal detector in Monger’s Area 

B, the steel is an oval style that he noted was a Hudson’s Bay Company pattern. Such artifacts have indeed been found in eighteenth-century fur trade sites in the eastern U.S. and in Canada (Gilman 1982:13). 

The 14NS403 artifact measures 31⁄2 inches long by 11⁄2 inches wide, and apparently has no identifying 

maker’s mark. It may represent mid-nineteenth-century trade or annuity goods. 

Tableware/Cutlery

Two pieces of tableware are present in the 14NS403 material, both of them in the Frusher Collection. 

They include a three-tine iron fork that is missing the tine tips, and two mating fragments of a pressed 

ferrous spoon. The fork appears to have had riveted handles that are now gone, and it probably measured 

about 7 inches long before the tines were broken. The tablespoon is undecorated, and measures roughly 

71⁄2 inches long. 
 30 

Tools 

A small number of tools are represented in the three site collections (Table 9). Some of these artifacts reflect trade items or objects otherwise acquired, while most of the remaining objects document 

modification from their original form to serve other functions. 

Awls 

Two iron or steel awls have been recovered, one of which, in the Frusher Collection, is pointed and 

has a slight curve. The other awl, recovered in KSHS X235 in Area 761/771, is a modified steel knife 

blade (Figure 20b). The tang of the latter implement has two remnant ferrous bolsters that held grips, 

perhaps wooden ones, which are now gone. 

Edged Tools 

Nine ferrous knife blades and blade fragments of various types have been found at 14NS403, one of 

which, a knife blade tip, was recovered in KSHS X235. Two worn steel knife blades are present in the 

Monger Collection display at Fort Larned. One, with five bolster holes in the tang, was exposed in X613 

in Monger’s Area 762, while the other, which somewhat resembles a skinning knife, was found by metal 

detector in Monger’s Area 763. 

The remaining materials in the knife assemblage are part of the Frusher Collection, and include three 

standard butchering knives. Two of these artifacts measure 91⁄2 inches long, and one of the two still has 

attached wooden slab handles. A third butchering knife with wooden slab handles has been worn down to 

a length of about 8 inches. A fourth artifact, believed to represent a skinning knife, measures 7 inches in 

length and also has fragmentary remains of wooden slab handles together with two iron bolsters. A 

clipped point-style knife tip in the collection measures 41⁄2 inches long. Finally, the Frusher Collection 

contains a single ferrous knife tip. 

A single axe head in the Frusher materials is iron with a steel bit, and measures roughly 51⁄2 inches 

long. The Frusher Collection also contains an intact drawknife minus its two handles. The blade portion 

of this tool measures roughly 10 inches wide, and bears an illegible maker’s mark. 

Steel or iron scrapers were found in all three collections. The two Monger artifacts appear to have 

been made from scrap iron fragments that were sharpened to form slightly convex, unifacial scraping 

edges, while four scrapers in the Frusher Collection are of similar manufacture. A fifth scraper has been 

manufactured on the broken handle of an iron skillet. The single scraper in the KSHS materials (Figure 

20c) has been manufactured across a thin knife blade fragment, and is thus somewhat different than the 

previously mentioned artifacts that were made on heavier stock. The KSHS artifact measures about 11⁄2 

inches wide, and was found in X283 in Area 761/771. 

The Monger Collection contains one probable scythe that was found by metal detector on Monger’s 

East Mesa. Missing the handle, the blade of this implement has been ground to form a large knife-like 

cutting tool. 

Another edged tool from 14NS403, part of the Frusher Collection, is a hide flesher that has been 

manufactured from a flattened and cut-down flintlock trade musket barrel that has four sets of incised 

decorative bands around it and now measures 12 inches long. The forward, cut end of the barrel has been 

hammered flat to form a convex edge which has then been notched or serrated. 

A second possible flesher, this one of bone, was identified in the course of faunal analysis of animal 

bone contained in the Monger Collection (Bozell in Appendix G, this report). The object has been formed 

by modification of a large mammal long bone diaphysis and has a working face that was created by 

rounding the transverse edge and then notching it with ten small serrations (Figure 20d). Bozell indicates 

that such tools are common in postcontact American Indian occupations, but notes that the 14NS403 artifact is unusual in that it has not been manufactured from a metapodial. Alternatively, this implement may 

relate to the protohistoric Dismal River Aspect component at 14NS403. 
 31 

Abrading/Filing Tools 

Several abrading implements or whetstones are represented in the Frusher and KSHS materials. 

Most of these artifacts appear as fragments of light-colored, fine-grained sandstone, some of which have 

adjacent flat facets that suggest grinding surfaces. Two of these fragments may be part of an actual grinding wheel. Finally, two pieces of fire-reddened limestone in the KSHS materials bear 6 to 10 incised 

grooves, and the objects may represent irregularly shaped or informal sharpening stones. The whetstone 

materials were found in both Areas 761/771 and 772, while the two limestone fragments were surface discoveries. 

A single steel file fragment was recovered from the unnumbered excavation in Monger’s Area 763, 

and represents the tip of a three-sided smooth-cut taper file. The fragment is roughly 11⁄2 inches long, 

while the length of the intact artifact approximated 8–9 inches. 

Miscellaneous Metal Tools 

Two other probable tools are represented in the archeological collections from the site. The Frusher 

Collection contains a cast-iron bar that has been hammered or ground to a point on one end and may represent a pry bar or heavy punch. The Monger Collection contains a homemade cast-iron wedge that may 

have been formed by modification of a pickaxe head. The wide end of the wedge has been hammered 

into a mushroom shape, and the object measures 7 inches long by 11⁄4 inches wide at the tip. It was found 

by metal detector in Monger’s Area B. 

Bone Tools 

Finally two bone objects identified in the faunal analysis of the materials from 14NS403 (Appendix G, this report) may represent tools or tool parts. Both of these objects are part of the Monger Collection. The first (Figure 20e) has been manufactured from a cut bison femur. About 12 cm long, the bone 

has a pointed tip that bears light polish and striations, and Bozell suggests that it may represent a butchering tool. The second object (Figure 20f), manufactured from a cut bison rib, may represent either part of 

a shaft wrench or straightener or perhaps a slotted knife handle. Both of these artifacts may in fact relate 

to the Dismal River component at the site. 

Horse Tack and Vehicle Parts 

Artifacts related to horses and horse equipage were found in all three of the collections from the site 

(Table 10). These primarily consist of metal artifacts, ferrous and brass, together with several leather 

fragments that may reflect harness, etc. Several pieces of charred but otherwise unidentified organic material in the KSHS Collection may also represent burned tack. 

Bits 

Three snaffle bits and three other bit fragments are present in the Frusher Collection, all of which are 

iron or steel. One of the snaffle bits may be homemade. 

Buckles 

Seventeen buckles of various types are present in the 14NS403 materials, most of which probably relate to bridles or halters. Twelve center-bar buckles in the three collections are all of malleable iron and 

are relatively small. The single rectangular center-bar buckle in the KSHS Collection (Figure 21a) is 

probably what is referred to as a “sunk bar” style in Knopp (2001:154). It measures 17

/8 by 13/8 inches and 

would have fastened a 3⁄4-inch strap. 

The collections also include one cinch buckle and a single D-shaped or horseshoe (Knopp 2001:155) 

buckle, both ferrous. The former is in the Frusher Collection. The latter, part of the KSHS Collection and 

found in the unnumbered Monger Area 763 excavation (Figure 21b), measures approximately 15

/8 by 15/8

inches and would have fastened a strap about 1 inch wide. The D-shaped buckle could derive from a saddle or from the throat latch on a bridle (Don Rowlison, personal communication, November 20, 2001). 
 32 

Finally, 15 rectangular ferrous roller or roller-bar buckles have been recovered from the site. The 

KSHS artifacts came from both Areas 761/771 and 772, and include one buckle (Figure 21c) that measures 11⁄4 by 1 inch and is essentially identical to one of the two roller buckles in the Monger Collection. 

These two artifacts are probably horse or mule head gear (Scott and Fox 1987:96–98) and would have 

fastened straps 3⁄4 inch wide. The second KSHS roller-bar buckle (Figure 21d) measures 17

/16 by 2 inches. 

Believed to be part of a girth or a stirrup, this buckle would have fastened a strap 13

/8 inches wide. 

Rings 

Ten ferrous rings are present in the Monger, Frusher, and KSHS Collections, and include six harness 

rings of various sizes, a large D-ring, and a probable saddle ring with an attached iron staple. The latter 

artifact was recovered from X2 in Monger’s Area 762. The KSHS artifact (Figure 21e), recovered from 

X462, has an outside diameter of 2 inches and may reflect military horse tack or part of a saddle (Steffen 

1979; Scott and Fox 1987:96–97). Due to its relatively large size, however, it may alternatively represent 

a fitting from a civilian or military wagon or part of a wagon harness. 

Mule Shoes and Horseshoe Nails 

The three site collections contain two complete iron mule shoes, one each from the Monger and 

Frusher Collections, while cut horseshoe nails are represented in all three collections. The Monger artifact was recovered from X618 in his Area 762. The only dimensional data for this latter material come 

from the KSHS materials, which include three No. 5 nails, one No. 6, two No. 7s, and a No. 9 nail 

(Baskins and Witte 1997:45). The No. 9 nail (21⁄2 inches long) was part of F137, a concentration of 18 cut 

nails and nail fragments exposed in X462. This latter complex of fasteners was probably contained in a 

bag or pouch. 

Other Horse Tack 

Eight other miscellaneous horse equipage artifacts are present in the Frusher and KSHS materials. 

The Frusher artifacts include a single heavy brass wire halter square and a halter stud, together with an 

iron coscojo, a jingle-like ornament that would have attached to a Mexican or Spanish bridle bit or bridle 

slack chain (Adams et al. 2000:65,67). While this latter artifact certainly suggests contact with Hispanic 

populations to the south and west, similar ornamental attachments were also used by the Blackfoot and 

other Northern Plains tribes (Don Rowlison, personal communication, November 20, 2001). Finally, the 

Frusher Collection contains a nickel-plated ferrous rein holder that would have attached to a bridle bit. 

This object would postdate an 1867 occupation. 

The KSHS Collection contains a single ferrous double wire snap hook (Figure 21f). Missing its 

spring tongue, the hook may be part of a link strap used to tether horses together, and resembles one illustrated in Steffen (1979:59–61) as part of the head gear specified for cavalry units in 1861. Conversely, the 

artifact may instead be part of a cavalry pack saddle (Weibert 1989:296), or it may be of civilian origin. 

The snap hook measures 211/16 by 11⁄4 inches and was recovered in X235 in Area 761/771. 

A ferrous sideline chain segment in the Frusher material has a single repaired link and may be part of 

a horse hobble, while another single repaired iron chain-link fragment is also present in that collection. 

An iron toggle in the Frusher Collection may be from a watering chain. Finally, an iron picket pin head 

fragment in the Frusher artifacts is probably part of a U.S. Army Model 1859 picket pin. It has a figureeight tether or tie ring similar to the one illustrated in Adams et al. (2000:41). 

Vehicle Parts 

Vehicle parts are represented in small numbers in the Monger and Frusher artifacts from 14NS403. 

Two of these, both from the Monger Collection, likely reflect material from the historic Indian component. One of the objects in question is a center clip from a singletree attachment (Spivey 1979:108), while 

the other is a ferrous ferrule, possibly from a draft animal’s neck yoke (Spivey 1979:26). 

The remaining three vehicle-related artifacts are all from the Frusher Collection. They include a 

wagon bow staple and a wagon brace, both of which bear traces of green paint and almost certainly post-
 33 

date the mid-nineteenth-century occupation. Last, a clevis recovered near the dugout or excavation depressions may date to the possible buffalo hunters’ occupation. 

Leather 

The Monger and KSHS Collections contain 13 irregular fragments of either hide or tanned leather 

that may be the remains of horse tack or wagon harness. None of these pieces are larger than 11⁄4 inches 

in maximum dimension, and their original appearance and/or function can no longer be determined. It is 

thus possible that this material may reflect other leather or hide objects, including anything from parfleches to buffalo robes to lodge skins. 

Finally, several pieces of charred organic material were recovered in the KSHS excavations at 

14NS403. This material is problematical, for while it may reflect burned harness or tack, it may alternatively represent a variety of objects of organic material that were burned or otherwise decomposed. 

Fasteners 

Several types of fasteners are present in the three collections from 14NS403 (Table 11). While this 

particular artifact assemblage is not large, it includes bolts, nails, tacks, rivets, and staples, together with 

metal strapping and wire. All of the screws recovered from the site appear to reflect fasteners for gun 

parts, and have been discussed previously. 

Bolts 

Two bolt shanks are present in the Frusher Collection. Both are threaded, but one appears to postdate 1867. 

Nails/Spikes 

One hundred sixteen cut ferrous nails were found in the Frusher and KSHS Collections. Most of 

these are smaller, 2d to 6d, although the Frusher Collection contains seven 10d or 12d nails that have bent 

or clinched tips, and the KSHS materials include a single 16d nail or spike. Within the latter collection, 

19 nails and tacks were found in a cluster in X462 in Area 761/771. Designated F137, they were probably 

the contents of a sack or bag. 

Rivets 

Three ferrous rivets have been found at the site, together with five copper or brass ones. The single 

rivet in the KSHS Collection (Figure 21g) has an attached remnant of flat iron or steel that has been modified by sharpening to form a small scraping tool. 

Staples, Strapping, Tacks, and Wire 

Nine ferrous staples are present in the Frusher Collection, while another, in the Monger Collection, is 

still attached to an iron ring, probably from a saddle. Fourteen brass and ferrous tacks of various small 

sizes are present in the Monger and KSHS materials. Nineteen segments of ferrous wire in the Frusher 

and KSHS Collections are all of relatively light gauge, and the same two collections contain ten fragments 

of light ferrous strapping ranging in width from 7

/16 to 5/8 inch. The Monger Collection includes two fragments of heavier ferrous strapping material. 

Foodstuffs 

Evidence relating to foodstuffs is present in moderate quantities in the three artifact collections from 

14NS403 (Table 12). The relevant data include both the foods themselves, indicated by part or all of the 

animal bone that has been recovered at the site, a small quantity of probable freshwater mussel shell, and 

inferred evidence deriving from containers, all of which are the remains of tin canisters. 

Faunal Remains 

The faunal remains recovered at 14NS403 are represented by animal bone and freshwater mussel 

shell, the majority of which was recovered from the KSHS block excavations, while the remainder derive 
 34 

from Monger’s various test excavations across the site. Most of the faunal material from the site was analyzed by consultant John R. Bozell via purchase order (Appendix G, this report). The small quantity of 

additional faunal remains not included in the material provided to Bozell appears in Table 12. Discussion 

of nine modified objects/elements found in the faunal remains has been included elsewhere in this report. 

These latter objects include a flesher, a shell pendant, and several cut and/or polished bones and bone 

fragments. 

The 14NS403 faunal collection is a relatively small one, and as such Bozell simply undertook a descriptive analysis of the material. While several thousand fragments representing roughly 3,800 grams of 

bone were present for study, only 86 unmodified elements could actually be identified beyond the taxonomic level of order. Roughly 20 percent of the animal bone was burned, reflecting either cooking practices and/or postdepositional transformation. The accounts of Custer, Stanley, and Coates all noted the 

presence of cooking meat abandoned in the village, and some of the archeological bone recovered in the 

KSHS excavations may represent the remains of this material. 

Bozell identified horse in the assemblage, together with the remains of dog or wolf, beaver, rabbit 

and turtle. However, the majority of the identified unmodified material, 46 elements, represented Bison 

bison. Three individual animals are minimally represented, one of which was juvenile, although much of 

the unidentifiable debris in the faunal assemblage is probably also bison and would document additional 

individuals. Eight of the 46 identified bison bones bear butchering marks, all of which were produced by 

metal tools. 

Based upon the predominance of low utility elements in the collection, Bozell characterized the bison remains recovered thus far from the site as reflective of a kill or processing camp. The large percentage of spiral fractures, documenting fresh or green breaks and thus indicating the use of fresh meat/bone, 

also reflects the exploitation of bone marrow for the manufacture of bone grease, which is in itself often 

interpreted as an activity typically undertaken in times of nutritional stress. 

Tin Canisters 

The remains of tin canisters appear in small quantities in all three collections from the site. No complete containers are present, however, and the assemblage is represented by fragmentary and rusted can 

parts. 

Five probable baking soda cans are represented by four canister lids in the Monger Collection and 

one in the Frusher materials. These typically have diameters of about 23

/8 inches. A single rectangular 

sardine can in the Frusher Collection was recovered near the possible buffalo hunters’ camp, and may date 

to that particular occupation. A single hole-in-top can lid present in the Monger Collection has been cut 

and considerably modified, while a press-on canister lid in the Frusher Collection has been perforated to 

serve as a sieve or, more likely, as a shaker, perhaps for salt or another seasoning. 

Finally, the Monger and KSHS Collections contain small quantities of rusted tin canister fragments 

that have been flattened and destroyed. Monger’s data were derived from several locations across the site, 

while the greatest amount of KSHS material came from X666 and X667 in Area 772. This debris lay 

within F217, the irregular circle of limestone cobbles that had been exposed there on the ground surface. 

Miscellaneous Cultural Material 

The block excavations undertaken by KSHS personnel at 14NS403 generated a small quantity of additional cultural material that does not fit the above descriptive categories but still merits brief discussion 

(Table 13). 

Burned earth, appearing as small red or orange flecks of soil, was found in the 600-series excavations 

in Area 772. Usually scattered through the fill, it was also sometimes concentrated in small depressions 

exposed at depths of 5–8 cmbs. The depressions may have been intentionally excavated storage or other 

pits, but some may have been natural irregularities in the ground surface where this material collected. 
 35 

In addition to two problematical iron rods found in X432 and X435 in Area 761/771, the KSHS Collection includes a single metal tab found in X478 (Figure 21h). This unidentified object has apparent finger grooves on one end and a pivoting lug or pin on the other. 

Four wood fragments were recovered in X650 in KSHS Area 772. All four appear to be cedar, and 

may be either natural or part of the surviving cultural debris from the historic occupation. Three of the 

four wood fragments were recorded as part of F189, a small concentration of amber bottle glass and other 

material. The largest wood fragment measures roughly 1 inch long. 

The Monger materials include two fragments of flat or window glass recovered in the vicinity of the 

KSHS 500-series block excavations in Area 761/771. The two fragments measure 1.38 mm thick, and 

based upon Schoen’s (1985) Great Plains window glass research, this thin material could be expected to 

date to roughly AD 1820. However, such an early date is clearly inconsistent with the relatively late historic Euroamerican occupation of the Kansas frontier. At this point, the two fragments of window glass in 

the Monger Collection remain problematical. 

Finally, two artifacts in the Frusher Collection warrant brief mention based upon their implications. 

The first is an 1892 Indian head penny, while the second is part of the throttle or choke from an automobile, probably a Model T Ford. The actual find spots for these objects are almost immaterial. Both artifacts serve to demonstrate the presence of visitors to the site after the mid-nineteenth-century occupation, 

and suggest the strong potential for postdepositional collection and/or disturbance of the historic American Indian deposits at the site. 

Discussion 

The three archeological collections from 14NS403 contain a substantial range of cultural materials 

that include both possible prehistoric and protohistoric artifacts and data, together with many objects that 

most certainly date to the mid-nineteenth century. Military artifacts and other related paraphernalia are 

clearly represented in the three collections. However, other cultural material from 14NS403 reflects domestic objects that would be expected in an historic Plains Indian encampment. These latter data include 

evidence of clothing, cooking implements, and tools such as a drawknife and horse tack, all available either as annuity goods, captured objects, or trade materials. 

The site collections also include artifactual material that is distinctly American Indian—three diagnostic chipped-stone projectile points, glass trade beads, brass and shell pendant fragments, brass wire 

bracelets, a fetish, bone and metal fleshing tools, a stone maul, and an iron horse bit decoration. However, 

only a single artifact, the buffalo stone recovered in KSHS Area 761/771, has links to either of the two 

tribal groups potentially associated with the 1867 component at the site, and given the choices, it is 

probably Cheyenne in origin. 

Prehistoric/protohistoric artifacts are clearly represented in the 14NS403 materials, and include the 

chipped-stone projectile points, assorted worked flakes and unmodified debitage, burned daub, a few pottery sherds, the stone maul, and probably some of the animal bone. It is presently impossible to sort out 

the daub and the animal bone as to cultural affiliation. However, several of the projectile points in the 

Monger Collection display at Fort Larned are most likely associated with the documented Dismal River 

Aspect/protohistoric Plains Apache component at the site, and are presumed to date to approximately AD 

1700. The mica-tempered ceramic sherds recovered by Monger are probably also associated with that 

occupation. 

The three remaining chipped-stone prehistoric projectile points found in the KSHS excavations in 

Area 761/771 are different, however, and predate the Dismal River component by several hundred to several thousand years. The associated flakes probably also date to the same earlier time period. Equally 

important, both the known distribution of the projectile point types, and also probably the source areas for 

the lithics, lie outside the region of south-central Kansas and, in the case of the Oxbow and Besant points, 

well north of the Central Plains. 
 36 

The three KSHS projectile points and the associated worked flakes are almost certainly the contents 

of a pouch or bundle that would have been associated with the historic American Indian occupation at the 

site. Collected elsewhere, including locales as distant as the Northern Plains, they were brought to the site 

by individuals who were at that time routinely manufacturing projectile points from iron or steel. 

Historic weapons, weapons parts, and ammunition are relatively well represented in the three collections from14NS403, and these artifacts reflect a range of weapon and gun types. The ammunition in the 

site collections documents firearms with a considerable range of ages—weapons that fired either nonmetallic cartridges or muzzle-loading powder and ball, as well as metallic cartridges. The former firearms 

would most likely have been percussion cap and ball, while the latter included both centerfire and rimfire 

weapons. Two pistol types are represented in the ammunition— .44 cal. Colt and .44 cal. Remington—

while perhaps seven types of long guns are reflected in the ammunition (.44 cal. Ballard rifle or carbine, 

.50 cal. Sharps, .50 cal. Springfield, .50 cal. Gallagher, .52 cal. Spencer, .52 cal. Sharps, and probably .56 

cal. Spencer). 

The gun parts from 14NS403 likewise suggest a range of firearms types including the .58 cal. Model 

1861 Springfield rifle muskets, Model 1855 to 1863 Springfield rifles, .50 cal. Plains rifles and trade 

guns, a .36 cal. Manhattan pistol, and a .54 cal. Starr carbine. The bayonet in the Frusher Collection indicates the probable presence of a .577 cal. British Enfield rifle musket, while other parts derive from a 

Colt-style Model 1851 or Model 1860 revolver and one or more Remington revolvers of unknown calibers. There is clearly a great deal of commonality between the ammunition in the collections and the firearms data set. 

Finally, all three collections from 14NS403 include evidence of traditional hand weapons—steel or 

iron lances, arrow points, and knives—some of them possible trade goods, the others manufactured or 

modified from scavenged or otherwise obtained raw materials. 

Recent research at other historic frontier battle sites (Scott 2000) has documented the considerable 

variety of firearms that were routinely used by American Indian warriors during the nineteenth-century 

Indian wars. The Indian combatants at the Battle of the Little Bighorn, for instance, employed at least 43 

different firearms types in the counterattack against Custer’s command, and they used an even larger 

range of ammunition in the operation of those weapons (Scott et al. 1989:105). The weapons-related artifacts from 14NS403 reflect a similar range of types and substantiate the presence of an extensive historic 

Plains Indian component. 

The clothing-related items reflected in the 14NS403 collections are characteristic of a midnineteenth-century Indian population that was utilizing both trade goods and probable annuities to supplement an adaptation that was still partly rooted in the past. Buttons and buckles found at the site may 

represent a mixture of old military issue and new civilian clothing items. Some of these goods may have 

come to the villagers via Indian annuities and may derive from pants, shirts, and/or dresses such as those 

mentioned in some of the annuity lists. 

Finally, the ornaments and personal adornments in the collections are typical of those found in historic Plains Indian occupations, and reflect materials that were probably obtained in trade. This is most 

evident in the seed, pound, and more exotic beads that have been previously described. However, it is 

quite likely that the sheet brass and the heavy brass wire used to manufacture tinklers and the simple wire 

bracelets also represent materials obtained in exchange. In contrast, the tin tinklers appear to have been 

manufactured from discarded cans and other containers. Last, the small fetish found in KSHS Area 

761/771, probably part of a larger collection of objects contained in a pouch or personal bundle, has considerable ties to a variety of historic Plains Indian cultures but is likely Cheyenne in origin. 

The archeological context of the above artifacts is extremely important. Much of the three collections from 14NS403 contain evidence of burning. Glass bottles have been melted, possible leather fragments charred, and bone blackened. Small flecks of charcoal and burned earth have collected in pockets 

across the site—sometimes in apparent post molds, other times in shallow depressions. 
 37 

Much of the other artifactual material found at the site—everything from firearms actions to coffee 

mills and tin cups to objects as durable as stone mauls and grinding slabs—have in one way or another 

been broken up, destroyed, scattered, and rendered completely unserviceable. A small quantity of material almost escaped destruction—the small complexes of prehistoric points, exotic flakes, and the buffalo 

fetish lay together as if once contained in a pouch or bundle. Likewise, small concentrations of gun parts 

and nails found at the site appear to represent materials that were once associated with one another, perhaps contained in bags or pouches. 

In summary, the material culture from the extensive historic Plains Indian component at 14NS403 is 

completely characteristic of a population that relied upon trade goods, assistance from the government, 

and their own skills to survive in the nineteenth century. Additionally, the archeological context of that 

artifactual material is completely consistent with what would be expected if such an encampment was so 

thoroughly destroyed that none of the objects could ever be used again. 

A small amount of artifactual material in the three collections from 14NS403 documents Euroamerican activity at the site after the historic American Indian occupation. These latter artifacts may relate to 

nineteenth-century visits to the site by patrols out of Fort Larned (George Elmore, personal communication, December 13, 2001) or by travelers along a freight road through the site. They may also reflect early 

settlement of the southern part of the site, or twentieth-century human activity. 
 38 
 39 

Site Authenticity 

For the purposes of this report, perhaps the primary question that may be addressed by the data from 

14NS403 involves the authenticity of the site—whether 14NS403 is in fact the Indian village that Hancock ordered destroyed in 1867. The resolution of this issue is approached first through a brief review of 

the Hancock Expedition archives and the several written accounts of the event. The report then compares 

the nature and kinds of artifactual materials that have been recovered from 14NS403 with the historic information and archeological collections reported from other nineteenth-century Cheyenne sites on the 

Great Plains. 

Expedition Archives and Accounts 

The Maps and Notes of Lieutenant Brown 

As indicated in the Introduction, First Lieutenant Micah Brown, Chief Engineer for the Department 

of the Missouri, accompanied the Hancock Expedition throughout the time that it was in the field (Brown 

1867). 

Brown commanded a small eight-man unit detached from an engineer battalion at Fort Riley during 

the time that he was assigned to the expedition. As is typically the case for junior officers, however, 

Brown’s responsibilities to the larger mission were considerable. For the 45 days that Hancock was in the 

field, Brown and his men excavated approaches to numerous small drainages along the expedition’s line 

of march, enabling the troops, artillery, and supply train to descend and climb the steep banks of those 

streams. Brown’s detachment also constructed wooden trestle bridges at crossings where excavated approaches were not possible, deploying canvas-covered pontoon bridge segments across the larger flowing 

streams such as the Saline and Solomon Rivers. The lieutenant’s brief descriptions of Kansas stream 

geomorphology are useful information for any historical research of this time period. 

More important for the purposes of this report, however, Lt. Brown also drew maps and wrote brief 

descriptions of the expedition’s line of march from Fort Riley to Fort Dodge and back, calculating the distances that Hancock’s command traveled each day. Because his requisitioned mapping equipment did not 

arrive in time, Brown improvised with prismatic and common compasses, an odometer, and pocket levels, 

recording distances, directions, and features across almost 450 mi of prairie. 

Brown’s tabular data and hand-drawn maps document the locations of and distances between 24 

separate numbered bivouacs or camps that were established over the course of the expedition. His maps 

clearly illustrate the expedition’s line of march west from Fort Larned on the morning of April 13, ascending what Custer (1966:42) identified as a road along the south side of the Pawnee Fork, a stream that 

Brown identified as Heth’s Branch on his illustrations. 

On the evening of April 13, Hancock established Camp 12 a short distance northwest of the Heth’s 

Branch confluence with a tributary stream that Brown identifies as Buckner’s Branch. The expedition 

continued up the north side of Heth’s Branch the next morning, and Brown’s notes and map corroborate 

the dramatic meeting with the line of Cheyenne and Oglala, indicating that the encounter occurred at 

12:45 in the afternoon. Following that confrontation, the column continued marching to the westnorthwest, bivouacking at Camp 13 later in the afternoon of April 14 (Figure 22). Brown’s notes on his 

map of this date read: 

Indian village Sioux & Cheyenne in bend of Creek. Plenty wood [illegible] S.W. 150 [illegible] Gentle 

rolling Prairie [illegible] 3 p.m.” and “Camp 13. on N. bank of Heth’s branch. 1 mile from Indian village. A 

little wood. 

Several of the eyewitness accounts cited earlier in this report note that this bivouac (Camp 13) lay “a 

short mile” distant from the Cheyenne-Oglala village, but do not indicate the relative directions between 

the two encampments. Brown’s map clearly places Camp 13 to the south of the village. 
 40 

Hancock deployed his troops from Camp 13 to surround the camp on the night of April 14. The next 

morning, after he had sent Custer in pursuit of the fleeing villagers, Hancock moved his remaining command north from Camp 13 to a point nearer the abandoned lodges. None of the other written expedition 

accounts acknowledge this move—Brown’s records provide the only documentation. His map (Figure 

22) plots the locations of Camps 13 and 14, and his brief annotation states: 

Moved from this camp [Camp 13] on the morning of the 15th. Built a permanent log bridge across the fork 

+ camped on south bank 1 mile 752 yds. 

Brown’s map shows that the line of march from Camp 13 to Camp 14 was first south across the 

newly constructed bridge over Heth’s Branch/Pawnee Fork, then northwest up the right or south bank of 

that stream to a point immediately south of the abandoned village. Working backwards, Brown’s odometer data place Camp 13 at a distance of about 1.4 mi to the south of Camp 14 and the Indian village (and 

on the north side of Heth’s Branch/Pawnee Fork). 

Written and Illustrated Accounts 

Several brief written descriptions of the Cheyenne-Oglala encampment also bear upon the authenticity of 14NS403 as the Pawnee Fork village. These texts appear in the historical accounts of the expedition 

that were written by Stanley (1895), Custer (1966), Barnitz (Utley 1987), and Coates (Kennedy 1997). 

Several pieces that were written by Davis (1867a–d; 1868) for Harper’s Weekly and Harper’s New 

Monthly Magazine do not contain a written description of the village, but were supplemented with several 

pen and ink drawings that may or may not help to resolve the authenticity issue. 

None of the written descriptions of the village on Pawnee Fork are particularly detailed or extensive. 

For instance, Barnitz’ description (in Utley 1987:33) reads: 

We are finely encamped on the Pawnee Fork, on a beautiful terrace—on our left the wooded stream, beyond 

which at the distance of a mile or two are the bluffs—on our right a mile or two off, rolling swells of the 

prairie, and on our right front, by a little belt of timber, is the Indian (Cheyenne) village. 

Stanley’s written description (Stanley 1895:41) is even more limited: 

The Cheyenne village is located in the centre of a grove of noble elms, which covers a square area of three 

hundred paces along the banks of the Pawnee River. 

Custer’s description of the village (Custer 1966:49–55), mixed through several pages of his text, is somewhat more extensive: 

A march of a few miles brought us in sight of the village, which was situated in a beautiful grove on the 

banks of the stream up which we had been marching ... fulfilled in every respect the requirements of a good 

camping-ground; wood, water, and grass were abundant. The village was placed on a wide, level plateau, 

while on the north and west, at a short distance off, rose high bluffs, which admirably served as a shelter 

against the cold winds which at that season of the year prevail from these directions ... dense foliage of the 

cotton trees sheltering and shading the bleached, skin-clad lodges. 

The locational elements common to these first three accounts are the streamside location of the village and its position within a grove of trees. Additionally, all three accounts, together with Hancock’s 

brief reference in his final report of the expedition (Appendix A:9), state or imply that the village lay either on Pawnee River or Pawnee Fork—along the main stem of the stream. 

Only Coates’ brief account (in Kennedy 1997:66) appears to place the village on a tributary to the 

Pawnee Fork: 

The Indian village was situated in a beautiful grove on the North Fork of Pawnee Creek, a most charming 

spot; the buffalo grass, which was just beginning to grow, was soft as velvet to the feet. 

The mention of a grove of trees is consistent in all of the accounts, a physical setting generally similar to the scattered clusters of living and dead trees that stand at 14NS403 today. However, this descrip-
 41 

tive factor is not in itself diagnostic: similar settings could presumably be duplicated at other locations 

along the Pawnee Fork where there was sufficient water to support tree growth. 

Custer’s passing reference to a wide, level plateau is somewhat enigmatic, for true plateaus do not 

exist in the plains topography found along the Pawnee Fork. It is conceivable that Custer was in fact actually referring to the flattened tops of erosional remnants along either the Pawnee Fork or along the tributary on which the village lay, features that Earl Monger later referred to as mesas. 

Equally curious is the mention by both Barnitz and Custer of bluffs observed to the northwest of the 

Indian village. The land due north of 14NS403—up the valley of the intermittent tributary—rises slowly 

and only reaches a height of 70 vertical ft above the elevation of the village at a distance of about 1.4 mi 

from the site. The most dramatic elevation change is to the east and northeast of the village, where the 

land rises 80 ft in 0.7 mi. The elevation change to the northwest of 14NS403 is somewhat less pronounced, rising 80 ft over approximately 1.1 mi. Nowhere, however, are there true bluffs within sight of 

14NS403, and what instead exist are low ridges that flank either side of the intermittent tributary. One of 

these, barely visible on the horizon about a mile to the northwest of 14NS403 (Figure 23), may be the 

feature mentioned by Barnitz and Custer. This discrepancy is thus most likely a semantic one. 

The descriptions of the Hancock Expedition and the Indian village written by Stanley, Barnitz, Custer, and Coates are supplemented by the popular articles by Davis. Largely written for an Eastern audience fascinated by any exotic details of the American West, the Davis articles are written with considerable flair for the dramatic and are thus somewhat suspect in regard to their factual treatment of the subject 

matter. However, these articles are nonetheless noteworthy in that they include several pen and ink illustrations in which Davis depicts events at the village on Pawnee Fork. 

Four of the Davis illustrations conceivably depict scenes in the village itself. The first drawing is 

somewhat more questionable than the latter three. Entitled “Indian Village,” the illustration appeared in 

Davis’ article entitled “A Summer on the Plains” in the February 1868 issue of Harper’s New Monthly 

Magazine. While this drawing could actually depict the village on Pawnee Fork, it may instead simply 

represent a fanciful illustration of a generic Plains Indian encampment. This sketch (Figure 24) contains 

two clusters of standing lodges separated by scattered trees. 

The drawing contains no diagnostic locational details such as an adjacent river or stream, the plateau 

mentioned by Custer, or the bluffs noted by Custer and Barnitz, and Davis has illustrated this particular 

village as an occupied camp, depicting several Indian inhabitants either standing or walking through the 

scene. By the time that Davis actually sketched the true village, the Cheyenne and Oglala occupants 

would have fled. It is also possible that the sketch of the lodges was made at the village after it was abandoned, with the inhabitants added to provide some realism. 

The last three Davis illustrations all appeared in the May 11, 1867, issue of Harper’s Weekly. The 

first of these (Figure 25) is captioned “Lodges of the Chiefs in the Indian Village Captured by General 

Hancock” and illustrates nine standing lodges in the foreground and a grove of tall trees in the background. Indian belongings and equipment are shown scattered on the ground around the tipis. The grove 

of trees in this illustration is generally consistent with the several written descriptions of the village. 

However, the drawing contains no other defining environmental or physiographic details that specifically 

link it to the written descriptions of the village location. 

The second illustration (Figure 26) is captioned “Old Sioux Captured by General Hancock” and depicts a single individual reclining within a tipi. Part of the lodge covering has been cut away, and several 

other standing lodges are visible in the background through the opening. While the details depicted in 

this illustration are consistent with written accounts of the capture of the village, particularly the cutting 

of some of the lodge skins by the Indians, the drawing contains no locational details that specifically corroborate the written accounts of the village location. 

The final Davis drawing (Figure 27) is captioned “Burning the Cheyenne Village Near Fort Larned, 

Kansas, April 19, 1867.” Here Davis illustrates the actual destruction of the village on Pawnee Fork, de-
 42 

picting a single standing lodge and a large bonfire in the foreground, together with several stands of trees 

in the background. No Indian figures are present in this drawing—all are Army personnel either standing 

in ranks or burning the belongings. Monger felt that this perspective of the village could be obtained by 

looking north toward his Area 771 on the streamside bench. In the author’s opinion, except for the grove 

of trees, there are no other locational details included in this illustration that positively link it to the written accounts and descriptions of the village on Pawnee Fork. 

Summary 

The best data that bear upon the precise location of the Cheyenne-Oglala village on Pawnee Fork are 

the maps and annotated remarks of Lt. Brown, the expedition engineer. While several other written descriptions of the village location exist, they themselves are cryptic and brief, and they do not provide sufficient details to either confirm 14NS403 as the site of the village on Pawnee Fork or refute it. Three of 

these four accounts technically place the village on the Pawnee River or Pawnee Fork, and are thus 

consistent with Lt. Brown’s information. 

The consistent mention in the accounts of a grove of trees suggests a setting very much like the present setting of the archeological site, although other similar stands of trees undoubtedly grew elsewhere 

along the Pawnee Fork. The mention by Barnitz and Custer of high ground or bluffs to the northwest of 

the village is not supported by the present terrain—the only prominent landform northwest of 14NS403 is 

a low ridge that may resemble a bluff but is not one in the strict sense. Finally, the pen and ink drawings 

by Davis neither clarify nor corroborate the written accounts. They contain insufficient locational detail 

for the village, and in fact probably reflect a considerable amount of artistic license. 

In the final analysis, Lt. Brown’s maps and distance figures alone are sufficient hard evidence to confirm that 14NS403 is in fact the site of the village destroyed by Hancock. Brown’s maps are accurate, if 

expedient, representations of the natural and cultural features that he observed in 1867. His distance 

measurements of the command’s line of march west from Fort Larned are sufficiently detailed and precise 

to be utilized with confidence today, as Earl Monger in fact did in 1975. From the standpoint of the expedition archives, 14NS403 and the village on Pawnee Fork are one and the same. 

The Artifactual Materials 

Any further evaluation of the accuracy of Earl Monger’s identification of the village on Pawnee Fork 

must necessarily be archeological in scope. This section will first compare the lists of belongings and 

equipment that were seized by Hancock with inventories from two other 1860s Cheyenne encampments 

that were captured by the military. It will then identify the subset of belongings and equipment that 

would still be found archeologically more than a century after the village was destroyed. The multiple 

data sets utilized in this complex discussion have been summarized and integrated into a major matrix in 

Table 14. 

Annuity Goods 

Perhaps the most important sources of information that bear upon the types of material culture that 

would be found in an historic Plains Indian village site are the annuity lists, the inventories of goods that 

were periodically provided by the government to tribes based upon treaty agreements. Typically, annuity 

goods included both manufactured items such as knives, shovels, cooking utensils, bridles and saddles, 

surplus and new clothing, blankets, and bolts of cloth, together with stores or foodstuffs such as flour, 

sugar, and coffee. 

Following the destruction of their village at Sand Creek in 1864 and per the 1865 Treaty of the Little 

Arkansas (Kappler 1972:887–891), at least some of the Cheyenne (together with the Arapaho and 

Apache) apparently received their annuity goods monthly or bi-monthly at Forts Larned and Dodge. 

Some of the goods distributed to the Cheyenne during this time are documented in the Office of Indian 

Affairs correspondence in Appendix A:13–18. Table 14 Column A lists 46 types of annuity goods identified in this correspondence that were either requested for or provided to the Cheyenne, Arapaho, and 
 43 

Apache in December 1865 and January 1866. These lists also document the materials that were provided 

to those tribes in January, February, and March 1867, the months just prior to Hancock’s march onto the 

Plains. 

The annuity goods provided to the three tribes included some firearms- and weapons-related material 

(some of it military surplus), blankets, and new men’s and women’s clothing, together with gear such as 

coffee mills, kettles, butcher knives, pans, files, and saddles and tack. Perhaps the source of the military 

buttons recovered at 14NS403, the military surplus given to the Cheyenne, Arapaho, and Apache in November 1866 (Appendix A:15) included uniform coats, pants, jackets, caps, and hats, together with military ornaments for the headgear. Likewise in that November, the Indian annuities included rifles, Navy 

pistols, Eley Bros. percussion caps, and bar lead. Evidence of much of this latter material has also been 

found during the various episodes of work at 14NS403. 

Historic Inventory Data from Other Cheyenne Village Sites 

Another useful body of information relating to the kinds of artifacts expected to occur in nomadic 

Plains Indian encampments derives from inventories of Indian belongings that were captured after U.S. 

military engagements. Four such actions occurred at Cheyenne villages during the decade of the 1860s, 

the first of which was the destruction of the Cheyenne village on Sand Creek in Colorado in November 

1864. The Cheyenne belongings at Sand Creek were apparently not inventoried after the engagement. 

However, the other three actions, at Pawnee Fork in 1867, on the Washita in 1868, and at Summit Springs 

in 1869, all resulted in lists of captured material. 

The Hancock and Wynkoop lists of Cheyenne and Oglala goods and belongings that were abandoned, confiscated, and/or destroyed when the villagers fled the camp on Pawnee Fork have been combined in Table 14 Column PFC, and total 56 separate types of objects, belongings, and property. These 

lists contain some materials relating to hunting and warfare. For the most part, however, the Hancock/Wynkoop inventories reflect a range of domestic objects and materials left by the Cheyenne and 

Oglala. 

The engagement at the Cheyenne camp on the Washita River in present-day western Oklahoma involved an early morning surprise attack by elements of the 7th U.S. Cavalry. The Cheyenne survivors of 

the attack either fled the village or were captured, but left their lodges standing with most of their personal belongings inside. Table 14 Column WAC lists 20 separate types of Cheyenne goods that were inventoried by the military as captured and destroyed at the end of the Washita engagement. 

The third captured Cheyenne village, that of Summit Springs, lay along White Butte Creek in eastern 

Colorado. Elements of the 5th U.S. Cavalry captured this Southern Cheyenne encampment in a surprise 

attack, and as at the Washita, most of the Summit Springs village survivors fled, leaving their camp essentially intact. The command swept the village, confiscating any materials of value. The remaining belongings, supplies, foodstuffs, and 84 lodges were burned. Table 14 Column SSC identifies 41 categories of 

abandoned objects or goods inventoried by army personnel after the Cheyenne had quit the village. 

The data in Table 14 clearly illustrate the similarities and differences between the Washita and Summit Springs inventories and those of Hancock and Wynkoop at the Cheyenne-Oglala village on Pawnee 

Fork. The Washita and Summit Springs inventories are relatively similar. However, 15 types of 

goods/property captured at the Washita are not present on the Hancock and Wynkoop lists (ammunition; 

bar lead; bows, arrows and arrow points; bullet molds; firearms parts; gunpowder; lances; shields; bottles; 

blankets; coats; tobacco; parfleches; saddle bags; and raw hides). Likewise, 22 types of Cheyenne 

goods/belongings captured at the Summit Springs village have no counterparts in the Pawnee Fork inventory. These latter goods include guns and gun parts; ammunition; gunpowder; bows/arrows/arrow points; 

bullet molds; knives; lances; percussion caps; sabers; shields; tomahawks; bottles; coats; dresses; moccasins; tobacco; war bonnets; saddlebags; beef/meat; raw hides; and gold coins. Based upon this initial 

comparison, the Hancock/Wynkoop inventory does not correlate particularly well with the data from the 

Washita and Summit Springs. 
 44 

However, the explanation for the discrepancy most likely lies in the nature of the three events. Both 

the Washita and Summit Springs villages were captured in surprise attacks that came without warning, the 

village occupants rushing either to fight or to flee for their lives. By contrast, the village on Pawnee Fork 

was deliberately abandoned, and the Cheyenne and Oglala on Pawnee Fork had anywhere from several 

hours to a day or more to collect those belongings that they absolutely needed and/or wanted before they 

fled—weapons, ammunition, blankets and heavy clothing. Most of what the villagers left behind on Pawnee Fork were those articles that were either less immediately important or less portable. 

As was noted previously, the majority of the Cheyenne-Oglala materials captured by Hancock’s 

command were either domestic goods or personal belongings. Notably absent from the Pawnee Fork village inventories are weaponry and/or equipment relating to hunting and warfare. If the weapons and associated equipment are disregarded in the Washita and Summit Spring inventories, then there is much 

greater similarity between the remaining materials from all three villages. Minus the weaponry, for instance, only four object categories from the Washita village—coats, blankets, saddlebags/panniers, and 

tobacco—do not appear on the Pawnee Fork inventories. Having had time to pack, the occupants of the 

Pawnee Fork camp took blankets and coats with them, as it was April and temperatures were still cool. 

Saddlebags were used to pack, and tobacco would never have been intentionally left behind. 

Likewise, when the weaponry and related materials are dropped from the Summit Springs inventory, 

only nine item types found at Summit Springs are not present in the Pawnee Fork inventories: bottles, 

moccasins, dresses, coats, tobacco, saddlebags or panniers, meat, gold, and raw hides. 

In summary, the variations between the Washita/Summit Springs inventories and those of Hancock 

and Wynkoop largely relate to those objects that were intentionally left behind at the village on Pawnee 

Fork as opposed to those that were lost in the confusion and haste inherent in fleeing a surprise attack. In 

short, the historic inventories from the Washita, Summit Springs, and Pawnee Fork villages in fact correlate very well given the different circumstances of their capture. 

Archeological Transformation 

The second major consideration affecting the cross-village comparisons involves the archeological 

transformation processes that have operated at the sites and their probable cumulative effects upon the 

captured equipment and belongings at the Pawnee Fork village. Such transformations include the effects 

of both natural processes (decay or decomposition, wind and water erosion, and soil deposition) as well as 

cultural processes (human-induced changes to the site and the collection, i.e., farming, construction, and 

scavenging). 

Any discussion of archeological transformation requires an analytical sort that identifies the nineteenth-century materials in the three Cheyenne village inventories which would retain some degree of archeological expression more than a century after their original deposition. Table 14 Column AE lists 128 

objects, belongings, and goods from the Cheyenne/Arapaho/Apache annuities lists and from the Washita, 

Summit Springs, and Pawnee Fork military inventories that are believed to have potential survivability, 

either in part or in sum, for roughly 135 years. 

Table 14 Column PFA lists the 81 artifact types that have been archeologically recovered at 

14NS403. Three transformation processes have influenced the distribution and survivability of this particular collection. The first of these is natural—the exposure and weathering which have caused degradation and/or decomposition of fragile organic materials listed in the Hancock/Wynkoop inventories, i.e., 

sacks of feathers, buffalo robes, and leather goods. 

Archeological research at 14NS403 has demonstrated that much of the 1867-era cultural materials at 

the site lie within 8–10 cm of the present ground surface. Post-1867 soil deposition over historic village 

materials atop the erosional remnants at the site has been minimal, and has typically amounted to only a 

few centimeters of sediment. Lacking any substantial protective soil mantle, most of the 1867 cultural 

deposits at 14NS403 were immediately exposed to natural elements such as rainfall, freeze-thaw cycles, 

winds, and some erosion, destructive conditions that undoubtedly continued for several decades after the 
 45 

village was abandoned. The net result of such exposure would have been the rapid disintegration of fragile organic materials such as leather or hide objects or woven cloth (dresses, shirts, and other clothing), 

coupled with the downwind/downslope scattering of any objects that were lighter in weight (Dial 1996). 

The remaining two transformational processes affecting the artifacts from 14NS403 are humaninduced. The first of these are the bonfires ordered by Hancock that consumed so many of the captured 

belongings. The vast majority of the goods and equipment listed by Hancock and Wynkoop would have 

been rapidly incinerated in the six fires that Stanley reported. Lodge skins and poles, parfleches, wooden 

objects, and other perishable materials would have been quickly reduced to ash and charcoal, and any 

subsequent winds would have scattered the light residue. The heavier and/or more durable objects thrown 

into the fires may have been transformed to a lesser degree, but they would have been altered nonetheless. 

As was emphasized at the close of the material culture discussion in this report, many of the durable 

artifactual materials recovered at 14NS403 display evidence of extreme heat. Bottle fragments from the 

site are frequently melted or distorted, a stone maul has spalled and disintegrated, some metal objects are 

likewise crazed, and glass beads have been fused. Several charcoal stains observed at the site contained 

partially burned organic materials, perhaps the remains of charred leather objects, buffalo robes, etc. The 

match between the condition of the artifacts at 14NS403 and the anticipated changes brought about by the 

destruction ordered by Hancock is therefore a good one. 

The other human-induced transformation process is the post-abandonment scavenging that occurred 

at the site. Despite the fact that Hancock ordered the Indian camp to be guarded after the Cheyenne and 

Oglala fled, Stanley (1895:39) noted that troops in the command were in fact pilfering objects from the 

lodges, either removing these materials completely or carrying them off a short distance, then dropping 

them. Captain Barnitz, charged with village security following Custer’s nighttime reconnaissance, himself admitted to collecting souvenirs from the lodges (Barnitz in Utley 1987:35), and Coates likewise 

wrote of “securing many curious articles” during his reconnoiter through the village with Custer (Coates 

in Kennedy 1997:73). 

The minimal effects of such activity would have included the physical dispersal or scattering of the 

village contents over a wider area than the lodges themselves occupied. But it is also likely that many of 

the truly diagnostic and portable Cheyenne or Oglala objects/belongings simply disappeared into the 

packs of the command. There would probably have been a strong inherent bias in the nature of what was 

taken, for it is unlikely that a soldier would have carried off objects or belongings that he was familiar 

with—coffee pots, curry combs, pitch forks—or other trade goods or annuity objects. Instead, the soldiers in Hancock’s command were far more likely to have selected and removed smaller objects that were 

more distinctly Indian in flavor or origin. 

The scavenging of the village contents almost certainly continued in the months and years after the 

Hancock Expedition marched off toward Fort Dodge. Military patrols from Fort Larned rested at the village site, at which time the burned concentrations of belongings were undoubtedly picked over again, 

probably with a repeated emphasis upon objects of Indian manufacture. Additionally, the larger 14NS403 

locale contains evidence of post-1867 Euroamerican occupation and use—a lime kiln, possible dugouts, 

and traces of an old wagon road. Any such subsequent human occupation of the area would have potentially resulted in still further loss of artifactual material from the site. 

The nature of the recovered artifacts at 14NS403 matches well with a scenario of both immediate 

scavenging by the Hancock command and subsequent long-term collection by later visitors to the site. 

The debris found at 14NS403 primarily represents the remains of either annuity goods or trade materials, 

objects that the troops and Euroamerican visitors/settlers would have been very familiar with—objects 

that would not be considered exotic and therefore would not be collected. The few truly Indian artifacts 

that have been recovered archeologically at the site suggest that a small number of belongings—the probable medicine bundle is a good example—were either hidden in more mundane Indian belongings when 

they were collected and burned, or were otherwise overlooked by the troops and later visitors to the site. 
 46 

Finally, it is increasingly evident that 14NS403 has undergone heavy artifact collection during the 

latter twentieth century. Quantification of the loss of artifactual material from the site can only be speculative, but it is likely that the total artifact assemblage at 14NS403 has been significantly reduced over the 

last 30 years. Only the emphasis may have been different during these latter episodes of loss: recent collection activities have targeted any and all of the artifactual materials remaining at the site, with a bias 

towards ferrous objects that were identified by metal detector. 

Comparing the Archeological Data 

Given the post-1867 history of 14NS403, how can the archeologically derived site collection be accurately compared to the lists of goods captured by the military at the Washita and Summit Springs? Beside 14NS403, the two Cheyenne village sites that have been archeologically investigated are those of 

Sand Creek and Summit Springs. 

As was indicated previously, the Cheyenne camp on Sand Creek in eastern Colorado was also attacked by surprise on November 29, 1864 by elements of the Third and First Colorado Volunteer Cavalry. 

The Sand Creek battle involved artillery bombardment, rapid assault, and small arms fire, and the surviving villagers fled the onslaught, grabbing a few personal belongings and running from their attackers. 

Limited reconnaissance-level metal detector inventory conducted at the site of the Sand Creek village in 

1999 (Scott 2000:71–135) recovered over 400 village- and weapons-related artifacts, and Table 14 Column SCA lists the 64 artifact types that were found there. 

The similarities between the Sand Creek archeological assemblage and that from 14NS403 are readily apparent. Filtering out the military ordnance from the Sand Creek collection—which was not present 

at the village on Pawnee Fork—70 percent of the Sand Creek artifact types (45 of 64) are present in the 

14NS403 collections. 

The Cheyenne village site at Summit Springs has also undergone investigation by metal detector 

(Finnell 2001), resulting in another collection that is biased toward ferrous and other metal artifacts. Of 

the 46 artifact types recovered from Summit Springs and listed in Table 14 Column SSA, 67 percent (31 of 

46 types) are present in the Pawnee Fork village archeological assemblage. 

The Sand Creek, Summit Springs, and 14NS403 archeological assemblages contain firearms-related 

artifacts, as well as clothing-related items such as buttons and other fasteners. Each collection also contains some limited military objects other than firearms, specifically General Service buttons (all three 

sites) and military insignia (Summit Springs and Pawnee Fork). The camp equipage artifact class in the 

Sand Creek, Summit Springs, and Pawnee Fork collections demonstrates a good degree of correlation in 

the presence of coffee mills, knives, tin ware, cast-iron ware, and other utensils. Horse tack of similar 

types is also present in all three archeological collections. 

However, the most striking similarity between the Sand Creek, Summit Springs, and 14NS403 artifact assemblages is their physical condition, for unless bullets or buttons are counted, none of the collections contain a reasonably intact artifact. All of the larger items, particularly camp equipage and horse 

tack, are broken, fragmented, or crushed. In each collection this damage appears not to be the result of 

random impact by cattle or by natural freeze-thaw cycles, but is rather intentional: in each instance, the 

military commanders ordered the villages burned and most of their contents destroyed. The damage observed in the artifacts is the physical expression of those orders to render the belongings unserviceable. 

Summary 

In summary, two basic site transformation processes—natural forces and human-induced forces—

have combined to influence and affect the quantity, nature, and distribution of the archeological materials 

recovered at 14NS403: for the most part, only the heavier, denser artifacts have survived at the site. 

Largely due to these outside influences, the archeological collection from 14NS403 does not equate well 

with the inventory data collected by the military after their actions on the Washita or at Summit Springs. 

However, the archeological collection from 14NS403 correlates well with the post-abandonment inventories made by Hancock and Wynkoop at the village on Pawnee Fork. Additionally, the archeological col-
 47 

lection from 14NS403 correlates very well with the archeological materials recovered at the site of the 

1864 Cheyenne village on Sand Creek and that of the 1869 village at Summit Springs. 

Authenticity Conclusions 

Linking the archeological assemblage from 14NS403 with the inventories produced by Hancock and 

Wynkoop indicates that there is very little in the 14NS403 collection that was not found in the Cheyenne 

camps destroyed at the Sand Creek, Washita, and Summit Springs engagements. The archeological record 

from the site on Pawnee Fork clearly correlates with the lists of goods destroyed by Hancock’s command. 

In certain regards, the artifacts recovered from the 14NS403 excavations also correlate well—and in some 

aspects even better—with the goods captured and destroyed at Washita and Summit Springs than they do 

with the inventory lists provided by Hancock or Wynkoop. 

All of the various avenues of investigation indicate that 14NS403 is in fact the site of the CheyenneOglala village on Pawnee Fork. The archeological materials that have been recovered at the site compare 

favorably with material culture elements either recorded or recovered at three other 1860s-era Cheyenne 

sites in Colorado and Oklahoma. The broken condition and scattered context of the artifactual materials 

recovered at 14NS403 matches the results of the historical accounts of the collection and destruction of 

village belongings and equipment. The present physical setting of the site generally equates with the 

various written descriptions of the village that was destroyed by Hancock’s command, and the distances 

and descriptions included on the expedition engineer’s maps, too, indicate that 14NS403 is in fact the site 

of the Pawnee Fork village. In short, the authenticity of the archeological site is confirmed. 
 48 
 49 

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 57 

Table 1. Artifactual materials recovered by Earl Monger’s work at 14NS403. 

Boldface type indicates artifacts either provided for analysis or otherwise described from the Monger Collection 

display at Fort Larned. Standard type indicates materials not provided for analysis. 

MD = discovery by metal detector; ST = shovel test. 

Note: The proveniences are derived from Earl Monger’s field notes and artifact drawings. 

East Mesa 

MD Iron coffee mill bowl fragments (n=3). 

MD Ferrous band fragments (n=2). 

MD Iron saddle cinch ring. 

MD Steel scissors handle fragment. 

MD Tin percussion cap box lid. 

MD Copper bands. Part of small purse clasp. 

MD Iron kettle fragments (n=25). 

MD Tin cups (n=2). 

MD Tin can side panel, small. 

MD Tin cup handle. 

MD Tin cup base. 

MD Iron scraps (n=4). 

MD Tin scraps (n=9). 

MD Ferrous scythe blade. 

MD Steel awl on a knife blade. 

MD Brass cartridge case. 

ST Red clay pipe bowl fragment. 

West Mesa; found in A764 after KSHS dig in A772 

Surface Tin cup bottom. 

Surface Steel wood screw. 

Surface Brass, melted. 

Surface Silver, melted. 

Surface Glass, amber bottle. 

West Mesa 

MD Tin cup fragments (n=23). 

MD Iron projectile point. 

MD Ferrous cut nail. 

MD Steel Plains rifle action, PSJ & Co.

MD Ferrous scraper blade. 

MD Tin percussion cap box, Eley Bro.

MD Iron kettle fragments (n=6). 

MD Tin scraps. 

MD Tin percussion cap box. 

MD Brass scrap, sheet. 

MD Tin can scraps. 
 58 

East or West Mesa 

MD Steel scissors minus tips. 

MD Iron table knife. 

MD Iron scraper blade. 

MD Iron scraper blade, thin. 

MD Iron singletree fragment. 

MD Iron kettle fragments (n=11). 

MD Ferrous roller-bar buckle. 

MD Tin cup handles (n=2). 

MD Tin box fragments (n=22). 

Area A 

MD Iron Gilles Filley skillet. 

MD Ferrous projectile point blank.

Area B 

Surface Stone mealing slab/metate. 

Surface Glass bead. 

MD Ferrous projectile point blank. 

MD Pewter, melted. 

MD Brass scrap, triangular. 

MD Brass cartridge cases (n=6) 

MD Lead slug. 

MD Ferrous center-bar buckles (n=2). 

MD Brass shoulder scale. 

MD Ferrous strike steel. 

MD Ferrous jaw release trigger from a steel trap. 

MD Brass suspenders grip fragment. 

MD Tin cups, smashed (n=7). 

MD Ferrous coffee pot, 6 inches tall, crushed. 

MD Ferrous can lid, large with loop handle. 

MD Ferrous scraper blade. 

MD Iron wedge. 

MD Iron frying pan fragments (n=4). 

MD Iron frying pan with leg. 

MD Iron lid to frying pan. 

MD Iron kettle fragments (n=2). 

MD Stone maul fragment with a ground or pecked groove. 

Area C 

MD Steel trigger assembly, Starr carbine. 

Area D 

MD Brass cartridge case. 

Arroyo Channel 

Surface Lead slugs (n=2). 

Surface Chert side scraper. 
 59 

Area 761 

MD Ferrous cut nails (n=2). 

MD, Area B Tin percussion cap box lids, diameter 21⁄4 inches (n=3). 

MD Ferrous cut horseshoe nails (n=2). 

Area 762 

MD Ferrous percussion cap box. 

X1 (X508) Glass beads (n=24). 

X2 (X509) Glass beads (n=37). 

 Brass band. 

 Silver band. 

 Ferrous cut nails (n=6). 

 Ferrous wood screws (n=2). 

Chisel or scraper with hole in blade. 

Iron ring with staple. 

 Brass wire, twisted. 

X3 (X510) Glass beads (n=162). 

 Chipped stone projectile points, unnotched (n=2). 

 Brass button, decorated. 

 Brass button, undecorated. 

 Brass/ferrous button. 

Brass button with stars. 

 Brass button with paper backing. 

Ferrous four-hole sew-through buttons (n=9). 

Brass General Service button, large. 

Brass General Service buttons, small (n=5). 

Brass General Service button, small with W. LANG BOSTON backmark. 

 Iron winding key. 

Steel Remington revolver hammer. 

Ferrous center-bar buckle. 

 Ferrous tinkler. 

X4 (X511) Iron kettle fragments (n=2). 

X5 (X512) Iron kettle fragments (n=2). 

X506 Brass General Service button, large. 

X507 Bottle glass, light blue. 

 Glass beads (n=4). 

X513 Iron kettle fragments (n=2). 

 Iron clippings (n=2). 

X609 Ferrous cut nails (n=2). 

X612 Iron kettle fragment. 

X613 Ferrous knife with five bolster holes. 

 Iron kettle fragments (n=3). 

X616 Iron kettle fragment. 

X618 Iron mule shoe. 
 60 

Area 763 

TT-1 Shell button. 

TT-1, X1, X2 Chipped stone projectile points (n=5). 

TT-2 Ferrous band. 

MD Ferrous rivet. 

MD Ferrous scissors fragment. 

MD Ferrous knife, butcher or skinning. 

MD Ferrous projectile point blanks (n=2). 

Area 764 

MD Iron fry pan with pouring spout; handle broken. 

MD One side of ferrous canteen; no loop attachments or spout. 

MD One side of ferrous canteen. 

MD Steel tumbler. 

MD Steel butt plate screw. 

MD Ferrous roller-bar buckle. 

MD Ferrous cut nail. 

Area 771 

X18 Metal canteen with crimped perimeter. Soldered strap fastener. Two holes have 

been punched in it. 

X201 German silver, sheet scrap. 

X276 Glass fragment, light blue U.S. medicine bottle. 

 Whiteware fragment. 

X279 Iron band. 

 Glass beads (n=4). 

X291 Ferrous nail, round. Postdates the 1867 occupation. 

 Glass bead 

X433 Steel hammer screw from a gun. 

X438 Painted china fragment. 

 Glass fragments, light blue (n=2). 

Table 2. Monger and KSHS excavation unit numbers at 14NS403. 

Monger Excavation Units 

Area 762 

X1 X506 X612 

X2 X507 X613 

X3 X513 X616 

X4 X606 X617 

X5 X609 X618 

Area 763: one unnumbered test 

Area 771 

X18 X276 X288 X300 

X51 X279 X291 X351 

X126 X282 X294 X426 

X201 X285 X297 X438 

KSHS Excavation Units 

Area 761 

X234 X235 X236 X237 X283 

Area 771 

X1 X434 X449 X466 X532 X561 

X405 X435 X462 X477 X533 X562 

X419 X436 X463 X478 X546 X563 

X432 X447 X464 X480 X547 

X433 X448 X465 X531 X548 

Area 772 

X649 X652 X666 X681 

X650 X653 X667 X682 

X651 X654 X668 
 61 

Table 3. Prehistoric and protohistoric artifacts from 14NS403. 

Collection 

Artifact Category Monger Frusher KSHS Description 

Chipped Stone 

Projectile Points: Besant — — 1 Recovered from KSHS A761/771 X462 as part of F136; associated with the Plains Woodland Besant Complex and dates to 

AD 200–500 on the Northern Plains. 

Projectile Points: Oxbow — — 1 Recovered in KSHS A761/771 X462 as part of F138; associated with the Oxbow Complex on the Northern Plains, where it 

dates to 3400–2600 BC. 

Projectile Points: Scallorn — — 1 Recovered from KSHS A761/771 X463 as part of F136; similar 

to Keith Focus Plains Woodland materials in northwestern Kansas, where it dates to circa AD 600. 

Projectile Points: Washita/Harrell 2 — — Late Prehistoric Southern Plains types that date to AD 1100–

1600; probably associated with the Dismal River Phase component at 14NS403. 

Projectile Points : Fresno 5 — — Late Prehistoric type that dates to AD 800–1750; probably associated with the Dismal River Phase component at 14NS403. 

Projectile Points: Indeterminate — 1 — Fragmentary point midsection. 

Debitage: Worked Flakes — 1 7 Compete and fragmentary chert, jasper, and mossy agate material. Two are probably bifacial thinning flakes, but all have had 

minute flake removal or light edge wear. Recovered from KSHS 

A761/771 X462 as F138. The Monger flake is jasper and was 

recovered from his A771 X126. 

Debitage: Unworked Flakes 8 4 30 The KSHS debitage was recovered from A761/771 X237 (n=2), 

X463 (n=1), X480 (n=25), and X562 (n=1) and from A772 

X667 (n=1). The Monger materials include a single flake from 

the unnumbered excavation in Monger’s A763, and they also 

include a flake of possible Alibates flint. 

Ground Stone 

Hand Grindstones, Manos — — 9 Quartzite fragments with remnant abraded surfaces; found in 

KSHS A761/771 X448 (n=2) and in A771 X651 (n=7). 

Mauls — — 49 Fire-cracked granite fragments; seven pieces from KSHS A772 

X652 refit to form a stream cobble that has undergone heavy 

battering at one end. Lighter pecking and grinding has formed a 

shallow 15 mm-wide transverse groove around the midsection 

of the cobble. Intact, the artifact would have measured approximately 100 mm long by 75 mm wide by 55 mm thick. 

Other fragments of the same artifact were recovered in A772 

X652 (n=15), X643 (n=4), and X666 (n=23). 

Ceramics 

Body Sherds 3 — — A note in the material from Monger’s A771 X288 indicates that 

two sherds were sent to James Gunnerson on Dec. 24, 1977. 

These artifacts are not in the collection sent to the Midwest Archeological Center. A third sherd from Monger’s A771 X294 is 

gray with fine mica or schist temper and measures 13 mm in 

maximum dimension by 8 mm thick. It is most likely also Dismal River ware. 

Daub — — 10 The fragments were recovered from KSHS A772 X651 (n=1), 

X653 (n=1), X654 (n=1), and X667 (n=5). 

Fire-Cracked Rock 8 — — All of these sandstone fragments came from Monger’s X126 in 

his A771. 
 62 

Table 4. Ammunition from 14NS403. 

 Collection 

Caliber Item Mfg. Co. Monger Frusher KSHS Description 

.22 Short RF Case — — — 1 “US” headstamp, U.S. Cartridge Co., Lowell, Mass. 1869–

1936; found in KSHS X432 in A761/ 771. 

.30-06 Bullet — — 1 — Modern military. 

.32 Ball — — — 2 Found in KSHS X477 and X547 in A761/771; expended. 

.40 Ball — — — 1 From KSHS X462 in A761/771; unexpended. 

.44 or .45 Bullet — — 1 — Modern. 

.44 Bullet — — 1 — Colt style, 1871–1873; possibly expended. 

.44 Bullet — — 1 — Expended; seven distinct lands and grooves with possible 

Remington loading tool mark. 

.44 Bullet — — 1 — Indeterminate style. 

.44 Ball — — 1 — — 

.44 RF Case Ballard — 2 — Developed for the Ballard single-shot rifle in 1862 (Logan 

1959: 69). 

.44 RF Case — — 3 — Cases torn. 

.45 CF Cartridge Colt — 2 — Commercial centerfire, 1873 or later. 

.45-70 CF Cartridge — — 1 — Benet-primed, dud. Replaced the military .50-70 cal. round 

in 1873 (Barnes 1980:81). 

.50 Bullet Sharps — 1 — Expended. 

.50 Bullet Spencer — 1 — — 

.50 Bullet — — 1 — — 

.50 CF Case Maynard — 2 — 1873 or later. 

.50-70 CF Case — — 1 — Bar anvil primer, Frankford Arsenal Oct. 1866 – Mar. 1868; 

fired in a Sharps. 

.50-70 CF Case — — 19 — Bar anvil primer; same as above. 

.50-70 CF Case — — 6 — Benet primer. The .50-70 round was the standard U.S. military cartridge from 1866 to 1873 (Barnes 1980:127). For a 

modified Springfield musket. 

.50-70 Cartridge — — 1 — Benet primer; same as above. 

.50-70 Cartridge — — 1 — Martin primer. 

.50-70 Case — — 1 — — 

.52 Bullet Sharps — 2 — — 

.52 Bullet Sharps — 6 — Two-ring style. 

.56-50 Case — 1 — — — 

.56-50 RF Cases, 

Cartridges 

Spencer — 15 — / S. A. W. / headstamp indicating Sage Ammunition Works, 

Middletown, Conn., 1864–1866 (White and Munhall 1977: 

30). Two are unexpended. 

.56-50 RF Case Spencer — 1 — / J. G. / headstamp indicating Joseph Goldmark, New York, 

New York (White and Munhall 1977:25). 

.56-50 RF Case — — 21 — No headstamp. 

.58 Ball — — 1 — Minie, modern? 

 ? Bullet — — 1 — Unknown caliber. 

N/A Bar Lead — 2 8 3 The KSHS materials were found in X547 in A761/771 and in 

X667 in A772. The Monger materials were found in his Area B. 

N/A Percussion 

Caps 

— — 1 — Musket-sized with straight skirt. 

N/A Percussion 

Cap Boxes 

— 1 — — Recovered from Monger’s West Mesa. The lid reads / ELEY 

BRO. / LONDON /. 
 63 

Table 5. Firearms and weapons parts from 14NS403. 

 Collection 

Category Make Monger Frusher KSHS Description 

Actions 

Percussion 

Locks 

Plains Rifle 1 — — Recovered from Monger’s West Mesa. 

Hammers Remington 

Revolver 

1 — — Recovered from X3 in Monger’s Area 762. 

Trigger Plate, 

Lever Latches 

Starr Carbine 1 — — Recovered from Monger’s Area C. 

Triggers Remington 

Revolver 

1 — — New Model (1863) .44 cal. Army or .36. cal. Navy revolver. Found 

in the unnumbered unit excavated by Monger, Elmore, and Stein in 

Monger’s A763. 

Trigger, Cylinder Stop Spring 

— 1 — — From the same unnumbered unit as above. 

Cylinder Stops Remington 

Revolver 

1 — — New Model (1863) .44. cal. Army or .36 cal. Navy revolver. Found 

in the same unnumbered unit in Monger’s A763. 

Bridles — — — 2 Found in KSHS X235 (F20) and X433 (F132). 

Sear, Sear 

Springs 

— — 1 6 The KSHS material was found in X433 (F132) and X546 (F175) in 

A761/771. The artifact from X546 is part of a Model 1861 Springfield percussion rifle. The Frusher artifact is from a military weapon 

or trade gun. 

Tumblers — 1 — 3 The KSHS material was found in X235 (F7) and X433 (F132). The 

Monger artifact was found by metal detector in his Area 764. 

Main Springs Colt-style 1 — 1 Model 1851 or Model 1860 Navy .36 cal. One was found in the unnumbered unit excavated by Monger, Elmore, and Stein in Monger’s 

A763. The other was found in KSHS X448 (F121) in A761/771. 

Washers — — — 1 Found in KSHS X547 in A761/771. From a Plains rifle lock screw; 

stamped / 73 /. 

Side Lock 

Screws 

— — — 1 Found in KSHS X546 in A761/771. It resembles a Model 1855–

1863 Springfield percussion rifle. 

Machine Screws — 1 — 1 Found in KSHS X561 in A761/771 and in the unnumbered unit excavated by Monger, Elmore, and Stein in Monger’s A763. 

Furniture and Fasteners 

Escutcheon 

Plates 

Plains Rifle — 1 — German silver. 

Trigger Guards Plains Rifle — 1 — Brass. 

Toe Plates Plains Rifle — — 1 Trade gun; found in KSHS X466 (F108). 

Swivel Hooks — — 1 — Ferrous. Similar to that of a military carbine sling, but smaller. 

Wood Screws — 1 2 4 Found in X546 (n=1), X547 (n=1), and X651 (n=2) in KSHS A761/ 

771 and in the unnumbered unit excavated in Monger’s A763. 

Other 

Barrels Manhattan 

Pistol 

— 1 — Probably .36 cal. Stamped serial number is 22886 or 22836. 

Barrel 

Underribs 

— 1 — — Musket or rifle, fragmentary and found in the unnumbered unit excavated by Monger, Elmore, and Stein in Monger’s A763. 

Arrowheads, 

Blanks 

Iron, Steel 5 7 — The Monger artifacts were recovered from his West Mesa (n=1), 

Areas A (n=1) and B (n=1), and Area 763 (n=2). All are made from 

sheet stock. The Frusher artifacts include three finished points and 

four probable blanks. 

Bayonets British Enfield — 1 — Pattern 1853; some bluing remains. 
 64 

Table 6. Military equipment from 14NS403. 

Collection 

Artifact Category Monger Frusher KSHS Description 

Insignia 

Eagle Insignia, Brass — 1 — From an 1851 pattern enlisted hat or an 1855 pattern Hardee hat. 

Letter, Brass — 1 — Uppercase ‘A’; 1 inch tall. Company designation. 

Shoulder Scale, Brass 

or Yellow Metal 

1 — — 1851-pattern enlisted cavalry. Recovered by metal detector from 

Monger’s Area B and on display at Fort Larned. 

Buttons 

General Service, 

Three-piece, 9

/16 inch 

Small Brass; Cuff or 

Forage Cap 

6 7 — The Monger buttons are on display at Larned. One Frusher button has a SCOVILL & CO. EXTRA FINE backmark. The 

other Monger and Frusher buttons have no backmarks. 

General Service, 

Three-piece, 3⁄4 inch 

Large Brass; Coat 

4 5 9 The Monger buttons are on display at Fort Larned except for one 

recovered from Monger’s A763. The Frusher button backmarks 

include SCOVILL WATERBURY EXTRA QUALITY. The 

KSHS buttons were recovered in X546 (n=1) in A761/771 and 

in X651 (n=1), X652 (n=1), X667 (n=4, F198, F199), and 

X682 in Area 772. All are 0.71 to 0.81 inch in diameter. 

Bullet/ball, Two-piece, 

7

/16 inch Brass/Ferrous 

— 2 38 The KSHS buttons were recovered from X531 (n=26, F173), 

X532 (n=3), X546 (n=6, F176), X561 (n=2), and X653 (n=1). 

Bullet/ball, Two-piece, 

5

/16 inch Brass/Ferrous 

— — 1 Recovered from KSHS X547 in A761/771. 

Utensils 

Cups, Civil War Type 4 2 — The Monger cups provided to the Midwest Archeological Center for analysis are estimated to be 23

/8 to 21⁄2 inches tall (n=2) 

or 3 inches tall (n=21). Another of the 3-inch cups, on display at 

Fort Larned, was found by metal detection in Monger’s Area B. 

Cup Handles, 

Civil War Type 

4 2 13 The KSHS materials were found in A761/771 X448 (F125, 4 

inches long, n=1), A771 backdirt (n=1), and A772 X652 (n=2), 

X653 (F216, 4 inches long, n=1), and X667 (F212, Type 1, n=8). 

Cup Fragments, 

Civil War Type 

14 — 50+ Most of the KSHS material was recovered from X667 in A772. 

Pot Boilers, Tin — 1 1 The Frusher artifact is a boiler lid 7 inches in diameter. The 

KSHS artifact is a pull ring from a pint boiler (F215). 

Field Equipment 

Canteens 1 — — Crushed, possibly smooth-sided pattern. Recovered from X18 

in Monger’s Area 771. On display at Fort Larned. 

Canteen Stopper — 1 — 1858 pattern. 

Tampion? — 1 — This artifact is either the tip of a tampion or a drawer pull. 
 65 

Table 7. Clothing-related artifacts and personal items from 14NS403. 

Collection 

Category Monger Frusher KSHS Description 

Buttons 

Glass — — 1 From A772 X682 (F209). White four-hole sew-through. 0.40 inch: 16 lignes. 

Hard Rubber — — 1 From A772 X668 (F213). One-piece convex minus the loop. 0.38 inch: 15 lignes. 

Brass — 2 — One is decorative. The other is plain, two-piece, 3

/8 inch in diameter. 

Prosser-Molded, 

Clay 

1 — — Molded ceramic four-hole sew-through. 9

/16 (0.54) inch: 21 lignes. 

Trouser, Ferrous 5 7 — The Monger Collection buttons are all four-hole sew-through. Two are dished, and 

three are stamped with scallops or stars around the rim. All are on display at Fort 

Larned. The Frusher buttons are all four-hole sew-through. The KSHS buttons 

were all recovered in A772 and include material from X652: four-hole sewthrough, one-piece pressed metal with black paint residue. F195. 11/16 (0.66) inch: 

26 lignes (n=1); X653: four-hole sew-through one-piece pressed metal. 0.56–58 

inch: 22–23 lignes (n=2); and X668: four-hole sew through with black paint residue. F213. 11/16 (0.67) inch: 27 lignes (n=2). 

Buckles 

Vest or Suspender — 1 2 Twisted ferrous wire with two prongs. The Frusher artifact is 11⁄4 inches wide. 

The KSHS buckles are identical to one another and probably to the Frusher buckle, 

and measure 11⁄4 x 7

/8 x 1/16 inch. One face of one KSHS buckle is embossed 

/ ...ATENT 1855 /. The two KSHS artifacts were found in X463 (F119) and X477 

(F145) in A761/771. 

Belts 

Hooks, Brass — 2 — One is 2 inches long, the other is 3 inches long. The former is a belt adjustment, 

while the latter may come from either a leather belt or a rifle sling. 

Tinklers 

Brass — 5 — Small. 

Ferrous 1 6 11 All of the KSHS tinklers are ferrous, and only one is larger than 1 inch. They were 

found in X532 (n=1) and X547 (n=2) in A761/771 and in X651 (n=1) and X652 

(n=7) in A772. The Monger tinkler was found in X3 in his Area 771. 

Ornaments 

Pendants, Brass — — 1 Found in X462. D-shaped, made of sheet brass with a small hole at one end. 

Pendants, Shell — — 1 Recovered from X462 in A761/771, the object is roughly triangular, 23 mm long, 

and unperforated. It might be either freshwater or marine; see Appendix G, this 

report. 

Shell, Incised — — 1 Recovered from X477 in a concentration of mussel shell fragments designated 

F157. The object is 10–11 mm square and bears several shallow incised lines, one 

of which is roughly in the shape of an arrow; see Appendix G, this report. 

Bracelets, Brass — 3 — All are undecorated bent brass wire and are open on one side. 

Other, Brass — 1 1 Sheet brass, folded over with perforations along one curved edge. 

Scrap, Brass — 12 31 These scraps are typically small and many have cut edges that are slightly serrated, 

as if cut by scissors. The KSHS material came from X419, X462, X533, X546, 

and X547 in A761/771 and from X652 in A771. 

Scrap, Ferrous — 2 1 The Frusher material includes sheet tin fragments with decorative holes made from 

can lids. The KSHS artifact is D-shaped with two punched holes and was found in 

X652 A771. 

Glass Beads 

Monochrome cylindrical undecorated hot-tumbled 

drawn 

90 — 39 Variety 3: translucent light to dark green to bluish-purple, short, two possible sizes 

(Ross 2000:28–30). Of the KSHS beads, 24 were found in A761/771, while 15 

were recovered in A772. Of the Monger Collection, 87 are displayed at Fort 

Larned. Scott identified 72 seed beads and 11 pound/pony beads within the displayed materials. 
 66 

Collection 

Category Monger Frusher KSHS Description 

Glass Beads, cont. 

Monochrome cylindrical undecorated hot-tumbled 

drawn, continued 

83 — 15 Variety 6: opaque, white, short, two different sizes (Ross 2000:28–30). All of the 

KSHS beads were found in A761/771, while all of the Monger Collection materials are in the display at Fort Larned. Scott identified 72 seed beads and 11 pound/ 

pony beads within the latter assemblage. 

 — — 4 Variety 10: transparent to translucent, dark purplish-blue, short, four possible sizes 

(Ross 2000:28–30). All were found in A761/771. 

 — — 1 Variety 17: transparent to translucent, clear to yellowish white, short, five possible 

sizes (Ross 2000:28–30). Found in A772. 

 12 — — Variety 26: medium to dark red, short, three possible sizes (Ross 2000:28–30). 

Polychrome cylindrical undecorated 

hot-tumbled drawn 

1 — 1 Variety 7: transparent on opaque, dark red to purplish-red on white, short, two 

possible sizes (Ross 2000:31–32). The KSHS bead was found in A772, while the 

Monger Collection bead is on display at Fort Larned. 

 7 — 58 Variety 8: opaque on opaque, brownish-white on brownish-white, short, three possible sizes (Ross 2000: 31–32). Of the KSHS beads, 44 came from A761/771, 

while 14 were found in A772. 

Monochrome to 

polychrome cylindrical undecorated

irregular, hot-tumbled, drawn 

1 — 28 Variety 20: opaque on opaque, purplish-red on purplish-red, short, two possible 

sizes (Ross 2000:30–31). Of the KSHS beads, 27 were recovered in A761/771, 

while one was found in A772. 

 — — 1 Variety 69: translucent, very light to medium yellowish-orange to yellow, irregular, short, two possible sizes (Ross 2000:30–31). Found in A772. 

Monochrome 

multi-sided undecorated drawn 

with chopped ends 

1 — — Variety 54: clear, long, six-sided (Ross 2000:26). Found in A761/771. 

Monochrome 

multi-sided drawn 

with chopped 

ends, 2 rows 

ground facets 

1 — — Variety 85: opaque black short to long, six- or seven-sided. Probably manufactured in Bohemia (Ross 2000:26–27). Found in A772. 

Fetishes 

Buffalo Stone — — 1 Shaped baculite fossil. Found in X462 in A761/771. 

Ochre, Hematite 

Red and yellow — 2 9 Samples were found in X448, X462, and X463 in A761/771 and in X649, X667, 

and X682 in A772. Found as parts of Features 110, 156, and 164. The Monger 

materials came from his X279 and X294 in his Area 771. 

Hematite Pebbles — — 9 Typically smaller than 1⁄2 inch in diameter. Found in six excavation units in A761/ 

771 and A772. 

Other 

Harmonica 

Plates, Brass 

— 2 — Tone plates. 

Ferrule Tips, 

Brass 

— 1 — Possibly from a feather plume tip. 

Ferrule Tips, 

Ferrous 

— 1 — — 

Escutcheon Plates, 

White Metal 

— 1 — Part of a drawer pull. 
 67 

Table 8. Camp equipage and utensils from 14NS403. 

 Collection 

Artifact Category Monger Frusher KSHS Description 

Bottles 

Glass, Colorless 2 — 4 The Monger Collection glass came from his Area 762 and from his 

X300. The KSHS material comes from X447, X448, and X477 in 

A761/771. 

Glass, Aqua 1 — 139 All of the KSHS material comes from X237 (F5) in A761/771, and 

may derive from a single small cylindrical medicine bottle. The 

Monger Collection fragment was found in his Area 762. 

Glass, Blue-green — — 17 Found in KSHS X477 in A761/771. 

Glass, Amber 1 — 133 All of the KSHS material may derive from a single bitters bottle recovered in five adjacent units in the A772 block excavations. 

Glass, Brown — 1 — Quart-sized bottle base. 

Glass, Dark Green 2 3 — Fragments. 

Clay, Glazed — — 72 All of the KSHS material comes from 11 units in the 200- and 400-

series block excavations in A761/771. It probably reflects two 

glazed clay bottles, one of them a beer bottle. 

Coffee Mills 

Box Style — — 8 The KSHS material includes five bowl fragments that were found 

in X405, X463, and X464 and three crank fragments that were 

found in X666 in A772. 

Other — 3 — Two stems with grinding burrs and one possible cap. 

Grommets 

Brass — 1 1 The Frusher artifact has a diameter of 1⁄2 inch. The KSHS artifact 

has an outer diameter of 9/16 inch and an inside diameter of 7/32 inch. 

Hooks 

Ferrous — 20 — Heavy wire, S- and W-shaped; probably related to the buffalo hunters’ occupation. 

Cooking Vessls 

Body, Rim, and Base 

Fragments of Cast Iron 

20 27 48 The Monger Collection fragments indicate that they were sold by 

Gilles Filley of St. Louis. The KSHS material reflects small pots or 

kettles, skillets or frying pans, and Dutch ovens. The Frusher Collection includes a complete frying pan without handle that measures 10 inches in diameter. 

Lid Fragments, Cast Iron — — 3 One lid fragment indicates a diameter of 11 to 12 inches. 

Bails, Ferrous — — 5 Complete and fragmentary bails were found in A761/771 X235 

(n=1), X448 (n=1), X462 (n=2), and X480 (n=1). The complete 

artifacts suggest that the pot/kettle lugs were 6 to 91⁄2 inches apart. 

Buckets 

Ferrous — 1 — Fragmentary and crushed. 

Scissors 

Straight Trimmers 1 3 1 All items are fragments. The Frusher artifacts are part of a pair of 

scissors estimated to have been 9 inches long (No. 14), while the 

KSHS artifact represents one scissor that measures 71⁄2 inches long 

(No. 11). The Monger artifact is part of a handle. 

Other — 1 — Fragment. 

Strike Steels 

Closed Oval 1 — — On display at Fort Larned NHS. Monger stated that this was a 

Hudson’s Bay Company pattern. 

Tableware 

Forks, Iron — 1 — Fragmentary; three tines, with riveted handles (missing). 

Spoons, Ferrous 1 — — Pressed metal, undecorated. Fragmentary. 
 68 

Table 9. Metal and bone tools from 14NS403. 

Collection 

Category Monger Frusher KSHS Description 

Awls 

Ferrous — 1 1 The Frusher artifact is iron and pointed with two smooth surfaces and a slight curve. 

The KSHS artifact was found in A761/771 X235. Made or iron or steel, it appears 

to have been modified from a knife blade, the tang of which had two ferrous bolsters 

or fasteners for slab wood or other handles. The artifact measures roughly 6 inches 

long and 1 inch wide, and is 1/16 inch thick. 

Edged Tools 

Knives 2 6 1 Ferrous. The KSHS artifact is a tip fragment that was found in X235. The Frusher 

artifacts include three ferrous butchering knives, two of which are 91⁄2 inches long 

and still have slab wooden handles. The third is worn down to a length of 8 inches. 

One Frusher artifact is a ferrous skinning knife that measures 7 inches long and has 

wooden slab handles. A knife tip fragment and a ferrous clipped point knife complete the Frusher materials. The Monger knives, both of which are on display at Fort 

Larned, appear to represent well-worn butcher knives, and were found in X613 in 

his Area 672 and by metal detector in Monger’s Area 763. 

Axes — 1 — Iron with a steel bit. Measures 51⁄2 inches long. 

Drawknives — 1 — Ferrous. Complete, minus wooden handles. Bears an illegible maker’s mark. 

Scrapers 2 4 1 Ferrous. The two Monger artifacts are probably made from scrap iron sharpened to 

form slightly convex scraping edges. Both are on display at Fort Larned. The four 

Frusher artifacts are likewise scrap ferrous fragments with modified unifacial scraping edges. Three of them each measure 13

/16 inches wide. The KSHS scraper has 

been manufactured from a thin ferrous knife blade fragment and measures about 11⁄2 

inches wide. 

Scythes 1 — — Ferrous and broken behind the blade. It appears to have been modified through 

grinding to form a large knife; on display at Fort Larned. Found by metal detector 

on Monger’s East Mesa. 

Fleshers — 2 — Ferrous. One has been made from a flattened iron flintlock trade musket barrel with 

four sets of incised line decorations around the barrel, and measures 12 inches long. 

The flattened end of the gun barrel is convex in plan view and has been notched or serrated. The second was manufactured from the broken handle of a cast iron skillet. 

Fleshers, Bone 1 — — Manufactured from a large mammal long bone diaphysis. One end has been modified to form a rounded edge, which has been further modified by cutting 10 notched 

serrations; see Appendix G, this report. 

Abrading and Filing Tools 

Abraders, Whetstones — 1 28 The Frusher artifact was identified as a fine-grained sandstone whetstone. The 

KSHS materials come from five excavation units in A761/771 (X237, n=16; X433, 

n=5; X448, n=2) and A772 (X653, n=2; X668, n=1) and are also largely fragments 

of fine-grained sandstone, some of which refit to form larger fragments with one or 

more adjacent worn surfaces. No complete whetstones are present in the KSHS 

materials, and the largest fragment is 3 inches in maximum dimension. Two of the 

KSHS artifacts, found on the ground surface, are of limestone and have 6 to 10 incised grooves. The larger measures 3 inches in maximum dimension. 

Files, Ferrous — — 1 Fragment of three-sided fine-toothed file found in the test excavated in Monger’s 

A763 in 1976. Roughly 11⁄2 inches long. 

Miscellaneous Metal Tools 

Pry Bars, Ferrous — 1 — Cast iron; hammered or ground to form a point on one end. 

Wedges, 

Ferrous 

1 — — Iron. Possibly a modified pickaxe fragment that has been hammered and mushroomed at one end. It measures 7 inches long by 11⁄4 inches wide at the tip, and was 

found by metal detector in Monger’s Area B. 

Bone Tools 

Butchering Tools 1 — — Manufactured from a cut bison femur with a blunt transverse end and a sharp point 

at the other end. The pointed end has polish and striations; see Appendix G, this 

report. 

Knife Handles, 

Shaft Straighteners 

1 — — A section of cut bison rib with one grooved and snapped end. This artifact may also 

represent a slotted handle for a steel knife blade; see Appendix G, this report. 
 69 

Table 10. Horse tack and vehicle parts from 14NS403. 

 Collection 

Category Monger Frusher KSHS Description 

Bits 

Snaffle Bits — 3 — Ferrous jointed bits. One may be homemade. 

Bit Fragments — 3 — Ferrous. 

Buckles 

Center-Bar 

Buckles 

3 8 1 The KSHS artifact is ferrous and rectangular and was found in A772 X649 (F187). It 

measures 17

/8 x 13/8 inches in outside dimension and would have fastened a 3⁄4-inch 

strap. It is either part of a bridle or halter (Steffen 1978) or part of a McClellan saddle (Scott et al. 1989:100–101) and is also known as a “sunk-bar” buckle. The three 

Monger Collection artifacts are on display at Fort Larned. The Frusher Collection 

buckles are of various small sizes and are all ferrous. 

Cinch Buckles — 1 — Large, ferrous. 

Roller Buckles 2 11 2 The KSHS buckles are ferrous and were found in A761/771 X405 (F150) and A772 

X651 (F185). The former measures 11⁄4 x 1 inch in outside dimensions and is probably part of the head-gear (Scott and Fox 1987:96–98). It would have fastened a 3⁄4-

inch strap. The latter measures 17

/16 x 2 inches in outside dimensions and would have 

fastened a 13

/8-inch strap. It appears to be a girth buckle or part of a stirrup strap. 

One of the Monger buckles is on display at Fort Larned. The other measures 11⁄4 x 1 

inch in outside dimensions. The Frusher buckles are all ferrous and are of various 

sizes. 

D-Shaped — — 1 Recovered from single test in A763. It is ferrous with a ferrous tongue, and measures 

15

/8 x 15/8 inches. It would have fastened a strap ±1 inch wide and could have come 

from a saddle or from a throat latch; similar to a horseshoe buckle (Knopp 2001:155). 

Rings 

Cinch Rings — 1 — Ferrous. 

Harness Rings — 6 1 All are ferrous. The KSHS artifact measures 2 inches o.d, and may be part of military 

horse equipment headgear or part of a civilian harness. Conversely, it may also represent a fitting from a civilian or military vehicle or wagon harness. It was found in 

X448 in KSHS A761/771 (F123). 

D-Rings — 1 — Large, iron. From either harness or a saddle. 

Saddle Rings 1 — — With ferrous staple. Found in Monger’s X3 in his Area 762. 

Shoes and Nails 

Mule Shoes 1 1 — Ferrous. The Monger artifact is on display at Fort Larned. 

Horseshoe Nails 2 14 7 Ferrous cut. The Monger and Frusher artifacts are of various sizes. The KSHS nails 

are as follows: A761/ 771 X236: 1 No. 7; X462: 1 No. 9; X533: 3 No. 5; X561: 1 No. 6; 

no provenience: 1 No. 7. The horseshoe nail from X462 was part of F137, a complex 

of 17 cut nails and nail fragments together with a wire tack. 

Other Horse Tack 

Halter Squares — 1 — Heavy brass wire. 

Halter Studs — 1 — 

Harness Devices — 1 — Ferrous. Similar to a coscojo, a jingle-like dangling ornament attached to a Mexican 

or Spanish bridle bit. 

Rein Holders — 1 — Nickel-plated ferrous. Fits on a bridle bit and probably postdates the 1867 village 

occupation. 

Chains 21 — — One sideline chain fragment with a repaired link, and one other fragmentary and 

probably repaired link. 

Picket Pins — 1 — Head fragment. U.S. Army Model 1859. Tether ring has a figure eight shape. 

Wagon and Harness Parts 

Bow Staples — 1 — Ferrous with residual green paint. Postdates the 1867 village occupation. 

Wagon Braces — 1 — Ferrous with residual green paint. Postdates the 1867 village occupation. 

Clevises — 1 — Ferrous. Found in the general area of the possible buffalo hunters’ camp. 

Singletrees 1 — — Fragment of center clip. Ferrous, possibly modified at one end. 

Neck Yokes 1 — — Ferrous ferrule. 

Leather 

Fragments 1 — 12 Unidentifiable. Recovered from A761/771 X462 (n=2), X477 (n=4), X478 (n=3), 

X546 (n=1), and X548 (n=1), and from A772 X667 (n=1). Might be harness fragments or parts of any other leather or hide objects. The largest fragment is 11⁄4 inches 

in maximum dimension. 
 70 

Table 11. Fasteners and fastening material from 14NS403. 

 Collection 

Artifact Category Monger Frusher KSHS Description 

Bolts — 2 — Ferrous. Both are shanks with threads. One appears to postdate the village 

occupation. 

Nails, Spikes 

Cut, Ferrous — 84 32 The Frusher materials include various smaller sizes and seven 10d or 12d nails 

with clinched tips. The KSHS nails include one 2d (X447), one 3d (X283), 

eleven 4d (X462, X653, X668,) two 5d (X462, X667) eight 6d (X462, X667), 

one 9d (X462), and one 16d (X447?) together with several fragments. Many 

of the nails from X462 were part of a complex of fasteners designated F137. 

Rivets 

Ferrous — 2 1 The KSHS artifact has a piece of ferrous backing plate attached to it which 

has been modified and sharpened to form a small scraper. It was found in 

X466 in A761/771. 

Copper/Brass — 5 — — 

Staples 

Ferrous — 9 — Various sizes. 

Strapping 

Ferrous 2 2 8 All of these artifacts are fragmentary and range in width from 7

/16 to 5/8 inch. 

Most of the material is light weight, but the two Monger Collection fragments are heavier. 

Tacks 

Brass Wire — — 1 Fragmentary with a convex head; found in A761/771 X561. 

Ferrous Wire — — 1 Complete; found in X462 in A761/771 as part of F137. 

Ferrous Cut 1 — 11 The KSHS artifacts include 1⁄2-inch (n=8) and 3⁄4-inch (n=3) tacks. They were 

found in A761/771 X466 and in A772 X667. 

Wire 

Ferrous — 14 5 All are fragmentary and of relatively light gauge. 

Table 12. Foodstuffs and tin canisters from 14NS403. 

 Collection 

Artifact Category Monger Frusher KSHS Description 

Faunal Remains Also refer to Appendix G for faunal analysis. 

Animal Bone 2 — 5 The KSHS fragments were found in A761/771 X433 (n=2) and X464 (n=1) 

and from A772 X666 (n=1) and X681 (n=1). The latter two are burned, and 

all five are unidentifiable. The two Monger fragments came from his X288. 

Dentition 1 — — Fragment of tooth enamel, probably ungulate. 

Freshwater Shell 1 — 13 Fragments were found in A761/771 X462 (n=6) and X477 (n=1) as well as 

in A772 X649 (n=1). The latter artifact is also discussed elsewhere in the 

report as a possible shell pendant. A hinge on one of the 13 fragments suggests that the shell materials are Unionidae, a common native freshwater 

mollusk family. The Monger fragment came from his X288. 

Tin Canisters 

Baking Soda 4 1 — The Monger Collection canisters are represented by lids only, which average 

23

/8 inches in diameter. The single lid in the Frusher Collection is about the 

same diameter. 

Sardine 1 — — Found near the buffalo hunters’ camp. 

Hole-in-Top — 1 — Cut and heavily modified. 

Press-on Lids — 1 — Perforated to serve as a sieve or shaker. 

Unidentified 

Canister Fragments 

39 — 83 Rusted. The KSHS materials range in maximum dimension from 3

/8 to 21⁄4 

inches. They were recovered from A761/771 X462 (n=1), X463 (n=1), and 

X547 (n=2) and from A772 X651 (n=1), X653 (n=13), X666 (n=63), X667 

(n=1), and X681 (n=1). 
 71 

Table 13. Miscellaneous cultural material from 14NS403. 

 Collection 

Item Monger Frusher KSHS Description 

Burned Earth — — 8 The fragments were collected from A772 X651 (n=1), X666 

(n=1), X667 (n=3), and X681 (n=1). All are small and range in 

color from light orange to red and occasionally black. 

Iron Rods — — 2 The fragments were recovered from A761/771 X432 and X435; 

diameters are approximately 1⁄4 inch. 

Ferrous Levers or Tabs — — 1 Recovered from A761/771 X478. The artifact has finger 

grooves on one end and a pivoting lug or pin on the other end. 

Window Glass 2 — — Both fragments measure 1.38 mm thick. Recovered by Monger 

in the area of the KSHS A761/771 500-series block excavations. 

Coins — 1 — 1892 Indian head penny. 

Chokes, throttles — 1 — Probably from a Model T Ford. 

Table 14. Summary data: Indian annuity goods, captured belongings and equipment, and archeological materials. 

Category A PFC WAC SSC AE PFA SCA SSA

Firearms, Weapons 

Ammunition - - X X X X X X 

Bar Lead X - X X X X X - 

Bayonets - - - - X X - - 

Bows/Arrows/Arrowpoints - - X X X X X X 

Bullet Molds - - X X X - - X 

Firearms, Parts X - X X X X X X 

Firearms Screwdrivers - - - - X - - X 

Gunpowder X - X X - - - - 

Holsters, Belts X - - - - - - - 

Knives - - - X X X - X 

Ladles, Bullet X - - - X - - - 

Lances - - X X X X - X 

Percussion Caps/Boxes X - - X X X X X 

Sabers - - - X X - - - 

Shields - - X X - - - - 

Tomahawks - - - X X - - X 

Military Equipment 

Boilers, Tin X - - - X X X - 

Buttons, General Service - - - - X X X X 

Buttons, Ball/Bullet - - - - X X X X 

Canteens, Parts - - - - X X X - 

Cups, Tin, Civil War Type X X - X X X X - 

Plates, Tin, Civil War Era - X - X X X X - 

Insignia, Brass X - - - X X X - 

Scales, Shoulder - - - - X X X - 

Tampions - - - - X X - - 
 72 

Category A PFC WAC SSC AE PFA SCA SSA

Clothing, Personal Items 

Beads - - - - X X - - 

Bells - - - - X - X - 

Belts/Sashes - - - - - - - X 

Blankets X - X - - - - - 

Boots, Shoes, Nails X - - - X - X - 

Bracelets, Brass - - - - X X - - 

Brass, Sheet - - - - X X - X 

Buttons, Agate X - - - X - - - 

Buttons, Brass - - - - X X X X 

Buttons, Ferrous - - - - X X X X 

Buttons, Glass - - - - X X - X 

Buttons, Hompant X - - - X - - - 

Chain, Brass - - - - X - - X 

Cloth/Flannel/Calico X - - - - - - X 

Coats X - X X - - - - 

Coats, Military X - - - - - - - 

Combs - - - - X - - - 

Drawer Pulls - - - - X X - - 

Dresses - - - X - - - - 

Ferrous, Sheet, Decorative - - - - X X - - 

Ferrules - - - - X X - - 

Harmonicas/Parts - - - - X X - - 

Hats X - - - - - - - 

Hose X - - - - - - - 

Jackets, Military X - - - - - - - 

Keys, Offset/Skeleton - - - - X - - X 

Medicine Sacks/Bundles - X - - X X - - 

Moccasins - - - X - - - - 

Ornaments, Silver - - - - X - X X 

Paint - X - X X X - - 

Pants, Satinett X - - - - - - - 

Pants, Military X - - - - - - - 

Photograph Preservers - - - - X - X - 

Plumes, Feather X - - - - - - - 

Rings, Wedding - - - - X - - X 

Rings, Finger - - - - X - X - 

Robes, buffalo - X X X - - - - 

Ropes, rawhide - X - - - - - - 

Shawls X - - - - - - - 

Shirts X - - - - - - - 

Shirts, Military X - - - - - - - 

Skirts X - - - - - - - 

Soap X - - - - - - - 

Straps, Shoulder X - - - - - - - 

Suspenders Grips - - - - X X X X 
 73 

Category A PFC WAC SSC AE PFA SCA SSA

Clothing, Personal Items, continued 

Thimbles - - - - X - X - 

Tinklers - - - - X X X X 

Tobacco - - X X - - - X 

War Bonnets - - - X - - - - 

Camp Equipage and Utensils 

Bottles, Various - - - X X X - - 

Bowls, Tin - - - - X - X - 

Bowls, Wooden - X - - - - - - 

Buckets - - - - X X X - 

Butcher Knives, Steel X - - - X X X X 

Coffee Mills X X - - X X X - 

Coffee Pots - X - X X - X - 

Crocks/Bottles/Stoneware - - - - X X - - 

Door Mats - X - - - - - - 

Graters, Tin - - - - X - X X 

Grinding Stones (Manos) - - - - X X X - 

Grommets, Ferrous/Brass - - - - X X - - 

Head Mats - X - - - - - - 

Kegs, Water - X - X - - - - 

Kettles, Brass/Iron X X - X X X X - 

Kettles, Tea - X - - X - - - 

Knives, Pocket - - - - X X - X 

Knives, Skinning - X - - X X - - 

Lamp Parts/Kerosene - - - - X - X - 

Lighting Devices, Gas Jet - - - - X - X - 

Locks, Trunk - - - - X - X - 

Meat Skewers - X - - X - X - 

Meat Stones - X - - X - - - 

Needles, Sewing - X - - X - - X 

Ovens, Iron - X - - X X - - 

Pans, Tin X X - X X - X - 

Pans, Stew - X - - X - - - 

Parfleches - X X - - - - - 

Parfleche Sacks - X - X - - - - 

Pots, Iron - - - - X X X - 

Shears/Scissors - - - - X X X X 

Skillets/Frying Pans, Iron X X - - X X X - 

Strike Steels - - - - X X - X 

Utensils, Iron/Tin - X - - X X X X 

Utensils, Horn/Wood - X - - - - - - 

Housing 

Lodges - X - X - - - - 

Lodge Poles - X - - - - - - 

Lodge Skins - X X X - - - - 
 74 

Category A PFC WAC SSC AE PFA SCA SSA

Tools 

Bars, Iron - - - - X X - - 

Awls - - - - X X X X 

Axes - X - X X X X - 

Chains - X - - X - - - 

Crowbars - X - - X - - - 

Files X X - - X X X - 

Fleshing Irons/Scrapers - X - - X X X X 

Hammers - X - X X - X - 

Hatchets - X X - X - - - 

Hoes - X - - X - - - 

Knives, Various - X - X X X X X 

Leather Punches - X - - X - - X 

Mallets and Hammers, Stone - X - - X X - - 

Pick Axes - X - - X X - - 

Pitchforks - X - - X - X - 

Rasps, Wood - X - - X - - X 

Rubbing Horns - X - - X - - - 

Rubbing Stones - X - - X - - - 

Scythes - X - - X X - - 

Shovels/Spades - X - X X - - - 

Wedges, Steel - - - - X X X - 

Whetstones - X - - X X - - 

Surcingles X X - - X - - - 

Horse Tack and Vehicle Parts 

Blacksmith Tongs - X - - X - - - 

Bridles and Bridle Parts X X - X X X X X 

Combs, Curry - X - - - - - - 

Hobble Chains, Ferrous - - - - X X - - 

Horses/Ponies - X X X - - - - 

Horseshoes/Nails - - - - X X X X 

Lariats - X X X - - - - 

Picket Pins - - - - X X X X 

Saddles and Saddle Parts X X X X X X X X 

Saddlebags, Panniers - - X X - - - - 

Spurs - - - - X - X - 

Tack Buckles/Hooks - - - - X X X X 

Travoises - X - - - - - - 

Wagon Hardware - - - - X X X X 

Fasteners 

Barrel Hoops - - - - X - X X 

Bolts, Iron - - - - X X X - 

Nails, Cut - - - - X X X - 

Nails, Wire - - - - X X X - 

Rivets, Iron/Copper - - - - X X - - 

Screws - - - - X X - - 

Staples, Ferrous - - - - X X - - 
 75 

Category A PFC WAC SSC AE PFA SCA SSA

Fasteners, continued 

Staples, Ferrous - - - - X X - - 

Strap Iron - - - - X X X X 

Tacks, Brass - - - - X X X - 

Tacks, Iron - - - - X X - - 

Wire, Brass - - - - X - - - 

Wire, Iron/Steel - - - - X X - - 

Foodstuffs 

Apples X - - - - - - - 

Bacon X - - - - - - - 

Beef, Fresh/Bones X - - X X X - - 

Beef Cattle X - - - - - - - 

Bread, Hard X - - - - - - - 

Cans, Baking Powder - - - - X X - - 

Cans, Condensed Milk - - - - X - X - 

Cans, Potted Meat - - - - X - X - 

Cans, Sardine - - - - X X X - 

Cans, Tin - - - - X X X X 

Coffee X - - - - - - - 

Flour X - - - - - - - 

Hominy X - - - - - - - 

Sugar X - - - - - - - 

Miscellaneous 

Chipped Stone Tools/Flakes - - - - X X X - 

Currency and Gold - - - X X - - - 

Raw Hides - - X X - - - - 

Column Totals: 46 56 20 41 128 81 64 46 

Key to Column Headings: 

A = Cheyenne/Arapaho/Apache annuity goods; PFC = captured goods, Pawnee Fork; WAC = captured goods, Battle 

of the Washita; SSC = captured goods, Battle of Summit Springs; AE = archeologically expected; PFA = archeologically recovered, Pawnee Fork village; SCA = archeologically recovered, Sand Creek; SSA = archeologically 

recovered, Summit Springs. 

Sources: 

A: Combined Cheyenne/Arapaho/Apache annuity lists, December 1865–April 1867; National Archives Record 

Group 75 Microcopy 234, Rolls 460 and 879. 

PFC: Cheyenne belongings captured and/or destroyed at the village on Pawnee Fork, April 19, 1867. From Hancock 

(April 13, 1867) and Wynkoop (April 18, 1867), National Archives, Record Group 94, M619, Roll 565. 

WAC: Cheyenne property captured at the Battle of the Washita, Oklahoma, November 27, 1868, Philip H. Sheridan 

Papers, Library of Congress; Report of Lt. Col. George A. Custer; and Afton et al. (1997:317–318) in Greene et al. 

(2000:327.) 

SSC: Cheyenne property captured at the Battle of Summit Springs, Colorado, July 11, 1869. Adapted from Afton et 

al. (1997:320–321) in Greene et al. (2000:328). 

AE: Indian belongings/goods/objects likely to have archeological expression. 

PFA: Archeological materials recovered from the village on Pawnee Fork. 

SCA: Archeological materials recovered at Sand Creek Village, Colorado (Scott 2000:71–135). 

SSA: Archeological materials recovered at Summit Springs Village, Colorado. 
 76 
Figure 1. Intermittent stream channel east of KSHS Area 761/771; view to the east.

77
Figure 3. Wagon road at the south end of KSHS Area 761/771; view to the

south.

Figure 2. View to the west from KSHS Area 761/771 across the

meander cutofftoward KSHS Area 772.

78
Figure 4. Composite site map, including details from Earl Monger’s map and notes.

West Mesa East Mesa

West

Island Mesa

Lime

Kiln

Dugout

Dugout

Monger's

Area

762

Area D

Monger's

Area 764 &

Monger's

Area

761

Monger's

Area

763

Early Settler

Complex

Scale

012345

River

Pawnee

River

Pawnee

Hundreds of Feet

W

N

S

E

Area A

Area

B

Area

C

Monger's Area 771 &

North

Mesa

East

Island

Mesa

South

Mesa

KSHS

Areas

761

771

KSHS

Area 772

79
Contour Interval: 0.05 Meter

96

93

98.5

Wagon

Road

94.5

93.5

93.5

98.5

98.5

94

94

98.5

97

Area 771

Area 772

Figure 5. Transit map of topography and KSHS excavation blocks in KSHS Areas 771 and 772.

80
Figure 6. April 1976 testing atop KSHS Area 761; view to the south.

Figure 7. The 400-series excavation block atop KSHS Area 761/771; view to the south.

81
Figure 8. The 500-series excavation block atop KSHS Area 761/771; view

to the northwest.

Figure 9. The 600-series excavation block atop KSHS Area 772; view to the east.

82
Figure 10. Vertical profile of the east wall of KSHS X1, Area 771.

83
F131

ale bottle base

F119

suspender/trouser buckle

F158

post mold

F133

post mold

F146

medicine bottle

F145

suspender/trouser

buckle

F128

wire bail

F153

pit with

ash, shell

F140

.40 cal. ball

F154

pit with

pigment

F139 fetish

F138 projectile point

F136 chert flakes,

projectile point

F120 coffee mill fragment

F112 frizzen spring

F162 post mold

F123 iron ring

F123 iron ring

F134

post mold

F132

gun parts

F125

Civil War

tin cup handle

F149

coffee mill

hopper

F150

roller bar buckle

F148

ale bottle fragments

F121 main spring

F113

Dutch oven

fragments

F118

post mold

F118

toe plate

0 1 2 3

meters

Figure 11. Plan map of 200- and 400-series excavation block in KSHS Area 761/771.

84
Figure 12. Wire snap hook exposed just below the ground surface in X235, KSHS Area 761.

85
F173

bullet button complex

F172

burned soil

F171

.32 cal. bullet

F205

post mold

F167

sheet brass

and tin scraps

F176

bullet button

F175

rifle sear

F169

screw

fragment

F177

brass tack

0 1 2 3

meters

Figure 13. Plan map of 500-series excavation block in KSHS Area 761/771.

86
F194, F198

General Service buttons

F195

iron button

F213

button complex

F193

tinklers

F183, F186

Hostetter's

Bitters bottle F185

roller-bar

buckle

F187

center-bar

buckle

F197

coffee mill

crank

F199, F210

General Service

buttons

F208

glass button

F201

stone maul

F217

trash-filled

basin

F214

whetstone

0 1 2 3

meters

Figure 14. Plan map of 600-series excavation block in KSHS Area 772.

87
a b c

Figure 15. Prehistoric and protohistoric artifacts: (a) Besant Complex dart point, part of F136 in Area 761/771;

(b) Oxbow Complex blade fragment; (c) blade and stem fragment from X463, morphologically similar to

Scallorn type; (d) ground-stone maul; (e) sherd from Monger’s Area 771 X294, gray with fine mica or schist

temper, probably associated with the protohistoric DismalRiver Aspect component at 14NS403.

e

d

0 1 in

0 30 mm

88
b

l

0 1 in

0 30 mm

f g h

i

j

k

m

a

c d e

Figure 16. Firearms parts: (a)steel bridle for a pistol or rifle main spring swivel; (b)steel bridle for a pistol or rifle

main spring swivel; (c) tumbler; (d, e) tumblers; (f) sear spring from a Model 1861 U.S. rifle musket; (g) main

spring;(h)Remington revolvertrigger/cylinderstop spring;(i) main spring from aColt-style Model 1851 or Model

1860 .36 cal. or .44 cal. revolver; (j) Remington revolver trigger; (k) washer from a lock screw likely from a Plains

rifle;(l)Remington revolver cylinderstop;(m)steel toe plate from a trade gun or Plainsrifle.

89
f

(not to scale)

i

a b c

d e

g

h

j

0 2 in

0 50 mm

Figure 17. Military equipment and clothing-related artifacts: (a–c) large General Service buttons; (d, e) ball or bullet

buttons; (f) crushed Civil War cup from the Monger Collection, originally about 21⁄2 or 3 inches tall; (g) small glass

button;(h)four-hole sew-through button with black residue;(i, j) clothing buckles.

90
a

b

c

f

g

(side view) (end view)

0 2 in

0 50 mm

d

e

Figure 18. Ornaments and other personal items: (a) tin tinklers; (b) part of a sheet brass pendant with a small

hole at one end; (c) unfinished shell pendant; (d) unfinished shell pendant; (e) shell with several faint incised

lines;(f) brass wire bracelet;(g) buffalo stone or bison fetish.

91
a

Figure 19, continued on next page. Camp equipage and utensils: (a) stoneware bottle; (b) cast-iron coffee mill

hopper;(c) cast-iron coffeemill crank handle.

92

b

0 2 in

0 50 mm

c
d e

f

g

h

0 2 in

0 50 mm

Figure 19, concluded. Camp equipage and utensils: (d, e) cast-iron rim segments; (f ) cast-iron bail or handle; (g) castiron fragment with a simple blunted conical lug foot;(h) cast-iron bail lug.

93
a

b

c

d

e

f

0 2 in

0 50 mm

Figure 20. Utensils and tools: (a)scissorfragment;(b)steel knife blade modified for use as an awl;(c)scraper manufactured across a thin knife blade fragment;(d) possible bone flesher made from a large mammal long bone diaphysis with a

rounded transverse edge and ten small serrations; (f) part of a

possible shaft wrench or a slotted knife handlemanufactured from a cut bison rib.

(e) possible butchering tool made from a cut bison femur;

94
c

d

e

f

g

h

a b

0 2 in

0 50 mm

Figure 21. Horse tack and miscellaneous metal items: (a) “sunk bar” style center-bar buckle; (b) ferrous D-shaped

or horseshoe buckle; (c, d) ferrous roller or roller-bar buckles; (e) metal ring, military horse tack or part of a saddle;

(f) double-wire snap hook;(g)rivet with an attached remnant offlat iron orsteel;(h) unidentifiedmetal tab.

95
Figure 22. Lieutenant Brown’s map of April 14, 1867, indicating the locations of Camps 13

and 14.

96

Figure 23. View to the northwest across KSHS Area 761/771 excavations; a low ridge line is visible on the horizon in

the left background.
Figure 24. “Indian Village” illustration from Theodore Davis’

article entitled “A Summer on the Plains,”

, February 1868.

Harper’sNew Monthly

Magazine

97
98

Figure 25. “Lodges of the Chiefs in the Indian Village Captured by General Hancock” illustration from Theodore

Davis’ article in the May 11, 1867, issue of Harper’s Weekly.
99

Figure 26. “Old Sioux Captured by General Hancock”

illustration from Theodore Davis’ article in the May 11,

1867, issue of Harper’s Weekly.

Figure 27. “Burning theCheyenne Village Near Fort Larned, Kansas, April 19, 1867” illustration from Theodore Davis’

article in the May 11, 1867, issue of Harper’s Weekly.
100
 101 

Appendix A: Expedition and Annuities Correspondence 

The following entries represent selected pieces of official U.S. Army and Office of Indian Affairs 

correspondence that relate to the Hancock Expedition. By no means do these letters and orders represent 

all of the correspondence that was generated by this action, and only a part of what follows actually has 

bearing upon the stated mission of this report—the analysis and interpretation of the archeological materials from the village on Pawnee Fork. But the documents reproduced below nevertheless provide a rare 

flavor or historical context both to the background of the Expedition, and to the action itself. The entries 

have been transcribed from microfilm copies of handwritten correspondence that is sometimes almost illegible. Apparent misspellings have been transcribed as found in the text. 

1. Maj. Gen. Winfield S. Hancock to Col. Edward W. Wynkoop, March 11, 1867. Source: National Archives, Record Group 94, M-619, Roll 563. 

Headquarters of the Mo. 

Fort Leavenworth Kansas March 11th 1867 

Colonel E. W. Wynkoop 

Agent for Comanches and Kiowas 

Fort Larned, Kansas 

Sir, 

I have the honor to address this letter to you for the purpose of informing you that I have about 

completed my arrangements to move a force to the plains, and only await a proper condition of 

the roads to march. 

My object in making an expedition at this time is to show the Indians within the limits of this 

Department, that we are able to chastise any tribes who may molest people who are travelling 

across the plains. It is not our desire to bring on difficulties with the Indians, but to treat them 

with justice and according to our treaty expectations, and I desire especially in my dealings with 

them, to act through their Agents as far as practicable. 

In reference to the Cheyennes of your agency in particular, I may say that we have just grounds of 

grievance. One is that they have not delivered up the murderer of the New Mexican at Zara. I 

also believe that I have evidence sufficient to fix upon different bands of that tribe, whose chiefs 

are known, several of the outrages committed on the Smoky Hill last summer. 

I request that you will inform them in such a manner as you may think proper, that I expect 

shortly to visit their neighborhood, and that I will be glad to have an interview with their Chiefs; 

and tell them also, if you please, that I will go fully prepared for peace or war, and that hereafter I 

will insist upon their keeping off the main lines of travel, where their presence is calculated to 

bring about collisions with the whites. If you can prevail upon the Indians of your Agency, to 

abandon their habit of ... [one word illegible] the country traversed by our overland routes, 

threatening, robbing, intimidating travelers, we will defer that matter to you. 

If not, I would be pleased by your presence with me, when I visit the locality of your tribes, to 

show that the Officers of the Government are acting in harmony. 

I am Sir 

Very resply. Your obedt. Servant 

W. S. Hancock 

Major Genl. Comdg. 
 102 

2. Lt. General William T. Sherman to Maj. Gen. Winfield S. Hancock, March 14, 1867. Source: National 

Archives, Record Group 94, M-619, Roll 565. 

Headquarters MilY Div of the Mo. 

Saint Louis, Mo., March 14, 1867 

Major Genl W. S. Hancock 

Commanding Department of the Missouri, 

Fort Leavensorth, Kansas. 

General: 

I have delayed some days complying with my promise to you in our interview here on the 8th

(instant), to reduce to writing the substance of our conclusions as to your general disposition of 

matters this season in your Department. 

The fact, that the management of Indians affairs is left by Congress in the control of the 

Department of the Interior, deprives us of a legal right to control them and prevents our adopting 

preventive measures. We are compelled to respect the Indian treaties, because they are the law of 

the land, obligatory on all, especially on us, who are entrusted with the execution of the law. We 

are bound also to respect the authority of Commissioners, or Agents, who are charged with the 

intercourse with, and control of the various tribes, and to leave them to manage all questions not 

amounting to actual war. You need not, therefore, make demand on the Cheyennes for the 

drunken fellow who killed the New Mexican at Zara last fall nor for the party who killed the men 

and carried off the stock at the Stage Station at Chalk Bluffs, on the Smoky Hill route, last year. 

Leave these cases to the agents, and so notify them. 

Our duty is to protect our own people, whilst engaged in their lawful and natural pursuits, against 

all enemies, of whatever race or color. This embraces citizens who have made settlements on 

surveyed lands or other lands where it is lawful for them to make locations; --all mail routes 

established by law; --all roads travelled through the Indian country established by competent 

authority, or to which right has accrued by former implied consent; and especially we are bound 

to protect and command the respect due our own authority, as represented by forts, stations, and 

troops on the march. 

I understand that the Cheyennes and Arapahoes and Kiowas, each and all, on several occasions, 

have assembled at or near our posts on the Smoky Hill, and on the Arkansas, in numbers and 

strength manifestly beyond the control of their agents and have in manner and word threatened to 

interrupt the use by our people of those roads. This cannot be tolerated for a moment. If not a 

state of war, it is next thing to it, and will result in war unless checked. I therefore authorize you 

to instruct your Commanding Officers of posts, on a recurrance of the same or similar cases, to 

punish on the spot; and I (author)ize you to organize, out of your present command, a sufficient 

force to go among those Cheyennes, Arapahoes, Kiowas, or similar bands of Indians, and notify 

them that if they want war they can have it now; but if they decline the offer, then impress on 

them that they must stop their insolence and threats, and make their conduct conform more nearly 

to what we deem right, than was the case last year. 

I have no fear that you, or any other officer under you, will kill or injure unresisting people of any 

race or kind, and I will not suppose the case. But such an impression has got abroad and I have 

an enquiry from the War Department on this subject under date of 8th (inst), a copy of which I 

enclose with my reply. You may construe both these papers as official and bearing on the case. 

The transfer and addition to you of the Indian Territory west of Arkansas may force you to modify 

somewhat your former plans. I wish to leave you free to act according to your better knowledge 

on the spot; and will be prepared on notice, to modify any former orders to suit the new case. 

After visiting those tribes now supposed to be South of the Arkansas, below Fort Larned, you can 

direct the detachments to move to the posts designed for them this summer. 

I am, with great respect, 

W. T. Sherman 

Lieut. General 

Commanding 
 103 

3. Col. Edward W. Wynkoop to Maj. Gen. Winfield S. Hancock, April 13, 1867. Source: National Archives, Record Group 94, M-619, Roll 565. 

Camp on Pawnee Fork 

April 13th, 1867 

Maj. Gen W. S. Hancock 

Comdg. Dept of Missouri 

and Indian Expedition 

General: 

For a long time I have made the Indian character my chief study. I regard the late movement of 

the Cheyennes of my agency as caused by fear alone. So far as I am able to judge they met us at 

first with a determination to have a peaceful talk at such a distance from their village as [would?] 

make their women and children satisfied that no danger need be apprehended by them. Your 

movement toward the village terrified the squaws and children who left with such movable 

property as they could gather. I learn that you purpose destroying the lodges and other property 

now remaining in the village. I would most respectfully request you not to do so. I am fully 

convinced that the result would be an Indian outbreak of the most serious nature, while at the 

same time there is no evidence in my judgment that this band of Cheyennes are deserving of this 

severe punishment. I am influenced alone in this communicating with you by what I consider a 

strict sense of duty. 

With feelings of the utmost respect, 

I am, General, 

Your obt. Servt. 

(Signed) E. W. Wynkoop 

US Indian Agent 

for Arapahoes, Cheyennes, & Apaches 

4. Special Field Orders No. 13, April 18, 1867. 

HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE 

MISSOURI, 

IN THE FIELD, CAMP NO. 15, 

PAWNEE FORK, KANSAS, April 18, 1867. 

Special Field Orders, No. 13. 

1. ---As a punishment for the bad faith practiced by the Cheyennes and Sioux who occupied the 

Indian village at this place, and as a chastisement for murders and depredations committed since 

the arrival of the command at this point, by the people of these tribes, the village recently 

occupied by them, which is now in our hands, will be entirely destroyed. 

All property within the village, such as tools, camp equipage, &c., will be preserved and taken up 

as captured property by Captain G. W Bradley, A. Q. M., chief quartermaster of the expedition. 

Brevet Major General J. W Davidson, major 2d United States cavalry, acting inspector general of 

this department, will take an accurate inventory of all species of property in the village, previous 

to its destruction. 

Brevet Major General A. J. Smith, Colonel 7th cavalry, commanding district of the Upper 

Arkansas, is charged with the execution of this order. 

By command of Major General Hancock. 
 104 

W. G. MITCHELL, 

Captain and A. A. A. General 

A true copy: 

W. G. MITCHELL, 

Captain and A. A. A. G. 

Inventory of articles abandoned in the villages, on Pawnee Fork burned April 19, 1867.

Inventory of articles in the Cheyenne Camp. 

Lodges 111 Bridles 11 

Buffalo robes 522 Curry-combs 11 

Traventers 238 Blacksmith’s tongs 1 

Parfleches 144 Lariats 164 

Whet-stones 8 Coffee-mills 13 

Rubbing hones 9 Rawhide ropes 48 

Water kegs 35 Sacks paint 142 

Saddles 197 Ovens 1 

Hoes 22 Hammers 6 

Head-mats 142 Stew-pans 4 

Axes 49 Spades 5 

Crow-bars 12 Pitch-forks 5 

Fleshing-irons 39 Knives 9 

Brass kettles 19 Pick-axes 6 

Coffee-pots 8 Wooden spoons 14 

Tin Pans 152 Door-mats 111 

Iron spoons 65 Stone mallets 13 

Tin cups 134 Meat-stones 22 

Fry-pans 34 Files 8 

Skillets 1 Scythes 4 

Horn spoons 55 Meat-skewers 7 

Chairs 78 Kettles 49 

Drawing-knives 4 Tea-kettles 12 

Inventory of Articles in the Sioux Camp. 

Lodges 140 Hoes 34 

Buffalo robes 420 Head-mats 145 

Traventers 197 Axes 142 

Parfleches 159 Crowbars 15 

Whet-stones 2 Fleshing-irons 42 

Rubbing-hones 2 Brass kettles 54 

Water-kegs 63 Coffee-pots 59 

Saddles 239 Tin pans 179 

Iron spoons 25 Spades 2 

Tin cups 216 Pitch-forks 3 

Fry-pans 43 Knives 3 

Horn spoons 94 Pick-axes 6 

Chairs 51 Wooden spoons 4 

Drawing-knives 9 Door-mats 140 

Bridles 9 Stone mallets 61 

Curry-combs 4 Swords 1 

Lariats 280 Bayonets 1 

Coffee-mills 15 U. S. mail-bags 1 

Sacks paint 70 Lances 1 

Ovens 5 Kettles 141 

Hammers 11 Tea-kettles 3 

Stew-pans 4 

Remarks. -- Six (6) ponies were also found running 

loose near the villages. 

(signed) 

J. W. DAVIDSON, 

Lieutenant Colonel, 10th Cavalry, 

Brevet Major General, Acting Inspector General. 

A true copy: 

W. G. MITCHELL, Captain and A. A. A. G. 
 105 

5. Col. Edward W. Wynkoop to Commissioner N. G. Taylor, April 15, 1867. Source: National Archives, 

Record Group 94, M-619, Roll 565. 

Camp on Pawnee Fork 

30 miles West of Fort Larned 

April 15, 1867 

Hon. 

N. G. Taylor 

Commissioner Indian Affairs 

Washington 

I write in haste, as a courier is about leaving Camp, I am with Genl Hancocks expedition, having 

accompanied him at his request, as he stated that it was his intention to hold a council ... [one 

word illegible] the principal men of the Tribes of my agency. I am sorry to say that the result of 

the expedition is disastrous. Gen Hancock marched his column right up to the Indian Village 

composed of three hundred lodges of Cheyennes and Sioux; he found on halting, the women and 

children had fled, and the men were alone occupying the camp; he ordered the Chiefs to bring 

back the women and children and they started for the purpose of endeavoring to do so but soon 

returned and stated that it was impossible, and during the night the men deserted their village, 

leaving their Lodges with all the furniture of the same. Gen Hancock has sent Gen Custer with a 

Cavalry Command in pursuit; understanding that it was the intention of Gen Hancock to destroy 

the Lodges and other property left in the Village, I have written him a letter of remonstrance, and 

I am perfectly convinced that the conduct of the Indians was the result of intense fear, I am fearful 

that the result of all this will be a general War which is much to be deprecated as there are many 

unprotected Whites on the different roads across the plains and at the Mail Stations, and ranches. 

I will report in full the first opportunity. 

I have the honor to be sir 

with much respect your obt. Servant 

Signed E. W. Wynkoop 

U.S. Indian Agent 

for Arapahoe, Cheyenne & Apache Indians 

6. Col. Jesse W. Leavenworth to Commissioner N. G. Taylor, April 17, 1867. Source: National Archives, 

Record Group 94, M-619, Roll 565. 

Same camp as on the 13th

Short mile from Indian Village 

On Pawnee Fork 17th April, 1867 

Hon. N. G. Taylor 

Comr. Indian Affairs 

Sir: 

I have but little to communicate except Gen. Hancock has determined not to burn the Indian 

lodges; but has ordered every article taken from their villages returned—and Genl. Custer reports 

he has not seen any Indians he was in pursuit of 1500 Indians escape, and not one seen. He reports he should march for the Smoky Hill on the evening of the 16th at 7 p.m. from the head of 

Walnut Creek—in haste. 

Very Respectfully &c. 

(signed) J. H. Leavenworth 

U.S. Ind. Agt., Cheyennes without doubt gone South Sioux North. 
 106 

7. Col. Edward W. Wynkoop to Commissioner N. G. Taylor, April 18, 1867. Source: National Archives, 

Record Group 94, M-619, Roll 565. 

Genl. Hancock’s Camp 

on Pawnee Fork 

32 miles West Fort Larned 

April 18th, 1867 

Hon N. G. Taylor 

Commr. Indian Affairs 

Washington, D. C. 

Sir: 

I have the honor to state that since my last communication a few days back in which I spoke of 

the flight of the Indians upon Gen. Hancock’s approach and his intention to destroy the village, I 

have written a communication to Gen. Hancock a copy of which I enclose. I have received no 

written reply, but he stated to me verbally that for the present he would not destroy the village. In 

my last letter I also stated that Gen. Custer was in pursuit of the Indians. A courier has since arrived from him with the information that they Cheyennes had turned and gone toward the Arkansas River, while the Sioux had continued Northward. He followed the Sioux trail and the last dispatch from him is to the effect that the Sioux upon crossing the Smoky Hill road had destroyed a 

Ranche or mail station and killed three men. Since receiving this news Gen Hancock has again 

expressed his determination to destroy the village. I have again appealed to him on behalf of the 

Cheyennes as their village is distinct from the Sioux, and as yet there is no evidence of their having committed any overt act since their flight, and he has promised me to consider the matter. 

Under the circumstances in which the Indians left here, in my judgment being fully impressed 

with the belief that Gen. Hancock had come for the purpose of murdering their women and children as had previously been done at Sand Creek, I have no doubt but that they think that war has 

been forced upon them (the Cheyennes) and will commence committing depredations and following their style of warfare immediately. Thus in my opinion has another Indian war been brought 

on which might have been averted by the Military authorities pursuing a different line of policy. I 

will continue with Gen Hancock as long as there is any probability of him falling in with any of 

the Indians of my Agency for the purpose as far as lies in my power subserving the interests of the 

Department. As soon as possible I will submit to your office an inventory of the effects in both 

the Cheyenne and Sioux villages. 

I am with much respect Your obt. Servt. 

(sgd) E. W. Wynkoop 

U.S. Indian Agent 

for Arapahoe, Cheyenne, and Apache Indians 

Inventory—Cheyenne Camp. 

132 lodges, 396 buffalo robes, 57 saddles, 120 travoises, 78 headmats, 90 axes, 58 kettles, 125 frying pans, 

200 tin cups, 130 wooden bowls, 116 tin pans, 103 whet-stones, 44 sacks paint, 57 ditto medicines, 63 water kegs, 17 ovens, 117 rubbing horns, 42 coffee mills, 150 rope lariets, 100 chains, 264 parfleshes, 70 coffee pots, 50 hoes, 120 fleshing irons, 200 par-flesh sacks, 200 horn spoons, 42 crowbars, 400 sacks feathers, 200 tin plates, 160 brass kettles, 40 hammers, 15 setts lodge poles (uncovered), 17 stew-pans, 4 drawing knives, 10 spades, 2 bridles, 93 hatches, 25 tea kettles, 250 spoons, 157 knives, 4 pickaxes. 

Sioux Camp. 

140 lodges, 420 buffalo robes, 226 saddles, 150 travoises, 140 headmats, 142 axes, 138 kettles, 40 frying 

pans, 190 tin cups, 146 tin pans, 140 whetstones, 70 sacks paint, 63 water kegs, 6 ovens 160 rubbing horns, 

7 coffee mills, 280 rope lariats, 140 chains, 146 parfleshes, 50 curry combs, 58 coffee pots, 82 hoes, 25 

fleshing irons, 40 horn spoons, 14 crow bars, 54 brass kettles, 11 hammers, 5 setts lodge poles, (uncovered) 

4 stew pans, 9 drawing knives, 2 spades, 8 bridles, 3 pitchforks, 3 teakettles, 28 spoons, 4 pickaxes, 1 

sword, 1 extra scabbard, 1 bayonet, 1 mail bag, stone mallets, 1 lance. 
 107 

8. Col. Edward W. Wynkoop to Commissioner N. G. Taylor, April 21, 1867. Source: National Archives, 

Record Group 94, M-619, Roll 565. 

Fort Dodge Ks. 

April 21st, 1867 

Hon. N. G. Taylor 

Commr. Of Indian Affairs 

Washington D. C. 

Sir: 

I write hastily as a mail is about leaving, to inform you that, on the 19th ... [one word illegible] 

Gen. Hancock burnt the Indian village, three hundred lodges Sioux and Cheyennes. I know of no 

overt act that the Cheyennes had committed to cause them to be thus punished not even since their 

flight. I have just arrived with Gen. Hancock’s column at this Post, and learn since my arrival 

here that a few days ago six Cheyenne Indians on foot were attacked by one hundred and thirty 

cavalry about twenty-five miles west of this Post and all of them killed. I also learn that they had 

done nothing to provoke an attack but were of the party that fled before Gen. Hancock’s approach. This whole matter is horrible in the extreme and these same Indians of my agency have 

actually been forced into war. 

I have the honor to be 

With much respect your obt. Servt. 

(sgn) E. W. Wynkoop 

U.S. Indian Agent 

For Arapahoes, Cheyennes, + Apaches 

9. Maj. Gen. Winfield S. Hancock to Brevet Maj. Gen. W. A. Nichols, May 22, 1867. Source: National 

Archives, Record Group 94, M619, Roll 563. 

Headquarters Department of the Missouri, 

Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, May 22d, 1867 

Brevet Major General W. A. Nichols 

Assistant Adjutant General, 

Military Division of the Mo., 

Saint Louis, Mo. 

General: 

I have the honor to submit the following report of the operations of the troops composing the recent expedition to the Plains, which I commanded in person. 

It was the intention of the Lieutenant General Commanding the Military Division of the Missouri, 

and of myself, to have commenced the movement not later than the 1st of March, but owing to 

impassible roads, high waters and the consequent difficulty of placing supplies of subsistence and 

forage at points where they were required, it was found to be impracticable to get the troops in 

motion before the 22d day of March, on which date Battery “B”, 4th U.S. Artillery proceeded from 

this point to Fort Riley by rail, and was followed on the 24th by six (6) Companies of the 37th U.S. 

infantry to the same point, where they joined four (4) Companies of the 7th U.S. Cavalry and one 

Company of the 37th U.S. Infantry. The whole force available for the Expedition—about fourteen 

hundred (1400) men, was then concentrated at Fort Riley, save two squadrons and one (1) company of the 7th U.S. Cavalry, one squadron of which joined when the Expedition reached Fort 

Harker, (the Company joined at Fort Larned), and the other squadron at Fort Dodge. I arrived at 
 108 

Fort Riley on the 25th of March, and on the 26th, issued an order directing Brevet Major General 

Smith, Colonel 7th U.S. Cavalry, commanding the District in which the movements were to take 

place, to give the necessary instructions for the movements of the troops in the field. On the same 

day, an order was issued directing the troops to march towards Fort Harker. 

It may be well to state here, that the instructions concerning the objects of the Expedition—

received by me from the Lieutenant General Commanding the Military Division of the Mo., 

which were conveyed in his letter of March 14 (copy enclosed, marked “A”)—directed me among 

other matters, to forego the demands which it had been my intention to make upon certain tribes, 

especially upon the Cheyennes, for murders and depredations which had been committed by 

members of that tribe upon the whites. These matters were to be left in the hands of the Indian 

Agents, and I was instructed so to inform them. I transmit copies of letters herewith (Marked “B” 

and “C” and C1, in which I gave Colonels Leavenworth and Wynkoop the required notification). I 

was authorized to go among the Cheyennes, Arapahoes, Kiowas, Apaches and Comanches within 

the limits of this Department, to make a display of force to them, to notify them that if they 

wished for war, they could have it, and to explain to them fully, that hereafter they must keep off 

the routes of travel—Rail Roads and other roads, and that all depredations and molestation of 

travellers must cease forthwith. I was also empowered to arrest any offenders of the tribes above 

named, who should be designated by their Agents as being guilty of offences against the laws, and 

to explain to the Indians and impress upon their minds the fact, that all threatening of our Military 

Posts by them—verbally or by messages or otherwise—must cease at once, or war would ensue. 

In persuance of these instructions, I marched directly from Fort Riley to Fort Harker, arriving at 

that post on the 1st day of April, and remaining there until April 3d, when the command moved to 

Fort Larned on the stage route by way of Zara, reaching the former post on the 7th of April. 

Colonel J. H. Leavenworth, U.S. Indian Agent for the Comanches and Kiowas, joined me at Zara 

and accompanied me. At Larned, I met Colonel E. W. Wynkoop, U.S. Indian Agent for the Cheyennes, Arapahoes and Apaches of the Plains, who informed me that he had sent runners to the 

Chiefs of his Agency, asking them to meet me at Larned on the 10th of April; requesting me at the 

same time to remain at that post until they came in. I acceded to this proposition the more readily 

as I desired to rest the troops, and wished to have a thorough inspection made of Fort Larned, before leaving that post. 

On the day on which the command arrived at Fort Larned, four (4) Sioux came into our Camp. 

One of them had a paper from Col. Henry E. Maynadier, stating that they were friendly “Ogollalahs”, and had permission to remain on “Horse Creek”, a tributary of the “North Platte.”. I 

learned from them that they were encamped with a portion of their people on “PawneeFork”, 

about thirty (30) miles above “Fort Larned”. It was ascertained also that the Cheyennes were encamped at the same point—their villages being together. “Slim Face”, an old Cheyenne Chief, 

now on the retired list, but still a man of importance in the tribe as a counsellor, visited my Headquarters the same evening for the purpose of seeing the Cheyenne boy “Wilson Graham”, a prisoner saved from the “Sand Creek Massacre,” whom I had with me, for the purpose of delivery to 

his relatives. 

On the 9th of April, while the command was encamped near Fort Larned, a furious storm—

accompanied by a heavy gale from the North East—occurred, and continued without intermission 

until about 10 o’clock that night. Most fortunately we were in camp when the storm commenced, 

and no men were lost, which would almost surely have been the case, had we been on the march 

on the open prairies; for at times the snow was so blinding that it was extremely difficult to move 

from one point to another in Camp. Our animals were saved from perishing by issueing to them a 

double ration of corn. Not one was lost. The snow fell eight (8) inches deep by accurate measurement. 
 109 

On account of the storm, the council which was to have been held with the Cheyennes on the 10th

of April was deferred until the weather should become more favorable. On the morning of the 

11th, I was informed by Col. E. W. Wynkoop, U.S. Indian Agent, that the Cheyennes and Sioux 

who were encamped on “Pawnee Fork”, were about starting in to Larned, but were deterred by a 

herd of Buffalo appearing near their camp, which they had stopped to hunt. Although I thought 

this circumstance suspicious, and not sufficiently important to warrant the Indians in not keeping 

their engagement with me more promptly, I concluded to wait another day before marching towards them. On the evening of the 12th of April, after my orders had been given to march the next 

morning, “Tall Bull” and “White Horse”, two Cheyenne Chiefs accompanied by ten or twelve 

other Indians of less importance, arrived in camp from the Village on Pawnee Fork, and requested 

a conference with me. I assented, and at a “talk” held at my Headquarters the same evening, gave 

them my views quite freely in reference to the course intended to be pursued towards the Indians, 

and what they were expected to do &c. in future; telling them in the commencement of my remarks that we were not there to make war, but that we were ready then to fight any Indians who 

wished for war. I also informed them that I had expected to have seen many more of their chiefs 

and people at Fort Larned, and that as so small a number of them had come in; I would march to 

their village the next day, where I could see them all. The Cheyenne boy, “Wilson Graham”, was 

shown to them, but was not recognized as belonging to any bands North of the Arkansas. They 

supposed him to be a member of “Black Kettles” band, which was then in Texas. (I left the boy 

the next day at Larned when I marched from that post, in charge of the Commanding Officer, with 

instructions to deliver him to his relatives when they came for him). 

“Tall Bull” replied to me very briefly, stating that he disclaimed all intention of hostilities towards 

the whites; that the roads were all free for travellers &c. &c., and concluded by stating that he 

would have no more to say to me at his village, than he had said there. (I append a copy of the 

talk in full, marked “D”). The following morning (April 13th), the command moved from Fort 

Larned by a road leading up Pawnee Fork, and encamped on that stream, twenty one and one 

third (211/3) miles above that post. During the day, we observed several small parties of Indians 

ahead of us, moving in the direction of their villages. They fired the grass for several miles below 

their encampment with the view of delaying our march, or of preventing us from camping near 

them. We threw a bridge however over the stream and moved on, when shortly afterwards we 

came up with “Pawnee Killer”, a Chief of the Sioux accompanied by four (4) or five (5) warriors—Sioux and Cheyennes. “Pawnee Killer” informed me that his people were encamped with 

the Cheyennes only a few miles further on, and stated that they would remain in camp until we 

came up to have a “talk”. “White Horse” (Cheyenne Chief), and several others also joined us 

about this time, and it was arranged that they should remain in our camp during the night and the 

next morning all of the Chiefs from the Villages were to come to my Headquarters for a conference. I had received a report concerning “Pawnee Killer” from General Augur before leaving Fort 

Leavenworth, stating that he was friendly and had gone down from Beaver Creek to attend a 

council of the Cheyennes, and would report the proceedings of the council to him (General Augur) when he returned. I informed “Pawnee Killer” through the Interpreter that I had had a good 

report of him from General Augur, and intimated to him that I wished to have an interview with 

him after the conference with the Chiefs on the succeeding day. I relate these facts now concerning “Pawnee Killer”, as his treacherous conduct the next day and night surprised me more than 

that of the Cheyenne Chiefs in whom I had but little confidence—especially since they had shown 

bad faith in their engagement to meet me at Fort Larned. 

Early on the morning of the 14th of April, “Pawnee Killer” left my camp for the purpose (he said) 

of bringing in the Sioux and Cheyenne Chiefs to the appointed conference. I had designated 9 

o’clock as the hour for the interview. At 9.30 a.m., “Bull Bear” (Cheyenne Chief) came in and 

reported that the Chiefs were on their way to my camp. I informed him that as they could not 

come in at once, I would march up the stream nearer to their village, and would see them after we 

had encamped for the night. I could not have spoken to them at all events, as it was blowing a 
 110 

heavy gale which would have prevented us from hearing what might have been said. To this 

“Bull Bear” assented. We accordingly marched up the stream at 11 a.m., but had gone but a few 

miles when we perceived a large body of Indians (several hundred in number) approaching us in 

line. Our troops formed a hurried front, and when we were within a few hundred yards of each 

other, I halted the troops and directed the Indians to halt also. I then invited the chiefs to an interview and rode forward to meet them between the lines, accompanied by General Smith, General 

Custer and a few other Officers. “Roman Nose” (bearing a white flag), “Bull Bear”, “White 

Horse”, “Grey Beard” and “Medicine Wolf” advanced on the part of the Cheyennes, and “Pawnee 

Killer”, “Bad Wound”, “Tall Bear”, “The Bear that walks under the ground”, “Left Hand”, “Little 

Bear”, and “Little Bull” on the part of the Sioux. When we met the chiefs, I asked them if they 

came there to fight, stating that we were ready then to commence. They replied ... [one word illegible], professing great friendship for us, and stating that they did not desire war, and did not 

wish to fight. I then informed them that we would move on towards their village and encamp 

near it, but would give directions that no soldiers should be permitted to enter their camp or to 

molest them in any manner whatever. We then seperated, having made an arrangement by which 

the Chiefs were to come to my Headquarters for the purpose of holding a council as soon as my 

camp was pitched. The Chiefs appeared to be exceedingly nervous during the interview, and it 

was observed from our line that many of their warriors, especially the dismounted ones, deserted 

their front as soon as our troops came in sight, and moved off rapidly up the stream towards their 

encampment. 

The command followed in the direction the Indians had taken, and after a movement of ten and 

one half (101⁄2) miles from our camp of yesterday, we approached their villages which were found 

to be situated in a beautiful grove on the North Fork of Pawnee. We encamped within one half 

mile of their villages, which we found to contain about three hundred (300 ) lodges—Sioux and 

Cheyennes. I immediately ordered guards to be placed, surrounding our Camp, and prohibited all 

persons of my command from approaching the village, unless by special instructions. Some 

loose ponies belonging to the Indians were grazing near us when we arrived there; we collected 

them and sent them to their camp. Soon after our tents were pitched “Roman Nose”, “Bull Bear”, 

“Grey Beard”, and “Medicine Wolf” (Cheyennes) came to my Headquarters from the village, and 

informed me that upon our approach, their women and children had fled, being terrified by the 

presence of the troops, and having the “Chivington Massacre” still fresh in their minds. The 

Sioux (men and women) had also made off. I stated to them that all who had abandoned their villages must immediately return, that no harm was intended to them, but that I would hold their 

camp responsible in case they ran away during the night and left it, in my hands. The Chiefs said 

that they could bring their people back if they had horses to pursue them, but their own ponies 

were so poor and weak that they could not overtake them. I then directed two (2) horses to be 

furnished them for that purpose, and arranged with the Chiefs present before they left my camp, 

that Mr. Guerrier, a half breed Cheyenne and Interpreter in the government service who was at my 

Headquarters, would remain in the villages during the night, with intentions to report every two 

hours as to whether there were any movements among the Indians, and especially whether any of 

them were leaving their camp. With this understanding, the Chiefs last named left my camp, assuring me that it was their intention to bring those of their people who had fled back to the villages during the night, and to meet me at a conference the following day. The Chiefs returned to 

their camp about 7 o’clock p.m.—Mr. Guerrier accompanying them. At 9.30 p.m., Guerrier came 

back to my Headquarters and reported that when he left their village, all of the Chiefs and Warriors remaining there were saddling up to leave, and that they evidently did not intend to return, as 

they were packing up whatever articles they could carry with them; and many of them were cutting and otherwise destroying their lodges which they were about to abandon. 

Upon receipt of this intelligence, I immediately instructed General Smith to send General Custer 

with a portion of the 7th U.S. Cavalry to surround their villages, and if practicable, to prevent their 

departure. The Infantry and Artillery were ordered to parade under arms, in case there should be 
 111 

any resistance on the part of the Indians. It being a bright moonlight night, General Custer was 

enabled to move promptly and rapidly, but arrived at the village too late to oppose the escape of 

the Indians. 

This conduct on their part (Sioux and Cheyennes) convinced me that the reason why they abandoned their villages and property, and would not remain and meet us in council was, that they felt 

guilty on account of past offences, that they intended to make war, and that the Sioux had come 

down from the North to the Cheyenne Village to conspire with them against the whites, and that 

most probably there were a portion of those Sioux who had been engaged in the recent troubles in 

the North and were keeping South to avoid being called to account for their depredations and outrages North of the Platte. I therefore determined to pursue them and capture them if practicable, 

and to effect that object directed General Smith to prepare a force of cavalry under General Custer 

to take their trail at early dawn the succeeding morning. Accompanied by General Smith, I visited the village the next day, and found that when the Indians had deserted it, they had left an old 

man (Sioux) who was unable to travel, and a little girl—probably eight or nine years of age—said 

to be partly white, who was found in the Cheyenne camp. This child had been brutally outraged 

before the Indians left the village, and was discovered by some of our Officers in a pitiable condition of suffering and destitution. She was cared for at once by us, and was afterwards left at Fort 

Dodge under charge of the Commanding Officer there, together with the Sioux before mentioned, 

and an old Sioux woman who was subsequently discovered near the Indian Camp. 

At 5 o’clock a.m. of the 15th of April, General Custer started in pursuit of the Indians, with four 

(4) squadrons of the 7th U.S. Cavalry. He found their trail a short distance from the village, and 

followed it rapidly in the direction of Walnut Creek, where he was so close upon them that he 

found their fires still burning and some of their ponies loaded and packed and tied to trees, which 

they had been too hard pressed to carry off with them, with many other evidences of their hasty 

flight. Our Cavalry followed them closely, their trail crossing Walnut Creek and leading along its 

left bank towards its headwaters. Finding that he was gaining upon them rapidly, and learning 

from his Delaware scouts that they had seen small parties of Sioux or Cheyennes (evidently the 

rearguard) in advance of him, Genl. Custer decided to leave his wagons containing forage and 

ammunition to follow—guarded by a squadron of Cavalry—and pushed on with his remaining 

force, hoping to overtake them before nightfall. The Indians finding themselves hotly pressed, 

broke into many small bands and seperated, taking different directions; our Cavalry following the 

main trail however, which led in the general direction of Walnut Creek and continued on it until 

about 5 p.m., when the trail became so small as to be scarcely perceptible. Having then marched 

over thirty five (35) miles continuously except while watering, the troops then halted and encamped on the headwaters of Walnut Creek until 4 a.m. on the morning of the 16th, when they 

again marched in pursuit—following the valley of a small stream which lay in the direction of 

some smokes which had been seen the previous evening by the Delaware scouts, and where it was 

supposed they might find the Indians encamped or strike their trail. In this they were disappointed however, and marched thirteen (13) miles without discovering any signs whatever of the 

Indians. General Custer had now passed the source of the stream on which he had been moving, 

and was without water for his animals; and believed, from the information which he received 

from his guides that the Smoky Hill was too distant from where he was to march without water. 

He then decided to retrace his steps for a distance of nine (9) miles to Walnut Creek, with the intention of pushing on to the Smoky Hill where he conceived the Indians had gone, after his animals had rested, hoping to intercept them before they crossed that stream. 

It was unfortunate that the information in the possession of General Custer concerning the country in which he was operating, and his distance from the Smoky Hill, was not more accurate. As 

it was, he was misled by his guides upon whom he was forced to depend; and induced to make a 

retrograde march of nine (9) miles for water, loosing many hours of valuable time thereby, when 

it was definitely ascertained afterwards that by keeping directly on, he would have reached the 

Smoky Hill about fifteen (15) miles from the point at which he turned back, probably as soon as 
 112 

the Indians whom he was following, and might have prevented by his close pursuit, the destruction of “Lookout Station” and the killing and burning of the men there. He was delayed at Walnut 

Creek until 7 p.m. of the 16th, when he marched towards the Smoky Hill—striking that stream 

thirteen (13) miles west of “Downers’ Station”. He moved on to “Downer’s Station” and encamped, learning upon his arrival there, that Indians, believed to be Sioux and others (Cheyennes) 

had been crossing the Smoky Hill in bands since the morning of the 16th of April—that they had 

attacked and captured “Lookout Station” (first mail station West of Fort Hays) killing the three (3) 

men at the station and burning their bodies, burning the station house and hay stored there, and 

carrying off with them eight (8) horses and four (4) mules. They also robbed the mail station 

West of “Lookout”. Great alarm and a general interruption of stage travel on the Smoky Hill had 

followed these outrages, which General Custer stated in a despatch dated April 17th were certainly 

committed by the Indians who abandoned their villages on Pawnee Fork. He marched from 

“Downers’ Station” at 5 a.m. on the 18th of April towards “Lookout Station”, reaching the latter 

point at 3 p.m. of the same date, where he halted to obtain satisfactory evidence if possible in reference to the murder and burning of the three (3) men there, and the destruction of the station 

house. He found the remains of the men lying near the ruins of the station house partly consumed 

by fire and partly eaten by wolves, but failed to obtain any clue to the tribe which had committed 

the outrage. General Custer then proceeded towards Fort Hays, and at “Stony Hollow station” 

was informed that on Monday, the 16th of April, about eight hundred (800) Indians had crossed 

the road within five hundred (500) yards of the station travelling North. This was evidently the 

main body from Pawnee Fork. They halted near “Stony Hollow station” for several hours, and 

endeavored to gain admittance, but were prevented from so doing, when they ran off some stock 

belonging to the Mail Company and fired some shots into the station house before they left. They 

were all stripped and painted for war, had their bows strung, and seemed desirous of fighting. 

They stated themselves to be Sioux, Pawnees and Cheyennes, but were doubtless all Sioux and 

Cheyennes. Another band, about seventy five in number, had stopped at the station East of “Stony 

Hollow” and endeavored to gain admittance there, but were warned off. Some of them had papers 

signed by some Officers at Fort Laramie last Fall (names not given) stating that they were 

friendly Indians. They were no doubt Sioux who had been at the village with the Cheyennes at 

Pawnee Fork. Some of the chiefs of this party informed the station keepers that they had just 

come from the Arkansas, where they had concluded a treaty with General Hancock. Genl. Custer 

learned of other parties of Indians crossing the road to the North, and saw two heavy trails, but 

did not deem it expedient to follow them, on account of having only sufficient forage with him to 

carry his command to Fort Hays. He was now convinced that all of the Indians, or the great body 

of them from Pawnee Fork, had gone to the “North Platte”, unless they had halted on the Fork of 

the Soloman, about forty five (45) miles North of Hays, or on “Beaver Creek.” He therefore determined to push on to Hays, replenish his forage, and taking only the serviceable portion of his 

command, make a forward movement from that point on the morning of the 20th with forage and 

rations carried on the saddles, to the “Solomon Fork”, hoping there to effect a surprise of the Indians. This plan was however entirely frustrated; for, upon the arrival of General Custer at Fort 

Hays, he discovered that there was no forage there whatever for the Expedition, and that the post 

supply was barely sufficient for the animals of his command for one day. This unfortunate circumstance rendered fruitless General Custers whole pursuit of the Indians, and compelled him to 

abandon his purpose, when he had good reasons to suppose that he would have overtaken them 

within the next forty eight hours. He had marched with rapidity from Pawnee Fork, a distance of 

one hundred and fifty four (154) miles in four days, and would doubtless have come up with the 

Indians on the “Solomon Fork” or “Beaver Creek”, had he been enabled to make his intended 

movement from Hays. As it was, he was compelled to desist from the pursuit, and remain at Hays 

until forage could arrive from Harker, which he at once ordered up from that post. 

It was a matter of the greatest surprise and regret to me, when I ascertained that General Custer had 

been compelled to suspend his movements on account of there being no forage at Hays. I had 

given special instructions that a large supply should be placed at the post, to await the arrival of 
 113 

the Expedition there, when we should go up to the “Smoky Hill” from the Arkansas; and had been 

informed by Captain G. W. Bradley, Chief Quartermaster of the Expedition, before General Custer left Pawnee Fork, that there was at least eight (8) days forage at Hays for my entire command. 

Had I not believed that there was an ample supply of forage at Hays, I would have directed the 

Cavalry to have carried a larger supply when it started from Pawnee Fork. After I had received 

the intelligence that there was then not sufficient forage at Hays for the Cavalry, I directed that 

General Custer should continue his operations to the North, as soon as he was enabled to do so 

(except in the vicinity of the headwaters of the Republican, where it was understood that there 

were some bands of friendly Sioux and Northern Cheyennes), but authorized him to pursue other 

Indians there, in case he was following a trail or had information which would warrant him in doing so. 

I also gave instructions that he should assume command of the line of the Smoky Hill temporarily 

(not restricting his movements to that line however) and take measures for the re-establishment 

and protection of the mail route. 

In the meantime, I remained encamped (awaiting news from General Custer) with the Infantry 

and Artillery and a small detachment of Cavalry on Pawnee Fork near the Indian Village, which I 

had had carefully guarded, permitting nothing whatever to be taken from it or destroyed. I felt 

called upon to burn the villages as a chastisement for the treachery practised by the Indians towards us in case they did not return to it, but did not finally determine to do so until I learned of 

the outrages on the Smoky Hill. ~ See copy of report from General Custer, dated at Downer’s station 9.30 p.m., April 17 1867, marked A1. I then only awaited the events to be produced by General Custer’s movements, before carrying my intentions in this matter into execution. As soon 

therefore as I learned from General Custer that he was unable to pursue the Indians further, or to 

march down and join me at Pawnee Fork (for want of forage) and learned, in addition to the murders on the Smoky Hill, that the Indians had pursued and endeavored to kill my Expressmen, I issued the order for the total destruction and removal of the villages, which took place on the morning of the 19th of April. See copy of S. F. O. No. 13 C. O. Hdqrs. Dept. of the Mo. enclosed 

herewith marked B1 About forty (40) lodges were selected to be carried to Fort Dodge, for the 

purpose of issueing them to any Indian Scouts whom we might be able to enlist in our service. 

All of the serviceable Axes, Camp Kettles, Hatchets, Crow-bars &c. &c., of which there were a 

great number, were ordered to be taken up by the Quartermaster Department as captured property. 

Every thing else then remaining in the villages was entirely destroyed, including lodges, lodge 

poles, nearly one thousand (1000), buffalo robes and a vast number of other articles of great value 

to the Indians, which it will be almost impossible for them to replace, at least for a long time. I 

transmit herewith a copy of an inventory of the property in the village when the Indians abandoned it, marked “E”. 

Colonel E. W. Wynkoop, U.S. Indian Agent was in my camp (he had accompanied me from Fort 

Larned) at the time of the burning of the villages. I had explained to him my reasons for destroying them. They failed however to convince him of the propriety of doing so. 

I had remained at the Indian villages awaiting despatches from General Custer as long as my supplies would permit, and delayed for that purpose on Pawnee Fork until the morning of the 20th of 

April, when I had barely sufficient forage left to carry me to Fort Dodge, to which post I intended 

to march with the view of meeting the Indians South of the Arkansas—Kiowas, Arapahoes and 

Comanches. We accordingly marched on the morning of the 20th of April from Pawnee Fork, 

moving directly across the prairie in the direction of Fort Dodge as indicated by our maps; camping that night near some pools of good water between North and South Forks of Pawnee. On the 

following morning, we were misled by our guides and lost several hours, which prevented us 

from reaching Fort Dodge that day, but finally struck a road leading from some Stone Quarries to 

Fort Dodge, which we followed to South Branch of Pawnee Fork, where we encamped, about 

twelve (12) miles from Fort Dodge. On the morning of the 22d, we marched to Dodge reaching 
 114 

that post by 11 a.m. On my arrival there I was informed that on the 19th, a party of Cheyennes 

(evidently runners from the North) had approached the Cimmaron Crossing, and were discovered 

skulking around the bivouac of a detachment of the 7th U.S. Cavalry which was at that point under 

the command of Major Wickliffe Cooper of that Regiment. When the Indians were perceived, 

they were endeavoring to steal up to some herders who were in charge of the cattle of the command, and it is supposed they were not aware of the presence of the troops. Major Cooper directed Lieutenant Berry 7th U.S. Cavalry with twenty (20) men, to advance and demand their surrender, which was done through an Interpreter. In reply, the Indians fired upon the troops. They 

were then attacked and pursued across the river, and six (6) of them (all that were seen) were 

killed. One of our men was wounded, and one horse was shot. The official reports in this matter 

were forwarded to Headquarters Military Division of the Mo. by me, while I was at Fort Dodge. 

Copies of same reports are also filed herewith, marked “F” 

I am General, 

Very Respectfully 

Your Obt. Servant 

Winf. S. Hancock 

Major General U.S. Army 

Commanding 

10. Excerpt from Major General Winfield S. Hancock to Major George K. Leet, Assistant Adjutant General, Headquarters Army of the United States, July 31, 1867. Source: 

Headquarters Department of the Missouri, 

Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, July 31st 1867 

Major George M. Leet, 

Assistant Adjutant General, 

Headquarters Army of the United States, 

Washington, D. C. 

(Through Headquarters Military Division of the Mo.) 

Major: 

I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of copies of the following communications referred 

to me by command of General Grant, May 23d 1867 ... 

In reply to the letters of Colonels Wynkoop and Leavenworth herein referred to, and to a telegram 

dated May 23d 1867 from General Grant, upon the subject of the burning of the Indian villages on 

Pawnee Fork, April 19/67, I have the honor to submit the following statement, first that I have replied to General Grant’s telegram of May 23 by a telegram sent the same date ... [two words illegible] that in my official report of the operations of the Expedition made last spring to the plains 

under my command—forwarded to General Grant by Lieutenant General Sherman, a full and 

accurate history is given of the objects of that Expedition, and the military movements connected 

with it, together with my reasons for destroying the villages of the Sioux and Cheyennes on Pawnee Fork, +c. +c. The report in question touches upon all the main points mentioned in the copies 

of the letters from Colonels Wynkoop and Leavenworth referred to me by General Grant May 

23d/67, and is believed to be sufficiently full in its details to cover the questions mentioned 

therein, yet, there are a few statements made in some of them which are inaccurate, and which I 

desire to correct. They are as follows: 

... In the letter of Colonel Wynkoop’s dated at my Headquarters on Pawnee Fork, April 18th/67 

addressed to Hon. N. G. Taylor, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, he states that a courrier had arrived in my Camp from General Custer (then in pursuit of the Sioux and Cheyennes from Pawnee 

Fork) with the information that the Cheyennes had turned and gone towards the Arkansas River, 
 115 

while the Sioux had continued northward. He followed the Sioux trail, and the last despatch from 

him (General Custer) is to the effect that the Sioux upon crossing the Smoky Hill road, had destroyed a mail station and killed three men. 

Colonel Wynkoop then goes on to state that as there was yet no evidence of the Cheyennes having 

committed any overt act of hostility, he made an appeal to me to preserve the village belonging to 

that tribe, as it was distinct from that of the Sioux. 

There is no evidence in General Custer’s reports of his pursuit of the Sioux and Cheyennes from 

the villages on Pawnee Fork, which would go to prove that they had seperated, or that the Cheyennes were not implicated in the killing and burning of the three (3) men at Lookout Station on 

the 15th of April, and burning of the station. On the contrary, in General Custers report to Brevet 

Major General A. J. Smith, Commanding District of the Upper Arkansas, of April 19th (received 

after the destruction of the village and too late to be considered in that connection) in reference to 

the outrages at Lookout Station on the Smoky Hill he says expressly, that after a careful examination by himself and the Delaware scouts who were with him, it was found impracticable to discover the slightest clue as to what tribe had committed the act: but says in his report to General 

Smith of the 17th of April (copy enclosed marked D), that the outrages were certainly committed 

by the Indians who abandoned the villages on Pawnee Fork. They were a portion of the same 

body of Indians—about eight hundred (800) strong—who crossed the Smoky Hill road on the 

16th of April, and reported themselves to be Sioux, Cheyennes and Pawnees. They were all 

stripped and painted for war at that time, and in addition to the previous killing and burning at 

Lookout Station, they fired into Stormy Hollow mail station and ran off stock from that point belonging to the mail company, threatened the mail station east of Stormy Hollow and ran off the 

stock belonging to the Union Pacific Railway E. D., a few miles further North. 

My official report of the operations of the Expedition of last spring shows conclusively that I did 

not determine to destroy the Indian villages, until I had learned officially of the outrages committed on the Smoky Hill by the Indians (Sioux and Cheyennes) who had treacherously left their 

camps on Pawnee Fork on the 14th of April, or during the previous night. 

In none of the reports which were received from General Custer of his pursuit of the Indians from 

Pawnee Fork, were there any facts going to show that the main body of the Cheyennes had left the 

Sioux and gone south. All of the information contained in the despatches of General Custer at 

that time, was to the effect that the Indians from Pawnee Fork (Sioux and Cheyennes) remained 

together (with probably a few exceptional small bands) until they arrived at the Smoky Hill, when 

they committed the murders and depredations on the mail stations, and then pursued their flight 

Northwards. 

In reference to the statement of Colonel Wynkoop, that the village of the Cheyennes was distinct 

from that of the Sioux, I can only say that the villages stood upon the same ground, and I was unable after an inspection which I made in person, to distinguish with any certainty the lodges of the 

Cheyennes from those of the Sioux; nor could any of the Officers who were with me say positively where the line of seperation between the villages commenced, although it was understood 

that the Sioux were on the North side and the Cheyennes on the southern and eastern sides ... 

In concluding this letter, it is proper for me to say again, that before the Expedition of last Spring 

set out, I informed Agents Wynkoop and Leavenworth fully of its objects—telling them that war 

was not intended against the Indians, and that it was my earnest desire to act through them in all 

matters connected with the tribes of their Agencies. I also invited them to accompany me on my 

march from Fort Larned to Fort Dodge, so that they might be present at my interviews with the 

chiefs of the various tribes, and hear what I had to say to them. During the time they were in my 

camp, they must have observed that all of my conferences were with a view of preserving peace 

on the plains, and all of my actions friendly, until the treachery of the Sioux and Cheyennes at 
 116 

Pawnee Fork, and the murder and depredations committed by them on the Smoky Hill after they 

ran away from their villages, compelled me to take hostile measures against them. 

It is worthy of remark in this connection, that while in my camps, Colonel Leavenworth stated to 

me in conversation that the tribes of his agency had been greatly wronged, by having been 

charged with various offences which had undoubtedly been committed by the Indians of Colonel 

Wynkoop’s agency (Cheyennes, Arapahoes and Apaches). In the opinion of Colonel Leavenworth 

as expressed to me, the Indians of Colonel Wynkoop’s agency—especially the Cheyennes—

deserved severe and summary chastisement for their numerous misdeeds, very many of which had 

been laid at the doors of his innocent tribes (Kiowas and Comanches). 

But Colonel Wynkoop informed me in conversation about the same time, that the Arapahoes, 

Apaches, and particularly the Cheyennes, were really peacefully inclined and rarely committed 

Offences against the laws: but that most unfortunately they were charged in many instances with 

crimes which had been perpetrated by other tribes, and that in this respect they had suffered heavily from the Kiowas of Colonel Leavenworth’s agency, who were of the most turbulent Indians on 

the plains, and deserved punishment more than any others. 

More recent events have shown that all the tribes above referred to (save probably a portion of the 

Comanches)—including the Sioux, were determined upon a general outbreak this summer, and 

that the abandonment of the villages on Pawnee Fork and the murders committed immediately afterwards on the Smoky Hill were but the commencement of a war which had been threatened to 

our Post Commanders on many occasions during the winter, and which is now waged with savage 

fury on the part of the Indians throughout my command and the Departments of the Platte and 

Dakotah. 

In reference to the threats made last winter by the Indians—of war against us this summer, I 

transmit herewith marked L1 L2 copies of two communications from Major H. Douglas, Commanding Post of Fort Dodge, which concern particularly the Kiowas and Arapahoes. One of the 

letters is addressed to the Assistant Adjutant General, Department of the Mo.—the other to the 

Acting Assistant Adjutant General, District of the Upper Arkansas. I also transmit a copy of a letter from Bvt. Major Asbury [two words illegible] bearing on this subject marked L3. 

This reply to the statements of Colonels Wynkoop and Leavenworth contained in the copies of 

their letters referred to me by order of General Grant, May 23d—would have been transmitted 

promptly after the date of their receipt, but for the fact that since that time until the 15th inst., I 

have been constantly on the plains, marching almost every day, which prevented me from giving 

my attention to the matter until the present moment. 

Owing to the absence of Mr. John Smith, U.S. Indian Interpreter, I have withheld two of his affidavits marked H, until his return—believing that an error was committed by him in giving the 

[two words illegible] of the bands of Indians at the time of writing them which can then be connected. They will then be transmitted for file with this communication. Herewith I return the 

originals of the papers referred to me by General Grant May 23, for my remark. 

I am Major 

Very respectfully 

Your Obt Servant 

Winf. S. Hancock 

Major General, U.S. Army 

Commanding 
 117 

11. Superintendent of Indian Affairs Thomas Murphy to Charles E. Mix, Acting Commissioner, Office of 

Indian Affairs, September 18, 1867. Source: National Archives, Record Group 75, Microcopy 234; Letters Received by the Office of Indian Affairs, 1865–1867, Roll 849. 

In camp 60 miles South Arkansas river 

Sept 18th 1867 

Sir. 

I have the honor herewith to transmit a letter of the 14th inst. From Agent Wynkoop, replying to 

certain official communications from Majr Genl. Hancock and which have recently appeared in 

the Army & Navy Journal, relative to his Hancock’s Expedition into the Indian country last 

spring. 

I respectfully recommend that the Agents communication be incorporated into and made a part of 

the Hon. Commissioner Ind. Affairs report for 1867. 

Very respectfully 

Your obt Servt 

Thos. Murphy 

Supt Ind Affairs 

Arrapahoe, Cheyenne, & Apache Indian Agency 

Fort Larned, Kansas 

Sept. 14th/67 

Hon. Thomas Murphy 

Supt. Indian Affairs 

Sir. 

My attention having just been attracted to a communication in the Army and Navy Journal and 

other papers from Major General Hancock to General Grant in reference to his late opperations in 

the country of the Indians included in my Agency, which is calculated to cast some reflection 

upon me in consequence of the representation to that I made at the time to my Department in regard to his course; which representations were simply the facts in the premises, but which Gen. 

Hancock endeavors to prove were misrepresentations on my part, I consider it a duty I owe to 

myself to sett myself right before the Dept. and the public; by replying to the communication 

mentioned and endeavoring to prove that Gen. Hancock and not myself was mistaken in some 

particulars referred to by him, I shall also endeavor to prove that Gen. Hancock was not only mistaken in certain particulars but that his whole course in reference to the Indians of my Agency was 

a mistake and as long as Gen. Hancock’s communication has had publicity given to it by being 

published in numerous journals throughout the Untied States, I think it will be no more than an 

act of justice to myself to have the issue public given to this, my reply. 

In the first communication that Gen. Hancock addressed to myself informing me of his intention 

of making an expedition to the plains he says, “I request that you will inform them (the Indians) 

in such a manner as you may think proper, that I expect shortly to visit their neighborhood and 

that I will be glad to have an interview with their chiefs and tell them also if you please that I am 

fully prepared for peace or war and that hereafter I will insist on their keeping off the main road 

lines of travel where there presence is calculated to bring about collision with the whites. If you 

can prevail upon the Indians of your Agency to abandon their habit of infesting the country travelled by our overland routes threatening, robbing, and intimidating travellers we will defer that 

matter to you. If not I would be pleased by your presence with me when I visit the locality of 

your tribes, to show that the officers of the Government are acting in harmony.” 
 118 

In accordance with the request made by Gen. Hancock I assembled the principal chiefs of the 

Dog Soldiers of the Cheyennes at Fort Larned for the purpose of having an interview with him 

(Gen. Hancock) these chiefs obeyed my summons with alacrity coming a distance of 35 miles to 

this Post through a deep snow though their ponies who subsist entirely upon grass were in miserable condition being scarcely able to travel the chiefs referred to belonged to the village which 

was afterwards destroyed by Gen. Hancock, a council was held with these chiefs by the General 

in his camp at night such a thing being heretofore unknown as holding a converse with an assembly of Indian chiefs after sunset it is as they term it “against men’s medicine” and that fact alone 

was calculated to a certain degree to make them feel suspicious. 

Gen. Hancock says in his communication from which I have quoted that he will defer certain maters to me connected with the Indians of my Agency but in the council referred to he took upon 

himself the whole conduct of affairs, reprimanded the Indians for supposed depredations committed by them and stated that he was about to march his column of troops up to their village which 

village was 35 miles from any travelled road; “Tall Bull” one of the principal men of his tribe in 

reply to Gen. Hancock stated—that from the time that he had taken me by the hand about a year 

previous he had held firmly to the peace then made and that his band had not been engaged in any 

acts of hostility towards the whites subsequent to that date; and afterwards in a conversation with 

myself said that he was fearful of the consequences of Gen. Hancock marching his column up to 

his village as it was calculated to frighten the women and children who had not yet forgotten the 

fearful massacre at Sand Creek; previous to Gen. Hancock’s departure from this Post I expressed 

to him my fears of the result his marching his troops immediately on to the Indian village but 

notwithstanding he persisted in doing so the village was located 35 miles west of this Post on the 

Pawnee Fork and the column started directly away from the Santa Fe road, the great highway of 

this country and marched up the Pawnee Fork in the direction of the Indian village; said column 

was composed of Cavalry, Infantry, and Artillery together with a Pontoon train and had as formidable an aspect and presented as warlike an appearance as any that ever marched to meet an enemy on a battle-field I accompanied the column for the purpose of subserving the interests of my 

Dept. by looking after the interests of the Indians of my Agency as far as lay in my power some of 

the chiefs who had been in council on the first days march rode along side of me ... [one word illegible] in various ways their fear of the result of this expedition not fearful of their own lives or 

liberty as they rode boldly in the midst of the column but fearful of the panic which they expected 

to be created among their women and children; upon the arrival of the troops; some 22 or 23 

miles from Fort Larned we went into camp the chiefs still remaining with the troops as well as 

another small party of warriors who had met the column during the day; upon going into camp it 

was the understanding that we were within five or six miles of the Indian village and Gen. Hancock despatched some of the chiefs that we might to bring the principal men in at 9 o’clock the 

next morning for the purpose of having a talk with them, the Indians had not made their appearance at the time specified the Gen. allowed a short time to elapse and when their not still making 

their appearance he expressed himself to the effect that he believed that they felt guilty and would 

not come and accordingly struck his camp and started in the direction of the Indian village the 

majority of the chiefs who had been present at the council still remaining with the column, after 

making a march of about six miles we came in sight of about three hundred Indians rapidly 

marching toward the camp, we had left, our column was immediately halted the Infantry and Artillery formed in line the Cavalry coming up at the same time on the gallop with drawn sabres the 

whole command presenting such an appearance as I have seen just prior to the opening of an engagement the consequence was that the Indians halted at some distance became unsteady and 

some of them who were in the rear on foot precipitately fled, not knowing what the Indians might 

do under the circumstances I asked permission of Gen. Hancock to ride toward the Indians lines 

for the purpose of reassuring them with my presence, permission being granted I rode into the 

centre of their line, apparently overjoyed when they recognized me they surrounded my horse expressing their delight at seeing me there saying that now they knew everything was all right and 

they would not be harmed, recognizing one of their principal war chiefs Roman Nose I galloped 
 119 

toward him instructing him to immediately send and bring those Indians who were in flight and 

keep all his people steady as they would not be harmed. I then learned that the Indian village instead of being five or six miles from our camp as we had supposed was at least fifteen—that the 

Indians had started as soon as possible after receiving Gen. Hancock’s message for the purpose of 

obeying his instructions by coming to talk with him. I conducted the principal men and met Gen. 

Hancock with his Generals and their staffs nearly midway between the two lines, Gen. Hancock 

then told the chiefs that it was too windy to talk there, and that he was going to march on to their 

village and he would hold a council there that evening, the chiefs then left and the balance of the 

Indians then moved off rapidly in the direction of their village, Gen. Hancock’s column then took 

up the line of march in the same direction in a short time afterward, during one of the halts, at the 

solicitation of Bull Bear the principal chief of the Dog Soldiers as interpreted by Edmund Guerrier I appealed to Gen Hancock requesting him not to march his column of troops up to the village 

as I feared the results would be the flight of the women and children from the same, he said, it 

was his intention to camp his troops in the immediate vicinity of said village; upon our arrival after having made camp—within a few hundred yards from said village we learned that the women 

and children had fled but that the men still remained Gen. Hancock immediately summoned the 

principal men before him which summons they obeyed promptly and presented themselves before 

his tent, he asked them why the women and children had fled on his approach. Roman Nose one 

of the chiefs replied by asking him the question whether the women and children of the whites 

were not as a general thing more timid than the men who were supposed to be warriors and not 

afraid of anything that he himself (Roman Nose) who was a warrior and his comrades who surrounded him were not afraid of Gen. Hancock and his troops but their women and children were 

and also desired to know whether Gen Hancock had ever heard of the massacre at Sand Creek 

where many women and children of his tribe were murdered by U.S. troops who came under the 

same aspect as that now presented by Gen. Hancock’s column and whether it was not natural under those circumstances for their women and children to become panic stricken; the only reply 

that I heard from Gen. Hancock was that he wanted them the principal men to immediately start 

out and bring in their women and children as he considered it an act of treachery on their part the 

fact of their having fled. Three of the chiefs replied that they were willing to start immediately 

and that they would endeavor to bring back the women and children but appeared doubtful as to 

their meeting with success they asked the General to loan them some horses as their ponies were 

not on condition, the horses were furnished and they started returning at midnight sending back 

the horses borrowed and stating that it was impossible to return their women and children who 

were then scattered in every direction ... [one word illegible] the Prairie a short time after the 

chiefs returned Gen. Hancock surrounded the villages with his cavalry and found it evacuated by 

all except an idiot girl and an old broken legged Sioux Indian. That night in my presence Gen. 

Hancock expressed his determination of burning the villages the next day; in his letter he says 

“My official report of the operation of the Expedition last spring shows conclusively that I did not 

determine to destroy the Indian villages until I had learned officially of the outrage committed on 

the Smoky Hill by the Indians (Sioux and Cheyennes) who had treacherously left their camps on 

Pawnee Fork on the 14th of April or during the previous night. 

Although Gen. Hancock states that no offensive opperations were carried on against the Indians 

of my Agency prior to the burning of the Station on the Smoky Hill I have to refer to his own report with reference to the killing of the six Cheyenne Indians who were attempting to cross the 

Arkansas River near the Cimarone Crossing, those Indians were killed before any word had been 

received from Gen. Custer and in accordance with an order form Gen. Hancock despatched on the 

night of the Indians flight to stop all Indians from crossing the Arkansas River. 

Prior to the burning of the village I sent to Gen. Hancock the following letter of protest to which I 

never received any written reply 
 120 

[Copy of a letter from Wynkoop to Hancock dated April 18th 1867; see Item 3 of this appendix.] 

Gen. Hancock states that the depredations committed on the Smoky Hill immediately after the 

evacuation of the village were committed by a portion of the same body of Indians about eight 

hundred strong who crossed the Smoky Hill road on the 16th of April and reported themselves to 

be “Sioux” “Cheyennes” & “Pawnee.” I would beg leave to draw your attention to the fact that is 

well known by every man who has the least knowledge of Indian affairs in this country; that the 

Pawnees are the hereditary enemies of the Cheyennes and Sioux and war has always existed between them. I also reiterate what I have stated in former communications that the first courier 

who arrived from Gen. Custer after leaving in pursuit of the Indians brought the news that the 

Cheyennes had turned south while Gen. Custer was following the Sioux trail. 

Gen. Hancock also says: “In reference to the statement of Colonel Wynkoop that the village of the 

Cheyennes was distinct from that of the Sioux I can only say that the villages stood upon the 

same ground, and I was unable after an inspection which I made in person to distinguish with any 

certainty the lodges of the Cheyennes from those of the Sioux; nor could any of the officers who 

were with me say positively where the line of separation between the villages commenced.” 

And yet Gen. Hancock ordered his Inspector General to furnish me with an inventory of the property contained in the Cheyenne village as well as the Sioux which inventory was made out under 

the heading of “Cheyenne village” and “Sioux village” and forwarded by me to your Dept. 

Gen. Hancock again says “that it is not seen upon what grounds the Indians became fully impressed with the belief that he had come for the purpose of murdering men women and children 

as had been previously been done at Sand Creek.” In reply to that I would state that the only way 

the Indians had of judging what his intentions might be were from appearances and appearances 

were much the same as those prior to the massacre at Sand Creek. 

The nation knows, and I know who Gen. Hancock is—know him for the good, brave, faithful soldier, who has won the proud position he now holds through gallant and meritorious services, but, 

the Indians were not aware of Gen. Hancock’s antecedents, and had no means of discriminating 

between him and Colonel Chivington; or distinguishing the man from the monster. 

I have the honor to be 

With much respect—your obt. Servant 

E. W. Wynkoop 

U.S. Indian Agent 

12. Bvt. Major General A. J. Smith to N. G. Taylor, Superintendent of Indian Affairs, October 30, 1867. 

Headquarters Department of the Missouri, 

Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, October 30th, 1867 

Hon. N. G. Taylor 

Superintendent Indian Affairs 

and President Indian Commission 

Sir, 

In the evidence of Col. Wynkoop, Agent for the Cheyennes and Arapahoes, given before your 

Commission at Medicine Lodge Creek, October 17th, as published in the “Missouri Democrat” of 

the 23rd inst., occurs the following: 

“The old man and young girl who had been in the deserted village, and who had been taken to 

Fort Dodge by General Hancock, died a few days after the expedition left, at that Post. 
 121 

“In answer to a question by General Sanborn, as to whether he had any idea who had committed 

the outrage upon her, Wynkoop said I firmly believe that the soldiers ravished the child. It was the 

conclusion I arrived at when I heard that she was ravished. It is my belief now.” 

The facts concerning this matter, I will briefly state. General Hancock camped the command, on 

the evening of 16th April, about one mile from the Indian village (Wynkoop says within three 

hundred yards), and sentries were posted at once, to prevent all intercourse on the part of our soldiers with the Camp of the Indians. No soldier entered this village from the time of our arrival, 

until General Custer marched to it about 9 o’clock at night. His command surrounded it in perfect order, officers at the heads of their companies and platoons; so that it was impossible for a 

soldier to leave ranks, without the knowledge of his officer. Besides, the column was in readiness 

for any movement on the part of the Indians. 

The first persons who entered the Camp, were: General Custer, General Davidson, Doctors 

Coates and Lippincott and Lieut. Moylan, Adjutant of the 7th Cavalry. General Custer states positively, that he and Dr. Coates first discovered the outraged child and that she was in that condition 

when they found her and it was well known that up to that time there had not been an officer or 

soldier in the village. General Davidson carried back the information to General Hancock of the 

abandonment of the Indian camp and, on his way back, passed the whole column, every man at 

his place; and in the same perfect order as when it reached the village 

Further, the girl herself stated to the Interpreter (Curtis) that the outrage committed upon her person was done by the Cheyennes. Of course, in view of these facts, the statement of Col. 

Wynkoop, unsupported by any evidence, is worth nothing; and he could have made himself acquainted with all that is herein stated, had he been disposed to follow the matter up to a just and 

truthful conclusion. 

I am, 

Very Respectfully 

Your Obedient Servant 

A. J. Smith 

Bvt. Major General, 

Commanding Department 

13. Secretary of War Edward Stanton to War Department, March 19, 1867. Source: National Archives, 

Record Group 75, Microcopy 234: Letters Received by the Office of Indian Affairs, 1824–1881, Roll 460. 

War Department 

Washington City 

March 19, 1867 

Sir; 

I have the honor to send herewith a report from the Commissary General of Subsistence of the 

16th instant, enclosing accounts of subsistence stores furnished to Indians at various points during 

the months of August, September, and December, 1866 and January, 1867, amounting to 

$54,024.90, which sum I will thank you to cause to be reimbursed to the Subsistence Department. 

I also send copies of my letters of January 14th and February 14th, 1867, transmitting accounts for 

stores heretofore issued to Indians, to which I ask your attention. 

Very Respectfully 

Your obedient servant 

Edward Stanton 

Secretary of War 
 122 

Hon. O. H. Browning 

Secretary of the Interior 

Transcriber’s Note: The following are abstracted segments relating to the Cheyenne and Arapaho. 

Subsistence Stores issued to the Indians during the month of January, 1867. 

Officer Issuing Station 

 Lt. A. Kaiser 3rd Infy Ft. Larned 

Ft. Larned 

Pork—pounds 

Bacon—pounds 201 

Shoulder—pounds 

Ham—pounds 

Fresh Beef—pounds 

Mutton—pounds 

Flour—pounds 

Hard Bread—pounds 215 

Corn Meal—pounds 

Wheat Meal—pounds 

Beans—pounds 

Rice—pounds 

Hominy—pounds 

Green Coffee—pounds 

Roasted Coffee—pounds 

A&S Coffee—pounds 

Tea—pounds 

Brown Sugar—pounds 49 

Vinegar—gallons 

Candles—pounds 

Soap—pounds 

Salt—pounds 

Pepper—pounds 

Molasses—gallons 

Syrup—gallons 

Desiccated Potatoes—pounds 

Corn—pounds 

Purchases—dollars 

Subsistence Stores issued to the Indians during the month of March, 1867. 

 Officer Issuing Station Officer Issuing Station 

 Lt. A. Kaiser Ft. Larned Lt. G. H. Wallace Ft. Dodge 

 3rd Infy. 3rd. Infy. 

Pork—pounds 

Bacon—pounds 117 12/16 411 12/16 

Shoulder—pounds 

Ham—pounds 

Fresh Beef—pounds 

Mutton—pounds 

Flour—pounds 335 4/16 

Hard Bread—pounds 197 251 

Corn Meal—pounds 

Wheat Meal—pounds 

Beans—pounds 

Rice—pounds 

Hominy—pounds 

Green Coffee—pounds 26 38 14/16 

Roasted Coffee—pounds 12 12/16 

A&S Coffee—pounds 

Tea—pounds 

Brown Sugar—pounds 34 82 5/16 

Vinegar—gallons 
 123 

Subsistence Stores issued to the Indians during the month of March, 1867, continued. 

 Officer Issuing Station Officer Issuing Station 

 Lt. A. Kaiser Ft. Larned Lt. G. H. Wallace Ft. Dodge 

 3rd Infy. 3rd. Infy. 

Candles—pounds 

Soap—pounds 

Salt—pounds 

Pepper—pounds 

Molasses—gallons 2 

Syrup—gallons 

Dessicated Potatoes—pounds 

Corn—pounds 

Purchases—dollars 

Subsistence Stores issued to the Indians during the month of April, 1867 

 Officer Issuing Station Officer Issuing Station 

 Lt. A. Kaiser Ft. Larned Lt. G. A. Hesselberger Ft. Dodge 

 3rd Infy. 

Pork—pounds 

Bacon—pounds 135 1028 4/16 

Shoulder—pounds 

Ham—pounds 

Fresh Beef—pounds 93 12/16 

Mutton—pounds 

Flour—pounds 90 562 8/16 

Hard Bread—pounds 165 946 

Corn Meal—pounds 

Wheat Meal—pounds 

Beans—pounds 

Rice—pounds 

Hominy—pounds 200 

Green Coffee—pounds 43 144 9/16 

Roasted Coffee—pounds 

A&S Coffee—pounds 

Tea—pounds 

Brown Sugar—pounds 77 216 14/16 

Vinegar—gallons 

Candles—pounds 

Soap—pounds 

Salt—pounds 

Pepper—pounds 

Molasses—gallons 

Syrup—gallons 

Dessicated Potatoes—pounds 

Corn—pounds 

Purchases–dollars 
 124 

14. D. W. C. Wheeler to Hon. D. M. Colley, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, December 14, 1865. 

Source: National Archives, Record Group 75, Microcopy 234: Letters Received by the Office of Indian 

Affairs, 1824–1881, Roll 879, Upper Arkansas Agency, 1855–1874: 1865–1867. 

Buckley, Sheldon & Co. 

75 & 77 Leonard St. 

New York 

Dec. 14, 1865 

Hon. D. M. Colley 

Commissioner of Indian Affairs 

Sir 

I herewith enclose to you the Contract made with Grand Trunk R. R. Co. for safe delivery of 

goods (at St. Louis) purchased by you for Arapahoes and Cheyennes, also bill of lading and list of 

same showing contents of each case or package all, of which are respectfully submitted. 

Very Respectfully yours 

D. W. C. Wheeler 

Supt. Murphy must be notified that the ... [one word illegible] has changed from Leavenworth to 

Lawrence. 

144 pair Satinet pants 

255 pair Satinet pants 

85 Fancy Satinet Coats 

188 pair Satinet Pants 

150 pair Satinet Pants 

32 Satinet Coats 

118 Satinet Coats 

60 pair Womans Shoes 

60 pair Womans Shoes 

60 pair Womans Shoes 

60 pair Womans Shoes 

120 pair Womans Shoes (2 cases) 

120 pair Womans Shoes (2 cases) 

120 pair Womans Shoes (2 cases) 

144 Woolen Hats (2 cases) 

144 Woolen Hats (2 cases) 

144 Woolen Hats (2 cases) 

72 Woolen Hats 

1008 pair Woolen Hose 

56 pc Standard prints 

20 Bundles asst Skein Cotton 

1 Grt Gross Wht agate Buttons 

1 Grt Gross Hompant Buttons 

130 Cass Coats 

10 pr fcy sat ... [one word illegible] pants 

130 Cass coats 

10 pair fcy sat ... [one word illegible] pants 

62 Cass coats 

80 pair fcy sat ... [one word illegible?] pants 

130 Cass coats 

10 bales [one word illegible] Wool Blkts 

 50 pair 

 50 pair 

 50 pair 

 50 pair 

 50 pair 

 50 pair 
 125 

 50 pair 

 50 pair 

 50 pair 

 50 pair 

11 Bales [one word illegible] Blankets 

 70 pair 

 70 pair 

 70 pair 

 50 pair 

 50 pair 

 50 pair 

 50 pair 

 50 pair 

 50 pair 

 50 pair 

 50 pair 

50 Cass Coats 

155 pair satt [one word illegible] pants (lined) 

50 pair super [one word illegible] pants 

85 pair Fcy sat lined pants 

15. Lewis V. Bogy from Charles Bogey and W. R. Irwin, November 15, 1866. Source: National Archives, 

Record Group 75, Microcopy 234: Letters Received by the Office of Indian Affairs, 1824–1881, Roll 879, 

Upper Arkansas Agency, 1855–1874: 1865–1867. 

Fort Zarah Nov. 15, 1866 

Hon. Lewis V. Bogy 

Commissioner of Indian Affairs 

Sir: 

We would respectfully report that we have this day certified to vouchers to the amount in the aggregate of $9,149.11 — being one for $1177.91 — one for $2991.70 and one for $4979.30 all being in favor of D. A. Butterfield for goods, provisions &c for the Arrappahoes, Cheyennes, and 

Apaches. The articles embraced in these vouchers we have deemed absolutely necessary in order 

to satisfy the Indians and effect an amicable arrangement with them. 

We have been compelled to act promptly and have not had time to communicate with the Department and receive reply before making purchases. A part of the arms purchased were those that 

have been heretofore mentioned as belonging to Col. Bent, which passed into the hands of Mr. 

Butterfield, who purchased the entire stock belonging to Col. Bent. 

The cost of transportation being considered we think the prices paid for the articles purchased are 

very reasonable. We endorse copies of the vouchers mentioned. When we first arrived here we 

found a very complicated state of affairs, and a peaceful settlement with the three tribes mentioned seemed quite doubtful; by means of the purchase of the articles included in the vouchers 

and other agencies a peaceful arrangement has been effected and we trust that it will be entirely 

satisfactory to the Department. 

We are 

Very respectfully 

Your Obt. Servants 

Chas. Bogy 

W. R. Irwin 

Special U.S. Ind. Agents 
 126 

The United States for the Cheyenne, Arapahoes, & Apaches 

 1866 To David A. Butterfield, Dr. 

 Nov 15 

Transcriber’s Note: the prices paid for the goods were not transcribed. 

For 19 Military Coats 

For 11 prs Military Pants 

For 14 prs Military Jackets 

For 10 Military Caps 

For 17 Military Hats 

For 10 Plumes 

For 27 sets ornaments for Hats & Caps 

For 5 Overcoats 

For 2 doz. Fancy Flan. Shirts 

For 2 doz. Fancy Cotton Shirts 

For 4 prs 3 point Ind. Blue Blkts 

For 5 prs 21⁄2 point Ind. Blue Blkts 

For 3 prs 3 point Scarlet Blkts 

For 2 prs 21⁄2 point Scarlet Blkts 

For 5 ps Prints 1701⁄2 yds 

For 4 ps Ticking 1271/3 yards 

Received at 186 of Eleven Hundred seventy seven and 91/100 Dollars 

in full for the above account. 

David A. Butterfield 

We hereby certify on honor that the above account is correct and just, that the above mentioned 

goods were purchased by us and were necessary for the public service, and have been distributed 

to the Arapahoe Cheyenne and Apache tribes of Indians of the Upper Arkansas Agency by us. 

Chas. Bogy 

W. R. Irwin 

Special U.S. Ind. Agts. 

The United States for the Cheyenne, Arapahoes, & Apaches 

 1866 To David A. Butterfield, Dr. 

 Nov 15 

[Transcriber’s Note: the prices paid for the goods were not transcribed.] 

For 57 Rifles 

For 98 Navy Pistols 

For 98 Holsters and Belts 

For 90 Wt Eley Bros Gun Caps 

For 20 Kegs Powder 

For 1250 # Bar Lead 

Received at 186 of Forty nine hundred and Seventy nine & 50/100 

Dollars in full for the above account. 

David A. Butterfield 
 127 

We hereby certify on honor, that, the above account, is correct and just, that, the above mentioned, 

Arms and Ammunition were purchased by us, and were necessary for the public service, and have 

been distributed, to the Arapahoe, Cheyenne, and Apache tribes of Indians of the Upper Arkansas 

Agency by us. 

Chas. Bogy 

W. R. Irwin 

Special U.S. Ind. Agts. 

The United States for the Cheyenne, Arapahoes, & Apaches 

 1866 To David A. Butterfield, Dr. 

 Nov 15 

[Transcriber’s Note: the prices paid for the goods were not transcribed.] 

For 2100 # Bacon 

For 400 # Tobacco 

For 1560 # Coffee 

For 260 # Sugar 

For 11 Head Beef Cattle 

For 9 bush. Corn 

For 40 # Soda 

For 11 Gunny Sacks 

Received at 186 of Twenty nine hundred and ninety one & 70/100 

dollars being in full for the above account. 

David A. Butterfield 

We hereby certify on honor that the above account is correct and just that the above mentioned 

provisions and groceries were purchased by us and were necessary for the public service, and 

have been distributed to the Arapahoe, Cheyenne, and Apache tribes of Indians of the Upper 

Arkansas Agency by us. 

Chas. Bogy 

W. R. Irwin 

Special U.S. Ind. Agts. 
 128 

16. Lewis V. Bogy from Charles Bogy, November 3, 1866. Source: National Archives, Record Group 75, 

Microcopy 234: Letters Received by the Office of Indian Affairs, 1824–1881, Roll 879, Upper Arkansas 

Agency, 1855–1874: 1865–1867. 

[Transcriber’s Note: Excerpt of letter pertaining to report on a council with the Indians. Only pertinent 

elements have been transcribed.] 

Junction City Nov. 3, 1866 

Hon. Lewis V. Bogy 

Commissioner of Indian Affairs 

Dear Sir: 

I arrived here last evening and found Mr. W. R. Erwin here awaiting for me. Mr. Erwin informed 

me of his interview with the Arrappahoes & Cheyenne Indians. The Indians are disatisfied with 

the allotment of goods sent them, the invoices are not such as they want ... you will readily see 

the differences in the one for the Arrappahoes & Cheyenne ... you will see by comparing the 

two invoices that there is not a single article of Hardware except needles ... 

The Arrappahoes & Cheyenne are now south of ... [one illegible word] Zara this fort is about 45 

miles south west of Fort Ell’s [Fort Ellsworth?] north they are about four (4) days travel from 

Zara ... 

Respectfully yours 

Chas. Bogy 

17. Lewis V. Bogy from Charles Bogy and W. R. Irwin, November 15, 1866. Source: National Archives, 

Record Group 75, Microcopy 234: Letters Received by the Office of Indian Affairs, 1824–1881, Roll 879, 

Upper Arkansas Agency, 1855–1874: 1865–1867. Transcriber’s Note: Excerpt of letter pertaining to report on a council with the Indians. Only pertinent elements have been transcribed. 

 Fort Zarah, Kas. Nov. 15th 1866 

Hon. Lewis V. Bogy 

Commissioner of Indian Affairs 

Sir; 

We have the honor to report that since our communication of the 12th instant, the principal chiefs 

of the Cheyennes have come in to this point. 

A Council was held with them...during which all matters of difference were talked over and they 

gave their assent to the amendments to the treaty ... 

The annuity goods for the Arrappahoes were distributed to them at this place on the 14th instant. 

The goods for the Cheyennes will be brought forward from Ellsworth as soon as possible and distributed to them. 

For the purpose of enabling you to make an estimate for these Indians — we report the Arrappahoes as numbering thirty-five hundred (3500) persons. The Cheyennes forty-five hundred (4500), 

and the Apaches eight hundred (800). These number embrace, as nearly as can be ascertained, all 

the Indians who have a right to claim the beneficial provisions of the treaty ... 

Your Obt. Servants 

Chas. Bogy 

W. R. Irwin 

Special U.S. Ind. Agents 
 129 

18. Lewis V. Bogy from Charles Bogy and W. R. Irwin, November 23, 1866. Source: National Archives, 

Record Group 75, Microcopy 234: Letters Received by the Office of Indian Affairs, 1824–1881, Roll 879, 

Upper Arkansas Agency, 1855–1874: 1865–1867. 

Fort Larned Kas. Nov. 23, 1866 

Hon. Lewis V. Bogy 

Commissioner of Indian Affairs 

Sir: 

Owing to the great dissatisfaction of the Indians (the Cheyenne, Arrappahos, and Apaches) with 

the goods included in the annuities provided for them, we have found it necessary to make a further purchase in addition to that reported in our communication of the 15th instant, and have this 

day certified vouchers, in favor of D. A. Butterfield Esq. for goods purchased of him, to the 

amount of $14,356.02 a copy of which is herewith enclosed. 

The purchases made supply to some extent the deficiency which we have heretofore reported and 

by a distribution of these goods, we feel satisfied that a full and satisfactory arrangement will be 

effected with the Indians, with whom we have communicated. 

Without making these purchases we think it would have been impossible to have satisfied the Indians and we have acted upon what we deemed a necessity for the preservation of peace. 

We would have purchased the entire stock of Col. Bent which he sold to Mr. Butterfield for some 

nineteen thousand dollars, but it included a large amount of fancy articles, which would have 

pleased the Indians, but which were not absolute necessities, our purchases have been confined 

mainly to staple articles. These Indians have been promised repeatedly and the promises have not 

been fulfilled. The Indians have now been informed that there is a new Commissioner at Washington, and they regard these purchases as the result of his administration and express themselves 

as having confidence in the future. 

We hope to finish what we will be able to accomplish here in a few days and will then make a full 

report of the general condition of the Indian affairs in this country. In addition to the details that 

we have heretofore reported, we have to state, that the Commanches delivered up a little boy, 

about ten years of age, held as a prisoner by them and the annuity goods were distributed to the 

bands, that have complied with the treaty, and the goods of the band which still has prisoners, 

have been kept back. We have as yet had no interview with the Kiowas, and can not at present 

state what the result in reference to them will be. Col. Leavenworth has informed you by letter of 

the interference of the military with the Kiowas and owing to this fact we may be prevented from 

making any adjustment with them. Capt. Bogy will confer with Gen. Hancock upon the subject 

before returning to St. Louis. 

Very Respectfully 

Your Obt. Servants 

Chas. Bogy 

W. R. Irwin 

Special U.S. Indian Agts. 
 130 

The United States for the Arapahoe, Cheyenne & Apache Nov. 23, 1866 

 1866 To David A. Butterfield. 

 Nov 23 

[Transcriber’s Note: the prices paid for the goods were not transcribed.] 

For 50 prs 3 pt Ind. Blue Blkts 

For 10 prs 21⁄2 pt Ind. Blue Blkts 

For 50 prs 3 pt Green Blkts 

For 10 prs 21⁄2 pt Green Blkts 

For 50 prs 3 pt Scarlet Blkts 

For 10 prs 21⁄2 pt Scarlet Blkts 

For 10 prs 11⁄2 pt Scarlet Blkts 

For 10 prs 11⁄2 pt Ind. Blue Blkts 

For 10 prs 1 pt Ind. Blue Blkts 

For 10 prs 1 pt Scarlet Blkts 

For 200 Yds S. S. Blue Cloth 

For 200 Yds S .S. Scarlet Cloth 

For 50 ps Prints 16201⁄2 Yds 

For 12 Doz Butcher Knives 

For 6 Boxes Ribbons 

For 500 Yds Sheeting 

For 500 Yds Blue Drilling 

For 400 Yds White Drilling 

For 10 Nests Camp Kettles 

For 50 Plaid and Fcy. Wool Shawls 

For 50 Military Overcoats 

For 10 Doz Fancy Bridles 

For 1⁄2 Doz. Silver Mounted Bridles 

For 6 Doz. Fancy Saddles 

For 12 Doz. Circingles 

For 60 Balmoral Skirts 

For 10 Doz. Files 

For 105 Brass Kettles 

For 4 Doz. sauce pans 

For 2 Doz. Bullet Ladles 

For 4 Doz. Frying Pans 

For 6 Doz. Coffee Mills 

For 6 Doz. Fancy Wool Shirts 

For 50 Military Jackets 

For 50 Military Vests 

For 6 Doz. Coffee Boilers 

For 20 Doz. Tin Cups 

For 6 Doz. Tin pans (small) 

For 20 Doz. Tin plates 

For 3 Doz. Tin pans (large) 

For 50 Military Hats 

For 50 Military Caps 

For 100 Setts Hat & Cap ornaments 

For 50 Plumes 

For 12 Sacks coffee 1920# 
 131 

Received at 186 of Fourteen Thousand three hundred fifty six & 

02/100 Dollars being in full for the above account. 

 David Butterfield. 

We hereby certify on honor that we have purchased the above mentioned articles at the prices 

set forth, that they were necessary for the public service and that we have this day turned over 

said articles to Maj. E. W. Wyncoop U.S. Ind. Agt for the Arapahoe, Cheyenne & Apache Indians of the Upper Arkansas for distribution to said Indians and have taken his receipt therefor. 

Fort Larned Kansas Chas. Bogy 

November 23rd 1866 W. R. Irwin 

 Special U.S. Indian Agents 

I hereby acknowledge the receipt from Messrs. Chas Bogy & W. R. Irwin Spl. U.S. Ind. Agts. of 

the merchandise enumerated in the foregoing Voucher amounting to the sum of Fourteen Thousand three hundred fifty six & 02/100 Dollars and which will be duly accounted for on my 

property return. 

Fort Larned Kansas 

November 23rd 1866 E. W. Wyncoop 

 U.S. Indian Agent 

 For Arapahoe Cheyenne & Apaches 
 132 
 133 

Appendix B: Feature Descriptions from the KSHS Investigations at 14NS403 

Ninety-nine individual feature numbers were assigned over the course of the various KSHS-directed 

excavations at 14NS403. The vast majority of these were assigned to either individual artifacts as they 

were exposed in the excavation units, or to small concentrations or perceived meaningfully segregated 

complexes of artifacts. The remaining feature numbers usually relate to structural phenomena, either 

small shallow trash-filled pits, possible posts or post molds, or other potential structural remains. 

The following is a list of the feature numbers assigned in Areas 761, 771, and 772, together with a 

brief description of what was included in the feature designation and the vertical provenience of the material in centimeters below surface (cmbs). These data may be integrated with more specific information 

presented in Appendix C, where individual artifacts recovered during the KSHS research have been 

grouped, described, and analyzed by provenience unit. It should quickly become evident that the artifactual materials that were assigned feature numbers in the course of the excavations are no more significant 

or unusual than the balance of the unfeatured material that was recovered and collected by level. 

Parenthetically, a number of artifacts recovered during the one-day 1976 KSHS investigations in 

Area 761, mostly from X235, have feature numbers indicated on their labels, but no corresponding feature 

or record sheets have been found. The precise vertical and horizontal provenience for this small collection of artifactual material is thus unclear. 

Area 761 

F2 (X235). This feature is half a steel scissors with no visible manufacturer’s mark. 

F3 (X235). F3 is a steel knife blade that has been modified to form a punch or awl. The implement is 

similar to an awl illustrated in Peterson (1958: Figure 154). 

F5 (X237). This collection of aqua curved glass fragments probably represents small medicine bottles, 

one partially refitted section of which is cylindrical in shape. Incomplete embossed lettering on this bottle 

reads: /...HUS... / FIT... / ...OGUE / ...N.J. /. 

F7 (X235). This feature is a steel tumbler for a pistol or rifle that was recovered in the north balk wall of 

the excavation unit. 

F16 (X235). F16 is the tip of a steel knife blade. 

F17 (X235). This feature was a fragment of a cast-iron kettle base or lid. 

F18 (X235). Feature 18 is a bail lug from a cast-iron pot or kettle. 

F20 (X235). This artifact was a steel bridle for a mainspring swivel on a pistol or rifle. 

F21 (X235). Feature 21 is a fragment of a cast-iron pot or kettle rim/shoulder fragment and refits with 

other material from X236 and X448 in Area 761/771. 

F22 (X236). This feature is a single complete cut horseshoe nail, probably a No. 7. 

Area 771 

F103 (X435). Feature 103 is a scrap of sheet tin with a rolled or folded edge that was exposed at a depth 

of 5 cmbs. It has drill or puncture holes at two corners and is probably part of a can or cup. 

F108 (X466). Exposed at a depth of 5 cmbs; F108 is a steel toe plate from a trade gun or Plains rifle. 

F109 (X480). This feature appeared to be the charred remains of a piece of organic material, possibly 

leather or rawhide, which was exposed at a depth of 8 cmbs. The material could not be successfully excavated intact and only a sample was collected. 
 134 

F110 (X463). Exposed at a depth of 4 cmbs, F110 appeared as a thin, ovate stain of orange ochre. A 

number of blue and white beads and bead fragments lay within or adjacent to the stain, which measured 

roughly 46 cm north-south by 25 cm east-west. A sample of the ochre was collected. 

F111 (X463). F111 represented a complex of glazed ceramic beer or ale bottle fragments that were exposed at a depth of 3 cmbs in the center of X463. 

F112 (X463). F112 is a steel frizzen spring from a flintlock musket or pistol that was exposed at a depth 

of 5 cmbs. 

F113 (X464). F113 is a basal section from a cast-iron vessel, probably a Dutch oven. It has an outwardstepped side wall profile and a simple attached lug foot on its base. It was exposed at a depth of 5 cmbs. 

F114 (X464). This is another section of cast-iron skillet or oven found a short distance southeast of F113. 

It was found at a depth of 5 cmbs. 

F115 (X464). F115 is a section of a glazed clay ale or beer bottle, wheel-thrown with a pale gray glaze 

inside and out and faint cream-colored bands around the outside. It was exposed at a depth of 4 cmbs. 

F117 (X463). This feature was a complex of four more ceramic beer/ale bottle fragments and a piece of 

tin or metal scrap. The complex appears related to F111 and perhaps F115. The bottle fragments are 

cream-colored or both cream- and pale yellow-colored. They were exposed at a depth of 3 cmbs. 

F118 (X464). F118 appeared as a small circular mottled charcoal stain exposed on the floor of the excavation unit at a depth of 9 cmbs. When first identified, the stain measured 5 cm in diameter. When vertically profiled, the stain was seen to have parallel sides that dipped slightly to the northeast, and extended 

to a depth of 16 cmbs. It was interpreted in the field as a possible charred lodge pole. 

F119 (X463). F119 was exposed at a depth of 6 cmbs, and represented a two-prong ferrous wire trouser 

or vest buckle. 

F120 (X463). This feature was a fragment of a cast-iron coffee mill that was exposed at a depth of 3 

cmbs near a scatter of ceramic beer bottle fragments. 

F121 (X448). F121 was exposed at a depth of only 2 cmbs, and lay immediately north of F110, the ochre 

stain, and a short distance south of a section of cast-iron kettle or oven. F121 has been identified as the 

steel main spring for a rifle, probably a civilian model. 

F123 (X448). This ferrous ring was exposed at a depth of 6 cmbs. It has been tentatively identified as 

possible military horse headgear or a saddle part, but may instead be part of a civilian harness or wagon 

fittings. 

F124 (X448). This feature is the base of a small colorless glass medicine bottle that has been partially 

melted. The bottle bottom is ovate in plan view and measures 0.70 inch deep by 1.03 inches wide. It was 

recovered at a depth of 6 cmbs. 

F125 (X448). F125 appears to be a wire-fixed handle, probably of a Civil War Type 1 cup (Hedren 1992), 

that was exposed at a depth of 4 cmbs. 

F126 (X448). This feature was a scatter of salt-glazed stoneware sherds together with a ferrous wire pot 

or bucket bail. The sherds have a cream-colored exterior salt glaze and a dark brown Albanese interior 

slip. The scatter measured 13 x 19 cm in horizontal dimension and was exposed at a depth of 5 cmbs. 

F127 (X448). F127 appeared as a small, circular charcoal stain that measured 6 cm in diameter and was 

exposed at a depth of 7 cmbs. When examined in vertical profile; it was found to be cylindrical to slightly 

tapering and essentially vertical, and it extended an additional 4 cm deep. It may represent a support for a 

drying rack or other such structure. 

F128 (X478). F128 appears to be an intact ferrous wire bail for a bucket or pot that lay only 1 cmbs. 

F130 (X478). Exposed at a depth of 2 cmbs, F130 was a 12-inch piece of ferrous rod or wire. 
 135 

F131 (X478). F130 is the basal section of a glazed ceramic ale or beer bottle that has an exterior and interior cream-colored glaze. The sherd was found at a depth of 5 cmbs. 

F132 (X433). F132 was a complex of seven steel gun lock parts and a stoneware ceramic sherd. The gun 

parts included a bridle for a main spring swivel, one sear spring from a Model 1861 Springfield percussion rifle and another sear spring and screw, three sears of different sizes, and two tumblers of different 

sizes. The scatter of material was exposed at a depth of 6 cmbs and covered an area roughly 32 x 20 cm. 

F133 (X478). F133 initially appeared as a dark circular stain exposed in the floor of the excavation at a 

depth of 2.5 cmbs. Measuring 5 cm in diameter, it was vertically profiled and interpreted as a possible 

post mold with a slightly pointed base. The base of the feature lay at a depth of approximately 6 cmbs. 

F134 (X433). Exposed at a depth of 8 cmbs, F134 appeared as a small dark circular stain 7 cm in diameter. The southern half of the outer edge of the stain was charred and appeared to represent the burned exterior of a post. When vertically profiled, the stain extended to a depth of 19 cmbs with a slight taper to a 

diameter of 3 cm at the base. 

F136 (X462). F136 was a complex of six pieces of chert, jasper, and mossy agate that was exposed at a 

depth of 7 cmbs at the east edge of the excavation unit. The complex lay immediately east of F137, a 

cluster of cut ferrous nails. The scatter of lithic material covered an area roughly 13 x 21 cm and included 

the base of a broken chipped stone projectile point. Ultimately, another projectile point (F138) and another flake were found in the same location as the F136 material. 

F137 (X462). This scatter of 18 complete and fragmentary steel or iron square cut fasteners included both 

nails and a tack, and was exposed at a depth of 7 cmbs immediately to the west of F136. The nails include one cut horseshoe nail. 

F138 (X462). F138 is the basal section of a small side- and basal-notched brown chert projectile point 

that was found at a depth of 8 cmbs immediately beneath the concentration of lithic material designated 

F136. 

F139 (X462). F139 is a modified segment of a baculite fossil, and was recovered at a depth of 3.5 cmbs. 

The artifact is a bison fetish or buffalo stone, the natural shape of the fossil segment modified through 

abrasion to accentuate the shape of a bison. 

F140 (X462). F140 is an unexpended spherical lead projectile of approximately .40 caliber. It is unfinished and has attached lead sprue on one side. The ball was recovered at a depth of 3 cmbs. 

F141 (X419). This small triangular piece of scrap sheet brass was exposed at 2 cmbs. 

F142 (X462). F142 was a concentration of freshwater mussel shell fragments exposed at a depth of 2.5 

cmbs. Eventually, the shell material was found to lie within a small shallow basin that was designated 

F153 (see below). 

F143 (X462). Exposed at a depth of 7 cmbs, F143 represents a body sherd from a glazed ceramic beer or 

ale bottle that refits with other material from X448, X463, and X464. 

F144 (X447). F144 appears to be a rib section of a large mammal, probably a bison, and was found at a 

depth of 3 cmbs. The bone appears to be unmodified. 

F145 (X477). F145 was recovered from a depth of 6 cmbs and is a two-prong ferrous wire trouser or vest 

buckle identical to the one that was designated F119 in X463. Charcoal observed in close physical association with the buckle may represent the remains of a leather strap. 

F146 (X477). This feature was a pair of blue-green curved glass fragments, probably from a patent medicine bottle. Ultimately, 17 such fragments were recovered from X477. Three could be reconstructed and 

represent a panel bottle with an Excelsior, Windsor Oval, or Round-cornered Blake base. One remnant 

concave side panel is devoid of lettering. The fragments were exposed at a depth of 4 cmbs. 
 136 

F148 (X434). Exposed at a depth of 4 cmbs, F148 represents several fragments of a cream-colored ceramic beer or ale bottle. 

F149 (X405). This feature number was assigned to a large section of the hopper of a cast-iron coffee mill. 

F149 was found at a depth of 4 cmbs and bears a possible stamped manufacture or patent date of 1840 or 

1846. 

F150 (X405). F150 is a rectangular ferrous roller buckle that is similar to horse headgear recovered from 

other contemporaneous historic military sites (Scott and Fox 1987). The buckle was recovered at a depth 

of 2.5 cmbs. 

F153 (X462). Feature 153 appeared as an ovate, light-colored stain that contained ash, charcoal, and an 

occasional section of probable freshwater mussel shell. The stain was defined at a depth of approximately 

6 cmbs in the area of some previously featured mussel shell. The matrix of the stain had a talcy texture 

that could reflect additional decomposed shell or perhaps fine-grained pigment. When exposed in vertical 

profile, F153 was seen to be 14 cm deep and basin shaped. The feature fill contained additional charcoal 

flecks, mussel shell, and fragmented animal bone, either deer, antelope, or bison mandible remains. In 

plan view, F153 measured 52 cm north-south by 45 cm east-west. 

F154 (X462). F154 was exposed at a depth of 6 cmbs and appeared as a circular concentration of orange 

pigment roughly 40 cm in diameter. The pigment, probably ochre, included particles 2–3 mm in diameter. 

Several small fragments of animal bone were also recovered from within the limits of the feature. When 

exposed in vertical profile, F154 was seen to be steeply basin shaped, extending an additional 14 cm below the level of its initial contact. A sample of the ochre material was collected. 

F155 (X462). F155 was a complete ferrous wire bucket or kettle bail exposed at a depth of 5 cmbs. The 

bail has intact hooked ends. 

F156 (X462). F156 was a small concentration of animal bone and probable red ochre pigment exposed at 

a depth of 6 cmbs. When cored, the feature was found to be an elongated basin 51 cm east-west by 32 cm 

north-south and extended an additional 9 cm below the level at which it was first identified. The basin 

had a flat floor and contained no evidence of burning. 

F157 (X477). F157 designated a small concentration of mussel shell fragments exposed at a depth of 3 

cmbs. 

F158 (X477). This feature number was assigned to a small, dark, circular stain exposed at a depth of 5 

cmbs and measured 5 cm in diameter. When cored, the feature was seen to extend about 3 cm deeper into 

the subsoil and appeared to have had a slightly pointed base. The south side of the stain contained remnant charcoal, suggesting that F158 represented a burned wooden post. 

F162 (X447). Exposed at a depth of 3 cmbs, F162 appeared as a small, dark circular stain that measured 

3.5 cm in diameter. When cored, the feature was found to extend only 2 cm further below the excavation 

floor, but had a rounded slightly pointed base. F162 contained no definable charcoal, but may represent a 

post or lodge pole impression that filled with darker soil, ash, etc. 

F167 (X547). F167 designated a small fragment of sheet brass and two scraps of tin. The materials were 

exposed at a depth of 7 cmbs. 

F168 (X547). F168 designated a corroded sheet tin tinkler that was recovered from a depth of 4 cmbs. 

F169 (X547). This feature number was assigned to a ferrous screw fragment that was exposed at a depth 

of 3 cmbs. 

F170 (X547). F170 designated a single white glass bead exposed at a depth of 2 cmbs. 

F171 (X547). This feature was represented by an expended .32 cal. lead projectile that bears a remnant 

ramrod mark and was fired from a smooth-bore weapon. It was recovered at a depth of 1.5 cmbs. 
 137 

F172 (X547). This feature number was assigned to a small lens of reddish-orange burned soil exposed at 

a depth of 1.7 cmbs in the northwest quarter of the excavation unit. The discoloration was relatively homogenous across the feature and did not extend to any depth, suggesting that it had been produced by a 

surface fire. The feature fill contained several small pieces of cut sheet brass scrap. 

F173 (X531 and 532). This complex of 26 bullet or ball buttons was primarily recovered from X532, but 

a small number included in the feature was also found in adjacent X531. Additional unfeatured ball buttons were also found in X546 (see F176 and X561). They are all two-piece buttons and have thin, 

strongly convex smooth brass fronts that are crimped around iron or steel cores. Each one has a footed 

ferrous wire shank. 

F175 (X546). F175 was a steel sear, probably from a percussion rifle, which was exposed at a depth of 

1.3 cmbs. 

F176 (X546). F176 was another two-piece bullet or ball button that was recovered at a depth of 1 cmbs. 

It is identical in construction to the buttons recovered in X531 and X532 and likewise lacks any manufacturer’s mark. 

F177 (X561). This feature number was assigned to a single small brass tack fragment with a smooth convex head that was recovered at a depth of 1.3 cmbs. 

F205 (X563). F205 was a small, dark, circular stain 3 cm in diameter that was exposed at a depth of 6 

cmbs. When vertically cross-sectioned, the feature was seen to extend an additional 2.5 cm in depth and 

had a rounded bottom. It was interpreted as a shallow post mold. 

F207 (X562). F207 appeared to represent a shallow basin-shaped pit that contained mixed soil with fragments of dark orange ochre. The upper outline of the basin measured 54 cm northeast-southwest by 42 

cm northwest-southeast, and the base of the basin was identified at a depth of 13 cmbs. 

Area 772 

F182 (X651). This feature number was assigned to a single sheet tin tinkler that was exposed at a depth 

of 6 cmbs. 

F183 (X651). F183 was the partial finish of an amber bottle. Another fragment of the finish was recovered from X650 and was assigned feature number F186 (see below). Other fragments of the bottle neck, 

base, and body were found elsewhere in the excavation unit; portions were later reconstructed. The embossed letters on the reconstructed body are DR.

 J. HOSTETTER’S STOMACH BITTERS. 

F184 (X651). F184 was a single small steel pan head slotted screw that was exposed at a depth of 5 

cmbs. 

F185 (X650 and X651). F185 is a large ferrous rectangular roller-bar buckle that was recovered from a 

depth of 7 cmbs. 

F186 (X650). F186 is the other section of the amber glass Hostetter’s Bitters bottle finish that was recovered in X651 and designated F183. F186 was exposed in X650 at a depth of 6 cmbs. 

F187 (X649). F187 is a ferrous center-bar buckle exposed at a depth of 7 cmbs that is similar to military 

styles. It may have been part of an equipment strap from a McClellan saddle (Scott et al. 1989) or part of 

a bridle or halter (Steffen 1978). 

F188 (X649). This feature is a rectangular section of freshwater mussel shell that may represent a partially finished shell pendant. It was recovered from a depth of 6 cmbs. 

F189 (X650). F189 was a small complex of amber bottle glass and burned animal long bone or wood. It 

was exposed at a depth of 3 cmbs. 

F192 (X652). F192 is a small sheet tin cup handle with rolled or folded edges. Exposed at a depth of 8 

cmbs, the handle may have been part of a Civil War-type tin cup. 
 138 

F193 (X652). F193 was assigned to a pair of sheet tin cone tinklers that were recovered from a depth of 4 

cmbs. Five additional sheet tin tinklers were found nearby. 

F194 (X652). This feature number was assigned to a complete two-piece General Service-type military 

button with eagle device that was recovered from a depth of 5 cmbs. The button has a wire shank. 

F195 (X652). F195 is a flat one-piece four-hole pressed or stamped ferrous button that was recovered 

from a depth of 5 cmbs. The button has black residue, possibly paint, adhering to it. Other similar buttons were recovered elsewhere in Area 772. 

F196 (X652). F196 was a small semicircular piece of sheet tin with two perforated corners. It was recovered from a depth of 4 cmbs. 

F197 (X666). Feature 197 is a section of a curved cast-iron crank, probably from a coffee mill similar to 

the one that was recovered in Area 771. Flat along its upper surface, it is ribbed along its lower surface. 

Another section of the crank was found elsewhere in X666. 

F198 (X667). F198 is a complete two-piece brass General Service-type military button with line eagle 

device that was recovered at a depth of 7 cmbs. It has a looped wire shank. 

F199 (X667). This feature consisted of a complex of three brass button backs that were recovered from a 

depth of 7 cmbs. All three appear to represent the back pieces of two-piece General Service-type military 

buttons. One is partially melted, and all three lack their shanks. 

F200 (X667). F200 was a small concentration of fused blue glass beads that was exposed at a depth of 5 

cmbs. Intense burning has changed the color of some of the beads to white. 

F201 (X667). F201 may be a maul fragment and appeared as a partially cortical flake from a quartzite 

cobble. It was recovered at a depth of 4 cmbs and has a single visible flake scar. 

F202 (X667). F202 was a small concentration of sheet tin and wire exposed at a depth of 6 cmbs. The 

material covered an area roughly 15 cm east-west by 19 cm north-south. 

F208 (X682). F208 is a small white glass four-hole button that was exposed at a depth of 2 cmbs. 

F209 (X682). F209 was an irregularly shaped piece of melted brass with an included brass rivet that was 

exposed at a depth of 1 cmbs. 

F210 (X6832). F210 was exposed at a depth of 1 cmbs and appears to be a two-piece brass General Service-type military button with a line eagle device and a wire shank. 

F211 (X667). This feature number was assigned to a small complex of two sheet tin strap handles and 

another fragment of sheet tin scattered over an area that measured 18 x 6 cm. The handles may be parts of 

Civil War-type tin cups. The material in F211 was exposed at a depth of 5 cmbs. 

F212 (X667). F212 was a small complex of scrap sheet tin and wire that was exposed at a depth of 5 

cmbs. The material lay beneath a larger square limestone cobble (see F219). 

F213 (X668). F213 was a complex of three buttons exposed at a depth of 6 cmbs. The buttons include 

two four-hole flat ferrous buttons with rolled edges, together with a tan spherical button, perhaps of hard 

rubber. The latter lacked any back attachment. The former are similar to other pressed or stamped tin buttons found at the site. The F213 complex covered an area 8 cm east-west by 18 cm north-south. 

F214 (X668). F214 is a section of a fine-grained sandstone whetstone or abrader with large adjacent 

ground surfaces that was recovered from a depth of 6 cmbs. Another section of this same implement was 

recovered from elsewhere in the excavation unit. 

F215 (X668). F215 is a small ferrous pull ring, probably from a tin pot pint boiler that was recovered at a 

depth of 4 cmbs. 
 139 

F216 (X653). F216 is sheet tin cup handle with rolled or folded edges. It is probably part of a Civil Wartype tin cup and was recovered at a depth of 6 cmbs. 

F217 (X666 and X667). F217 was a large, irregular stain of burned bone and charcoal that was exposed 

at a depth of 5 cmbs in the floor of the two excavation units. When cored, the feature appeared to represent a large basin-shaped depression that lacked any burned earth or evidence of intense oxidation. The 

base of the basin was exposed at a depth of 13 cmbs, making the basin approximately 8 cm deep. 

F219 (X651, X666, X667, X681, and X682). Originally designated F14 during the 1976 KSHS investigations at the site, this feature number was assigned in 1977 to a collection of nine irregularly shaped limestone cobbles exposed at and just below the grassy surface of the excavated portion of Area 772. 
 140 
 141 

Appendix C 

Artifactual Material From 14NS403: The Kansas State Historical Society Collection 

Area 761: 200-Series Block Excavations 

X234 

1 Pebble, quartz or calcite; has a 7-mm diameter. 

1 Pebble, sandstone; has a 13-mm diameter. 

X235 

1 Awl, steel. Probably modified from a knife blade with two ferrous bolsters. It lacks scales/handles, 

but is similar to that illustrated in Peterson (1958:Fig. 154). 6.1 x 1.1 x 0.07 inches. F3. 

1 Knife blade tip fragment, steel. 1.94 x 0.73 x 0.05 inches. F16. 

1 Bail lug for pot or kettle, cast iron; solid, flat, D-shaped; vessel wall measures 0.9 inch thick. F18. 

1 Pot or kettle rim and shoulder fragment, cast iron. Vessel mouth diameter is approximately 5 inches. 

Designated F21, this fragment was refit with other material found in X236 (1 fragment) and X448 

(4 fragments). Reconstructed vessel thickness averages 0.10 inch. F17/F21. 

1 Kettle base or lid fragment, cast iron. 2.55 x 0.72 x 0.12 inches. F17. 

1 Tumbler, steel. For pistol or rifle. F7. 

1 Bridle, steel. For mainspring swivel, pistol or rifle. F20. 

1 Snap hook fragment, double wire, steel. It might be part of a link strap used to tether horses together 

and is generally similar to one illustrated and described in Steffen (1979:59–61) as part of the headgear specified for cavalry units in the 1861 Ordnance Manual (Steffen 1979:59–61). Conversely, it 

might be part of a cavalry pack saddle (Weibert 1989:296), or it may be civilian in origin. The inside 

of the hook tip has wear produced by the spring, which is missing. 2.67 x 1.24 x 0.16 inches. 

1 Scissor, steel. No visible maker’s mark. 7.4 inches long. F2. 

6 Pebbles, quartz or calcite (1), sandstone (1), limestone (4); the largest has a 14-mm diameter. 

X236 

1 Pot or kettle rim fragment, cast iron. Refits with 5 fragments from X235 and X448. 

1 Pot or kettle body fragment, cast iron. 1.6 x 1.0 x 0.1 inches. F21. 

2 Pot or kettle fragments, cast iron; refit with material from X447 (1 fragment) and X463 (1 fragment). 

1 Cut horseshoe nail, ferrous. Complete, No. 7; 21⁄4 inches long. F22. 

1 Stoneware vessel fragment with cream-colored interior glaze. 1.05 x 0.39 x 0.23 inches. 

1 Stoneware vessel fragment with dark brown Albanese interior glaze, crackled cream-colored exterior 

glaze. 0.43 x 0.41 x 0.29 inch. 

1 Stoneware vessel fragment with dark brown Albanese interior glaze. Refits with material from X448 

(6 fragments), X433 (4 fragments), X434 (2 fragments), and X449 (1 fragment). 

X237 

1 Pot or kettle rim section, cast iron with slightly flaring lip, which is slightly thickened on exterior 

face. Vessel mouth opening is estimated to be approximately 9 inches. 2.8 x 1.4 x 0.1 inches. 

1 Pot or kettle body fragment, cast iron. 3.0 x 0.95 x 0.10 inches. 

2 Stoneware vessel fragments with dark brown interior glaze. No exterior surface present. 

1 Pot or kettle body fragment, cast iron. Curved with smooth interior surface. Exterior face is partially 

thickened. 1.17 x 0.64 x 0.16–0.24 inches. 

1 Wire fragment, ferrous. 6.25 inches long and 0.11 inch thick. 

1 Can or cup fragment, sheet tin. 1.28 x 0.73 x 0.03 inches. 

16 Abrader fragments, fine-grained sandstone. One fragment has adjacent smooth facets, but the shape 

of the original intact object cannot be estimated. Largest measures 1.94 x 1.25 x 0.6 inches. 

1 Pebble, chert. 24-mm diameter. 

1 Flake, chert; possibly heat-spalled. Fragmentary and noncortical with no evident retouch. 8 x 7 x 1 mm. 

1 Flake, chert; possibly Alibates flint. Fragmentary and noncortical with no evident retouch. 8 x 7 x 1 mm. 
 142 

139 Curved glass fragments, aqua. Probably one or more medicine bottles. Refitting indicates one bottle 

was cylindrical with a 2.125-inch diameter circular base. Embossed lettering on the shoulders and 

down the sides includes / ... HUS... / FIT... / ...OGUE / ...N.J. /. F5. Bottle height unknown. No 

finishes are present in the fragments. 

X283 

1 Knife blade fragment, steel. Modified with unifacial sharpening to produce a transverse convex 

scraper edge. 1.13 x 1.45 x 0.05 inches. 

1 Kettle or Dutch oven rim or lid rim fragment, cast iron. Simple thickened exterior lip surface. Vessel 

mouth diameter cannot be accurately estimated. 1.14 x 1.01 x 0.14 inches. 

1 Cut nail, ferrous. Complete, 3d. 

1 Charred organic material sample. Unidentified. < 1 oz. 

Area 763 — Unnumbered Test Excavation 

1 Main spring, steel. Colt-style Model 1851 Navy .36 cal. revolver. 

1 Cylinder stop, steel. Remington New Model (1863) .36 cal. Navy or .44 cal. Army revolver. 

1 Trigger and cylinder stop spring, steel. 

1 Trigger, steel. Remington New Model (1863) .36 cal. Navy or .44 cal. Army revolver. 

1 Barrel underrib for musket or rifle, steel. Fragmentary. 10 3⁄4 inches long. 

1 Machine screw, steel. 0.45 inch long by 0.11 inch diameter. 

1 Wood screw, steel. Flat headed, slotted. No. 12 x 1 inch. 

1 General Service three-piece coat button, brass. Complete, with early style eagle device. Backmark 

reads / SCOVILL MF’G CO. WATERBURY /. 

1 Button, ferrous. Two-piece pressed metal trouser. Four-hole sew-through with dished center. 0.65-

inch diameter (26 lignes). 

1 Bracelet, bent brass wire, undecorated; wire diameter is 0.07 inch; bracelet is open on the underside. 

1 Three-sided metal taper file, steel. Fragmentary tip section. 1.45 inches long. 

1 Buckle, ferrous; D-shaped with tongue; possible harness part. 1.65 inches long by 1.61 inches wide. 

1 Chert flake fragment; noncortical, possible pressure flake; heat altered; 8 mm maximum dimension. 

Area 771: 400-Series Block Excavations 

X405 

1 Buckle, ferrous; rectangular with ferrous roller; used with a strap 3⁄4 inch wide or less. Probably part 

of horse equipment headgear (Scott and Fox 1987:96–98). F150. 11⁄4 x 1 inches. 

1 Coffee mill fragment, cast iron. Large segment of bowl-shaped hopper estimated to have an interior 

diameter of 4 inches when complete and intact. The outside lower bowl of the hopper has a 

stamped date of 1840 or 1846. The lower inside of the hopper has diagonal grinding burrs. 

X419 

1 Scrap metal fragment, sheet brass. F141. 1.92 x 0.81 x 0.02 inches. 

X432 

1 Pot or kettle fragment, cast iron. 1.04 x 0.69 x 0.11 inches. 

1 Cartridge case, brass; .22 cal. short. Headstamp is / US / (U.S., or United States Cartridge Co., 

Lowell, Massachusetts). 

1 Rod, ferrous. Twisted. 2 inches long, with a 0.2-inch diameter. 

27 Pebbles, schist. Largest measures 0.77 x 0.71 x 0.26 inch. 

X433 

1 Bridle, steel. For pistol or rifle main spring swivel. Part of F132. 

1 Sear spring, steel. From a Model 1861 Springfield percussion rifle. Part of F132. 

1 Sear spring and screw, steel. Part of F132. 

3 Sears, steel, different sizes. Part of F132. 

2 Tumblers, steel, different sizes. Part of F132. 

2 Kettle or pot fragments, cast iron. 0.74 x 0.64 x 0.9 inch and 1.74 x 0.75 x 0.11 inches. 
 143 

9 Stoneware fragments. Part of cylindrical bottle with dark brown Albanese interior slip and creamcolored salt glaze exterior. 3-inch interior diameter. Wheel-thrown. Vessel walls are 0.20–0.50 

inch thick. Refit into two body sections with other material from X236 (1 fragment), X434 (2 fragments), X448 (7 fragments) and X449 (1 fragment). 

5 Abrader fragments, indurated sandstone. Possibly part of a grindstone. Largest measures 29 mm in 

maximum dimension. 

1 Pebble, hematite. 9 mm diameter. 

2 Bone fragments. Unidentifiable. Larger is 11 mm in maximum dimension. 

3 Pebbles, sandstone. Largest has 11-mm diameter. 

X434 

1 Stoneware bottle with clear interior and exterior glaze. Cream/gray color inside and out. Refit with 

material from X434 (8 fragments) and X464 (1 fragment). Probable ale or beer bottle. F148. 

2 Stoneware bottle fragments. Larger is 2.27 x 1.01 x 0.25 in. Wheel-thrown with clear interior and 

exterior salt glaze. Cream color. Probable ale or beer bottle. 

X435 

1 Can or cup fragment, sheet tin. Edge is folded. 3.83 x 2.77 x 0.01 inches. F103. 

1 Rod, steel or iron. Bent or curved. 2.29 inches long, with a 0.25-inch diameter. 

X447 

1 Pot or kettle base section, cast iron. Refits with other material from X236 (2 fragments, F21), X463 

(1 fragment), and X447 (1 fragment). Base is 0.13 inch thick and wall is 0.08 inch thick. 

1 Cut finish nail, ferrous. Complete, 2d. 

1 Curved glass fragment, colorless. Probable bottle fragment. 0.69 x 0.35 x 0.21 inch. 

1 Curved glass fragment, colorless. 0.28 x 0.22 x 0.13 inch. 

X448 

1 Pot or kettle body fragment, cast iron; refits with material from X478; 2 fragments; 0.08 inch thick. 

1 Pot or kettle body/base fragment, cast iron. 2.45 x 1.18 x 0.09 inches. 

1 Pot or kettle shoulder/rim fragment, cast iron. Simple short vertical rim above a globular body with 

slight rim thickening. 1.37 x 1.28 x 0.09 inches. 

5 Pot or kettle body or base fragments, cast iron. Largest measures 1.56 x 0.87 x 0.09 inches. Two 

fragments refit. 

2 Pot or kettle body fragments, cast iron. Unidentifiable. Largest measures 0.67 x 0.28 x 0.11 inch. 

1 Main spring, steel. For a rifle hammer, probably a civilian model. F121. 

1 Ring, ferrous. Might be part of military horse equipment headgear or saddle (Scott and Fox 1987: 

96–97; Steffen 1979), or it may be part of a civilian harness or military or civilian wagon fittings or 

harness. 2-inch o.d., 11⁄2-inch i.d. F123. 

1 Bail fragment, ferrous; curved and lacking ends; 4.28 inches long, with a 0.11-inch diameter; F126. 

2 Abrader/grindstone fragments, fine-grained sandstone. Two of the pieces refit and may be part of 

an abrader or hand grindstone/mano. Together, they measure 47 mm in maximum dimension. 

2 Grindstone/mano fragments, quartzite. Refit to perhaps represent part of a hand grindstone/mano. 

Together the fragments measure 36 mm in maximum dimension. 

4 Stoneware vessel fragments. Dark brown Albanese interior slip and cream-colored exterior salt 

glaze. Wheel-thrown. Pieces refit to form part of vessel wall. Probable ceramic bottle and identical 

to material recovered from adjacent X432. F126. 

7 Fragments of stoneware vessel identical to that just described. Refit with material recovered in adjacent X433 (9 fragments), X236 (1 fragment), X434 (2 fragments), and X449 (1 fragment). 

1 Wire-fixed tin handle, Civil War Type 1 cup (Hedren 1992). Edges have been rolled over the wires. 

Incomplete and missing lower attachment (rivet?). Estimated 4 inches long. F125. 

1 Inorganic material sample, burned. < 0.5 oz. 

1 Curved glass fragment, colorless; probable base of medicine bottle; melted and fused; 0.70 x 1.03 

inches; F124. 

1 Stoneware ale bottle fragment. Cream-colored salt glaze. Refits with material from X462, X463, 

X464, and X478 to form the major part of a beer or ale bottle. 
 144 

1 Seed, unidentified. Possibly burned. 

1 Ochre/hematite sample. 0.09 oz. 

1 Ochre/hematite sample. 0.14 oz. Part of F110 fill. 

X449 

1 Stoneware vessel fragment identical to the salt-glazed material recovered in X448; refits with other 

material from that unit (7 fragments), from X433 (4 fragments), X236 (1 fragment), and X434 (2 

fragments). 

X462 

1 Cut nail, ferrous. Complete, 4d. 

1 Cut horseshoe nail, ferrous. Complete, 21⁄2 inches long. Part of F137. 

3 Cut nails, ferrous. Complete, 4d. Part of F137. 

7 Cut nails, ferrous. Complete, 6d. Part of F137. 

1 Cut nail, ferrous. Complete, 5d. Part of F137. 

1 Cut nail, ferrous. Complete, 9d. Part of F137. 

4 Cut nail fragments, ferrous. Assorted small and medium sizes. Part of F137. 

1 Wire nail or tack, ferrous with convex head. Complete, 4d. Part of F137. 

1 Cut nail fragment, ferrous. Probably 16d. 

1 Scrap metal fragment, sheet tin. 2.0 x 0.32 x 0.02 inches. 

1 Kettle or pot bail with hooked ends, ferrous. 14.5 inches long, with a 0.15-inch diameter. Sized for 

a vessel mouth with a ± 91⁄2-inch diameter. F155. 

1 Rod, ferrous. Possibly fragment of a bail. 1.94 inches long with a 0.09-inch diameter; part of F137. 

1 Scrap metal fragment, sheet brass. 0.41 inch long. 

1 Pendant/ornament fragment, sheet brass. Drilled hole at one end. The fragment is D-shaped. 13 x 

9 x 1 mm with a 2-mm diameter hole. 

1 Mussel shell fragment. Probably freshwater Unionidae. Missing the hinge. 

3 Mussel shell fragments. Probably freshwater Unionidae. Missing their hinges. F153. 

1 Mussel shell fragment. Probably freshwater Unionidae. Missing the hinge. F142. 

1 Ochre sample, red. < 1 oz. F154. 

1 Fetish, limestone. Probable buffalo stone manufactured from a baculite fossil. F139. 

7 Flakes, chert, jasper, and mossy agate. Complete and incomplete. All but two are essentially noncortical, and all are of extremely high-quality lithic material. Two flakes with platforms reflect bifacial thinning flakes. All have minute flake scars suggesting possible utilization retouch. Flakes 

range in size from 35 x 24 x 0.7 mm to 12 x 9 x 2 mm. F138. 

1 Projectile point, chipped stone, clear chalcedony. Bifacially flaked with snapped tip. Triangular 

blade with shallow corner notches, a short expanding stem, and slightly concave base. Estimated to 

have measured 40 mm long, when intact, x 20 x 5 mm. Noncortical. Part of F136. Morphologically similar to the Besant type. 

1 Projectile point, chipped stone, fine-grained chert. Broken in mid-blade. Noncortical. Fine bifacial 

retouch with small corner notches, expanding stem, eared tangs, and shallow basal notch. Estimated 

to have measured 40 mm long, when intact, x 15 x 5 mm. Postdepositional fire may have altered 

texture and color of raw material. Morphologically similar to the Oxbow type. Part of F138. 

1 Ball, lead. .40 cal. Unfinished with attached sprue. F140. 

1 Stoneware bottle fragment. Refits with material from X448, X463, X464, and X478 to form most 

of an ale or beer bottle with cream-colored exterior and pale yellow ochre neck. 

1 Mussel shell fragment, freshwater; 10 mm in maximum dimension. 

2 Pebbles, red ochre. 

1 Ochre sample, red. 0.11 oz. F164. 

1 Ochre sample, red. 0.12 oz. Part of F156. 

2 Leather fragments. < 0.1 oz. 

1 Soil sample, stained earth. 2.22 oz. Part of F153. 

1 Soil sample. 1.85 oz. 
 145 

X463 

1 Pot, pan, or kettle fragment, cast iron. Has been refit with material from X447 (1 fragment) and 

X236 (2 fragments). 

2 Kettle, pot, or pan fragments, cast iron. 2.37 x 1.57 x 0.09 inches and 3.2 x 2.04 x 0.09 inches. 

3 Coffee mill fragments, cast iron. Refit to form part of the crank housing with a fragment from adjacent X464 (F120) and with a larger iron hopper section recovered in X405 (F149). The shaft diameter of the crank is estimated to be 0.625 inch. 

1 Frizzen spring, steel. For a flintlock rifle or pistol. F112. 

1 Trouser or vest buckle (Scott et al. 1989:190–191), ferrous wire. One face is embossed /... ATENT 

1855 /. 1.20 x 0.87 x 0.03 inches and identical to another buckle from X477. F119. 

1 Scrap metal fragment, sheet tin. Rusted. 0.46 inch wide by 0.02 inch thick. 

1 Pebble, raw material unknown. 20 mm in diameter. 

12 Stoneware bottle fragments. Clear exterior and interior salt glaze with cream-colored matrix. Largest measures 1.2 x 0.47 x 0.3 inches. Probable beer or ale bottle fragments. 

13 Stoneware beer or ale bottle fragments that refit. Wheel-thrown with clear exterior and interior salt 

glaze. Cream-colored body with pale yellow ochre wash over the upper one-third of the bottle. No 

maker’s mark. The intact bottle would have measured 71⁄2 or 8 inches tall, while the base diameter 

is 3 inches and unglazed. The intact bottle would have been cylindrical with a gently constricting 

neck (Wilson 1974). The fragments from X463 refit with others from X448 (1 fragment), X462 (1 

fragment, F143), X464 (8 fragments), and X478 (2 fragments, F131). F111. 

1 Stoneware sherd. Probable bottle fragment similar to previous material, but apparently heat altered 

and discolored. 

1 Projectile point, chipped stone, on a moss agate flake identical to that of a flake included as part of 

F136 in X462. The point is incomplete and lacks the tip. Its blade is triangular, and it has deep 

corner notches, an expanding stem, and a strongly convex, narrow base. The point is probably part 

of the F136 complex in X462. Estimated intact length is 35 mm, while the width is 11 mm, and the 

thickness is 4 mm. Morphologically similar to the Scallorn projectile point type. 

1 Pebble, hematite. 7 mm in diameter. 

1 Seed, sunflower; Helianthus sp., unburned. Fill of F110. 

1 Flake fragment, quartzite. 8 x 5 x 2 mm. 

1 Ochre sample. < 0.1 oz. F110 fill. 

2 Pebbles, sandstone. F110 fill. 

1 Ochre sample. < 0.1 oz. F110 fill. 

X464 

2 Stoneware bottle fragments. Identical to those in X463 above and probably from the same bottle. 

8 Stoneware bottle fragments that refit with the material from X448, X462, X463, and X478 to form 

most of an ale or beer bottle with cream-colored exterior and a pale yellow ochre neck. 

1 Kettle, pan, or lid fragment, cast iron. 2.23 x 1.07 x 0.09 inches. Part of F117. 

1 Kettle, pan, or lid fragment, cast iron. 1.02 x 0.98 x 0.11 inches. 

2 Pot, kettle, or Dutch oven fragments, cast iron. Pieces refit to form part of the vessel body and base. 

Basal section retains a single inverted conical lug foot. The vessel body wall is stepped outward 11⁄2 

inches above the base and measures 0.08–0.12 inch thick. The floor of the vessel is slightly concave, dipping toward the center, and measures 0.12 inch thick. F113. 

1 Pot lid rim section, cast iron. Rim flares slightly outward and is slightly thickened. 0.10–0.17 inch 

thick with projected lid diameter of 111⁄2 to 12 inches. 

1 Coffee mill fragment, cast iron. Part of the crank housing. F120. Other fragments were found in 

X405 and X463. 

1 Bone fragment, unidentifiable. 12 mm long. 

1 Stoneware bottle fragment. Cream-colored interior, wheel-thrown. 0.36 x 0.19 x 0.16 inch. 

X465 

9 Seeds, unidentifiable. Possibly charred seeds. < 1 oz. 

1 Pebble, hematite. 13 mm in diameter. 
 146 

X466 

1 Toe plate, iron or steel. From trade gun or Plains rifle. Incised parallel lines around perimeter and 

decorated tip. Two countersunk 0.17-inch holes. 3.67 x 0.68 x 0.08 inches. F108. 

1 Rivet, ferrous, with attached triangular flat ferrous fragment. Latter may be a backing plate for the 

rivet, and it has been unifacially sharpened to form a triangular scraper/graver. 

3 Cut tacks, ferrous. Complete, 3⁄4 inch. 

7 Cut tacks, ferrous. Complete, 1⁄2 inch. 

1 Pebble, schist. 45 mm in diameter. 

X477 

1 Ball, lead. .32 cal., expended, with remnant ramrod mark. 

1 Trouser or vest buckle (Scott et al. 1989:190–191), ferrous wire. Identical to the buckle recovered 

in X463. F145. 

6 Mussel shell fragments, probable freshwater. All but one lack a hinge. The single partial hinge present suggests Unionidae (Murray and Leonard 1962). Largest fragment measures 31 mm in maximum dimension. F157. 

10 Curved glass fragments, blue-green. Probably from a patent medicine panel bottle. Excelsior, 

Windsor Oval, or Round-cornered Blake base (Fike 1987), concave side panel with no lettering. 

The base measures ± 1.80 inches wide and 1.20 inches deep. Three of the pieces refit. F146. 

7 Curved glass fragments, blue-green. The largest fragment measures 0.50 inch long. From F146 

bottle above. 

1 Glass fragment, colorless; has a 0.16-inch diameter. 

1 Pebble, hematite. 3 mm in diameter. 

4 Leather fragments. Largest measures 0.64 x 0.52 x 0.11 inch. 

3 Pebbles, schist. Largest measures 23 mm in diameter. 

5 Pebbles, limestone. Largest measures 15 mm in diameter. 

X478 

2 Pot or kettle fragments, cast iron. Refit with material from X448 (1 fragment). 

1 Kettle, pan, or Dutch oven lid section, cast iron. Projected diameter of intact lid is 11–12 inches. 

Exterior face of lip is slightly thickened. Similar to rim section recovered in X464. 0.12 inch thick. 

1 Lever or tab with lug, cast iron. Lever has finger grooves and appears to have pivoted on the lug, 

which has a 0.19-inch diameter. 1.07 x 0.42 x 0.29 inches. 

1 Bail for pot or kettle, ferrous. Intact and complete, with simple bent hook ends. Would have fit a 

small vessel the mouth of which had a ± 6-inch diameter. Bail measures 10 inches long and has a 

0.13-inch diameter. F128. 

1 Rod, ferrous. 12 inches long with a 0.13-inch diameter. F130. 

2 Stoneware bottle fragments that refit with material from X448, X462, X463, X464, and X478 to 

form most of an ale or beer bottle with cream-colored body and pale yellow ochre neck. 

3 Leather fragments. 0.04 oz. 

X480 

1 Scrap metal fragment, sheet tin. Possibly part of a cup. 2.47 x 1.57 x 0.02 inches. 

1 Ceramic bottle fragment similar to material from ale bottle found in X448, X462, X463, X464, and 

X478. No exterior or interior surface present. 0.57 inch long. 

7 Flakes, chert, fragmentary. Noncortical and possibly heat altered. One is a possible resharpening 

flake. Largest measures 22 x 21 x 3 mm. 

18 Flake fragments, chert. Burned. Largest measures 10 x 9 x 1 mm. 

1 Organic material sample, unidentified. < 0.1 oz. F109. 
 147 

Area 771: 500-Series Block Excavations 

X531 

26 Bullet buttons. Two-piece with a thin, strongly convex smooth brass front crimped around a steel core 

(Wyckoff 1984:64–65). Steel wire shank. All 26 have ± 0.43-inch diameters and measure approximately 0.15 inch front-to-back. None have visible manufacturer’s marks. Bullet buttons are generally 

considered to be of military origin, but their dates of manufacture and issue predate the Pawnee Fork 

village occupation by several decades (Johnson 1948:30–33). F173. 

2 Pebbles, sandstone. Larger measures 22 mm in diameter. 

X532 

3 Bullet buttons identical to those in X531. 

1 Tinkler, sheet tin. 0.97 x 0.30 inch at the wide end. 

X533 

3 Cut horseshoe nails, ferrous. Complete, No. 5; 17

/8 inches long. 

2 Scrap metal fragments, sheet brass; serrated cut edges; 2.0 x 0.75 x 0.02 and 1.94 x 0.63 x 0.02 inches. 

X546 

1 Scrap metal fragment, sheet brass. Serrated cut edge. 

6 Bullet buttons identical to those in X531. One is designated F176. 

1 Leather fragment. Irregular shape. 1.24 x 0.86 x 0.14 inches. 

1 Rifle sidelock screw, steel. Complete, flat head, slotted. Similar to Model 1855–1863 U.S. Springfield rifle. 11⁄2 x 1⁄4 inches. 

1 Wood screw, steel; complete, flat head, slotted; probably a stock mounting screw for rifle; No. 8 x 1 inch. 

1 Sear, steel. Probably from a percussion rifle. F175. 

1 Button fragment, brass. Front piece of a two-piece U.S. Army General Service type enlisted man’s 

button (Steffen 1979:42) with a line eagle device; has a 0.74-inch diameter. 

X547 

1 Washer, side screw, steel. From a lock screw, possibly that of a Plains rifle. Circular with a single 

tab. One face is stamped / 73 /. Measures 0.l53-inch o.d., 0.19-inch i.d. 

1 Scrap metal fragment, melted lead. < 1 oz. 

1 Scrap metal fragment, sheet brass. 0.94 x 0.71 x 0.02 inch. Part of F167. 

2 Scrap metal fragments, sheet tin. 2.18 x 0.19 x 0.02 inches and 0.43 x 0.41 x 0.02 inch. Part of F167. 

1 Bullet button. Same appearance and construction as those in X531 but has a 0.34-inch diameter and 

measures 0.25 inch front-to-back. No manufacturer’s mark. 

1 Wood screw, steel. Complete, flat head, slotted. Probably from a side or butt plate of a rifle. No. 6 x 

0.625 inch. 

1 Screw fragment, ferrous; has a ± 0.16-inch diameter. F169. 

24 Scrap metal fragments, sheet brass. Ragged cut edges. Largest measures 1.61 x 0.85 x 0.02 inches. 

2 Metal strap fragments, ferrous; refit to form a piece 0.43 inch wide, 1.38 inches long, 0.02 inches 

thick. 

1 Tinkler, sheet tin. 0.82 x 0.2 inches at the wide end. F168. 

1 Ball, lead; .32 cal., expended; has remnant ramrod mark and was fired from a smooth-bore weapon; F171. 

X548 

1 Leather fragment. 1 x 0.47 x 0.14 inches. 

X561 

2 Bullet buttons identical to those in X531. 

1 Cut horseshoe nail, ferrous. Complete, No. 6; 2 inches long. 

1 Machine screw, steel. Complete, slotted head. Probably from a pistol. 0.70 inch long x 0.14 inch. 

1 Pebble, sandstone. 14 mm in diameter. 

1 Tack fragment, brass. Smooth convex head, broken shank. Head diameter measures 0.34 inch. F177. 

1 Pebble. Raw material unknown. 14 mm in diameter. 
 148 

X562 

1 Flake fragment, chert. Heat altered and pot lidded. 12 x 8 x 4 mm. 

X563 

1 Sample, beads, melted. Blue glass (powdered) in soil matrix. 0.14 oz. 

1 Sample, beads, melted. Blue glass (powdered) in soil matrix. 0.06 oz. 

1 Scrap metal fragment, cast iron. 1.19 oz. 

Backdirt A771 

1 Cup handle fragment, tin. Edges are folded. 2.03 x 0.62 inches. 

1 Stoneware sherd. Cream-colored exterior with salt glaze. Interior has dark brown Albanese slip. 

Wheel-thrown. 1.06 x 0.84 x 0.28 inches. 

Area 772: 600-Series Block Excavations 

X649 

1 Center-bar buckle, ferrous. Rectangular with rounded corners and would probably have been used 

with a 0.75-inch or smaller belt or strap. Similar to military styles, it may be part of an equipment 

strap from a McClellan saddle (Scott et al. 1989:100–101), or part of a bridle or halter (Steffen 1978). 

1.87 x 1.30 x 0.36 inches. F187. 

1 Shell fragment, freshwater. Retains periostracum or epidermis (Murray and Leonard 1962:14) and is 

probably Unionidae. Rectanguloid in shape and possibly an unfinished shell pendant. 41 x 19 x 8 

mm. F188. 

1 Flake, pressure, chert. 7 x 4 x 1 mm. 

1 Ochre fragment. 2 mm in diameter. 

1 Curved glass fragment, amber bottle. Part of the Hostetter’s Bitters bottle that was also recovered in 

X650 and X651. Burned and partially melted. 22 mm in maximum dimension. 

X650 

2 Pebbles, quartz or feldspar (1), unknown (1). The larger measures 7 mm in diameter. 

1 Organic material sample, unidentified. Charred. < 0.1 oz. 

4 Wood fragments, cedar. The largest measures 26 x 7 x 2 mm. Three of the fragments are part of F189. 

1 Curved glass fragment, amber bottle. 0.42 x 0.22 x 0.15 inch. 

1 Curved glass fragment, amber bottle. Melted. 0.86 x 0.56 x 0.32 inch. 

1 Curved glass fragment, amber bottle. Ring/oil neck finish (Herskovitz 1978:5; Fike 1987:8). Refits 

with a larger finish fragment from X651 (F183). 0.90 inch tall, 0.74-inch i.d. F186. 

X651 

1 Curved glass fragment, amber bottle. Part of reconstructed ring/oil bottle finish described as F186 

from X651. F183. 

41 Curved glass fragments, amber bottle. Totally or partially melted. Includes body and body/neck 

fragments. The largest measures 1.83 x 1.65 x 0.20 inches. 

49 Curved glass fragments, amber bottle. Include neck, body, and body/base fragments. One fragment 

fits with reconstructed finish material in X649 (1 fragment) and X650 (1 fragment). This was part of

a large panel bottle with a French Square shape (Herskovitz 1978:4). The configuration and two fragments with embossed letters indicate that it is a bitters bottle, the front panel of which would have 

read DR. J. HOSTETTER’s STOMACH BITTERS. The presence of the embossed letters indicates a 

manufacture date of 1858 or later. The complete dimensions on the fragmentary bottle from 14NS403 

cannot be estimated, but would have ranged from 8.875 x 2.625 x 2.625 (Switzer 1974:30–35) to 9.5 

x 3 x 3 inches (Fike 1987:36). The largest fragment in this sample measures 2.08 x 1.49 x 0.20 inches. 

2 Curved glass fragments, amber bottle. The largest measures 0.51 x 0.30 x 0.15 inch. Probably part of

the Hostetter’s Bitters bottle described above. 

26 Curved glass fragments, amber bottle. Two are melted, and 24 are unmelted. The largest measures 

0.65 x 0.33 x 0.12 inch. Probably part of the bitters bottle described above. 

1 Tinkler, sheet tin. 29 mm long x 10 mm at the wide end. F182. 

1 Wood screw, steel. Complete, pan head slotted. No. 6 x 1⁄2 inch. F184. 

1 Wood screw, steel. Complete, flat head slotted. No. 8 x 3⁄4 inch. 
 149 

3 Pebbles, hematite/red ochre. The largest measures 7 mm in diameter. 

2 Burned earth fragments. The largest measures 13 mm in diameter. 

3 Burned earth/daub fragments. Gray to light tan clay with possible grass impressions. The largest 

measures 30 mm in maximum dimension. 

7 Hand grindstone/maul fragments, quartzite, burned. 2 fragments refit. The largest measures 31 mm 

in maximum dimension. 

1 Pot or kettle fragment, cast iron. 1.52 x 1.03 x 0.08 inches. 

5 Scrap metal fragments, sheet tin. The largest measures 0.91 by 0.73 by 0.02 inches and has a folded 

edge. It is possibly a fragment of a can or tin cup lip. 

1 Scrap metal fragment, sheet tin. 0.37 x 0.25 x 0.02 inches. 

1 Roller-bar buckle, ferrous. Rectangular. May have originally been a girth buckle or part of a stirrup 

strap or leather and would have been used with a 11⁄2-inch or smaller belt. 2 x 11⁄2 inches. F185. 

1 Button back and wire shank, brass. Probably part of a two-piece General Service-type enlisted man’s 

button (Steffen 1979:42) similar to those found elsewhere at the site. Has a 3⁄4-inch diameter with a 

1⁄2-inch-diameter stamped circle. No manufacturer’s mark. 

X652 

1 Curved glass fragment, amber bottle. Melted. Probably part of the Hostetter’s Bitters bottle found in 

X651. 0.76 x 0.53 x 0.15 inch. 

1 Scrap metal, melted brass. 0.19 oz. 

1 Machine screw fragment, steel. Round head slotted. Screw shank has a 1

/8-inch diameter. 

2 Tinklers, sheet tin. 20 x 5 mm and 24 x 6 mm. F193. 

5 Tinklers, sheet tin. 23–25 mm long, 5–6 mm wide. 

1 Cup handle fragment, sheet tin. Edges are folded. Missing attachment details at either end. Measures 3.6 x 0.68–0.39 x 0.07 inches. F192. 

9 Scrap metal fragments, sheet tin. The largest measures 1.13 x 1.01 x 0.02 inches. Three fragments 

have folded edges and may represent part of a cup or can rim. 

1 Cut sheet tin. D-shaped with two 0.125-inch holes. 1.19 x 0.90 x 0.02 inches. 

1 Cup handle, sheet tin. Edges are folded. Measures 1.15 x 0.49 x 0.07 inches. 

1 Button, brass; 3⁄4-inch diameter. Two-piece General Service-type enlisted man’s button (Steffen 

1979:42) with a wire shank on the back piece and a line eagle device on the convex front piece. Back 

piece has a stamped circle 1⁄2 inch in diameter but no manufacturer’s mark. F194. 

1 Button, brass. Two-piece General Service-type enlisted man’s button (Steffen 1979:42). Identical to 

F194 above. 

1 Button, ferrous. Four-hole, one-piece pressed metal. Some black residue (paint?) adhering to the 

front. The holes have been punched in the depressed center portion of the button. 0.66-inch diameter 

(26 lignes). F195. 

7 Maul fragments, granite. All seven fragments refit to form most of a maul manufactured from a 

stream cobble. Heavy pecking over the blunted posterior end of the hammer, with a 15-mm-wide 

shallow groove pecked transversely across part of one side to facilitate a haft. The tool is fire-cracked 

and charred at one end. The complete tool would have measured approximately 100 x 75 x 55. The 

haft groove is approximately 2 mm deep. 

15 Maul fragments, granite. Fire-cracked, and probably part of the above implement. The largest measures 67 x 45 x 19 mm. 

3 Pebbles, sandstone (1), unidentified (2). The largest measures 15 mm in diameter. 

3 Stone fragments, granite. Two are probably part of the above maul. The largest measures 17 mm in 

maximum dimension. 

X653 

13 Pot or kettle fragments, cast iron. Largest measures 1.99 x 1.28 x 0.06 inches. 

2 Pot or kettle fragments, cast iron. Larger measures 0.34 x 0.22 x 0.08 inch. 

1 Cut nail, ferrous. Complete, 4d. 
 150 

1 Cup handle fragment, sheet tin. Has rolled or folded edges. Missing attachment details at either end. 

Probably part of a Civil War-type cup. Handle measures 1.04–0.28 inches wide. Strap is curved but 4 

inches long. F216. 

5 Scrap metal fragments, sheet tin. One piece is tightly rolled and measures 1.76 inches long. Otherwise, the largest fragment measures 1.37 x 1.05 x 0.01 inches. 

8 Scrap metal fragments, sheet tin. Largest measures 0.73 x 0.42 x 0.02 inch and has a folded edge. 

1 Bullet button. Two-piece and identical to those recovered from X531, A771. 0.43-inch diameter. 

Steel core is rusted. No manufacturer’s mark is visible. 

2 Buttons, ferrous. four-hole, one-piece pressed. Holes have been punched in the depressed centers of

the buttons. Edges have been rolled onto the back face of the button. Buttons have diameters of 0.56 

to 0.58 inches (22–23 lignes). 

4 Maul fragments, granite, fire-cracked. Probably part of the same tool recovered in X652. The largest 

fragment measures 37 mm in maximum dimension. 

2 Abrader/grindstone fragments, fine-grained sandstone. Refit to form one larger fragment with adjacent ground faces separated by a faceted edge. Largest measures 53 x 31 x 24 mm. 

1 Charcoal fragment. < 0.01 oz. 

1 Daub fragment. Gray clay. 9 mm in diameter. 

1 Burned organic material sample. Unidentified. 0.04 oz. 

1 Burned siliceous material sample. Unidentified. < 0.01 oz. 

X654 

6 Scrap metal fragments, sheet tin. One fragment has a section of folded edge and may be part of a cup 

or can rim. Largest measures 0.85 x 0.37 x 0.02 inch. 

2 Pebbles, fine-grained sandstone. Possibly part of the abrader/grindstone fragments found in X653. 

The largest measures 12 mm in diameter. 

1 Daub fragment. Gray clay. 9 x 6 x 5 mm. 

3 Pebbles, fine-grained sandstone. May be part of abrader/grindstone found in X653. Largest measures 

15 mm in diameter. 

X666 

3 Crank fragments, cast iron. Probably part of a coffee mill or grinder similar to that recovered in A771 

X463. Handle is S-shaped in plan view, flat on the underside, and ribbed on the upper side. The outer 

end has a 0.20-inch diameter shaft and washer for a knob (missing). The inner end has a ± 0.32-inch 

square hole that would have held the shaft that fit into the mill hopper. The crank measures 51⁄2 inches 

long by 0.43 inch wide by 0.28 inch thick. F197. 

5 Curved glass fragments, amber bottle. Basal and side fragments are present. Three pieces refit and 

form part of the same Hostetter’s Bitters bottle found in A772 X651. Largest fragment measures 2.6 

x 2.16 x 0.12 inches. 

4 Curved glass fragments, amber bottle. Additional pieces of the same Hostetter’s Bitters bottle found 

in A772 X651. Largest measures 0.50 x 0.29 x 0.16 inch. 

1 Grommet, brass, two-piece. Both halves are still pressed together. 9

/16-inch o.d. x 7/32-inch i.d. 

63 Scrap metal fragments, sheet tin. Largest measures 2.19 x 1.13 x 0.02 inches. 

15 Maul fragments, granite, fire-cracked. Additional pieces of the tool recovered in X652. Refit into 5 

larger pieces, the largest of which measures 52 mm in maximum dimension. 

8 Maul fragments, granite. Probably part of the same tool recovered in X652. The largest measures 12 

mm in maximum dimension. 

1 Pebble, schist. Measures 1.43 x 1.01 x 0.45 inches. 

8 Pebbles, schist. The largest measures 19 mm in diameter. 

12 Pebbles, limestone, burned. Largest measures 16 mm in diameter. 

1 Pebble, limestone, eroded. 21 mm in diameter. 

1 Burned earth. Gray-black, < 1.0 oz. 

1 Bone fragment, burned. Unidentifiable. 
 151 

X667 

1 Button, brass. Two-piece General Service-type enlisted man’s button (Steffen 1979:42) with a wire 

shank and a 3

/8-inch stamped ring on the back piece. No other visible back marks. 3⁄4-inch diameter 

and similar to that illustrated in Tice (1997: Plate D-14:10). F198. 

3 Button fragments, brass. Two-piece probable General Service-type enlisted men’s buttons (Steffen 

1979:42) with 3

/8-inch stamped rings on back pieces. One is partially melted. All three lack shanks 

and front pieces and all have ± 3⁄4-inch diameters. F199. 

1 Cobble fragment, quartzite. Partially cortical with one flake scar. Possibly part of a stone maul. F201. 

63 mm in maximum dimension. 

1 Cobble fragment, quartzite. Cortical and fire-cracked. 62 mm in maximum dimension. 

3 Cobble fragments, granite, fire-cracked. Probably part of the maul found in adjacent X652. Largest 

measures 47 mm in maximum dimension. 

2 Pebbles, schist. Largest measures 22 mm in diameter. F217 fill. 

1 Scrap metal fragment, sheet tin. 1.0 x 0.56 x 0.03 inch. F217 fill. 

3 Wire fragments, ferrous. 0.07-inch diameter, and possibly part of handles for Civil War Type 1 cups 

(Hedren 1992). The largest measures 7 inches long with wrapped sheet tin adhering. F202. 

10 Cup or can rim or bottom fragments, sheet tin, with folded edges. Largest measures 2.73 x 0.82 x 

0.02 inches. 

29 Cup or can body fragments, sheet tin. Largest measures 0.93 x 085 x 0.02 inch. Part of F202. 

1 Button shank, brass wire. 0.06-inch diameter and probably part of a General Service-type military 

button. Part of F199. 

4 Pebble fragments, granite. Possibly part of the maul found in X652. Largest measures 13 mm in diameter. 

22 Pebbles, schist. Largest measures 18 mm in diameter. 

12 Can or cup rim or base fragments, sheet tin, with folded edges. The longest measures 1.58 inches. 

61 Can or cup body fragments, sheet tin. Largest measures 0.87 x 0.50 x 0.02 inch. 

9 Can or cup rim or base fragments, sheet tin. Largest measures 2.6 x 1.9 x 0.02 inches. 

11 Can or cup body fragments, sheet tin. Largest measures 1.07 x 0.97 x 0.02 inches. 

3 Wire fragments, ferrous. Possibly part of tin cup strap handles. The largest has sheet tin wrapped 

around it and is 2.83 inches long. Wire fragments have 0.06–0.07-inch diameters. 

4 Scrap metal fragments, sheet tin. All measure ± 0.60 inch wide and 0.03 inch thick. The largest 

measures 2.37 inches long. 

24 Cup or can rim/base fragments, sheet tin. Largest has a 0.6-inch diameter. 

1 Cup or can rim/body fragment, sheet tin. 1.75 x 1.24 x 0.02 inches. F212. 

1 Wire/base fragment cup or can, ferrous. Sheet tin is wrapped around 0.09-inch diameter wire. From 

a vessel with a ± 5-inch diameter. F212. 

3 Strap fragments, sheet ferrous. All measure ± 0.60 inches wide and 0.03 inches thick. The largest 

measures 4.27 inches long. 

2 Strap fragments, sheet ferrous. Doubled over and fastened with single ferrous rivets that have a 0.20-

inch diameter. The larger fragment measures 1.37 x 0.60 x 0.06 inches. 

2 Cup handle fragments, sheet tin. Possibly part of Civil War-type cups. Edges are folded. The larger 

measures 3.79 inches long by 1.11–0.46 inches wide. Smaller measures 1.93 by 0.40 inches wide 

and is untapered. No remaining wire or rivet fasteners. F211. 

1 Cut nail, ferrous. Complete, 5d. 

1 Cut nail fragment, ferrous. No measurement possible. 

1 Cut nail fragment, ferrous. Complete, 6d. Tip is split and ends are bent like a cotter pin. 

2 Scrap metal fragments, lead. Melted. < 0.5 oz. 

5 Daub fragments. Gray-black burned clay with grass or stick impressions. The largest measures 34 

mm in maximum dimension and 0.53 oz. Found at 0–10 cmbs level. 

— Beads, glass. Melted, probably blue. < 0.01 oz. 

2 Pebbles, limestone. Burned. The larger measures 10 mm in diameter. 
 152 

1 Charcoal, wood sample. < 0.05 oz. 

1 Leather fragment. Measures 0.76 x 0.52 x 0.07 inch. 

1 Ochre fragment, red. < 0.01 oz. 

1 Cut tack or nail, ferrous. Complete. 0.5 inch. 

— Beads, glass. Melted, probably blue. < 0.01 oz. 

1 Burned earth sample. 0.03 oz. 

1 Burned earth sample. 0.45 oz. 

— Beads, glass. Melted blue. < 0.01 oz. F200. 

1 Burned earth sample. 0.13 oz. 

1 Burned organic sample. Unidentified. 0.04 oz. 

1 Charcoal, wood sample. < 1 oz. 

X668 

1 Pull ring, ferrous. From a tin pot pint boiler. 0.83-inch diameter. F215. 

2 Buttons, ferrous. four-hole one-piece pressed metal with holes punched into center depression. 

Edges are folded. 0.67-inch diameter (27 lignes) with adhering black paint. F213. 

1 Button, hard rubber. One piece, convex, missing loop on back. F213. 0.38-inch diameter (15 lignes); 

0.22 inches front to back. 

— Beads, glass. Melted, probably blue seed. < 0.01 oz. 

— Wood fragments. Burned. < 0.01 oz. 

15 Pebbles, schist. Largest measures 21 mm in maximum dimension. 

1 Abrader fragment, fine-grained sandstone. Has large flat adjacent ground surfaces. 52 mm in maximum dimension. F214. 

1 Abrader fragment, fine-grained sandstone. Has four ground surfaces and is possibly part of the previous artifact. 74 mm in maximum dimension. 

6 Cut nails, ferrous. Complete, 4d. 

1 Cut nail fragment, ferrous. No measurement possible. 

X681 

1 Bone fragment, burned. Unidentifiable. 

1 Pebble, schist. 15 mm in diameter. 

1 Burned earth fragment. Black. < 0.1 inch. 

1 Scrap metal fragment, sheet tin. 0.37 x 0.31 x 0.02 in. 

1 Wood fragment. Partially burned. < 0.01 oz. 

1 Charcoal sample. < 0.05 oz. 

X682 

1 Button, white glass; four-hole with depressed center exterior. 0.40-inch diameter (16 lignes). F209. 

1 Scrap metal, brass, melted. Has remnant brass rivet with ± 0.175-inch diameter. 0.75 oz. F209. 

1 Button, brass. Probably the remains of a two-piece General Service-type enlisted man’s or officer’s 

button (Steffen 1979:42). The back piece has wire shank, stamped inner ring with a 0.42-inch 

diameter and is itself 0.71 inches in diameter. The fragmentary front piece has remnant of a line 

eagle device. F210. 

2 Wire fragments, ferrous. The larger measures 8.5 inches long. Both have a 0.08-inch diameter. 

1 Cut brad or nail, ferrous. Complete, 3⁄4 inch. 

2 Wire fragments, ferrous; with 0.06–0.07-inch diameter; the larger fragment measures 2 inches long. 

5 Can or cup rim or base fragments, sheet tin. Have folded edges. The largest has sheet tin wrapped 

around wire, may be part of a strap handle and measures 31⁄2 inches long. 

2 Can or cup body fragments, sheet tin. The larger fragment measures 0.94 x 0.46 x 0.02 inch. 

1 Cut nail fragment, ferrous. 0.91 inch long. 

— Beads, glass. Melted and probably blue seed. < 0.01 oz. 

1 Ochre sample. < 0.01 oz. 

2 Pebbles, schist. Larger measures 8 mm in maximum dimension. 
 153 

1 Burned earth sample. Black. < 0.05 oz. 

1 Charcoal, wood sample. < 0.01 oz. 

Other 

14NS403-409 and -410; surface; Jones 7/7/77. 

2 Limestone fragments, heat-altered, fine-grained. Each fragment has 6 to 10 randomly incised grooves 

that might represent whetstone fragments. The larger fragment measures 76 mm in maximum dimension. 

14NS403-1079; surface, west side of site near power line; Jones 8/4/77. 

1 Strap fragment, ferrous. Has a ± 0.18-inch diameter ferrous rivet and part of an ovate stamped hole. 

Measures 2.8 x 0.73 x 0.05 inches. 

14NS403; no provenience. 

1 Cut horseshoe nail, ferrous, complete. 2.26 inches long. 
 154 
 155 

Appendix D: Artifactual Material from 14NS403 — The Monger Collection 

The following represents a description of all of the artifacts in the Monger Collection that were provided to the author by Fort Larned National Historic Site. Some of these materials had, in addition to a 

bag provenience, information contained on an enclosed tag. All of this provenience information has been 

provided verbatim. The last part of this list includes Monger Collection material on display in a standing 

exhibit at Fort Larned NHS headquarters, artifacts that were not provided to the author for analysis. 

All of the Monger Collection materials from 14NS403 are curated at Fort Larned NHS under Accession 411. Monger’s artifact collection from the historic dugout feature at the village site, described elsewhere as the buffalo hunters’ camp, is curated at the Santa Fe Trail Center Museum in Larned, Kansas. 

Bag Provenience Tag Provenience n Description 

14NS403, east and 

west mesa, 3-22-76 

From Supposed site of 

Cheyenne Village 

Burned By Hancock 

Apr 1867 

24 

11 

1 

Tin can fragments. 

Cast-iron kettle fragments. 

Rectangular roller buckle, 11⁄4 x 1 inches. 

 Bill Henry on 3/22/76 1 Fragment of center clip for a singletree. Possibly modified at 

one end. 

 1 Sheet iron strip, 4 x 11⁄2 inches, possibly modified to convex 

scraper edge at one end. 

 1 Cup handle, Civil War type, large, rolled edge with wire, rivet at 

narrow bottom end. 

 1 Cup handle, Civil War type, small, rolled edge with no visible 

wire. Bottom and top attachment unclear. 

14NS403, Area B, 

8/11/76 

14NS403, Area B, 

Metal Detector, 

8-11-76, 17 pieces 

13 Cup fragments, Civil War type. One base has 4-inch diameter. 

One detached handle fragment has edges rolled over wire with 

rivet at narrow bottom end. 

 8-14-76, 14NS403, 

Area B 

1 Iron wedge, possibly modified pickaxe fragment. Hammered 

and mushroomed at one end. 7 x 11⁄4 inches wide at tip. 

 14NS403, State dig 

area 771, our area 761, 

found on backdirt pile, 

Sept 15 1977, Elmore, 

Mongers 

1 

1 

2 

1 

1 

Tang screw from musket. 2 inches long. 

Leather fragment. 

Rock fragments (indeterminate). 

Copper or brass fragment. 

Prosser-molded button, four-hole sew-through, 0.54-inch diameter, 22 lignes. 

 8-11-76, 14NS403, 

Area B 

1 Civil War-type cup, crushed. Estimated 3 inches tall. Attached 

handle has edges rolled over wire that attaches at rim. Lower 

attachment is not visible. 

 8-15-76, 14NS403, 

Area B 

1 Sheet metal pot or kettle lid with D-handle. 

 14NS403 Area 764 

West Mesa, Metal 

Detector, 3/26/76 

— Civil War-type cup handle and fragments. Estimated 21⁄2 inches 

high. 

8-15-76, 14NS403, 

Area B 

1 Lid/bottom of baking soda can; estimated 23

/8 inches in diameter. 

 3/26/76, 14NS403, East 

Mesa 

1 Lid/bottom of baking soda can; estimated 23

/8 inches in diameter. 

 8-14-76, 14NS403, 

Area B 

1 Type 2 Civil War cup (Hedren 1992) minus handle; estimated 3 

inches tall. 
 156 

Bag Provenience Tag Provenience n Description 

 8-14-76, 14NS403, 

Area B 

1 Cup handle, Civil War type; edges rolled over wire, rivet hole at 

narrow end. 

 8-14-76, 14NS403, 

Area B 

1 Possible cup bottom; estimated 4 inches in diameter. 

14NS403, north of ... , 

East Island, 12-09-75, 

Henry 

East Island Mesa, Discovery of Site, 12-09-

75, Acc. 411 

1 Baking soda can lid; estimated 23

/8 inches in diameter. 

 4 Cast-iron kettle fragments. 

 4 Tin can fragments. 

 1 Ferrous strap, 3⁄4 inch wide, crushed. 

 1 Ferrous ferrule from neck yoke. 

14NS-3, West Island ... 

north of TT-1, 12-09-

75, Metal Detector, 

Henry 

14NS403, West Island 

Mesa, discovery of site, 

12-09-75, Acc. 411 

1 Baking soda can lid, estimated 21

/8 inches in diameter. 

 3 Cast-iron kettle fragments. 

 10 Tin can fragments. 

 1 Ferrous scissors handle fragment. 

 1 Heavy ferrous strap fragments (n=2). 

 1 Indeterminate cast-iron fragment. 

 9-10-76, 14NS403, 

Area A 

1 Tin plate, Civil War type. 

 8-14-76, 14NS403, 

Area B 

1 Leg and base of cast-iron pot or kettle. 

 6-27-76, 14NS403, 

Area 762 

1 Melted glass, aqua. 

 9-12-76, 14NS403 1 Ferrous metal ring with raised edge. Possible can fragment. 

 8-14-76, 14NS403 1 Strap iron strip modified to convex scraper edge at one end. 

11⁄4 inches wide x 11⁄2 inches long. 

 8-14-76, 14NS403, 

Area B 

1 Melted lead or pot metal. 

 8-14-76, 14NS403 1 Melted lead or pot metal. 

 8-14-76, 14NS403, 

Area B 

1 Ferrous strap, 1⁄2 inch wide. 

 8-15-76, 14NS403, 

Area B 

1 Civil War-type cup, crushed. Estimated 23

/8 inches tall. 

 3-26-76, 14NS403, 

East Mesa 

1 Chisel point cut nail, 21⁄2 inches long; No. 12 or 16. 

14NS403 Area 762 6-27-76, X507 2 Flat glass fragments. Probable window glass. Larger measures 

12 by 7 mm, and both are 1.38 mm thick. 

 1 Curved glass fragment, colorless. Probable bottle fragment. 

Measures 13 x 10 x 2 mm. 

 1 Bone fragment, unidentifiable. Probable tooth enamel from an 

ungulate. 10 x 6 x 1 mm. 

 13 Pebbles, limestone. Unmodified. Largest measures 19 x 17 x 5 

mm. 
 157 

Bag Provenience Tag Provenience n Description 

 2 Pebbles, quartz. Stream-rolled and unmodified. ± 5 mm in 

diameter. 

 1 Pebble, silicified wood. Unmodified. Measures 18 x 16 x 8 mm. 

 1 Flake, jasper. Complete and noncortical with a resharpening 

platform. Probably a pressure flake. Measures 10 x 8 x 1 mm. 

 6 Flake fragments, various raw materials; two possible Alibates 

chert, 2 jasper. All are noncortical and appear to be pressure 

flakes, probably resharpening or thinning. Largest measures 11 

x 8 x 1 mm. 

14NS403 Area 771 10-19-77, X201 8 Limestone pebbles. Largest is 27 mm in maximum dimension. 

 1 Pink chert pressure flake; 5 mm long. 

14NS403 Area 771 10-21-77, X279 1 Fragment, green bottle glass; 0.37-inch diameter. 

 7 Limestone pebbles. Largest is 14 mm in diameter. 

 1 Hematite fragment. 5 mm in diameter 

14NS403 Area 771 10-26-77, X282 6" Level 2 Green glass fragments. Larger is 0.82 inch long. 

 1 Amber glass fragment. 0.92 inch long. 

14NS403 Area 771 10-27-77, X288 1 Ferrous scrap. Probable tin canister. 1.1 inches long. 

 1 Shell fragment. Probable freshwater mussel. 

 2 Bone fragments, unidentifiable. Larger is 12 mm long. 

 3 Flake fragments. Largest is 20.9 mm long, smallest is a pressure flake 5 mm long. 

 2 Pottery sherds reportedly sent to James Gunnerson, Lincoln, 

Nebraska, on 12-24-77. 

14NS403 Area 771 11-4-77, X294 1 Pottery sherd, gray with mica or schist temper. 17 mm long x 8 

mm thick. Probable Dismal River Ware. 

 2 Chert flake fragments. Larger measures 16 mm in maximum 

dimension. 

 2 Possible chert flake fragments. Larger measures 15 mm long. 

 1 Possible hematite fragment. 

 1 Limestone pebble. 

14NS403 Area 771 11-13-77; X300 1 Colorless glass fragment, 0.49 inch long. 

 3 Limestone pebbles. 

14NS403 Area 771 11-13-77, 

X126 J (?) & M 

2 Flake fragments, jasper. Larger is partially cortical and measures 31 mm long. Light incidental retouch or use wear. 

 8 Sandstone fire-cracked rocks. Largest has a 96-mm diameter. 
 158 

Monger Collection Materials on Display at Fort Larned National Historic Site 

Firearms, Weapons 

1 Lock, percussion rifle, steel; marked / P. S. ... / Warranted /. Hanson (1960:113) indicates that this 

lock was a common mid-19th-century component of trade guns and was manufactured by P. S. Justice. 

1 Tumbler, steel. 

1 Trigger plate and lever latch, steel. From a Starr carbine. 

1 Hammer, revolver, steel. Probably from a Remington pistol. 

1 .50-70 cal. cartridge case, brass. 

1 .56-50 cal. cartridge case, brass. 

1 Bullet, lead. Caliber unknown. 

1 Percussion cap tin, ferrous. Complete. The lid reads / Ely Bros. / London /. 

4 Arrowheads, ferrous. All appear to be handmade of sheet iron or steel. Three are triangular and 

stemmed. The fourth may be a blank. 

Military Equipment 

3 Buttons, brass. Two-piece General Service coat-sized. 

6 Buttons, brass. Two-piece General Service cuff or forage cap strap-sized. 

1 Shoulder scale, brass. Crushed. 

1 Civil War-type cup, ferrous. Crushed. 

1 Canteen, ferrous. Crushed with bullet or pickaxe hole. Possible smooth-sided pattern. 

Clothing, Personal Items 

5 Buttons, trouser, ferrous, four-hole. Two are dished, while three are stamp-decorated with scallops or 

stars around the rims. 

11 Beads, pound. White 

12 Beads, pound. Red. 

1 Bead, pound. Red/white-heart. 

96 Beads, seed. Green or turquoise (n = 56) and white (n = 40) on a string. 

63 Beads, seed. White (n = 32) and green (n = 31) on a string. 

Camp Equipage, Utensils 

— Dutch oven or skillet fragments, cast iron with embossed letters. One group bears / G.F.F ... ey / ... 

is No /. The second set has three illegible letters over / St. Louis / 6 /. The first group is attributed to 

Gilles Filley, a merchant in St. Louis who resold goods. Noble (1997:23) and Scott (2001) determined that Filley was a prominent St. Louis importer and entrepreneur from the 1840s into the 1860s. 

The second set of fragments are probably from a Filley import as well. 

1 Strike steel, ferrous. Complete. 

Tools 

1 Scraper, iron. Appears similar in shape to a carpenter’s plane blade but has a rounded cutting and 

scraping edge. 

1 Scraper fragment, iron. Rectangular with hole in one end. 

1 Scythe blade, ferrous. Appears to have been modified. 

2 Knives, ferrous. Fragmentary, but both are probably modified butcher knives. One has 5 bolster 

holes in the tang. 

Horses, Horse Tack 

1 Mule shoe, ferrous. 

2 Horseshoe nails, ferrous. Size unknown. 

3 Center-bar buckles, ferrous. Rectangular. 

1 Roller buckle, ferrous. Rectangular with ferrous roller. 

1 Ring, ferrous, with ferrous saddle staple. 

Other 

5 Projectile points, chipped stone. All are small, triangular arrowpoints, some with side notches, others 

unnotched. All are probably late prehistoric and are most likely related to the Dismal River component identified at 14NS403. 
 159 

Appendix E: Artifactual Material from 14NS403 — The Frusher Collection 

The village on Pawnee Fork has also undergone collection by Mr. Tom Frusher of Ness City, Kansas, 

who, like Earl Monger, employed a metal detector to identify the locations of buried metal artifacts at 

14NS403, then excavated them. Mr. Frusher began collecting at the site in 1993 and continued for several 

years. On May 2, 2001, Mr. Frusher graciously permitted Midwest Archeological Center Archeologists 

Douglas D. Scott and Thomas D. Thiessen to examine his collection, photograph several of the artifacts, 

and make brief notes regarding the nature of the materials. The artifacts inventoried by Scott and Thiessen are as follows: 

Firearms, Weapons 

Cartridges 

2 .45 cal. Colt commercial centerfire. Post-1873, and postdate the village occupation. 

1 .45-70 cal. Benet-primed centerfire. Complete and fired (dud). 

1 .50-70 cal. Benet-primed centerfire. 1873, and postdates the village occupation. Unfired. 

1 .50-70 cal. Martin-primed centerfire. Patented in 1871, and postdates the village occupation. 

Bullets, Balls 

1 .30-06 cal. bullet, military. Modern. 

1 .44 cal. bullet. 

1 .44 cal. Colt-style bullet. Possibly fired, but no rifling marks. 

1 .44 cal. bullet, expended. Has seven deeply incised lands and grooves with a right-hand twist, and 

bears a possible Remington loading tool mark. 

1 .44 cal. ball, expended. No rifling marks. 

1 .44 cal. ball, slightly deformed. 

1 .44 or .45 cal. bullet, modern. 

1 .50 cal. bullet, fired from a Sharps rifle or carbine. Has six lands and grooves with a right-hand twist. 

1 .50 cal. bullet, expended and mushroomed. 

1 .50 cal. bullet, possibly for a Spencer. Cast. 

2 .52 cal. Sharps bullets. Tie-base. 

6 .52 cal. Sharps bullets, two-ring. Cast. 

1 .58 cal. Minie ball. Possibly modern. Cast. 

Cartridge Cases 

2 .44 cal. Ballard rimfire. 

3 .44 cal. rimfire with torn rims. Unexpended. 

1 .50 cal. Gallagher. 

2 .50 cal. Maynard centerfire. Heads only. 1873, and postdate the site. 

1 .50-70 cal. centerfire with a bar anvil primer. Fired in a Sharps rifle or carbine. 

19 .50-70 cal. centerfire with bar anvil primers. Expended. 

6 .50-70 cal. centerfire with Benet-primers. Expended. 

15 .56-50 cal. rimfire with S. A. W. headstamps. Expended. 

1 .56-50 cal. rimfire with a J. G. headstamp. Expended. 

7 .56-50 cal. rimfire with no headstamps. Expended. 

14 .56-56 cal. rimfire with no headstamps. Torn rims. 

6 .56-50 or .56-56 cal. rimfire with S. A. W. headstamps. All have holes pierced through the cartridge heads. 

3 .56-50 or .56-56 cal. rimfire with no headstamps. All have holes pierced through the cartridge heads. 

1 .56-50 or .56-56 cal. rimfire with a S. A. W. headstamp. Unexpended with a peeled-back mouth. 

1 .56-50 or .56-56 cal. rimfire with no headstamp. 

1 .56-50 or .56-56 cal. rimfire. Unexpended. 

Percussion Caps 

1 Percussion cap, expended. Musket size with a straight skirt. 
 160 

Other 

8 Lead, melted. 

1 Trigger guard, brass. From a Plains-style rifle. 

1 Pistol barrel, steel, with loading rod. Manhattan Firearms Mfg. Co., 1840–1870. The serial number is 

either 22886 or 22836. 

 1 Bayonet, British Enfield, steel. 1853 pattern. Some bluing remaining. 

1 Escutcheon plate, rifle. German silver. 

1 Sear, steel. Large. It could come from a military weapon, or perhaps from a trade gun. 

1 Gun screw, steel, with a slightly rounded head. Possibly from a military musket. 

4 Arrowheads, iron. Three are unfinished. 

3 Sheet iron fragments, roughly triangular. Possible blanks for arrowheads. 

2 Knives, ferrous, standard butchering. Measure approximately 91⁄2 inches long overall with wooden 

slab handles. 

1 Knife, ferrous, standard butchering. Wooden slab handles. Worn down to 8 inches in length. 

1 Knife, ferrous, skinning. Measures 7 inches long overall with wooden slab handle and two bolsters. 

1 Knife, ferrous, clipped point. Measures 4.5 inches in length. 

1 Knife tip, ferrous. 

1 Double-edged blade, iron. Diamond-shaped in cross section with a hole in the tang. The blade measures 16 inches long, and the tang is 4 inches long. Probably used as a lance point and similar in style 

to Russell (1967:332, Fig. 86e). 

Military Equipment 

1 Eagle insignia, brass. For a Hardee hat, 1855 pattern. Wires on reverse. 

1 Brass ‘A’ measuring 1 inch tall by 11

/8 inches wide. 

7 Buttons, brass. Two-piece, small General Service. Five were found in one pile. One button has a 

/ SCOVILL & CO. / EXTRA FINE / backmark. Another has an illegible backmark, while the rest 

have no backmarks. These are typical Civil War and Scovill Company backmark types dating from 

1830 to the post-Civil War era (Tice 1997:142). 

5 Buttons, brass. Two-piece, large General Service. Backmarks include / SCOVILL WATERBURY / 

(n = 1); / EXTRA QUALITY / with three dots on either side of a four-leaf clover (n = 3); and 

/ EXTRA QUALITY / with three or five stars (n = 1). 

2 Buttons, ball/bullet, ferrous/brass. 7

/16-inch diameter. 

1 Canteen stopper, 1858 Pattern. 

1 Civil War-type cup, ferrous. Fragmentary. 

1 Civil War-type cup, ferrous. Crushed. 

11 Civil War-type cup handles, ferrous. 

1 Boiler lid, ferrous. Measures 7 inches in diameter. 

1 Swivel hook, ferrous. Similar to one on a military carbine sling, but smaller. 

1 Tampion tip or drawer pull, ferrous. 

1 Picket pin head fragment, ferrous. Figure-8 shape. 

Clothing, Personal Items 

1 Buckle, vest or suspender, ferrous. 11⁄4 inches wide. 

1 Hook, brass. Belt adjustment, 2 inches long. 

1 Drawer pull escutcheon plate, white metal. 

3 Bracelets, brass wire. 

2 Harmonica tone plates, brass. 

11 Tinklers, small brass (n = 5) and ferrous (n = 6). 

1 Hook, brass. For a leather belt or rifle sling. 3 inches long. 

1 Button, brass. Decorative. 

1 Button, brass. Plain two-piece, 3

/8-inch diameter. 

2 Buttons, ferrous trouser, four-hole. 

5 Buttons, ferrous, four-hole. 

1 Ferrule tip, brass. Perhaps from a pencil or a feather plume. 

1 Ferrule, ferrous. Possibly a plume tip. 
 161 

1 Sheet brass, crimped-over with perforations along one curved edge. Decorative. 

12 Sheet brass fragments, cut scrap. 

2 Sheet ferrous fragments with holes. Decorative, and formerly from can lids. 

Camp Equipage, Utensils 

1 Fork, iron. Three-tine. 

1 Spoon fragment, ferrous. Handle broken from bowl. 

1 Hook, ferrous. Heavy wire. Measures 6 inches long and modified to form a point on one end. 

1 S-hook, ferrous. Heavy wire. Measures 2 inches long. 

16 Hangers, ferrous, heavy wire; measures 4.5 inches long with a 1

/8-inch diameter. Clipped and bent 

into an S-shape and recovered in the area of the buffalo hunters’ camp. Probably for game processing, but could be used for hanging gear. 

2 Hangers, ferrous. Wire bent into W-shapes. From the buffalo hunters’ camp. 

2 Levers, ferrous. Fragmentary. 

1 Frying pan handle, cast iron. Possibly modified into a scraper. Flattened and filed to an edge on one end. 

1 Pan handle, cast iron. Possible end fragment. 

1 Handle, cast iron. Fragmentary with a D-shaped hole. 

2 Coffee mill stems, cast iron. Fragmentary. 

1 Cap, cast iron. Possible coffee mill fragment. 

1 Handle fragment, ferrous. 

1 Handle, ferrous wire. Twisted. 

1 Grommet, brass. Measures 1⁄2 inch in diameter. 

1 Frying pan, cast iron; handle missing; diameter is 10 inches; it was found near the buffalo hunters’ camp. 

1 Kettle fragment, cast iron. 

22 Kettle fragments, cast iron. Various shapes and sizes. 

31 Scrap ferrous fragments, miscellaneous. 

1 Container, ferrous. Fragmentary, possibly a bucket. 

1 Angle brace, iron. 

1 Forged iron fragment. 

1 Leather fragment. 

4 Scissors fragments, steel. Parts of two separate scissors. 

Tools 

1 Axe head, iron with a steel bit. Measures 51⁄2 inches long. 

1 Iron fragment, pointed with two smooth surfaces and a slight curve. Possibly an awl. 

1 Knife, ferrous, draw. Bears an illegible mark. 

1 Scraper, iron. Made from flattened iron flintlock trade musket barrel. Incised line decoration around 

the barrel. Measures 12 inches long. 

3 Iron fragments modified into scrapers. They measure 13

/16 inches wide. 

1 Scrap ferrous fragment with a sharpened edge. Possibly a scraper. 

1 Cast-iron bar, modified to a point on one end. 

1 Whetstone, fine-grained sandstone. 

Horses, Horse Tack 

1 Halter square, brass. 

1 Halter stud. 

3 Bit fragments, ferrous. 

2 Snaffle bits. 

1 Snaffle or watering bit, homemade. 

1 Cinch buckle (?), iron. 

1 Cinch ring, ferrous. D-shaped. 

6 Harness rings, iron, various sizes. 

1 D-ring, iron. Large. 

11 Roller buckles, iron. Various sizes. 

8 Center-bar buckles, iron. Rectangular in various sizes. 
 162 

1 Harness device, decorative. Mexican or Spanish coscojo (Adams et al. 2000: 67). 

1 Rein holder, nickel-plated ferrous. Postdates the village occupation. 

1 Sideline chain segment with a repair link, iron. Probable part of a horse hobble. 

1 Toggle, iron. Possibly from a watering chain. 

1 Chain link fragment, iron. Repaired. 

1 Wagon bow staple, ferrous with green paint. Modern. 

1 Wagon brace, ferrous with green paint. Modern. 

1 Clevis, ferrous, wagon part. Recovered from near the buffalo hunters’ camp. 

14 Horseshoe nails, ferrous. 

1 Mule shoe, ferrous. 

Fasteners 

7 Cut nails and spikes, ferrous. Lengths include 4d (n = 1); 10d (n = 2); 20d (n = 3); and 40d inches (n = 1). 

7 Cut nails, ferrous. Clinched over with bent tips. 10d or 12d. 

70 Cut nails, ferrous. Various sizes. 

1 Shank, tack, ferrous. 1-inch square. 

2 Screws, wood, steel, 1 inch. 

1 Bolt shank, steel, machine-threaded. Probably postdates the village occupation. 

1 Bolt shank, steel. Threaded and fragmentary. 

2 Rivets, ferrous. 

5 Rivets, copper and brass. 

14 Wire, ferrous. Fragmentary and/or bent. 

7 Staples, ferrous, various sizes. 

2 Staple-like fastening devices, ferrous. Large. 

Foodstuffs, Containers 

1 Bottle fragment, glass. Base of a brown quart-size bottle. 

3 Bottle fragments, glass. Dark green. 

1 Can end, ferrous, baking powder. Cut up and approximately 21⁄2 inches in diameter. 

1 Can, ferrous, sardine. Found near buffalo hunters’ camp. 

1 Container fragment, ferrous. Possibly part of a bucket. 

1 Can lid, ferrous. Hole-in-top, heavily cut and modified. 

1 Can lid, press-on, ferrous. Measures 21⁄2 inches in diameter and modified with perforations to form a 

sieve. 

2 Handle fragments, ferrous. From a large container. 

Other 

1 Indian head penny, 1892. 

1 Wire nail driven through a white metal object. Postdates the village occupation. 

1 Choke or throttle from a Model T Ford. 

1 Organic material with a cotter pin. 

4 Chert debitage fragments. Probably predates the village occupation. 

1 Chipped-stone projectile point midsection. Probably prehistoric. 
 163 

Appendix F: Glass Beads from 14NS403 

Linda Hulvershorn 

The collection of beads recovered during multiple investigations at 14NS403 was analyzed using the 

varieties defined by Lester Ross (Ross 2000) in his study of beads from Fort Union Trading Post National 

Historic Site, North Dakota. The varieties identified in the 14NS403 materials are based upon his descriptive attributes. 

All of the 14NS403 bead assemblage were manufactured from glass tubes, were hand drawn from a 

molten gather of glass, and were chopped, cut, and sawn into bead-length segments (Ross 2000:25). The 

14NS403 beads are all cylindrical in shape. 

14NS403 Summary 

Variety Finishing Layering Color Count 

3 Hot tumbled Monochrome blue 42 

6 Hot tumbled Monochrome white 15 

7 Hot tumbled Polychrome red on white 1 

8 Hot tumbled Polychrome white 65 

10 Hot tumbled Monochrome purplish-blue 4 

17 Hot tumbled Monochrome clear 1 

20 Hot tumbled Monochrome to polychrome purplish-red 29 

54 Multi-sided, 

chopped ends 

Monochrome clear 1 

69 Hot tumbled Monochrome to polychrome yellow 1 

85 Multi-sided, chopped ends, 

2 rows of ground facets 

Monochrome black 1 

Notes: Total bead count = 160. One bead was unidentifiable. The count includes only whole beads or fragments 

greater than 50% of a complete bead. 

KSHS Areas 761, 763, and 771 

Area, Catalog No. Unit Feature, Level Variety Count 

761 236 0–15 cm 3 1 

763, Cat. No. 138 — 3 

10 

20 

54 

9 

2 

16 

1 

763, Cat. No. 136 — — Unk. 1 

771 F170, 2 cm 6 1 

771 448 F110 fill 20 4 

771 448 0–10 cm 3 1 

771 462 0–10 cm 8 2 

771, Cat. No. 162 463 F110 fill 3 

 8 

 20 

1 

 10 

 2 

771, Cat. No. 163 463 F110 fill 8 

 10 

 20 

1 

 1 

 3 

Area, Catalog No. Unit Feature, Level Variety Count 

771, Cat. No. 164 463 F110 fill 8 

 10 

 20 

1 

 1 

 2 

771, Cat. No. 551 463 0–10 cm 8 1 

771 465 0–10 cm 3 

 8 

12 

 2 

771 466 0–10 cm 6 1 

771 477 0–10 cm 8 1 

771, Cat. No. 651 533 0–10 cm 6 

 8 

4 

 12 

771, Cat. No. 652 533 0–10 cm 8 12 

771 547 0–10 cm 6 1 

771 563 0–10 cm 6 

 8 

8 

 2 

Notes: Subtotal = 116; Unk. = unknown variety, physical 

deterioration of the material prevents identification. 
 164 

KSHS Area 772 

Area, Catalog No. Unit Feature Level Variety Count 

772 649 0–10 cm 3 

7 

8 

17 

69 

6 

1 

14 

1 

1 

772 650 0–10 cm 3 1 

772, Cat. No. 910 653 0–10 cm 3 1 

772, Cat. No. 1117 653 0–10 cm 3 6 

772, Cat. No. 1097 667 0–10 cm 3 Unk. 

772, Cat. No. 1098 667 0–10 cm 3 1 

772, Cat. No. 1050 668 0–10 cm 85 1 

772, Cat. No. 1154 668 0–10 cm 20 1 

Notes: Area 772 subtotal = 34; the total KSHS Collection bead count = 150. Unk. = unknown, the material 

appears to have been thermally altered; evidence of 

Variety 3 is present, but the quantity is uncertain. 

The Monger Collection 

Area Unit Feature Variety Quantity Date 

771 — — 8 

20 

3 

1 

— 

771 279 F-6 3 

8 

1 

3 

10-21-77 

771 279 F-7 3 2 10-21-77 

771 291 R-20 8 1 11-03-77 

Note: The total Monger Collection count = 11. 
 165 

Appendix G: Faunal Remains from 14NS403, Ness County, Kansas 

John R. Bozell 

Introduction 

Faunal remains recovered during 1976 and 1977 archeological investigations at 14NS403 in Ness 

County, Kansas, are considered in this report. The site is a camp briefly occupied by the Cheyenne and 

Lakota in April of 1867. The site also possesses a protohistoric (circa 1700–1750) component probably 

associated with the Dismal River Phase (Plains Apache). The village is located in central Kansas about 25 

miles northwest of Fort Larned. Avocational archeologists and Kansas State Historical Society staff conducted the investigations. Research at 14NS403 took place in several discrete site areas, within which one 

or more blocks were excavated. Individual excavations within the blocks were 2-x-2 or 3-x-3 meter 

squares, and soil fill was removed in 10-cm or 3-inch levels and passed through 1⁄4-inch mesh. Several 

features were identified that consisted primarily of concentrations of cultural material. 

The majority of the faunal material discussed here was recovered during the various Monger excavations at the site. The faunal sample from 14NS403 is not large, and as a result this report is oriented toward a descriptive characterization. However, general comparisons with select regional faunas are offered, 

as are comments regarding subsistence activity, research potential, and sample origin.1

Laboratory Procedures 

The faunal remains were processed and cataloged prior to their being provided to the author for 

analysis. Horizontal provenience information was recorded on each container, although only about onethird of the containers carried depth information. Recorded depths typically were 0–10 centimeters, 0–3 

inches, or 0–6 inches. Upon receipt of the assemblage, each provenience lot was examined and the weight 

of debris was recorded by size grade. Four size grades were used: > 2 inch, > 1 inch, > 1⁄2 inch, and 

> 1⁄4 inch. Material less than 1⁄4 inch in maximum dimension was not weighed, but was examined for the 

presence of identifiable elements. During the initial sorting and weighing, bone debris was recorded by 

breakage type as well as size grade. Recorded fracture types included spiral, transverse, and recent/not 

applicable. The burned bone portion was also recorded. Potentially identifiable specimens and modified 

remains were segregated for further consideration. The modified sample (n = 9) was not tabulated by size 

grade, weight, or breakage pattern since all were likely curated items and do not reflect subsistence activity, but have been treated as artifacts. Several fractured specimens were glued but no other stabilization 

measures were undertaken. 

A specimen was considered identifiable if the element, side and portion could be determined and assigned to a taxonomic grouping at the genus level or below. The assemblage was identified through comparison with modern collections curated by the Nebraska State Historical Society and the National Park 

Service Midwest Archeological Center, both in Lincoln, Nebraska. Variables recorded for each identified 

item included provenience, taxon, element, side/portion and comment. Comment entries noted natural or 

cultural modifications such as burning, cut marks, erosion, rodent gnawing, and carnivore gnawing. Immature specimens were also noted. The data were entered into a computerized database (Microsoft Access) using a coding format designed by Falk et al. (1979) for use with archeological faunas. 

The identified portion was quantified using the number of identified specimens (NISP) and minimum 

number of individuals (MNI) for each taxon. These values were calculated for the sample as a whole because discrete analytic or stratigraphic units were not identified. MNI values were tabulated using standard methodological determination of the element, side, and portion that occurs in the greatest frequency 

for a given taxon. Relative age of the bone was also considered. The author completed all sorting and 

identifications, and the collection was returned to the Midwest Archeological Center for curation. 

 

1

 The research reported here was conducted on behalf of the Midwest Archeological Center pursuant to the terms of 

Purchase Orders 1443PX611599040 and P611500058 (Bozell 2000). 
 166 

Results 

The faunal remains total 3819.4 grams of bone (Table 1), of which over 730 grams (19.3%) are 

burned or charred. Eight pieces of modified bone and one modified shell were identified within the assemblage. Faunal materials were found in KSHS Area 761; Monger’s Areas 762, 763, and 764; KSHS 

Areas 771 and 772; and on Monger’s South Mesa. Over 80% of the sample was recovered from Monger’s 

Area 762 and 771. However, by weight, the 

majority of the sample from this area is derived from several large elements. Fauna was 

collected from a hearth as well as from KSHS 

Features 144, 145, 153, 156, 157, and 217. 

Except for the hearth, these features are 

simply piece plotted artifacts or concentrations. The majority of the sample represents 

large mammal (bison?) bone. However, small 

mammal and reptile remains are also present 

in small quantities. The assemblage is fragmented through cultural and natural processes, 

particularly by marrow extraction, butchering, 

decay, and to a lesser extent gnawing. 

Identified Unmodified Remains 

Due to the fragmented condition of the sample, only 86 unmodified elements proved identifiable to 

element and taxonomic allocation (Table 2). Nine taxa are represented, including painted turtle, softshell 

turtle, cottontail rabbit, jackrabbit, cotton rat, beaver, dog or wolf, horse, and bison. All of the taxa are 

represented by a minimum of one individual with the exception of bison, which are represented by a 

minimum of three individuals. Taxa identified are present as a result of natural processes as well as subsistence activities. Identified taxa are treated in narrative fashion below. A full inventory of identified 

remains is available elsewhere. The author’s filed report (Bozell 2000) provides several inventories of the 

assemblage including a list of bone weight for each provenience lot, an inventory of the identified remains 

organized by taxon, and an inventory of the identified portion sorted by provenience. 

Chrysemys picta, painted turtle 

Eleven painted turtle shell fragments were recovered from seven Monger excavations in Area 771, 

constituting 12.7% of the identified portion of the assemblage, and include six carapace pieces and five 

plastron segments. The painted turtle bones are not burned, nor do they exhibit butchering marks or spiral 

fracturing, and their association with the 1867 site deposits cannot be confirmed with any certainty. 

Central Kansas is on the southern margin of the natural range of western painted turtles (Conant 

1975:Map 22). Turtles are a commonly recorded Central and Southern Plains subsistence item. In some 

instances during the protohistoric period particularly in sites affiliated with the Dismal River Phase, their 

frequency is second only to that of bison (Gunnerson 1978:176–177). Turtles were used for food and tool 

manufacture throughout the Central and Southern Plains by late prehistoric and historic American Indian 

groups (Wedel 1959:440; Gunnerson 1978:177; Monk 1982; Kivett and Metcalf 1997:214). The Cheyenne, particularly on the Southern Plains, captured box and water turtles fairly frequently according to 

ethnographic accounts (Grinnell 1972:307–308). Grinnell stated that turtles were usually procured by 

boys or young men swimming in streams or ponds and capturing them by hand. Turtles were either 

roasted or sometimes boiled in their shells. The Lakota also captured turtles by hand and boiled them in 

their shells, considering them a delicacy (Hassrick 1964:197). 

Table 1. Summary of bone debris recovered from 14NS403. 

Area Grams 

Percent 

 of Sample 

Burned 

Portion 

Percent 

of Area 

761 2 0.1 0 0 

762 1170.7 30.7 9.6 0.8 

763 20 0.5 0 0 

764 24.9 0.6 0 0 

771 2256 59 533.1 23.6 

772 187.6 4.9 148.1 78.9 

South Mesa 158.2 4.2 46.7 29.5 

Total 3819.4 100 737.5 19.3 

Note: Does not include modified specimens. 
 167 

Table 2. Summary of identified vertebrates from 14NS403. 

Taxa Area 762 Area 771 Area 772 So. Mesa Total % MNI 

Chrysemys picta, western painted turtle 0 11 0 0 11 12.8 1 

Trionyx sp., softshell turtle 0 3 0 0 3 3.5 1 

Sylvilagus sp., cottontail 0 2 0 0 2 2.3 1 

Lepus sp., jackrabbit 16 0 0 0 16 18.6 1 

Sigmodon hispidus, hispid cotton rat 0 0 1 0 1 1.2 1 

Castor canadensis, beaver 0 2 0 0 2 2.3 1 

Canis sp., dog or wolf 4 0 0 0 4 4.6 1 

Equus caballus, horse 0 1 0 0 1 1.2 1 

Bison bison, bison 15 29 1 1 46 53.5 3 

Total 35 48 2 1 86 100 11 

Note: Does not include modified specimens. 

Trionyx sp., softshell turtle 

Three softshell turtle carapace fragments were identified in the excavated materials from Monger’s 

X276 in Area 771, and this sample comprises 3.4% of the identified portion. Like the painted turtle remains, the origin of these specimens is uncertain, as none carry direct evidence of human modification. 

Two species of softshell turtle occur in central Kansas (Conant 1975:maps 33 and 36): Trionyx muticus (smooth softshell turtle) and Trionyx spiniferus (spiny softshell turtle). However, the 14NS403 sample is too fragmentary to make a distinction. Grinnell (1972:307–308) noted that softshell turtles were 

captured by the Cheyenne, but less frequently than were box or water turtles because they were slippery 

and difficult to catch. 

Sylvilagus sp., cottontail 

Two rabbit elements were recovered from X466 in KSHS Area 771. Both are inferior lumbar vertebrae fragments, and together they constitute 2.3% of the identified collection. 

Neither element displays evidence of cultural modification, although rabbits were an occasional 

American Indian food item on the Central and Southern Plains (Kivett and Metcalf 1997:214). Their 

overall appearance, however, is dissimilar from the 14NS403 faunal remains that are clearly associated 

with human subsistence. The rabbit elements are noticeably better-preserved, suggesting that they are of 

recent origin. Sylvilagus floridanus (eastern cottontail) is distributed statewide in Kansas, but S. audubonii (desert cottontail) favors arid climates and is restricted to the western portion of Kansas (Cockrum 

1952:101–109). Ness County is near the eastern margin of the desert cottontail range. S. aquaticus

(swamp rabbit) also occurs in Kansas, but only in the extreme southeastern portion of the state. 

Lepus sp., jackrabbit 

Sixteen jackrabbit bones were collected from Monger’s X506 in his Area 762, representing 18.6% of 

the identified collection. All of the jackrabbit remains were recovered from a single excavation unit, and 

they are from a single individual. The bones are all from the lower rear legs, and may have been articulated upon discovery. 

American Indians used jackrabbits for food on occasion, although the recovery of these from a single 

unit tends to point to a recent non-archeological origin. Lepus californicus (black-tailed jackrabbit) occurs 

statewide, while L. townsendii (white-tailed jackrabbit) is found only in western Kansas (Cockrum 

1952:97–100). An osteological distinction between the two forms could not be accomplished for the 

14NS403 sample. 
 168 

Sigmodon hispidus, hispid cotton rat 

A single rodent mandible was recovered from X682 in KSHS Area 772, which accounts for 1.2% of 

the total identified material. The hispid cotton rat is principally a Southern Plains species that has expanded its range into central and northern Kansas since the early twentieth century (Cockrum 1952:184–

187), and the specimen from 14NS403 is likely of recent non-archeological origin. 

Castor canadensis, beaver 

Two beaver bones were identified, accounting for 2.3% of the identified faunal remains. The elements include a proximal humerus and a lumbar vertebra from Monger’s X51 and X276 in Area 771. 

Both bones are from an immature animal. 

Ness County is presently at the extreme modern limits of beaver distribution in Kansas, but during 

the 19th century the species was found throughout the state and was even abundant in portions of central 

and western Kansas (Cockrum 1952:154–157). Beaver remains likely reflect American Indian subsistence refuse, but they could also represent natural occurrence related to the nearby Pawnee Fork and other 

streams. Beaver remains are found archeologically throughout the late prehistoric and historic Central 

Plains (Falk and Semken 1990; Kivett and Metcalf 1997:214). The Cheyenne trapped beaver for food and 

clothing and to supply the fur trade in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries (Grinnell 

1972:295–297), but it is unclear how frequently they were procured in the mid-nineteenth century at the 

time the village on Pawnee Fork was occupied. The Lakota reportedly hunted beaver by smoking them 

from their dens and clubbing them (Hassrick 1964:192). 

Canis sp., dog or wolf 

Four canid bones were recovered from Monger’s Area 762, comprising 4.6% of the identified material. All of the identified elements are lower limb portions, and a minimum of one individual is represented. The elements are all too large to be coyote or a small form of domestic dog, and thus represent 

either a wolf or a wolf-sized dog. 

The sample does not bear direct evidence of cultural utilization. However, dogs were common among 

all Plains Indian groups, where they were used for pack animals and as a source of food during lean times 

(Bozell 1988). 

Equus caballus, horse 

A single horse carpal (1.2% of NISP) was recovered during the KSHS excavations in Area 771. Its 

physical condition is similar to that of the bison remains, and it may thus be contemporary with the 1867 

occupation. However it is uncertain whether the element is associated with the Cheyenne/Lakota camp, 

the wagon road from Fort Larned, or perhaps even later rural settlement 

Bison bison, bison 

As with virtually all Central Plains Indian archeological sites, bison bones dominate the faunal sample from 14NS403. Forty-six elements are present, representing 53.5% of the total identified assemblage. 

The bison remains reflect a minimum of three individuals based upon two right proximal adult radii and 

one juvenile tibia fragment. The vast majority of the unidentifiable debris from the site is large mammal 

bone, and most of this material is probably also fragmented bison bone. Identified bison remains were 

recovered from Monger’s Areas 762, KSHS Areas 771 and 772, and Monger’s South Mesa, but 95% of 

the identified material came from Monger’s Area 762 (32.6%) and KSHS Area 771 (63%). 

Eight bison elements display butchering marks, four of which are thin knife marks and four of which 

are chop marks. Based upon comparison with butchered bison bone from prehistoric and post-contact 

bison bone collections curated at the Nebraska State Historical Society, all of the butchered bone from 

14NS403 appears to have been modified with metal tools. In addition, one spirally fractured tibia diaphysis fragment bears polish on the tip, suggesting that it was used as an expedient butchering tool (Weston 
 169 

1986:211–217). One of the eight elements is from an immature animal, five are burned, one has been 

gnawed by rodents, and seven have been gnawed by carnivores. 

Bison was the single most important subsistence item for Central Plains American Indian groups, although the density of bison bone in archeological sites varies widely throughout prehistory (Bozell 1995). 

During the post-contact period however, bison procurement far outdistanced importance that of any other 

taxa for both the Lakota and Cheyenne (Grinnell 1972:254) as well as for the Dismal River Phase Plains 

Apache (Gunnerson 1978:177). Bison were still found throughout much of Kansas in the early 19th century (Pike 1810:188–184), but were particularly abundant in the central and western portions of the state 

(Pike 1810:200–201). By the 1870s, however, their numbers were thinned significantly, and they remained abundant only in restricted areas of western Kansas and eastern Colorado (Allen 1874:46) well 

outside the area of the village on Pawnee Fork. 

Bison Element Frequencies, Fracture Patterns and Fragment Length 

Although a small sample, several characteristics of the 14NS403 faunal assemblage offer insights 

into bison utilization at the site. Twenty years of taphonomic research has provided a framework for a 

clearer understanding of large mammal carcass reduction, skeletal utility and transport at sites like 

14NS403 (Binford 1978; Emerson 1990; Lyman 1994). 

Figure 1 arrays the relationship between 14NS403 bison MAU and MGUI. This procedure develops 

values approximating how well a specific bison element is represented (MAU) in relation to its nutritional 

(protein, grease, marrow) value (MGUI). MAU/MGUI comparison is a concept first developed by Binford (1978), but the MGUI values used in this report are taken from Emerson (1990), who modified Binford’s efforts specifically for use with bison skeletons. 

The 14NS403 pattern most closely resembles what Binford (1978) terms a “reverse (bulk) strategy,” 

one characterized by a low proportion of high-utility items and an increasingly higher proportion of lowutility portions. Such a profile is typically interpreted as reflecting a kill or processing camp, and the faunal debris in such cases includes low-utility portions left behind. Typically, a hunting camp or kill site 

contains a higher proportion of low-utility portions, such as by-products of carcass dismemberment and 

primary butchering. Low-utility items are discarded and left at the site, while the higher utility items are cached 

or transported to other habitations and thus removed from the archeological record of the camp/kill. 

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

1

0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1

% MGUI

% MAU

Figure 1. Utility curve for identified 

bison remains from 14NS403. 
 170

Identified and unidentified large mammal bone was tabulated with respect to fragment size and

breakage type in an effort to more clearly understand the use of carcasses beyond simply meat procurement. Although by no means definitive, spiral fractures typically result when bone is still fresh, while

transverse fracturing reflects bone that was broken after it had dried-presumably a considerable length of 

time after the kill event. Figure 2 illustrates breakage types of all large mammal debris from the site by

total weight. Over 64% of the sample has spiral fractures, whereas only 26% has transverse breaks. Material in the remaining 10% of the collection was either complete or had recent or indeterminate fractures. 

Fragment size was also tabulated (Figure 3). By weight, only 15% of the sample is over 2 inches in

length, and in fact, this portion is represented by only two elements—a large proximal and a large distal 

radius. The largest size fraction of the sample (33.9%) is between 1⁄2 inch and 1 inch. About 28% of the

sample is between 1 and 2 inches in size and 22.6% of the collection is greater than 1⁄4 inch. 

This high proportion of spirally fractured small bone fragments strongly suggests that the occupants

of the village on Pawnee Fork were not simply using bison for meat. Bison grease and marrow production by Central and Southern Great Plains Indians has been well-documented (Vehik 1977; Speth 1983; 

Peterson et al. 1993; Quigg 1997; Logan 1998). In these cases, as at 14NS403, bison long bones were

pulverized to extract marrow and facilitate subsequent processing for grease production. Grease production typically involves bone-smashing and boiling to extract and pour off grease. Only 19.3% of the

14NS403 sample is obviously burned, although boiling does not always result in observable charring to

the bone surface. 

Extraction of marrow and grease is significantly more labor-intensive than simple butchering for 

meat procurement, and is widely considered to be a reflection of nutritional stress being experienced by

bison populations and the human groups subsisting off of them. Marrow and grease procurement are generally interpreted as supplemental dietary operations required either when bison meat is nutritionally poor 

or when bison populations are not abundant in a region. 

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

SPIRAL TRANSVERSE RECENT/UNKNOWN

BREAKAGE TYPE

TOTAL GRAMS

Figure 2. Breakage type for bone debris recovered from 14NS403. 
 171 

Bone marrow procurement and bone grease production are certainly consistent with the known season of occupation at 14NS403. Bison protein and fat reserves in the meat are often depleted or inadequate during late winter and early spring before lush summer and fall forage is available. Therefore in 

order for bison procurement to provide sufficient nutritional requirements for human populations in the 

late winter and early spring, intensive skeletal processing was sometimes necessary. The Cheyenne and 

Lakota occupied the village on Pawnee Fork for at least several weeks in April of 1867, and perhaps for 

several weeks or months prior. If the winter of 1866–1867 had been normal to harsh, the bison available 

to the villagers would likely still be undernourished in April. The overall number of bison available on 

the Central and Southern Plains was also beginning to thin significantly by the 1860s as a result of overhunting by both Native people and Euroamericans. Accordingly, intensive processing of bison may have 

been needed simply to compensate for low meat yields. 

Modified Bone and Shell 

Nine modified bones were discovered in the 14NS403 material, some of which are patterned artifacts 

and others of which are simply miscellaneous fragments of polished or striated bone. In addition to tool 

type and tool function determination, each modified bone was evaluated with respect to manufacture using stone or metal implements based upon the characteristics defined by Weston (1986:176–181). Each 

specimen is described briefly below: 

Cut Rib 

This artifact was recovered from Feature 10 in Monger’s X426, Area 771 and is a cut bison rib that 

measures 80.5 mm long, 24.1 mm wide, and 7.8 mm thick (Figure 20f, this volume). One end of the bone 

has been grooved around its full circumference with a metal tool, and then snapped, while the other end 

has a spiral break. The function of this tool is unclear, but it may either be a fragment of a shaft straightener or perhaps an unfinished slotted rib knife handle. Plains Indians used both kinds of implements from 

as early as the Plains Village period through the post-contact era (Weston 1986:183–192). 

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

>2 inch >1 inch >1/2 inch >1/4 inch

SIZE GRADE

GRAMS

Figure 3. Size grade data for bone debris recovered from 14NS403.
 172 

Flesher 

This artifact was recovered during Monger’s excavation of Unit 294 in Area 771, and is the working 

edge of a fleshing tool (Figure 20d, this volume). The artifact is 62.8 mm long, 21.1 mm wide and 7.6 

mm thick, and is an unidentified large mammal long bone diaphysis fragment. The tip of the fragment is 

rounded, and has been serrated with at least ten small cuts averaging about 1.5 mm in length. Several 

long cut marks on the outside margin of the fragment run perpendicular to the serrated tip. 

Serrated fleshers are found archeologically on the Plains during pre-contact times, but are a much 

more common artifact after the acquisition of European trade metal, and occur most often on sites dating 

after 1700 (Weston 1986:214–217), where they were used for working large mammal hides. Serrated 

fleshers have been found at Dismal River Phase sites (Gunnerson 1978:Plate 34), and were also recovered 

at the Biesterfeldt Site (Wood 1971:Plate 17), a purported northeastern Plains Cheyenne earthlodge village dating to 1750–1790. The 14NS403 specimen is eroded, making it impossible to determine either 

the element that it represents or whether it was manufactured with metal or stone implements. Most 

fleshers are made from metapodials, but this specimen does not appear to have been so manufactured. 

Cut Femur 

A cut bison femur diaphysis was collected from Feature 1 in Monger’s X201 in Area 771 (Figure 20e, this volume). The element is spirally fractured with one blunt transverse end and one sharp 

pointed end that bears some light polish and striations. A large, deep cut mark was placed perpendicular 

to the axis of the pointed tip on the outside of the fragment that is 21.4 mm long, 4.9 mm wide, and 1.8 

mm deep, and appears to have been made with a metal saw. The diaphysis is 117.2 mm long, 38 mm 

wide, and 9.9 mm thick. The function of this artifact is problematical, but it may represent an expedient 

butchering tool. 

Miscellaneous Cut/Polished Bone 

Five pieces of bone were recovered which display various levels of polish and striations or cuts, although none appear to represent a particular artifact type. All are less than 42 mm in length and are flat. 

One, found in KSHS X667 in Area 772, is burned and has a heavily ground, blunted end, and is nearly 

identical to one recovered from the Biesterfeldt site (Wood 1971:38, Plate 18c). The other modified 

bones were recovered from X666 in KSHS Area 772 and from X432 and X463 (n=2) in KSHS Area 771. 

Shell Pendant 

A small shell ornament was recovered from X462 in KSHS Area 771. This artifact is a slightly 

curved piece of shell that has been cut into a triangular shape (Figure 18d, this volume). It is 23.1 mm 

long and 3.4 mm thick, and its width tapers from 9.9 mm to 3.1 mm. The artifact is too eroded to determine whether it is freshwater or marine shell. 

Artifacts similar to this occur sporadically throughout the Plains from the Archaic through the historic period and may be manufactured from bone, shell, or stone. The 14NS403 specimen is neither 

grooved nor perforated, although some in the region are. These artifacts are generally believed to represent pendants or some other type of personal ornament. 

Incised Shell 

A small piece of mussel shell recovered from Feature 157 in KSHS X477 Area 771 bears evidence of 

possible incising. The specimen is nearly square (Figure 18e, this volume) and is 10.8 mm long, 10.2 mm 

wide, and 1.6 mm thick. Several very shallow lines are visible on the inside surface of the shell, and one 

is roughly in the shape of an arrow. Alternatively, these lines may simply be natural cracks in the surface 

of the shell. 
 173 

Summary 

The faunal assemblage from 14NS403 is not sufficiently large or diverse to justify an extended discussion of site paleoecology or vertebrate resource use. The excavated units encompass only a fraction of 

the total site area, and bone does not appear to be particularly abundant in any single location. In addition, while it is likely that the analyzed sample relates to the 1867 Cheyenne/Lakota camp, the possibility 

still exists that at least some of the remains are associated with the protohistoric Dismal River component 

at 14NS403. The sample does, however, provide important data for a clearer understanding of protohistoric or Equestrian Nomad subsistence operations. 

(1) The 14NS403 faunal assemblage is comprised of 3819.4 grams of bone, about 20% of which is 

burned. The collection was recovered from seven site areas, although nearly 90% originated within Monger’s Area 762 and the KSHS Area 771 excavation block. The vast majority of the faunal remains are 

mammalian. The identified unmodified portion includes 86 specimens representing nine taxa. Bison remains dominate the sample, followed by turtle and jackrabbit materials. The identified modified faunal 

materials include nine bone and shell specimens that represent both functional and decorative items. 

(2) The vertebrate sample accumulated as a result of several cultural and natural processes. The majority of the bone, both identifiable and unidentifiable, is from large mammals—particularly bison. Burning and butchering marks noted on some identified elements confirm that bison were targets of subsistence pursuit by the site’s inhabitants. However, the origin of the non-bison taxa is problematical. The 

bulk of the non-bison remains consist of rabbit, turtle, dog/wolf and beaver bones, all of which are known 

to have been procured by both Dismal River Phase Plains Apache and Cheyenne/Lakota hunters. However, none of the 14NS403 materials bear direct evidence of cultural modification. The cotton rat mandible is almost certainly intrusive. The origin of the single horse bone is also unclear, and it may relate to 

the 1867 Cheyenne/Lakota occupation, but there is also no reason to eliminate the possibility that it is associated with military or rural settlement events. Only a small number of elements in the assemblage exhibit evidence of animal gnawing. If carnivores and rodents had played a major role in the formation of 

this faunal accumulation, greater species diversity would be expected, together with a higher frequency of 

gnawing damage. The physical condition of the bone is generally quite good. Few elements exhibit advanced erosion and decay, suggesting that soil conditions have not played a significant role in bone destruction. Rather, the fragmented nature of the sample is associated with human activities. 

(3) The meat fraction of the diet at the 1867 village was comprised chiefly of bison perhaps supplemented with turtle, dog/wolf, rabbit, and beaver meat. The smaller taxa represented in the assemblage are 

all typical second-line Central and Southern Plains Indian resources, and if they have a cultural origin, 

they made very minor dietary contributions. Additionally, the faunal sample from 14NS403 is too small 

to enable any firm inferences regarding butchering or carcass reduction procedures. Nevertheless, the 

bison elements present are somewhat indicative of a kill or temporary processing camp. The unidentified 

large mammal bone debris is very fragmented, and the significant proportion of spiral fractures suggests 

that bison were processed not only for meat but also for marrow and grease. This pattern is typical for 

camps occupied by people undergoing nutritional stress or by people procuring bison with poor fat content. Such a pattern may be found at sites occupied at any time of the year, but is most common at late 

winter or spring encampments. 

(4) The 14NS403 material is entirely consistent with the presumed function of the village as a temporary camp occupied by Dismal River Phase populations or by nomadic Cheyenne and Lakota. The faunal assemblage from the site is not particularly rich or diverse, and it appears to primarily reflect shortterm bison procurement. 

(5) Based upon the present sample, the site may hold research potential for addressing a series of 

previously defined questions. Minimally, further efforts at the site could contribute to enhanced understanding of animal procurement and processing practices, site formation processes, and modified bone 

industries. 
 174