Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1895-07-25

v ~ everywhere h a t
the graves Of those
who had fallen in the cause OF the
South be sought out and marked with
monuments, after the manner of the
Union dead, over which annual cere-
monies should be held in commemora-
ton of their services. There Is a spot
in Kansas which contains all that Is
mortal of twenty ex-Confederate Off
GERS. Their death was tragic in the ex-
IRENE, accompanied as 1t was by all the
horrors and barbarities Of Indian war
fare.
Early in the conflict between the
North and South, Confederates were
dominant in the Indian Territory, and
well-nigh succeeded in suppressing
every mark Of loyalty among the In
dians there and in Kansas along the
Southern border. Several bands Of the
Usage tribe, however, remained loyal.
They were hunted out by the rangers
from Texas and the guerillas from Ar
kansas, and finally sought refuge with
In Union territory, says Pennsylvania
Grit. On he'march to the North many
of them travelled on foot distance of
300 miles; great number of them froze
to death on the route, and their bodies,
with only a shroud of snow, were left
where they fell to feed the hungry
wolves. Finally, the bands, under
White Wing and Little Bear, arrived
on the Verdigris river and established
their camp on the spot where the town
of Neodesha now stands. Indeed,
'Neodesha" Is an Usage word and
means meeting of the waters" The
loyalty Of White Wing and Little Bear
had been accomplished largely through
the teachings of Father Shoemaker,
the venerable priest in charge of the
Usage mission, who has long since been
gathered to his fathers. Driven into
the Union by the persecution Of the
Southerners, it is not difficult to under
stand that the Osages were vindictive
to an extraordinary extent toward Con-
federates, and lost no opportunity to
The Confederates constantly had
emissaries out among the Western
tribes seeking to lead them into revolt
against the Federal Government. The
Osages assumed it as their part Of the
great conflict to intercept these ennis
saries and hold the Indians of Kansas,
Colorado, and New Mexico loyal to the
North
Some time in 1862 a party of Confed-
crate officers, none of whom held less
rank than that of Lieutenant, were
commissioned by the Confederate Gov
eminent to proceed West through Kan
sas to New Mexico and organize the
wild plains Indians into marching par
ties, whose business it should be to in
tercept Government trains and harass
the movement Of Federal troops from
the West overland. A part of these
officers were also commissioned to or
ganize and enroll the Southern sympa-
thizers among the whites in Colorado
and New Mexico, and, if possible,
march out a few regiments to the seat
of war.
This party of Confederate officers at
tempted to pass through the Usage res
ervation along the Verdigris river, but
were met near the mouth Of Drum
Creek by small band of the Indians,
who demanded their surrender. In
stead of surrendering, the Confederates
opened fire and killed two of the
Osages and put the remainder to fight.
Fitting along just out of rifle shot, the
Indians gradually lured their victims
into the main camp Of White Wing
and Little Bear, where they were sur
rounded by an overwhelming force and
put to death with all the atrocious cru
elites the Infatuated tribe could con-
jure. Not a man escaped So COM
plete was the ambush that not an In
dian was killed in the encounter. Such
as were not killed outright were put to
torture after the custom of the tribe,
and after death the bodies were mutt
lated beyond recognition.
At that time the Government was
maintaining military post at Hum
boldt, and when the news of the mas
sacre came an officer, with detach-
ment Of troops, was sent out to in
vestigate the ARRAY. The officer in
command of that detachment was
Lieutenant w. A. Johnson, now Pre-
siding Judge of the Appellant Court for
the Southern Department of Kansas.
When Lieutenant Johnson arrived
on the scene shocking sight met his
vision. The dead Confederates had all
been beheaded and their heads were
piled up in an indiscriminate mass, so
that it was impossible to discover
which body head belonged. The
bodies were buried side by side by the
troops. The papers found on them
clearly explained their mission in the
West.