The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-06-08
A STORY OF ADOBE WALLS.
When Indians and Buffaloes Roamed
in Texas.
(Kansas City Starr

kansas city starr
out in the Panhandle Of Texas, in
Hutchinson county, IS a postofice
marked on maps as Adobe Walls. In
the days Of the Santa Fe trail, Adobe
Walls was a trading post where
Colonel William Bent and Kit Car
son sold supplies TO buffalo hunters
and trappers and bought pelts. The
post was established by Bent and Car
son, defended by them against the In
dams, and was a famous rendezvous
for frontiersmen. The adobe buildings
long since crUmbled into ruins and
only traces of them can be seen. The
main building vas forty feet long,
Fashioned and embrasured.
Adobe. Walls passed out of existence
as a profitable trading point soon after
the memorable attack upon its occu-
pants by about 500 KioWas, COmanches,
Cheyennes, ArapahOes and Apaches,
June q, 1874. Billy Dixon, who was
a government scout at Fort Elliott for
years, and widely known as an Indian
fighter in the southwest. was an ac-
tiVe participant In the fight Dixon
now runs a ranch of $500 acres on Bent
creek, near Adobe Walls, and, although
long since retired from the perils and
dangers Of Indian warfare and the life
Of an adventurous plainsman- relates
many interesting "reminiscences of
frontier days. Dixon was here not
long ago and told the following story
of the last Indian fight at Adobe
Walls:
I was buffalo hunter in 1874" said
Dixon, and had my camp on the
south side of the Canadian. about
twenty-five miles from Adobe Walls.
I had gone TO Adobe Walls to get
-rrre Mi nd TO
camp on the morning Of the fght. The
weather was warm and I slept out
doors in my wagon in front Of a sa-
( loon, where my two companions were
/ bunking. Our horses were grazing in
the valley of a small creek. my own
riding horse being picketed close TO
my wagon. About daylight the men
sleeping I'm the saloon were awakened
| by the cracking Of the ridge pole Of
the saloon. and as we were to make
an early start they did not go to sleep
again and called me that we might
soon be off.
zone man Started to bring in the
horses. but had gone only short dis
J lance when he gave the alarm for In
dams. Looking in his direction, 7 saw
, many Indians riding rapidly across the
/ valley AS soon as they learned that
! they had been discovered, they gave
their warWhoop and charged. At first.
I did not believe that they intended
attacking US. but suspected that they
/ were after our horses. Accordingly, I
ran to my horse, tied him to the
/ wagon, and got my gun The Indians
were then within 100 yards Of US and
I could see that they were going to
Z attack.
Il began firing at them and re-
] Es4.1
/ seven Of US in this building and we
/ fought for some time before the men
( in the other buildings got aroused.
/ We threw lead as fast as we could,
and in a few minutes killed many In
( dian horses as the Indians charged be-
tween the saloon and ROth's store.
( There were between 800 and 500 In
: dams. and they completely surrounded
US. They did their utmost to break in
the doors OF the saloon, but our con-
slant firing finally drove them away.
[ THE main body withdrew to a mill
about SEQ yards away. where they kept
up a steady firing, to enable their
companions who had lost their horses,
to escape. When the Indians on the
hill would fire a vOlley the dismounted
Indians, who were reJreating on foot,
would rise and run fifteen or twenty
steps and then fall in the tail grass to
hide themselves from our bullets. IN
this manner a good many Indians got
away.
"A total Of twenty-eight white men
kept these hundreds Of Indians at bay
until the close Of the light in the mid
die of the afternoon. Three Of our
marty were killed The two Shadley
brothers were killed in their wagon.
where they were sleeping when the
fight began. The dead were buried in
one grave near the Shadiey wagon.
During a greater part Of the time the
fighting was at range Of from 300
10 400 yards TWO Indians were killed
at close range and left on the field,
two were killed east Of the buildings
and one al the Shadley wagon. This
last Indian We believed 10 be the one
who killed the Shadieys as he had
in his possession a quantity Of goods
he had taken from the wagon.
About seventy-five yards in the
rear of the saloon was a big pile Of
buffalo hides. while the fight was on
I noticed an Indians horse near the
hides, and looking closer saw the
feathers OF the headdress OF an IN
dian, who seemed TO be hugging as
closely as possible the pile Of hides.
f7red at the feathers. and the Indian
lodged quickly 70 the other side Of the
pile This brought him in range Of
the guns in Roth's store, and he was