The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1905-11-23
THE SAND CREEK AFFAIR.
General Outbreak the Indians in 1864 Created Reign
Terror in Colorado.

the hostiles all day at Godfrey's place,
and as soon as darkness came he stole
away unobserved to get assistance.
Getting into an old stage coach, num-
Der of the cavalry went to Godfrey
and got his family, and proceeding fur
they they rescued Munson's family.
These rescued persons were brought to
| the cavalry camp, and the next day the
boys returned to the American Branch
to see what had happened there. They
found that five white men had been
killed and Mrs. Morse and her child TAX
en- away as prisoners. Two Indians had
been killed and left where they fell.
One of these, big, fat fellow, had
been rolled up in his buffalo robe with
Mr.. Morse's Free Masons' regalia, a
He was lying inside paling fence
which surrounded a grave, where his
fellows had placed him.
About June /, 1864, the Indians
killed ranchman, his wife and two
children, almost in sight of Denver.
Their bodies We're brought to town and
placed on exhibition on the sidewalk.
This caused indignation against the
redskins to run pretty high. On the
night of June II, 1864, the big In
dian scare occurred at Denver. The
town was aroused about 9 o'clock by the
firing of several shots in the street,
and people were dashing hither and
600 hostile Indians on the hill out by
the graveyard and they were going to
make an attack on the town. The ex-
element increased, and Comrade Bal
lou and others of his command were
ordered to go to the armory and issue
arms and ammunition to the citizens.
This was done, and some indiscriminate
firing occurred, as the armed citizens
tried their guns to see if they would
shoot. The women and children as
sembled in the center of the town.
When the guns were returned after the
scare was over it required three
months work by detail Of men to
clean them. Some of the muskets had
from three to five cartridges in their
barrels, most of them with the ball
end down. In the excitement a woman
dragging her two children begged for
a revolver with which to shoot them,
as she feared they would fall into the
hands of the Indians.
On F street, now known as Fifteenth
Avenue, Denver, were number Of
Jew stores, in the stocks of which were
many firearms. The Hebrew merchants
passed these guns and pistols out freely
to any man who thought he needed a
gun. One prominent citizen concealed
himself beneath a dry-goods box and
crawled from his place of concealment
when some men began trying their pis-
tolls, using the box as a target A VEN
cradle merchant doing business on the
West Side let himself down into his we'll
by the well rope and remained there
until morning. He was found clinging
to the rope in the we'll the next morn
ing by his wife when she went for a
bucketful of water.
1t was finally discovered that the
scare was caused by two herders who
had been up the creek. They became
separated, and one was taking a few
shots with his rifle at a flock of crows.
The other, believing the shots were
fired by hostile Indians who had MUIR
dered his partner, rode into town as
fast as his horse could carry him and
reporter that they had been attacked
by Indians and his companion killed.
Three or four mounted police went
out to investigate and coming to an
old graveyard I'm the deepening. twi-
light construed in their imagination
the headboards into crouching redskins
They headed for town, and the faster
they rode. like Tam O'Shanter, the
more Indians they imagined were COM
ing pell-mell after them. When they
reached town the number had been
magnified into 5000.
About May %, 1864, two young half
breeds, Jack Smith and Charley Bent,
both Of whom had received some mill