The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1908-02-26
HOW AN OLD CHIEFS HEART
WAS TOUCHED IN OKLAHOMA.
KINDNESS ROUTED WARRIORS
A Quaker Indian Agent Let Big
Horse Hold His Baby When the
Red Man Came to Reeonnoi.
ter for a Raid.

Arapahoe, Okla, Eel. 21 John w. |
Scger, for more than thirty years a
government employee among the |
Cheyenne Indians in Oklahoma. re-
lates this story of how a massacre
OF the inhabitants of Darlington In
dian agency many years ago was
avertcd
big Horse. the father or Hubbel
Big Horse, the indian Interpreter,
was a chief among a warlikc band OF
Indians on the Washita river He
and his band plotted 10 go to Oar
lington and massacre all the whites
at that agency. Grants peace policy
had just been we'll inaugurated. and
the following will show that kindness
can melt even the heart of a Chey-
cnne warrior.
When this war party arrived near
Darlington they camped for night on
the west side of North Canadian, ex-
pecting on the morrow to go over and
do the job they had planned For
tunately for Grants Quakers' a
cloudburst a few days before up in
Beaver county raised the river SO
that night the banks were full Their
object in killing these white employ
ees was TO get the provisions and
cattle and horses. The Indians reas-
oned that Chey would lose much
sugar and -four in crossing the river
while the banks were full, so they
decided to wait a day longer.
Big Horse said he would go over
and reconnoiter the agency and find
the exact location of all the white
families. He met the agent, 20
yearold Quaker, who was very
kind hearted man. lie took Big
Horse to dinner with him. Then he
went to see another Quaker family
and the little ladylike mother gave
him her baby to hold. That night
when he went back ana the Indians
smoked the pipe around, Big Horse
told how kind the people We're. They
had no arms and woman had in
trusted her baby to his care.
The hot headed young warriors,
said 'Squaw! Squaw"
'Call me a squaw If you want TO-,
said Big Horse, but you never saw
the man Big Horse was afraid Of
THE next day the river was stll
up, and Big Horse told his warriors
to stay in camp and he would go
over again. This time the Quakers
treated him even better than they
did the day before The little baby
knew him and held out its hands to
be taken. The big old savage war
rior took the baby and held it in his
arms until it slept and woke again.
THAT night when he went back to
camp and smoked the pipe around, he
said: These people when they eat
return thanks to God. This day the
little baby knew me and held up its
hands to come to me. | held 1t while
1t slept. My bravery has been tried on
many a battle field and no one ever
saw Big Horse run i.Jm an enemy
hunt. But there is a Great Spirit.
He sends the floods when there are
no clouds. lie sends the fire from
the skies. OF these | have no control
Now, | have a vow TO make with
you, my warriors. Now, the Great
Spirit has sent this food when there
are no clouds. He does not want us
to kill these people. But II the flood
goes down tonight we will take it as
sign that he wants MS TO do what
We have set out to do, and we will
go over in the morning and do just
what we came here to do. But If the
river Is still up, we will return TO the
Washita and say the Great Spirit
did not want these people killed.
The next morning the North Can
adian was out of its banks and al
over the bottoms, and the old Chief
Big Horse led his party back TO the
plains of what Is now Custer county
Oklahoma, and Grants peace policy
one time saved a handful of helpless
employees and their few women and
children from a massacre"