Tim Blevins - Massacre, Murder, and Mayhem in the Rocky Mountain West

Massacre

Murder & Mayhem

in the

Rocky Mountain West

Edited by

Tim Blevins, Dennis Daily,

Sydne Dean, Chris Nicholl, William G. Thomas,

Michael L. Olsen, &

Katherine Scott Sturdevant

Published by

Massacre, Murder, and Mayhem in the Rocky Mountain West

2016 Pikes Peak Library District.

All rights reserved. Smashwords edition.

This publication was made possible by private funds. Interpretation of events and conclusions are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Pikes Peak Library District (PPLD), PPLD Board of Trustees, or PPLD employees and editors.

ISBN 978-1-56735-316-7

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016938982

Publishers Catalogingin-Publication Data

Names: Blevins, Tim, editor | Daily, Dennis, editor | Dean, Sydne, editor | Nicholl, Chris, editor | Thomas, William G., editor | Olsen, Michael L., editor | Sturdevant, Katherine Scott, editor.

Title: Massacre, murder, and mayhem in the Rocky Mountain west / Tim Blevins, Dennis Daily, Chris Nicholl, William G. Thomas, Michael L. Olsen, Katherine Scott Sturdevant.

Description: First edition. | Colorado Springs, Colorado: Pikes Peak Library District, 2016 | Series: Regional history series | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2016938982 | ISBN 9781567353389

Subjects: LCSH: MurderWest (U.S.) | LynchingColoradoHistory19th century. | Sand Creek Massacre, Colo., 1864. | Cheyenne IndiansWars, 1864.| MassacresColorado. | White River Massacre, Colo., 1879. | Ute IndiansWars, 1879. | Coal Strike, Colo., 19131914. | MassacresColoradoLudlowHistory20th century. | Columbine High School Massacre, Littleton, Colo., 1999. | MassacresUtahHistory19th century.

Classification: LCC F721.P35 L4 12016 | DDC 978dc23

LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2016938982

Foreword

The 10 th Annual Pikes Peak Regional History Symposium, Massacres of the Mountain West, delivered a solemn view of several violent events during our regions distant and recent pasthorrific murders of children, women, and men summoned intense emotions. The symposium presentations, several represented in the chapters of this book, Massacre, Murder, & Mayhem in the Rocky Mountain West , included descriptions of atrocities and appalling behaviors.

Some of the content in this book is graphic, though not gratuitous. The subject of killing requires a level of description necessary to understand what occurred during an event. More difficult to understand are the reasons why these acts were committed. Each event was unique, but all were fueled by forces that seemed to guide the hands of the perpetrators: alcohol, fear, greed, hate, ignorance, revenge, passion, self-righteousness. Often the murderers were disenfranchised, disassociated, or disgruntled.

The events discussed in this book span more than two centuries, between the years 1761 and 1999. The first chapter, by Michael L. Olsen, looks at the word massacre, its history, and how the word has been used in various accounts of an Apache attack on James M. White and his family on the Santa Fe Trail during October 1849. Rick Hendricks chapter on the December 1761 Comanche massacre analyzes the cultural collision between Spanish and Comanche on Spains North American frontier and the roles that individual personalities played in the complex relationships between these groups.

Lynne Bliss details the U.S. government-sponsored expedition through Utah Territory, which led to the massacre of Capt. John Williams Gunnison and seven comrades on October 23, 1853, and involved Mormon leadership and Pahvant Indians. Dwight Haverkorn tracks the elusive Espinosa brothers through the dramatic end of their eight-month 1863 killing spree in Colorado. Jeff Broome uses archaeological and historical evidence to reinterpret the June 11, 1864, massacre of the Nathan Hungate family and its influence on the notorious Sand Creek Massacre. And, Katherine Scott Sturdevant delves deeper into that massacre of Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians to discover some potential personal motives for the seeming brazen actions of Col. John M. Chivington.

A few more chapters are devoted to the Sand Creek, Meeker, and Ludlow massacres. Nancy Oswald reminds readers of the tragedy of November 29, 1864, when the First and Third Colorado regiments attacked the Arapaho and Cheyenne encampments at Sand Creek. Additional chapters about Sand Creek, reprinted from documents of the time, provide context and contribute to a comprehensive view of the events before, during, and after this massacre. Reprinted chapters by Jacob P. Dunn and George P. West offer insights into the causes of the 1879 Meeker and 1914 Ludlow massacres. And, Stephen Collins evaluates how the words of Mother Jones inspired masculine, and sometimes violent, demands for miners rights.

Questions will come to mind while reading these chapters. Were some of the killings state-sanctioned, despotic acts of Colorado defense forces to suppress and punish enemies? Or, were the victims active combatants? During 1864, the Colorado Cavalry, and all Colorado citizens, were called upon by Gov. John Evans to kill hostile Indians. Were the Arapaho and Cheyenne who lost their lives on November 29 at Sand Creek hostile or friendly? On April 20, 1914, coal miners and their families at the Ludlow, Colorado, tent colony were terrorized with rifle and machinegun fire and firing the tents with a torch by men wearing Colorado National Guard uniforms. Five men and a boy were shot to death, and two women with eleven children burned or suffocated when seeking refuge in a pit. Were these people an imminent or eminent danger to society?

Vigilante justice in South Park is covered in detail by Christie Wright, who exposes the wild side of a few 19 th century Colorado settlements. Steve Ruskin provides a twist in the topic with a look at the massacre of birds and other animals by naturalists for the cause of science. And, Heather Jordan conveys how the murders of 12 students and a teacher at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999, have influenced the nations schools, pastimes, and views on bullying and gun control. Were there warning signs that could have prevented the deaths at Columbine High School? Have we learned anything about how to keep our children safe?

Since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the U.S., fervent discussions about guns, religion, terrorism, national security, privacy, and immigration have become common, not just in news media and public forums, but also around water coolers and dinner tables. Perhaps by remembering what it felt like when we learned of the heart-breaking deaths at Columbine High School, the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and the field in rural Pennsylvania, we can better understand what people experienced when they heard about the massacres of their day. Sadly, mankinds penchant for individual and mass killing remains as strong today as it has throughout history. This book certainly will not provide solutions to stop this madness, but a serious debate on these complex issues can only be enhanced by an awareness of our past.

John Spears, Executive Director,

Pikes Peak Library District

Tim Blevins, Special Collections Division Head,

Pikes Peak Library District

Acknowledgments

Massacre, Murder, & Mayhem in the Rocky Mountain West is the 14 th book in the Regional History Series. We are appreciative of all of the authors research, presentation, and writing efforts. Our goal for the Regional History Series books is to chronicle the unique and often undocumented history of Colorado and the Rocky Mountain West. This is only possible with the hard work of the professional and avocational historians who share their passion, expertise, and untold time discovering and analyzing facts and turning them into engaging narrative. Many contributors to this volume presented their research at the 10 th Annual Pikes Peak Regional History Symposium, Massacres of the Mountain West , June 2013.