Witness to History: Howling Wolf of the Southern Cheyenne, 1849-1927
On the morning of November 29, 1864, a 15-year-old Cheyenne warrior saw hell on earth unfold for his people. He, along with his father Eagle Head, were in a camp headed by Cheyenne leader Black Kettle along Sand Creek in what is now Kiowa County, Colorado. Black Kettle had been guaranteed safety by the local garrison commander and flew an American flag outside his lodge as a gesture of goodwill. Most of the warriors had gone hunting for the day. As John Chivington and the men of the 1st Regt. Colorado Volunteers rode down on them, Eagle Head and the other men scrambled to make a defense. When it was over, 137 men, women and children, mostly non-combatants were dead. The scene burned itself into Howling Wolf's memory for life.
Howling Wolf, like many Cheyenne and Arapaho men, would spend the next decade in constant conflict with the Army and the Settlers encroaching on their land, killing buffalo and other game, and slowly eroding their way of life. By 1875, he had been captured and taken to Fort Sill, Oklahoma. From there, he and several other Cheyenne, Comanche, Kiowa and others were boarded onto a train and dispatched to Fort Marion, the old Castillo de San Marco, in St. Augustine, Florida. At least one of Howling Wolf's comrades attempted suicide and was later shot trying to escape. Once at Fort Marion, Howling Wolf and the others were offered something to pass the time. The fort commandant, Richard Henry Pratt, found some old ledger books along with chalks, pencils and other art utensils. Howling Wolf began drawing his people's struggles and suffering, including illustrations of what he had witnessed first-hand at Sand Creek. Some of his earlier drawings were sold to tourists at St. Augustine for a little money. Little did he know that one day his drawings would be collectors' items fetching hundreds of dollars, though he didn't see any of that money.
Pratt had definite ideas about assimilating his prisoners. He required that they dress in White clothing and picked out some of the younger men to receive schooling in math, reading and writing English and the like. Howling Wolf was also recruited as a post guard and achieved the rank of sergeant. In 1878 he was allowed to return to Oklahoma to live on the Cheyenne Reservation established there. He had considered staying in Florida to finish his education, but failing eyesight convinced him to go to Oklahoma. At least one time he traveled to Boston to seek treatment for his eyesight, but with little results. Finally, disillusioned with White ways of life, he reverted to Cheyenne customs again and became involved with the Native American Church. He died in 1927 In an auto accident while performing in a Wild West show in Texas.
Howling Wolf, like many Cheyenne and Arapaho men, would spend the next decade in constant conflict with the Army and the Settlers encroaching on their land, killing buffalo and other game, and slowly eroding their way of life. By 1875, he had been captured and taken to Fort Sill, Oklahoma. From there, he and several other Cheyenne, Comanche, Kiowa and others were boarded onto a train and dispatched to Fort Marion, the old Castillo de San Marco, in St. Augustine, Florida. At least one of Howling Wolf's comrades attempted suicide and was later shot trying to escape. Once at Fort Marion, Howling Wolf and the others were offered something to pass the time. The fort commandant, Richard Henry Pratt, found some old ledger books along with chalks, pencils and other art utensils. Howling Wolf began drawing his people's struggles and suffering, including illustrations of what he had witnessed first-hand at Sand Creek. Some of his earlier drawings were sold to tourists at St. Augustine for a little money. Little did he know that one day his drawings would be collectors' items fetching hundreds of dollars, though he didn't see any of that money.Pratt had definite ideas about assimilating his prisoners. He required that they dress in White clothing and picked out some of the younger men to receive schooling in math, reading and writing English and the like. Howling Wolf was also recruited as a post guard and achieved the rank of sergeant. In 1878 he was allowed to return to Oklahoma to live on the Cheyenne Reservation established there. He had considered staying in Florida to finish his education, but failing eyesight convinced him to go to Oklahoma. At least one time he traveled to Boston to seek treatment for his eyesight, but with little results. Finally, disillusioned with White ways of life, he reverted to Cheyenne customs again and became involved with the Native American Church. He died in 1927 In an auto accident while performing in a Wild West show in Texas.
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