Heroes of the Santa Fe Trail

by Randy D. Smith

  Carr was forced to scatter his command along the waters of San Francisco Creek in order to make best use of forage and resources. As troops were ranging farther and farther out, livestock began dying of starvation and extreme cold. Scurvy spread among the men by February. The doctor stated that the force was in increasingly difficult circumstances and only fresh meat or vegetables would have any effect upon health. Cody was summoned and during a conference with Carr and the doctor. The young scout was asked if he felt he could secure a supply of buffalo meat to help relieve the command. Cody was doubtful stating that the livestock was in too poor condition for any kind of trip and the buffalo at least a hundred snowbound miles away. He feared he would lose everything in the twelve to fifteen days that it would take to make the journey. The general responded by offering Cody the best of everything left in the command to make the journey. A force of twenty wagons with teamsters, a wagon master and twenty infantrymen under the command of Sgt. Luke Cahill were assigned to Cody for the hunt.

  Cody and his force set out for the sheltered areas along the Cimarron and Sharp’s Creek where he felt he had the best chance of finding buffalo. For four days the force struggled north. The snow was frozen so hard that the men could not drive their tent stakes in it to hold their tents up. Water was almost impossible to find and mules were compelled to lick snow. When bare ground was located the men eagerly gathered buffalo chips so they could make fires to cook coffee. On the fifth day Cody ran fifty buffalo into deep snow drifted over a ravine and killed them all as they struggled to regain their footing. Every man then went to work salvaging as much meat and hides as possible. Even the huge heads were retrieved for soup and rendering against Cody’s advice.

  George Custer

  The following day Cody found another herd twenty miles further east in much less snow. He elected to run them down on horseback, shooting the beasts Indian fashion. He wore out two horses killing forty-one head. The beasts were scattered over 20 miles and it took two days to gather them up for processing. Cody was so badly jarred from the recoil of his Springfield rifle that he needed help to put on his coat. His shoulder and breast was a mass of black and blue and he had difficulty raising his right arm to shoulder level.

  When the force returned to camp, they had over a hundred processed bison. Carr, Penrose, Hickok and most of the officers rode out to greet the caravan. Both officers and troops especially singled out Cody as a hero. Carr excused all that participated in the hunt from night guard duty as a reward for the action.

  Soon, word was received of Custer’s assault of November 27, along the Washita River and the command was ordered back to Fort Lyon. The major battle of the campaign had been fought before Carr’s command had even left Fort Lyon. The mop up action and trap had accomplished little as the tribes did not attempt escape to the west or had not been spotted when they did. Once Custer had pulled off his initial surprise and the massacre that followed, the tribes simply seemed to evaporate into the landscape.

  ***

  Because of the wretched condition of his mules and horses, Carr was forced to cover over and abandon much of his depot supplies. To this day the caches (commonly referred to as the Treasure of the Rifle Pits) are a source of mystery for treasure hunters and artifact collectors although they have never been located.

  Cody is said to have written about the events of the winter campaign of 1868 and 1869 in a letter written to Sgt. Cahill in 1913. He likened the campaign to Napoleon’s retreat from Moscow. Forty years after the event the famous showman and scout, in the twilight of his years, commented on the courage and quiet strength exhibited by troops as they stood their duty in the face of starvation, sickness and almost unendurable hardship. But other than the men who served, most historical accounts only tell of Custer’s victory, and ignore the tremendous challenge of the troops assigned to support.

  Chapter 20

  Charlie Rath – Kansas Frontiersman

  Charles Rath

  One act of heroism exemplifies the character and strength of a man who may be one of the most overlooked figures in the history of the settlement of Kansas.

  J. W. and W. Zere Hickman were looking for work in Council Grove, Kansas, in early April, 1864, when they ran into J. W.’s old employer, Charles Rath. Charlie was trading with the Comanche and needed some men to accompany him back to his ranch at the mouth of Walnut Creek before heading out on a trading expedition. The young men agreed and after loading a spring wagon, the trio set out for the ranch. Charlie had put together the usual goods for such a venture—flashy trinkets, sugar, coffee, bright red and deep blue calico, and tobacco. Because Rath was fond of Ten Bear, an old man and head chief of the Comanche, he purchased a complete outfit of wearing apparel for him. It was customary to give a chief some gifts before trading started but Charlie was providing an especially luxurious offering because there was so much unrest among the tribes and it was good business to keep the old man on good terms.

  Although only twenty-eight years of age, Charlie Rath was far from a newcomer to the frontier. An immigrant in 1848, Charlie arrived in Philadelphia from Stuttgart, Germany, when only a boy of twelve. His father, John Christian Rath, settled his family near Sweatwine, a store-post office community near Cincinnati, Ohio. Besides his wife Philomene Bertha and newborn Adolf, there were the other children, Chris, Charles, Will, Lewis, Hanna, Caroline and Louisa. Charlie was not fond of the backbreaking work of field labor and ran away in the early 1850s. Heading west to make his fortune, he joined a Bent-St. Vrain trading caravan to make a plains crossing. Arriving at Bent’s Fort, he acted as a commissary man and in time became a trader for the company roaming throughout the Kansas frontier. Rath was good with languages and was considered one of the better men at sign. He spoke several Indian languages well, especially Cheyenne. He followed the Cheyenne eastward across the plains on their annual buffalo hunt in the spring of 1855 trading for horses, furs, pelts, buffalo hides and robes. Most of these goods were sold at Fort Hays or Kansas City at substantial profit. He invested his money in freight wagons and ran goods out of Fort Riley by 1858.

  He also married into the Cheyenne tribe, his first wife being Making-Out-Road, a firestorm previously married to Kit Carson until she divorced him by unceremoniously throwing Kit and his Arapaho daughter out of her tipi. In her younger days, Roadmaker, as she was commonly known, was a vivacious beauty with a bit of influence among the tribe. She didn’t have much luck with husbands, however. Her marriage to Carson lasted little more than a year and was marked by many violent quarrels. After Carson she married in short order two Cheyenne, Flat Head and Wolf Man, with equally disastrous results. When she met Charlie she had four children, twin boys, a girl and another boy. It was Indian custom for the mother to keep the children after a divorce. Making-Out-Road means laying down the law in Cheyenne, a befitting name for this particular lady. William Bent’s wife, Owl Woman, who belonged to the same Little Bear clan, guided Charlie toward her. Other than a daughter, Cheyenne Belle, very little came of the union and it did not last. Rath spent far too much time away from home and Roadmaker would not leave her tribe when he wanted to build his businesses in Kansas.

  Rath established a ranch on the Walnut Creek four miles east of present-day Great Bend, Kansas, which was managed by Harvey West. The large single building structure functioned as a stagecoach stop, trading post, restaurant, and lodging house. A Santa Fe Trail toll bridge was also located nearby on the property. It was an ideal location to store livestock and goods assembled from trading ventures until transfer could be made to the city markets in the east. Although profitable, Rath was not a resident of this ranch or at least two others that he controlled, choosing to use it as a “base of operations” for his Indian trading and business ventures stretching from Fort Leavenworth west to Buffalo City (later Dodge City).

  Rath was known as a man of cool courage, a fine horseman who always traveled well mounted, and a dead shot with rifle or revolver. He was commonly regarded as an Indian expert and
a fair employer whose word was law. His Indian relations were good enough that the tribes usually warned him before they went on the warpath. His ranch at Walnut Creek had been raided on occasion, however, and he had lost horses.

  Rath respected Indians but did not trust them. Following the trading code of the Bents, he did not try to take advantage of the tribes but was not against taking a lucrative profit when the occasion arose. He illegally traded in whiskey but did not abuse the situation. He was regarded as a man who, like Carson or Bent, could generally outguess the Indians and act accordingly. He occasionally acted as a liaison between the white and red communities and was called upon to go out alone on the prairie and convince the tribes to come in for conferences and negotiations. As the men progressed west, Rath kept the mules going at a good clip explaining that he was in a hurry and wanted to be at the ranch in three days. The ranch was one hundred fifty miles from Council Grove and the load heavy. They made the Little Arkansas stage station by late evening and were on the road for Cow Creek before sunrise the following day.

  A heavy storm front caught their attention about mid-afternoon and although the cargo was tightly tarped, the men only had one heavy blanket on the wagon seat to protect them from a soaking. Rath told of a house on Chavez Creek kept by an old man and woman where they could get protection from the weather.

  As the front closed upon the travelers, thunder sounded and lightning flashed. The sky became increasingly black and Rath commented that this was not going to be a storm to be braved in the open.

  Shortly he turned off the road, easing the mules along a narrow trail explaining that they would stop and stay all night with the old man. Rath explained that the old man earned a scanty living trading for lame oxen that became foot sore and were unable to travel further along the Santa Fe Trail. Caravans sold them cheap so they would not be burdened by stock of no value. The old man also trapped skunks and sold the hides for a few extra pennies.

  Rath halted the team within a hundred feet of the shack and instructed the men to unharness the team. He started toward the house, saying that he would order something for them to eat. As he approached the house he suddenly stopped, went into a crouch and hurried back to the team.

  ***

  The house was full of drunken Indians and Rath feared that the old people were probably dead. If they weren’t it was up to Rath and his men to try a rescue. Rath took the blanket from the spring seat and stretched it over the rear wheel of the wagon to hide any light from the house. He struck a match, telling his men to examine their revolvers to see that they were fully loaded and in good working order. As was the custom, each carried two fully charged Colt Navy revolvers.

  Rath told them to remove their coats and pull the revolvers around in front so they could get at them quickly. He advised that they follow his actions closely and certainly not to draw their revolvers unless he did. But, if the guns were pulled, they were to make every shot count as quickly as possible.

  The Hickman brothers could only look at each other in wide-eyed wonder. Rath really did intend to walk into the middle of a band of wild drunken Indians with nothing more than raw courage and a pair of Navy Colts. But, they weren’t about to let him go it alone so they adjusted their revolvers and joined the long walk to the shack.

  Rath walked to the door as quickly and quietly as possible and passed through without knocking with the Hickman brothers closely following. The room, barely sixteen feet square, held fifteen Kiowa Indians in various states of intoxication. In spite of a positive greeting of recognition from the Kiowa when Rath and his men entered, their bows were strung and arrows were in their hands. All watched Rath closely.

  Rath spoke quickly and loudly to the entire group. Although the Hickman brothers did not understand a word Rath was saying, it was obvious that they were having an effect upon the Kiowa. The Indians immediately unstrung their bows, put away the arrows and began slipping outside. Apparently Rath’s arguments and the presence of three men ready to pull six Navy Colts was enough to convince the braves to retire.

  As the last Indian stepped out the door, Rath closed and secured it immediately. Then with a look of urgency, he instructed the brothers to see if the old couple could be located while he remained at the door.

  The old folks were found in the adjoining room. They were crouched in a corner, almost crazed with fear. Every thing in the house was scattered and strewn about. The Kiowa had come to the house demanding whiskey. When the old man told them that he had none, the braves forced entry and ransacked the house looking for it.

  Rath helped the old woman gather her belongings. He instructed the men to clear debris from the room and watch carefully for Indian actions. He also instructed that they should prepare a meal. While the food was being prepared, he ordered the Hickman brothers to bring the wagon and team to the front of the house.

  With revolvers drawn, the brothers made quick passage to the wagon, harnessed the mules and brought the outfit to the porch. Rath instructed that it be left next to the door while the men had their meal.

  After the meal, Rath decided to stay the night and went outside to unhitch the mules, tying them to the back of the wagon for the night. He was concerned that the Indians might steal the stock or the trade goods, and possibly burn the wagon. He was equally sure that none of them wanted to venture into the darkness with angry Kiowa about. They kept careful watch throughout the night. Ironically, it never did rain a drop.

  The Kiowa did not choose to go after the team or the cabin full of heavily armed men. The men chose to leave early that morning. The old folks decided that the danger had probably passed and elected to remain behind. By sunrise Rath and his men were well on their way to Cow Creek.

  After they had traveled some distance, Rath slapped the lines across the mules’ rump and began talking about the affair with the Kiowa. He admitted that he hadn’t fully realized what they were getting into until they were in the room. Once committed he knew he had to run a bluff with the braves right from the start or all of them were done for. Had the Indians rushed them at such close quarters, they would have been overwhelmed before any could have drawn their revolvers. After frankly explaining their situation, he dropped the subject leaving the brothers to contemplate how closely they had come to death.

  Charles Rath and the Hickman brothers parted company at the Walnut Creek ranch. A few days later, Rath survived the defense of the ranch by an attack from Ten Bear’s clan after he made a perilous retreat from the angry tribe. Rath went on to become a founder of Dodge City, Kansas. He was a partner in Wright & Rath, one of the largest of the hide buying companies of the great bison slaughter of the 1870s. It is Charlie Rath sitting on the pile of hides in the famous photograph of the Dodge City hide yards. He was instrumental in the founding of the buffalo hunting colony at Adobe Walls. He survived a bullet wound from gunfight with a robber in Larned, Kansas. It was Charlie Rath who coolly guided troops into the Canadian River country in pursuit of hostiles after the Lone Tree Massacre. His freighting company helped supply troops engaged in the Winter Campaign of 1868-69 and the Battle of the Washita. He established a freighting company that supplied goods for the building of the Santa Fe Railroad through southwest Kansas. He later lost a fortune attempting to establish Rath City, Texas, and building the Rath Trail from Dodge City through Mobeetie, Oklahoma, to Rath City.

  By 1902, the once wealthy man was reduced to playing a borrowed hand organ on the streets of Trinidad, Colorado, to get money for food until his sister could supply him with funds to continue a trip to California. He died July 30, 1902, at the age of sixty-six years of mitral insufficience, according to the death report, and was buried in Los Angeles.

  In 1912, J.W. Hickman of Independence, Missouri, walked into the Rath & Bainbridge Drug Store in Dodge City, Kansas, to talk with the proprietor, Robert M. Rath, Charlie’s son. He simply stated that he had been thinking about his old employer and very dear friend, Charlie Rath. After telling about the time he had helped save the l
ives of the old couple on Chavez Creek, he ended the story saying that the incident explained the true character of Charlie Rath. Charlie was the type of man who went to their rescue without any thought of self in spite of the dangers involved. Many a man would have hitched up the mules and driven away. Hickman felt that in all his years on the plains he never saw another man display any more genuine nerve than he did from Charlie Rath that night on Chavez Creek.

  When Robert told Hickman of his father’s death, Hickman was thoughtful for a moment; then he said, “I am sorry to hear of his death. I never saw him but once after I left his employ and that was while he was in Kansas City buying his outfit for the Adobe Walls store. I thought at the time wherever there was a new frontier, Charles Rath would be there.”

  Chapter 21

  Fort Union, Defender of the Union Southwest

  Fort Union

  An earthen star fort was built to defend the Santa Fe Trail that one officer claimed, “All Texas Cannot Take.” The fact is that the entire structure was a boondoggle that could be pounded to dust by artillery if the Confederacy took the mesa to the west.

  After the Mexican War in 1847, there was an influx of traffic along the Santa Fe Trail from the states as the population swarmed west toward the rich gold fields of California and the promise of new wealth in the Spanish Southwest. Although the United States eagerly accepted the rich prize of the Southwest, the Indian problem was frightening in its magnitude. For over two hundred years, Apache and Navajo terrorized New Mexico along the Rio Grande settlements of the central region and the eastern plains by Kiowa and Comanche. By 1851, thirteen hundred soldiers were stationed in New Mexico Territory and the demand for more troops steadily increased throughout the decade. At first the soldiers were scattered among eleven tiny outpost settlements with Fort Marcy in Santa Fe designated the headquarters. The makeshift system, based on the Mexican model, failed at almost every aspect. The system was expensive to supply and maintain, difficult to keep coordinated, and the troops could only act with too little force after too much time spent organizing. All the troops were able to do was protect the settlements with no real means of taking the offensive to the Indians, a problem Mexico had failed to address throughout its dominance of the area.