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Kiowa Indian
Chiefs and Leaders
Dohasan (Dohásän,
'little bluff'; also Dohá, Doháte,
'bluff'). The hereditary name of a line of chiefs of the Kiowa for nearly a
century. It has been borne by at least four members of the family, viz:
(1) The first of whom there is remembrance was originally called Pá-do‛gâ′-i
or Padó‛gå,
'White-faced-buffalo-bull', and this name was afterward changed to Dohá,
or Doháte. He was a prominent chief.
(2) His son was originally called Ä′anoñ′te
(a word of doubtful etymology), and afterward took his father's name of Doháte,
which was changed to Dohasan, Little Doháte,
or Little-bluff, for distinction. He became a great chief, ruling over the whole
tribe from 1833 until his death on Cimarron r. in 1866, since which time no one
has had unquestioned allegiance in the tribe. His portrait was painted in 1834
by Catlin, who calls him Teh-toot-sah, and his name appears in the
treaty of 1837 as " To-ho-sa, the Top of the Mountain."
(3) His son, whose widow is Ankímä,
inherited his father's name, Dohásän.
He was also a distinguished warrior, and died about 1894. His scalp shirt and
war-bonnet case are in the National Museum.
(4) The nephew of the great Dohásän
II and cousin of the last mentioned (3) was also called Dohásän,
and always wore a silver cross with the name "Tohasan" engraved upon it. He was
the author of the Scott calendar and died in 1892. Shortly before his death he
changed his name to Dánpä′
, shoulder-blade, from dán, shoulder
(?), leaving only Ankímä's
husband (3) to bear the hereditary name, which is now extinct. Dohasan II, the
greatest chief in the history of the Kiowa tribe, in 1833 succeeded A‛dáte,
who had been deposed for having allowed his people to be surprised and massacred
by the Osage in that year. It was chiefly through his influence that peace was
made between the Kiowa and Osage after the massacre referred to, which has never
been broken. In 1862, when the Cheyenne, Arapaho, Comanche, Kiowa, and Kiowa
Apache were assembled on Arkansas r. to receive annuities, the agent threatened
them with punishment if they did not cease their raids. Dohasan listened in
perfect silence to the end, when he sprang to his feet, and calling the
attention of the agent to the hundreds of tipis in the valley below, replied in
a characteristic speech: "The white chief is a fool. He is a coward. His heart
is small not larger than a pebble stone. His men are not strong too few to
contend against my warriors. They are women. There are three chiefs the white
chief, the Spanish chief, and my self. The Spanish chief and myself are men. We
do bad toward each other sometimes stealing horses and taking scalps but we do
not get mad and act the fool. The white chief is a child, and, like a child,
gets mad quick. When my young men, to keep their women and children from
starving, take from the white man passing through our country, killing and
driving away our buffalo, a cup of sugar or coffee, the white chief is angry and
threatens to send his soldiers. I have looked for them a long time, but they
have not come. He is a coward. His heart is a woman's. I have spoken. Tell the
great chief what I have said." In addition to the treaty of 1837 Dohasan was
also a signer of the
treaty of Ft Atkinson, Ind. T., July 27, 1853, and that of
Oct. 18, -1865, on Little Arkansas r., Kansas. See Mooney in 17th Rep. B.
A. E., pt. 1, 1898.
Lone Wolf,
A Kiowa chief, one of the 9 signers of the treaty of Medicine Lodge,
Kansas in 1867, by which the Kiowa first agreed to Kiowa first agreed to
be placed on a reservation. In 1872 he headed a delegation to Washington.
The killing of his son by the Texans in 1873 embittered
hint against the whites, and in the outbreak of the following year he was
the recognized leader of the hostile part of the tribe. On the surrender
in the spring of 1875 he, with a number of others, was sent to military
confinement at Ft. Marion, Fla., where they remained 3 years. He died in
1879, shortly after his return, and was succeeded by his adopted son, of
the same name, who still retains authority in the tribe.
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Sleeping Wolf and Wife
Sleeping wolf (proper name Gui-k̉
ati, 'Wolf lying down'). Second chief of the Kiowa, a delegate
to Washington in 2872 , and a prominent leader in the outbreak of
1874-75. He was shot and killed in a quarrel with one of his
own tribe in 1877. The name is hereditary in the tribe and has
been borne by at least 5 successive individuals, the first of whom
negotiated the permanent peace between the Kiowa and Comanche about
1790. |
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Wooden Lance |
Kiowa Man and Woman |
Kiowa Woman |
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Adoeette
Adoeette (ado 'tree,' e-et 'great,'
te personal suffix: 'Big Tree'). A Kiowa chief, born about 1845.
In consequence of Custer's vigorous campaign on the Washita in the
fall of 1868 the Kiowa and confederated tribes had been compelled to
come in upon their reservation, in what is now south west Oklahoma,
but still kept up frequent raids into Texas notwithstanding the
establishment of Ft Sill in their midst. In May, 1871, a large party
of warriors led by |
| Satanta (properly Set-t 'aiñ-te, White
Bear), and accompanied by Satank (properly Set-ängyä, Sitting Bear),
and Big Tree, attacked a wagon train, killing 7 men and taking 41
mules. For their part in this deed, which they openly avowed, the
three chiefs named were arrested at Ft Sill to stand trial in Texas.
Setängyä made resistance and was killed by the guard. The other two
were confined in the Texas penitentiary until Oct., 1873, when they
were released on promise of good behavior of their tribe. Satanta
was subsequently rearrested and committed suicide in prison. During
the latter part of the outbreak of 1874-7 Big Tree, with other
chiefs believed to be secretly hostile, were confined as prisoners
at Ft Sill. Since that time the tribe has remained at peace. Big
Tree is still living upon his allotment on the former reservation
and is now a professed Christian. See Mooney,
Calendar Hist. Kiowa Inds., 17th Rep. B. A. E., 1898. |
Satanta (properly Set-t‘aiñ'-te,
'White Bear'). A noted Kiowa chief, born about 1830; died by suicide in
prison, Oct. 11, 1878. For about 15 years before his death he was
recognized as second chief in his tribe, the first rank being accorded to
his senior, Setängyä,
or Satank, and later to Lone Wolf, although probably neither of these
equaled him in force and ability. His eloquence in council gained for him
the title of "Orator of the Plains," while his manly boldness and
directness and his keen humor made him a favorite with army officers and
commissioners in spite of his known hostility to the white man's laws and
civilization. He was one of the signers of the Medicine Lodge treaty of
1867, by which his tribe agreed to go on a reservation, his being the
second Kiowa name attached to the document. The tribe, however, delayed
coming in until compelled by Custer, who seized Satanta and Lone Wolf as
hostages for the fulfillment of the conditions. For boastfully avowing his
part in a murderous raid into Texas in 1871, he, with Setangya and Big
Tree, was arrested and held for trial in Texas. Setangya was killed while
resisting the guard. The other two were tried and sentenced to life
imprisonment in the Texas State penitentiary. Two years later they were
released, conditional upon the good behavior of their people, but in the
fall of 1874, the Kiowa having again gone on the warpath, Satanta was
rearrested and taken back to the penitentiary where he finally committed
suicide by throwing himself from an upper story of the hospital.
In appearance Satanta was a typical Plains warrior, of
fine physique, erect bearing, and piercing glance. One who saw him in
prison in 1873 describes him as "a tall, finely formed man, princely in
carriage, on whom even the prison garb seemed elegant," and meeting his
visitor "with as much dignity and grace as though he were a monarch
receiving a foreign ambassador." His memory is cherished by the Kiowa as
that of one of their greatest men.
See Mooney, Calendar History of the Kiowa Inds., 17th Rep.
B. A. E., 1898.
Setangya (Set-äbgyä,
'Sitting Bear') A noted Kiowa chief and medicine man, and leader of the
principal war society of the tribe. commonly known to the whites as
Satank. He was born in the Black Hills region about the year 1810,
his paternal grandmother having been a Sarsi woman. He became
prominent at an early age, and is credited with having been a principal
agent in negotiating the final peace between the Kiowa and the Cheyenne
about 1840. His name heads the list of signers of the noted Medicine Lodge
treaty of 1867. In 1870 his son was killed by the whites while
raiding in Texas. The father went down into Texas, gathered the
bones into a bundle and brought them back, thenceforth carrying them about
with him upon a special horse until himself killed about a year later. On
May 17, 1871, in company with Settainte he led an attack on a wagon train
in Texas, by which 7 white men lost their lives. On making public boast of
the deed to the agent at Ft Sill, in the present Oklahoma, shortly
afterward, he and two others were arrested by military authority to be
sent to Texas for trial. Setangya, however, refused to be a prisoner, and
deliberately inviting death, sang his own death song, wrenched the fetters
from his wrists, and drawing a concealed knife sprang upon the guard and
was shot to death by the troops surrounding him. He was buried in the
military cemetery at Ft Sill.
The books presented are for their
historical value only and are not the
opinions of the Webmasters of the site.
Handbook
of American Indians, 1906
Index of Tribes or Nations
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