Buffalo Hunters' War

The Buffalo Hunters' War or Staked Plains War occurred in 1877. Approximately 170 Comanche warriors and their families led by Black Horse left the Indian Territory in December, 1876, for the Staked Plains of Texas. In February, 1877, they attacked buffalo hunters' camps in the Red River country of the Texas Panhandle, killing or wounding several. They also stole horses from the camp of Pat Garrett. Forty-five hunters, led by Hank Campbell, Jim Smith, and Joe Freed, and guided by Jose Tafoya, left Rath City, a trading post on the Double Mountain Fork of the Brazos River (in present day Stonewall County). Smoky Hill Thompson remained behind to lead the defense of the trading post. The party trailed the Indians to their camp in Thompson's Canyon (now known as Yellow House Canyon in present-day Lubbock, Texas), where they attacked on March 18. The hunters were repulsed and the Indians escaped, including white captive Herman Lehmann, who was wounded in the battle. Among the hunters were four wounded and one later dying from wounds. The Indian loss was later reported by the military to be 35 dead and 22 wounded. This was one of the last armed conflicts with Comanche warriors.

References

*Dictionary of American History by James Truslow Adams, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1940
*The Border and the Buffalo by John R. Cook, 1907, Citadel Press (1967)
*Handbook of Texas | id=BB/fbl1 | name=Black Horse
*Handbook of Texas | id=YY/qfy1 | name=Battle of Yellow House Canyon
* [http://www.lubbockonline.com/stories/112707/lif_112707026.shtml In 1877, Mackenzie Park was site of a deadly battle] . Lubbock Online, Nov. 27, 2007