The Buffalo Hunters' War, or the Staked Plains War, occurred in 1877. Approximately 170

Comanche The Comanche (), or Nʉmʉnʉʉ (, 'the people'), are a Tribe (Native American), Native American tribe from the Great Plains, Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the List of federally recognized tri ...

warriors and their families led by Quohadi chief Black Horse or Tu-ukumah (unknown–ca. 1900) left the

Indian Territory Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United States, ...

in December, 1876, for the

Llano Estacado The Llano Estacado (), sometimes translated into English as the Staked Plains, is a region in the Southwestern United States that encompasses parts of eastern New Mexico and northwestern Texas. One of the largest mesas or tablelands on the North A ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. In February, 1877, they, and their

Apache The Apache ( ) are several Southern Athabaskan language-speaking peoples of the Southwestern United States, Southwest, the Southern Plains and Northern Mexico. They are linguistically related to the Navajo. They migrated from the Athabascan ho ...

allies, began attacking 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 Patrick Floyd Jarvis Garrett (June 5, 1850February 29, 1908) was an American Old West lawman, bartender and U.S. Customs, customs agent known for killing Billy the Kid. He was the Sheriffs in the United States, sheriff of Lincoln County, New Me ...

. Forty-five hunters, led by Hank Campbell, Jim Smith, and Joe Freed, and guided by Jose Tafoya, left Rath City, a

trading post A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory in European and colonial contexts, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded. Typically a trading post allows people from one geogr ...

on the

Double Mountain Fork Brazos River The Double Mountain Fork Brazos River is an ephemeral, sandy-braided stream about long, heading on the Llano Estacado of West Texas about southeast of Tahoka, Texas, flowing east-northeast across the western Rolling Plains to join the Salt Fo ...

. Smoky Hill Thompson remained behind to lead the defense of the trading post. The party trailed the

natives There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

to their camp in Thompson's Canyon, now known as

Yellow House Canyon Yellow House Canyon is about long, heading in Lubbock, Texas, at the junction of Blackwater Draw and Yellow House Draw, and trending generally southeastward to the edge of the Llano Estacado about east of Slaton, Texas; it forms one of three ...

in present-day

Lubbock, Texas Lubbock ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Lubbock County. With a population of 272,086 in 2024, Lubbock is the 10th-most populous city in Texas and the 84th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the ...

, where they attacked on March 18. The hunters were repulsed and the natives escaped, including white captive

Herman Lehmann Herman Lehmann (June 5, 1859 – February 2, 1932) was captured as a child by Native Americans. He lived first among the Apache and then the Comanche but returned to his Euro-American birth family later in life. He published his autobiography, ...

, who was wounded in the battle. The hunters' casualties were four wounded and one later dying from wounds. It was later reported by the military that the natives suffered 35 dead and 22 wounded.

References

* Dictionary of American History by

James Truslow Adams James Truslow Adams (October 18, 1878 – May 18, 1949) was an American writer and historian. He was a freelance author who helped to popularize the latest scholarship about American history and his three-volume history of New England is well r ...

, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1940 * The Border and the Buffalo by John R. Cook, 1907, Citadel Press (1967) * *
In 1877, Mackenzie Park was site of a deadly battle
Lubbock Online, Nov. 27, 2007 Battles in 1877 Comanche campaign Texas–Indian Wars Wars involving the Indigenous peoples of North America Battles involving the Comanche Bison hunting 1877 in the United States Apache Wars {{hunting-stub

See also

References