September 2 & 3 in Wyoming

Spent the past few days in and around Story, Wyoming (halfway between Buffalo & Sheridan - got it?). Beautiful area - saw scores of deer and antelope on the grassy plains as we drove sround the area. The deer in particular appeared to think they were immortal - not afraid of anything.
Lots of Western history took place in this area: Fort Phil Kearney was the centerpiece of a string of Army forts constructed in 1866 to guard the Bozeman trail (in direct violation of an existing treaty) and protect American miners as they made their way to the Montana gold fields (also in violation of the treaty). In December 1866 a company of cavalry under Capt. John Fetterman (who once boasted that he could "ride thru the entire Sioux nation with 80 men") departed the fort to relieve a wood-gathering party that had come under attack from some extremely inhospitable locals led by the Lakota Chief Red Cloud. Ignoring the direct orders of his Commanding Officer to stay within visual contact of the fort, he instead fell for a ruse concocted by the indians to lure him into an ambush. His 80 men were quickly surrounded by around 1500 Sioux warriors who were hiding along a river bank and even more quickly made to pay the price for Fetterman's arrogance. None of the soldiers survived.


Walking on Massacre Hill







The following summer of 1867 another wood gathering party (guess that qualified as hazardous duty back then) came under attack by 800-1000 warriors and likely would have met the same fate except that a month before they had received modern repeating rifles (Spencer Carbines) and so were able to hold off the attacking indians until a relief column arrived from the fort. It was called "The Wagon Box Fight". A year later the Army abandoned the forts along the Bozeman trail, which the Indians then unceremoniously burned to the ground. It was one of the few high points for the Plains Indians in their losing struggle against the Americans - in what became known to history as "Red Cloud's War".

Wagon Box Fight Memorial


The fort was just down the street from our mountain cabin. The Fetterman massacre site was another 3 miles away.