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Adobe Walls: The History and Archaeology of the 1874 Trading Post
In the spring of 1874 a handful of men and one women set out for the Texas Panhandle to seek their fortunes in the great buffalo hunt. Moving south to follow the herds, they intended to establish a trading post to serve the hunter, or “hide men.” At a place called Adobe Walls they dug blocks from the sod and built their center of operations
After operating for only a few months, the post was attacked one sultry June morning by angry members of several Plains Indian tribes, whose physical and cultural survival depending on the great bison herd that were rapidly shrinking before the white men’s guns.
Initially defeated, that attacking Indians retreated. But the defenders also retreated leaving the deserted post to be burned by Indians intent on erasing all traces of the white man’s presence. Nonetheless, tracing did remain, and in the ashes and dirt were buried minute details of the hide men’s lives and the battle that so suddenly changed them.
A little more than a century later white men again dug into the sod at Adobe Walls. The nineteenth-century men dug for profits, but the modern hunters sere looking for the natural time capsule inadvertently left by those earlier adventurers.
The authors of this book, a historian and an archeologists, have dug into the sod and into far-flung archives to sift reality form the long-romanticized story of Adobe Walls, its residents, and the Indians who so fiercely resented their presence. The full story of Adobe Walls now tells us much about the life and work of the hide men, about the dying of the Plains Indian culture, and about the march of white commerce across the frontier.
After operating for only a few months, the post was attacked one sultry June morning by angry members of several Plains Indian tribes, whose physical and cultural survival depending on the great bison herd that were rapidly shrinking before the white men’s guns.
Initially defeated, that attacking Indians retreated. But the defenders also retreated leaving the deserted post to be burned by Indians intent on erasing all traces of the white man’s presence. Nonetheless, tracing did remain, and in the ashes and dirt were buried minute details of the hide men’s lives and the battle that so suddenly changed them.
A little more than a century later white men again dug into the sod at Adobe Walls. The nineteenth-century men dug for profits, but the modern hunters sere looking for the natural time capsule inadvertently left by those earlier adventurers.
The authors of this book, a historian and an archeologists, have dug into the sod and into far-flung archives to sift reality form the long-romanticized story of Adobe Walls, its residents, and the Indians who so fiercely resented their presence. The full story of Adobe Walls now tells us much about the life and work of the hide men, about the dying of the Plains Indian culture, and about the march of white commerce across the frontier.
- GenresHistory
430 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 1986
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January 27, 2022
In the spring of 1874, Dodge City merchants established a trading post in the Texas Panhandle called Adobe Walls to provide goods and services to the buffalo hunters who were decimating the last of the great bison herds of North America for the extraordinary profits derived from the sale of the animals' skins.
In late June 1874, Kiowa and Comanche warriors attacked the post. Although greatly outnumbered, the denizens of the post held their position and the Indians abandoned the effort. Not long afterward, the traders headed back to Dodge, leaving the post to crumble in the dust.
This book provides a detailed history of the Adobe Walls and the battle. The second part reports on a major archeological dig at the site and its findings. Both are academic reading. This review relates only to the first portion -- the history.
Author and historian T. Lindsay Baker worked primary sources to put together this definitive history of the establishment, operations, events and the people of the Adobe Walls. His research is well-noted and documented. Because of this commitment to what could be proven by written contemporaneous documents, matters relating to the Native Americans tend to be under-reported. One gets the sense Baker recorded no fact which could not be satisfactorily verified.
This is a history of a European-American settlement in Indian country so that is what is recounted here. The author tends to overlook the post's support of the promiscuous and wasteful slaughter of the buffalo and the economic devastation it represented to the Plains Indians. Blood lust is an attributed motivation for the attack on Adobe Walls. A closer examination would have suggested this excursion and major encounter of the Red River War was a quixotic last stand by the Kiowa and Comanche.
For students of the past American West, this history is an important resource. It is not compelling reading, but it is not meant to be.
In late June 1874, Kiowa and Comanche warriors attacked the post. Although greatly outnumbered, the denizens of the post held their position and the Indians abandoned the effort. Not long afterward, the traders headed back to Dodge, leaving the post to crumble in the dust.
This book provides a detailed history of the Adobe Walls and the battle. The second part reports on a major archeological dig at the site and its findings. Both are academic reading. This review relates only to the first portion -- the history.
Author and historian T. Lindsay Baker worked primary sources to put together this definitive history of the establishment, operations, events and the people of the Adobe Walls. His research is well-noted and documented. Because of this commitment to what could be proven by written contemporaneous documents, matters relating to the Native Americans tend to be under-reported. One gets the sense Baker recorded no fact which could not be satisfactorily verified.
This is a history of a European-American settlement in Indian country so that is what is recounted here. The author tends to overlook the post's support of the promiscuous and wasteful slaughter of the buffalo and the economic devastation it represented to the Plains Indians. Blood lust is an attributed motivation for the attack on Adobe Walls. A closer examination would have suggested this excursion and major encounter of the Red River War was a quixotic last stand by the Kiowa and Comanche.
For students of the past American West, this history is an important resource. It is not compelling reading, but it is not meant to be.
Displaying 1 of 1 review