Wichita Agency-Tonkawa Massacre, 1862 |
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During 1862 seventy Delawares and twenty-six Shawnee from Kansas led
by the Delaware Ben Simon, arrived at the Wichita agency and began stirring
up trouble. Added to the mix was a rumor circulating among the reservation
Indians that the hated Tonkawa had killed a Caddo boy and were preparing
to eat him. Just after dark on October 23 they were joined by warriors
from other tribes as they surrounded the agency headquarters. After
a Delaware was killed and a Shawnee wounded, the four whites inside
were slain and the building ransacked and burned. Hearing the gunfire,
the Tonkawas became frightened and fled from the agency. Their trail
was discovered the next morning and followed to a grove of trees where
the Tonkawas had attempted to conceal themselves. In the ensuing slaughter,
all but about 150 of the 390 Tonkawa men, women and children managed
to escape. Among those killed was Chief Placido.
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