Sweet Savage Surrender (50 page)

AUTHOR’S NOTE

The inspiration for this historical romance novel was sparked by a controversy concerning a residence hall at the
University
of
Colorado
, named for David H. Nichols, a former
Colorado
lieutenant governor (1893-1895) who helped found
Boulder
’s first school and the
U
niversity
of
Colorado
. When it was called to the attention of the citizens of
Boulder
that Mr. Nichols had served as a captain in the Third Colorado Cavalry and that he had taken part in the controversial Sand Creek Massacre (1864), a decision was made to rename the hall. It is now called the Cheyenne Arapaho hall. The newspaper headline piqued my curiosity. I wanted to find out what had really happened in that tragic confrontation. After studying about the Sand Creek Massacre, I knew I had to tell this story.

The Sand Creek massacre is one of the most controversial of Indian conflicts. For nearly a full century the complete story has remained unchronicled, largely
b
ecause of the prejudices which surround it. It was the subject of both Army and congressional investigators and inquiries, a matter of vigorous newspaper debates,
and a
national wave of public indignation,
political oratory, and gossip, biased both from the Army’s point of view and from that of the Indians’.

O
n November
29
, 1964,
Cheyenne
and Arapaho
Ind
ia
ns, who thought they were under the army post’s protection
and had thus given up their
weapons
, were slaughtered when 700 troops, many of them drinking heavily, attacked the
Ind
ia
n village. When the attack was over
approximately
150
Ind
ia
ns lay dead. The cavalry lost only nine or ten men with three dozen or more wounded. Those responsible returned to
Denver
, proudly exhibiting their scalps, and trophies taken from the women
’s bodies
, to receive a hero’s welcome.
Within weeks, however, eyewitnesses came forward offering conflicting testimony—that the soldiers attacked unarmed Indians—killing as many as possible, including babies
.

The effects of Sand Creek extended far beyond the politics and borders of
Colorado
Territory
. It meant the end of the Indian trader in
Colorado
, as well as the dominance of the
Cheyenne
and Arapaho tribes in the lands east of the mountains. It was influential in setting the stage for the years of bloody battle with the Plains Indians after the Ci
vil War. In the
aftermath and for years to foll
ow, it remained in the Indians’
mind as the foremost symbol of the white man’s treachery. The fact that most of the dead were
elderly men,
women and children and that Indian bodies had been mutilated made it a particularly horrifying occurrence.

Colonel Chivington is an actual person. With the expansion west, the Indians were seen as more and more of a problem,
“
heathens
”
who stood in the way of progress, who occupied territory coveted by gold miners, settlers, and the railroad. There was controversy as to what was to be done with them, some advocating a peaceful settlement and others favoring the more brutal solution of extermination.
Chivington was of the faction whose point of view leaned toward a more violent end. To those who emphasize his responsibility for the massacre at Sand Creek it is sometimes referred to as the “Chivington Massacre.”

Today the site of the massacre is dedicated by a compromising historical marker which reads: “Sand Creek Battle (or ‘Massacre’.)
”
Will
ow
trees and cottonwood still mark the bend in the creek. A faint trickle of water still moistens the sandy bend upon whose banks the Indians camped with the thought in mind that they were under Army protection and would be safe. Now a somber silence seems to hang in
the air to remind us th
a
t once
Cheyenne
and Arapaho
band
s camped in peace and were
ruthlessly
struck down
.

During the infamous Sand Creek Massacre of November 29, 1864, 1
st
Colorado Cavalry Officer Captain Silas S. Soule disobeyed
orders by refusing to fire on the
peaceful
Cheyenne
and Arapaho village
s
of mainly women and children. Later, at army hearings, he testified against his commander, Colonel John M. Chivington, detailing the atroc
ities committed by the troops at
Sand Creek. In retaliation for this testimony, assassins shot and killed him in
Denver
on April 23, 1865.

AUTHOR BIO

    
Kathryn Hockett is the pseudonym used by the mother/daughter writing team of Marcia Vickery Hockett and Kathy Kramer.  Kathy hails from the Rocky Mountains and makes her home in
Boulder
,
Colorado
.  Marcia was born in
Jamestown
,
Colorado
, a beautiful mining town where her father owned several gold mines. Additional
pseudonyms
are Kathryn Kramer and Katherine Vickery.  These prolific authors have written a total of 40 historical romance novels which have been translated into German, Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, Japanese and Hebrew. They have won the Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice Award several years in a row.

A current project  is formatting all 40 book into the ebook format. To date Lady Rogue, Midsummer Night’s Desire, Pirate Bride
, Notorious, Flame From the Sea
(Kathryn Kramer); Desire of the Heart, Arrow to the Heart (Katherine Vickery); Outrageous,
Ind
igo
Sea
, Highland Destiny and
Gentle Warrior (Hockett) are available in ebook format for the Kindle. Kathy is currently working on
Desire’s Disguise which is part of the “Highwayman
” series.

Sweet Savage Surrender has a special significance for the writers as their home in
Boulder
has historical
connections
to this
story. The
Boulder
County
area was part of the land granted to Native Americans in the Treaty of Fort Laramie (1851). However, the government reneged on the grant after gold discoveries and offered instead inhospitable land in the Treaty of Fort Wise (1861). Also, Chief Niwot (Left Hand) and his band of Southern Arapahos made their winter camp in
Boulder
Va
lley
.  Chief Left Hand stated that “people seeing the beauty of this valley will want to stay and their stay will be the undoing of the beauty.”