Big Tree (

Kiowa Kiowa () people are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribe and an indigenous people of the Great Plains of the United States. They migrated southward from western Montana into the Rocky Mountains in Colorado in the 17th a ...

: Ado-ete (ca. 1850–1929), was a noted

warrior and chief. He was a loyal follower of the fighting chiefs party (led by Satank, Satanta, and Guipago), and conducted frequent raids upon other tribes and white settlers, often being associated with Tsen-tainte (" White Horse"). Born in Kiowa territory (possibly present-day Oklahoma), Big Tree, along with the Kiowa, was forced onto a reservation at

Fort Sill Fort Sill is a United States Army post north of Lawton, Oklahoma, about 85 miles (136.8 km) southwest of Oklahoma City. It covers almost . The fort was first built during the Indian Wars. It is designated as a National Historic Landma ...

in present-day Oklahoma by the Medicine Lodge Treaty Council in 1867. He began leading raids against white settlers near the reservation and across the Red River in northern Texas. In 1870, Big Tree purportedly led a raid on Fort Sill in

Indian Territory The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans who held aboriginal title to their land as a sovereign ...

, but gained his notoriety from the Warren Wagon Train Raid the following year. Big Tree was arrested days later, along with Satanta and Satank, and tried for murder in

Jacksboro, Texas Jacksboro is a city in Jack County, Texas, in the United States. Its population was 4,511 at the 2010 census. U.S. Highways 281 and 380, and Texas State Highways 114 and 199 intersect at Jacksboro, which is the county seat of Jack County. Histo ...

. They were the first American Indian chiefs to be tried in civil court.

The Warren wagon train and trial

On May 18, 1871, the Warren wagon train, travelling down the Jacksboro-Belknap road heading towards Salt Creek Crossing, met a large group of riders ahead. Hidden in a thicket of scrub in the Salt Creek Prairie, the Kiowa had observed, without attacking, the transit of General

William Tecumseh Sherman William Tecumseh Sherman ( ; February 8, 1820February 14, 1891) was an American soldier, businessman, educator, and author. He served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–1865), achieving recognition for his com ...

's inspection retinue. The previous night, Mamanti (" He Walking-above"), the powerful shaman rival of

Tene-angopte Kicking Bird, also known as Tene-angop'te, "The Kicking Bird", "Eagle Who Strikes with his Talons", or "Striking Eagle" (1835 - May 3, 1875) was a High Chief of the Kiowa in the 1870s. It is said that he was given his name for the way he fought h ...

(" Kicking Bird" or "Striking Eagle")'s friend Napawat (" No Mocassins"), had prophesied that this small party would be followed by a larger one with more plunder for the taking, and the warriors let the soldiers go. Only three hours later the ten mule-drawn wagons filled with army corn and fodder fell into the ambush, and the warriors destroyed the corn supplies, killing and mutilating seven of the wagoneer's bodies. The Kiowa warriors lost three of their own but left with forty mules heavily laden with supplies. Five white men managed to escape, one of whom, Thomas Brazeale, walked to Fort Richardson, some twenty miles away. Col. Ranald S. Mackenzie, as soon as he learned of the incident, informed Sherman. Unlike some others (such as Tsen-tainte "White Horse", Zepko-ete "Big Bow" and Mamanti), Ado-ete ("Big Tree") was identified as one of the leaders, along with Satanta and Satank; notwithstanding the intervention of Guipago, with loaded rifles and guns and well prepared to fight, they were arrested and jailed at Fort Sill. Along the way to Jacksboro, Texas, while travelling to Fort Richardson for trial, Satank attempted to escape and was killed. Satanta was found guilty of murder and sentenced to death, as was Big Tree; but Edmund Davis, the Governor of Texas, under enormous pressure from leaders of the so-called Quaker Peace Policy, decided to overrule the court, and the punishment for both was commuted to life imprisonment. Satanta and Big Tree were convicted of murder on 5–6 July in Jack County, Texas. Thanks to the stubborn behaviour of Guipago, who forced the U.S. Government to agree by seriously threatening a new bloody war, Satanta and Big Tree were freed after two years of imprisonment at the Huntsville State Penitentiary in Texas. Big Tree didn't join the Kiowa party, led by Guipago and Satanta, going with the Comanche chief Quanah and several others to wipe out the hidemen at Adobe Walls, nor did he take part in the Buffalo and Red River war, so when Chief Kicking Bird was forced by General

Philip Sheridan General of the Army Philip Henry Sheridan (March 6, 1831 – August 5, 1888) was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War. His career was noted for his rapid rise to major general and his close as ...

to choose those among his tribe to be imprisoned in the east, Big Tree wasn't among them. In 1878, he and the other Kiowa were returned to the reservation in Indian Territory near Fort Sill, where he had still a career as a chief until he died on November 27, 1929.

The Warren wagon train and trial

See also

Notes