Cheyenne Raid in Kansas

In the fight that ensued Lewis was killed. Telegrams from various points in the western part of the state poured into the governor's office appealing for aid, but still General Pope declined to act.  

On September 30th the Cheyenne appeared in Decatur County near Oberlin, Kansas. When it became known that the Indians were in in the county, a meeting was held and a number of men volunteered to defend the area. They  were divided into three small companies commanded by W. D. Street, J. W. Allen and Solomon Rees. They went in different directions, scouring the western part of the county, but Captain Rees' company was the only one that came in contact with the Indians. A running fight of several miles followed, in which one Indian was killed, and it was thought several others were wounded. All together, 17 white settlers were killed in Decatur County. The Indians were finally overpowered and returned to the reservation. This was the last Indian raid of any consequence in Kansas. Clara Hazelrigg, in her book, History of Kansas said: "Of the many Indian raids in Kansas, none was ever characterized with such brutal and ferocious crimes, and none ever excited such horror and indignation as the Cheyenne raid of 1878."

On November 11, 1878, Governor Anthony wrote to the Secretary of War demanding the surrender of the chiefs to the civil authorities to be tried on the charge of murder. The chief, Wild Hog, and six others surrendered in December, and on February 15, 1879, were taken from Fort Leavenworth to Dodge City for trial. They were finally tried in Ford and Douglas Counties, but the evidence was insufficient to convict, and in October, 1879, the Indians were released by order of Judge Stephens of Lawrence.

After the raid the government established a cantonment in the Indian Territory, on the north fork of the Canadian River between Fort Supply and Fort Reno, Oklahoma, for the better protection of the settlers in western Kansas. The post was occupied by five companies of foot soldiers and one company of mounted infantry. Steps were also taken by the state to afford security to the western settlements. Governor John St. John, who succeeded Anthony in January, 1879, in his first message to the legislature, recommended the establishment of a military contingent fund and on March 12, 1879, $20,000 was appropriated for the fund.

In 1909, the Kansas Legislature appropriated $1,500 to the Board of County Commissioners of Decatur County to erecting a monument in memory of the citizens of that county who were killed on September 30, 1878, victims of the Cheyenne Raid. The victims are buried in the Oberlin Cemetery where the monument also stands.

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