Around Kansas - Story of Battle Canyon - May 18, 2016
(Deb) While I wrestle the alligator, Marlin over here is going to [laughs] I had to that give away your age and if you're talking about Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom. (Frank) I was pretending to read a book here. (Frank) So I’m going to, [chuckles] present it again. (Deb) My lovely assistant. (Frank) Tell us about this. (Deb) Okay. This is a fantastic book. Ramon Powers. Many of you know Ramon was former Director of the Kansas State Historical Society before he retired. Native of Gove County. So he grew up in the middle of all this history. And Jim Leiker wrote this great book on the Northern Cheyenne. Now remember the movie Cheyenne Autumn? (Frank) [Hmm-hmm] (Deb) Okay. That's based on this incident. So the book talks about how this Cheyenne exodus, where the Cheyenne have been moved to Oklahoma and they're trying to get back to their native home in Northwestern Nebraska and that area right around Rapid City in South Dakota, a little South of there. So as they're coming through Kansas in 1878, with the raids. So, the one we're going to talk about today, the piece of that is the Battle of Punished Woman's Fork, which is just outside of Scott City, it's just there next to the lake. I had never been there until just this month or a few weeks ago, last month maybe. Dr. Jake took me out see it and I'm embarrassed to say I had not been to Battle Canyon before. And you've got to see it, you will be blown away. It's a fantastic site and the history is very tragic, as many of our Indian War stories are, but really important and the community there is doing an awful lot to interpret that and they got the El Quartelejo Museum in Scott City which helps interpret that history and the State Park there and there's just so much going on. So it's a fantastic place to go spend a day. And again, get some exercise during the spring and learn some fantastic history. Now Frank might actually read the book instead of just pretending to read. (Frank) Yes. I’m going to read this and she'll tell you the story. (Deb) Driving along Highway 83, North of Scott City, the prairie breaks into occasional bluffs, the grass is short and yucca dots the landscape. Even with these hints however, you can't help but gasp when you turn off the road to the West and drive down into historic Scott Lake State Park. Yes, down, the road winds down the hillside. The scenery and abundant wildlife, the sunrises and sunsets over the lake, the incredible history within its confines all beckon in the visitor to stay awhile. This corner of Kansas has many stories to tell. And today I will share just one, the Battle At Punished Woman's Fork in 1878. There are enough tragic stories in the annals of the Plains Indian Wars to fill volumes. Sadly this story is among them. The Northern Cheyenne had been moved from Northwestern Nebraska and bordering South Dakota to the Indian Territory. Conditions were deplorable and they decided to go home. Historian John Monnett calls it an Exodus, as we refer to the Children of Israel fleeing Egypt. Most Kansans of the day called it something else. The Dodge City Times covered skirmishes with the band of Cheyennes in their neighborhood. The red devils, the wild and hungry Cheyennes commit murder and arson. Several herders murdered. A house burned down. Wholesale stealing of horses, an Indian fight. Three soldiers killed and three wounded. The border wild with excitement. Straggling bands of Indians, raiding everywhere. Another Indian skirmish, an Indian killed, a soldier wounded. Emigrant trains robbed. Four companies of cavalry ordered to Dodge. I will not do the disservice of using that event to a couple of lines here. Let it be said Louis was mortally wounded and died en route to Fort Wallace and the Indians horse herd was destroyed. A devastating blow. The most significant effect however, lay in the attitudes on both sides, leading to pressure from the public for real protection. And a more violent and personal response from Dull Knife and his followers resulting in the brutal raid near Oberlin. This is a story you must experience. Visit Punish Woman's Fork adjoining Historic Scott Lake State Park. Visit the Gerry Thomas Gallery at the El Quartelejo Museum in Scott City where you will find photos and artifacts, along with Gerry's incredible art. Visit the Last Indian Raid Museum in Oberlin. Read the Northern Cheyenne Exodus in History and Memory by Jim Leiker and Ramon Powers. Read Tell Them We Are Going Home by John Monnett. The story is far too rich and complex for sound bites. But I will leave you with a couple. Louis was described by a friend as the most tolerant and least prejudiced man I ever met. And when Dull Knife's people reached the Promised Land and were imprisoned for crimes committed along the way, he responded that if the authorities tried to send us back we will butcher each other. Let us never ever forget these were real people, not just dusty photographs.
Traveling Kansas - Scott County (2015)
Enjoy the attractions, events and communities of Kansas! Traveling Kansas takes you to Scott County featuring El Quartelejo Museum, Jerry Thomas Gallery, Scott Lake, Battle Canyon, Scott County Hospital, Scott County Economic Development.
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Around Kansas - How the Smoky Hills Were Formed - August 31, 2016
(Deb) We were talking a couple of weeks ago about the fact that when I mentioned that I had moved out to Oakley, on the high plains, this one lady said, Oh I love the Flint Hills. While the Flint Hills are lovely, that's not all of Kansas, and it's not all the hills in Kansas. The Smoky Hills is quite extensive, and that's what we're going to talk about today. I think next week we hope to do the Chautauqua Hills. We did the Gyp Hills last week. We got some amazing hills in Kansas. We do. I’ve got to tell you, Dr. Jake has this amazing app on his phone, and I don't know who, what this app is but it's a barometer and an altimeter. As we're driving along on the road, I'm like, Give me your phone, and I'll check the altitude and see how big it is. Did I do a promo for this already? They should send me royalties. Not only do we deserve an Emmy, we deserve royalties for all the people that we're pitching here on the show [laughs]. (Frank) That's right. We have no shame. (Deb) We have none. None. Zero. So yes. If you buy one of those, you let me know so I can write the company. That is the coolest app. When you're going all over the state, and you're looking at the change in altitude -- Flat Kansas? Nope. It's not. It's not. (Frank) No. I know you're going to do Smoky Hills. As a historian, surely in that story you have why they're called the Smoky Hills? (Deb) I sure hope so. [Laughter] (Frank) I guess we're going to find out. (Deb) I guess we'll find out. Let’s take a look and see. Deeper seas than those of the Gypsum Hills formed the Cretaceous-age outcroppings of rock that characterize the Smoky Hills of north central Kansas. According to the Kansas Geological Survey, three principal rock outcrops characterize the Smoky Hills: the sandstones of the Dakota Formation, the limestones of the Greenhorn Limestone Formation, and the thick chalks of Niobrara Chalk. The Dakota Formation sandstones crop out in a wide belt from Rice and McPherson Counties in the south, to Washington County in the north. They are the remains of beach sands and sediments dumped by rivers draining into the early Cretaceous seas. The hills and buttes, like Coronado Heights, are capped by this sandstone. The next outcrop belt to the west is the Greenhorn Limestone, which is made up of thin chalky limestone beds alternating with thicker beds of shale. The Greenhorn limestone was deposited in a relatively shallow part of the Cretaceous Sea. Near the top of the Greenhorn is fence post limestone, used for building and fences due to the lack of wood. The westernmost range of hills developed on the thick chalks of the Niobrara Chalk. These beds were deposited in a deeper part of the Cretaceous ocean and are exposed in bluffs of the Solomon, Saline, and Smoky Hill Rivers. Pinnacles, spires, and odd-shaped masses such as Castle Rock and Monument Rock in Gove County are characteristic of those formations. It is in these outcroppings that the fossils of swimming reptiles like mosasaurs and plesiosaurs have been found. The Smoky Hills are extensive and there are several places to visit to learn more. In addition to the museums like the Sternberg in Hays or the Fick Fossil Museum in Oakley, the Fort Wallace Museum, the Russell Springs Museum, El Quartelejo in Scott City, and Ottawa County Museum in Minneapolis offer fossils and related exhibits. To observe the landscape itself, besides Castle and Monument Rocks, there is Rock City, Mushroom Rock State Park, Kanopolis State Park, and the Scenic Byways that crisscross the area.
Traveling Kansas Vistas Western Historic Byways
Traveling Kansas is a local production from Smoky Hills Public Television that highlights communities, people and attractions across the state.
This episode of Traveling Kansas explores the communities and attractions along the byway, which travels a visually fascinating route from Sharon Springs east to Oakley and south to Scott City. Some of the highlights include Fort Wallace, the Fick Museum, the Keystone Gallery and Historic Scott Lake Park. Click the image below to watch this episode.
Visits sites and attractions along the Western Vistas Historic Byway. Features Scott City ,Oakley, Russell Springs, Wallace & Sharon Springs.
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