Ī description of the first structures of "Camp on the Pawnee Fork" is given in Capt. This company had been busy during the summer patrolling the region between Cow creek and Fort Union. Major Wessels was aided by Company K of the United States cavalry, under the command of Capt. The exact location of this installation was at the base of Lookout Hill (now known as Jenkins Hill), on the south side of the Pawnee, eight miles from its confluence with the Arkansas River. Henry Wessels arrived at Pawnee Fork the actual construction of "Camp on the Pawnee Fork," as the first Fort Larned was named.
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The area where Fort Larned was to be located was government held land, being free from any binding Indian treaty. By the Treaty of Fort Laramie of 1851 the Cheyenne-Arapaho reserve came as far east as the 101st meridian and the eastern Indian reserve line was approximately the 97 meridian. There was no legal barrier to the establishment of a permanent military post and mail escort station. To control them (the Indians), it is essential to have among them the perpetual presence of a controlling military force. I consider it essential to have two permanent stations for troops, one at the mouth of Pawnee Fork, and one at Big Timbers, both upon the Arkansas River. In his appeal for military protection, he stated, The location of Fort Larned at Pawnee Fork was the choice of William Bent. He attributed the accelerated traffic to the discovery of gold in the Pike's Peak region, and his report pointed out the difficulty the Indians were having to maintain their natural subsistence. Greenwood, commissioner of Indian affairs, in his annual report (1859), enlarged upon the critical relations between Indians and travelers on the trail. Bent also stated that he had witnessed, to October of 1859, 60,000 white people along the trail. Louis, reported on October 5, 1859, that he had encountered 2,500 Kiowa and Comanche warriors at the mouth of Walnut creek (25 miles east of Pawnee Fork). Robinson, superintendent of Indian affairs for the Central Superintendency at St. William Bent, agent for the Upper Arkansas Indians, in a letter to A. The belligerent attitude of the people of Texas forced large groups of Kiowa and Comanche Indians to relocate farther north, especially along the heavily traveled Santa Fe trail. These were exclusive of the gold seekers who "were to numerous to count." With such a volume, it became obvious that some type of fortification was needed between Forts Riley and Leavenworth and Forts Bent and Union.Īs white settlements became more numerous in Texas during the 1840's, depredations by Indians increased. These were exclusive of the gold left Missouri for New Mexico. Louis, reported that between March 1 and July 31 2,300 men, 1970 wagons, 840 horses, 4,000 mules, 15,000 oxen, 73 carriages, and over 1,900 tons of freight left Missouri for New Mexico. The trade in 1859, according to one source, had risen to $10,000,000 annually.
The acquisition of vast new stretches of territory through the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo provided an added impetus to traffic. In this 21-year period, however, only three official military escorts were provided.
The last year before the Mexican ports were closed (1843) saw $450,000 worth of goods being shipped, involving 250 wagons and 350 men.
In the years 1822-1843, the monetary value of the Santa Fe commerce averaged over $130,000 per year, making a total of nearly $3,000,000 for the 21 years. Equally important was the desire for a more centralized annuity distribution point to carry out the government's treaty obligations to the Plains Indians. ONE of the motives that prompted the government to construct a fortification at the confluence of Pawnee creek and the Arkansas river was to provide a base from which troops might protect Santa Fe Trail commerce in an area that was notorious as an Indian rendezvous. NOTE: The numbers in brackets refer to footnotes for this text.
Mix ĭigitized with permission of The Kansas Historical Society. Transcription & HTML composition by Larry E.
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