In this two-part mini series we will be going back in time in American history. A time before the World Wars and the Space Age. A time known as the Gilded Age and Westward Expansion. A time where American myths and legends were born in the frontier. Americana!
And what better way to start by putting two of the most legendary Old West rebels born from the most iconic Western setting of them all: Powder River County!
Lakota Tribe: A band of Sioux warriors who decimated the U.S. Cavalry in the Dakotas!
vs
Johnson County: A mixed bag of cowboys and farmers who fought off invasions in Wyoming!
It's a classic tale of Cowboys vs Indians! Who is deadliest?!
Lakota Tribe[]
The Lakota people, also known as Teton Sioux, are one of the three Sioux Tribes from the Great American Plains. They originated mostly from North and South Dakota. The Lakota Tribe is one of the most iconic Native Americans in Old West history, and is considered to be one of the most successful. Two of the U.S. Military's greatest defeats in the American Indian Wars, the Fetterman Fight and the Battle of Little Big Horn, were won by the Lakotas. Red Cloud, a prominent Lakota chief in the 1860s, dealt one of the only Native American victories in the history of the American Indian Wars. Other prominent Lakota leaders are the legendary Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse. Their war against the U.S. Government ended after a large number of their people were massacred in what would become known as the Wounded Knee Massacre. The massacre itself signified the end of any major Indian War in America.
Weapons[]
Stone War Club
- A common weapon for Plains Indians. The club consist of an oval smooth stone attached on a long stick and wrapped with rawhide and sinew. Lakota use it as a sign of authority as well.
- The length of the stick varies but generally are 2 to 2.5 feet in length.
- Can be used on both foot and on horseback.
Osage Orange Bow
- Generally 3 feet in length. Made up of osage wood and sinew.
- Uses bone or metal arrows.
- Fires at a range of 200-210 yards maximum.
- Has a rate of 15 arrows per minute.
- Can be used on foot and horseback.
- Lakota use a variety of arrows. In war, they used lethal barbed arrows against human enemies that are hard to pull out, and as seen in the Battle of Ulm and Raid at Godfrey Ranch the Lakotas also used flaming arrows to try and burn down houses.
Henry Rifle
- Lever action rifle
- .44 Henry rimfire
- Has a 15+1-round tubular magazine.
- Reloaded through a tube near the gun's muzzle, making it difficult to reload on horseback.
Hit and Run Tactics
Johnson County[]
Johnson County, Wyoming was the sight of one of the most popular and recognizable range war in American history, the Johnson County War fought in 1889–1893 (bulk 1892). The war was fought between large cattle barons and corporations against small ranchers, cowboys and other homesteaders who competed for the open range in the county. In the late 19th century, harsh weather forced the large cattle industries to take control of the land, water and roving cattle in the region to keep their businesses afloat. This monopoly was challenged by the smaller independent groups who also want to make a living in the region. Tensions soon worsen when the cattle barons started to imprison, lynch and outright murder civilians who they suspected of rustling or going up against them. A war soon erupted which climaxed in the death of cowboy Nate Champion and Sheriff William Angus mustering the residents to retaliate. The war even involved the state lawmen, two cavalry units and even the national government.
Weapons[]
Bowie Knife
- Single edged with clip point.
- Various length but the largest were up to 12 inches long.
- Throwable
- Leader Nate Champion was said to fight with a pistol and a knife during his last stand at KC Ranch.
Colt Peacemaker
- .45 LC
- 6-round cylinder magazine (though it's mostly loaded with 5 for safety reasons).
- Has a range between 25-50 yards.
- Takes 1 minute to fully reload, but can generally be reloaded and fired one or two chambers at a time which is quicker.
- Civilians generally use a short-barrel revolver since it is easier to carry and conceal when one is walking or riding in civilization.
Winchester Rifle
- The most common model used was the Winchester Model 1876. It’s basically an upgraded version of the classic Winchester Model 1873 that can fire more powerful rifle cartridges.
- .40-60 Winchester
- 15-round tubular magazine
Attack from a Defensive Position
X-Factors[]
Training
The Lakotas have an old military tradition that spanned generations, in which young Lakotas are trained at an early age to be horse archers. But contrary to popular belief, they are less of a warrior cultured people but rather part-time soldiers. They are first and foremost hunters, and only wage war in seasons that is agreeable to their horses or in times of real crisis. Johnson County on the other hand, does have people with more modern and professional training such as Civil War and Indian Wars veterans, as well as sheriffs and deputies. Many are also trained cowboys and bandits (depending on your perspective). However, a large majority of them are still untrained homesteaders and townsfolk.
Experience
Throughout its history, the Lakota tribe have faced a whole gallery of enemies. They defeated fellow American Indian tribes like the Cheyenne, the Southern Apaches and the Crows (who are the Lakota's archenemy), but most importantly they are one of the most successful Indians to resist the U.S. military. The Red Cloud War was one of the few instances where Native Americans actually won over the American government. The Johnson County War however, was mostly a civilian conflict fought between feudists and law enforcements. The homesteaders did have to go up against ruthless mercenaries, corrupt U.S. Marshals and even against two cavalry detachments, but their war was short-lived compared to the Lakotas. The Sioux tribe definitely killed way more men than the people of Johnson County.
Logistics
The near extinction of the buffalo and the constant retreating led the Lakota Sioux to starvation. Besides food, they have to constantly recycle and loot their firearms and weapons. The Johnson County rebels didn't have that kind of problem. They were armed with the best weapons their money can buy, and during the Texan invasion, many of them were gun sellers who gave out new fresh weapons to their comrades for free. So there is no doubt that Johnson County would have been better fed and better armed than the Lakota tribe.
Strategy
The Lakotas fought wars against the US for over decades, and while they won a few, they ultimately lost in the end. Like many Native Americans, they fought their war through attrition. While they were special from all the rest since they were capable of guerrilla warfare and pitched battles, their strategy failed them in the long run against a better armed enemy. Johnson County had to face against large odds as well, but they were more successful. They forbid fighting battles that they could never win and opted to be on the defensive. And when they do decide to attack, they think smart and targeted leaders and key people first, like stock detective George Henderson and U.S. Marshall George Wellman.
Notes[]
- The battle will be like how raids in the Wild West occured. It's wartime once again in Powder River, and the Lakota Sioux have decided to attack a town in Johnson County, Wyoming. The homesteaders knew of the reports of the Lakotas going ona warpath once again, and they have been cautious and wary.
- There are 200 Johnson County residents defending the town, while there will be 250 Lakotas who will be attacking them (the reason for the number advantage is that because in war its more costly when you are the attacker rather than the defender). The Lakota will be on horseback, while the homesteaders will be inside their homes, buildings and establishments.
- Battle ends when each forces are either annihilated or driven off in a full retreat (not the same retreat in hit and run tactics mind you, but a full retreat).
- Yeah I decide whether a vote is okay or not. Debates can reduce a vote to half or nothing at all.
Battle[]
Powder River, the late 19th century.
It was an arid mid-afternoon in the banks of Powder River. The ground was dry and crusty, with dust in the wind as fine as polvo. You can literally walk on the ground and see the dust shoot up, fly and dance in the air. The animals were gathering up in the water’s edge to drink and be hydrated, from the simple cattle to the obnoxious moccasins. Settlers too were there of various occupations. There were farmers in their wagons, gathering up wood and water for their homes, as well as drovers guiding their cows on the river to get a drink.
However, the peaceful serenity of the frontier was again being challenged.
A tremor was shaking up in Powder River. The homesteaders saw the waters wave and ripple, and the ground beneath them move mildly. They first thought that it was just an earthquake, but as they looked into the horizon their faces were filled with shock. A huge dust cloud loomed in the plains, but it was no ordinary cloud. It was a storm of dust being swept by the clashing hooves of horses. It was approaching them fast and as it got closer they hear the distinct war cries that made them flee.
The settlers at Powder River knew of the Lakota going on a rampage once again, but now the danger is at their doorsteps. Hundreds of braves went down from the plains of Dakota and into Wyoming.
They gathered their belongings and tried to ride out. Some who were slow were arrowed and lanced on the spot. Even the riders had a hard time trying to outrun them, and they too were shot off their horses. Some went into their houses and cabins scattered in the outskirts of Powder River. But while they put up their guns to shoot back, their enemies just casually burned them down or raided them inside.
Men, women, young and old were slaughtered. For the Lakota Indians, such slaughter was justified. Their enemies don’t care about them either, the government’s plan was to either lock them up or starve them slow. So they can’t show mercy to them as well. Years the Lakota warriors have been confined in their godforsaken reservations. Their children were starving and dying, and their culture disappearing in those frontier ghettos the government stated to be their new homes. But now they have escaped to try and reclaim their true homes, their hunting grounds, and they’ll do everything to accomplish that.
Some of the survivors manage to run back to the town, in the effort to warn the other settlers of the impending catastrophe. The people saw their fellow homesteaders bleeding and gutted like animals, with arrows and bullet holes riddling their bodies. The homesteaders went on an uproar, as they prepare themselves once again for an invasion.
Why do people turn away from civilization? The government wanted nothing but to tame these people, who when not trying to kill each other, are out to get the settlers instead. Johnson County never really cared much about these politics and so-called “white man’s burden”. They were just there to make an eager existence. But if these Indians are coming to take what they have worked hard for, well… they’ll have to earn it.
The Lakota warriors on horseback came in like a stampede of dust and death. They arrived riding through the streets shooting their guns and letting out their arrows. At first mo one was there to greet them. But it won’t take too long as the homesteaders started shooting at them in their windows, walls and balcony.
The Lakota tried in vain to calm their horses from bolting and fight back. Accurate rifle shots that rained from the windows struck warriors left and right. They were out in the open, with no defence or cover whatsoever. They tried to fire flaming arrows in an attempt to smoke the homesteaders out, but they get shot by Winchester rifles and Colt Peacemakers before they can even draw.
Some Lakotas tried to dismount and fire with their Henry rifles, but they were outgunned. Some made suicidal charges towards the doors of the houses, but they were met with fierce gunfire. The numbers of the Lakota were dwindling fast, and the Chief signaled their troops to fall back. The braves left the scene, with their dead littering the streets. Any survivors were dealt mercilessly by the homesteaders with shots to the head or chest; they saw them nothing more as pests.
Johnson County waited for several minutes, before finally putting down their guns and going outside. They rejoiced, yelling their hurrahs as the danger finally passed. The men and women congratulated each other, shaking hands and tipping off hats. They have not witnessed such a victory for a very long time. But now, the fighting was over and it’s time to clean up their town.
But alas! They were mistaken.
The sky was suddenly blotted out by flaming arrows sent from the hill. It rained on the homesteaders and many were pinned down like rag dolls on the street. Some went out running and crying as their bodies were engulfed in flame. Worse, was that several of their buildings were on fire, and smoke was filling up the town and choking the people.
The Indians didn’t retreat; they just went out of the town and behind a nearby hill to regroup. They just waited for the homesteaders to feel confident that they have left, before making their second move. After firing their flaming arrows, they charged on the town from several directions. From the North, South, East and West the Indians came flooding in, rage and bloodlust filling their cries.
The homesteaders were now the ones caught unaware, and many were shot by the rifles and bows of the Indians. A game of polo too was being played, except it was the Indians who were playing, using their war clubs as hammers and human heads substituted for a ball. Many fell from the Henrys and the Bows of the Lakota warriors, and those that survived were promptly scalped on the ground.
Homesteaders who survived barricaded themselves on the few houses that survived the flames, but the Indians won’t make the same mistake again. Warriors dismounted and went to the houses, trying to break the doors down. It was not easy though, as the homesteaders inside kept pouring lead on the braves, killing a great number of them. Their chief too was taken by a well-placed bullet from a hidden cowboy with a rifle.
Soon the houses were breached, and a fierce hand to hand fighting arose. One house was overrun as a pack of warriors came in and overwhelmed the family inside, murdering them all. Other houses soon fell, either after being raided upon or burned down.
Two houses remained in the town, and as the Indians try to locate and kill the settlers, the latter fought back. Their pistols were perfect for such close encounters, and the Lakotas were beaten back. Some tried to attack the settlers with their melee weapons, but the bowie knife made mincemeat of the Lakota. The clubs of the warriors were no match, and flesh and limbs were hacked during the fighting. Every charge on the remaining houses ended in failures and the Lakotas were beaten back.
The Indian attack has stalled once again, and the settlers used this chance to gather themselves and their guns and finally push the Lakota away. They poured everything they have inside the safety of their homes, and the Indians couldn’t do anything else but gather their horses and flee yet again. With a large number of them lost, the Indians would never make another raid on the town ever again.
Many people on both sides were annihilated. The remaining tired and bruised Lakota warriors went back to their camps as quickly as they can. The surviving homesteaders, the cowboys and the farmers lay on the street, tired and bruised as well. It was yet another violent chronicle in the history of the American frontier.
Expert’s Opinion[]
In a simulated battle of what would happen if the Lakota warriors tried to attack the homesteaders of Johnson County, experts initially believed that the former had everything going for them. While the Lakota have the inferior rifle, they are better trained and better experienced. But in the end Johnson's County's more defensive approach to combat proved to be superior than the Lakota's hit and run tactics. Experts believed that if the Lakotas tried to attack Johnson County, the homesteaders can just take cover in the safety of their houses and fire back. The Lakota were no pushovers though, as they had flaming arrows to burn down the homesteader's cover. However, this was still no match compared to the homesteader's better rifle, tactic and logistics that helped them win the day.