Stop Eight

The Washita River near the site of Black Kettle's village.

NPS / Christian Schroll

Quick Facts

Location:

Washita Battlefield National Historic Site

"We found Chief Black Kettle's body at the edge of the stream within a few yards of his lodge. All of it was under water except for his face. His body had two bullet holes in it. One bullet had entered from the front, through the abdomen. The other had struck him in the back just below the shoulders. This bullet had shattered his backbone. It is possible one of these same bullets may have killed his wife whose body was found a few steps up the bank. One of the two braids in which she wore her hair had been cut off.

We carried these bodies to a small sand hill north of where they had been found. That was the last I saw of them, for I went back to the village to try and find the body of an aunt who had been reported killed. When I left the group around the bodies of Black Kettle and his wife, the men were discussing carrying them farther from the stream for burial. Whether it was done or whether they were buried on the little sand knoll I do not know."

- Magpie, Washita Survivor