Gen. Winfield Scott Hancock believed that when the Plains tribes realized the might and power of the United States Army, all resistance would fade away.

He did not know his adversary and severely underestimated native sense of place and desire to preserve their way of life.

The campaign to force the Plains tribes to accept peace on U. S. terms backfired when the Cheyenne chose to fight for “the land of their fathers.” The fires of war were ignited as raids brought stage and freighting business to a halt along the Santa Fe and Smoky Hill trails.

Construction of the Union Pacific Eastern Division Railroad in west-central Kansas was briefly discontinued, and resumed only with military protection.

The Cheyenne and Sioux knew no state boundaries. The only borders they recognized were the natural river courses. With that in mind, the war of 1867 was not confined to the state of Kansas, but extended across the Great Plains all the way to the Powder River in Montana.

The Cheyenne turned north from the Hancock debacle to raid along the Smoky Hill Trail that followed the Smoky Hill River. From there, they moved north to the Platte River and turned east along a freighting trail known as the Nebraska City Road.

Neighbors were gathered together for harvest on July 24 when a horseman charged into the field with dire news.

Indians were attacking settlers in the area. Peter Campbell and his oldest son, John, were among the harvesters. Campbell and his family had come from Scotland in 1865.

Mrs. Campbell died not long after the move in January 1866. The widowed Campbell continued raising six children by himself. While he and John were harvesting, the other five children remained at home, tending to daily chores. The harvesters immediately started for their homes.

Time moves so slowly when trouble is near, and even more slowly when death is at the door.

A quarter of a mile from their home, Peter and John Campbell reached the Warren cabin. Mrs. Warren and her infant son lay dead at the threshold of the cabin door. A 14-year-old son was found wounded, but alive.

Rushing on to the Campbell cabin, Mr.

Campbell and his son found the place destroyed and abandoned. While searching through the ruins, a neighbor arrived with news that 9-year-old Agnes Campbell had hidden in a field of grain.

Agnes had witnessed the capture of her two brothers and two sisters and got away safely by crawling for a quarter of a mile before running another 4 miles for help.

West of the Campbell cabin, Hepzibah and Anna Martin were paying a neighborly visit to Charles Jerome, a new neighbor a short distance from the Martin Ranch.

The girls had just left Jerome’s cabin to return home when a band of Indians attempted to capture them. The commotion alerted Mr.

Jerome, who being only a short distance away, shot at one of the Indians, knocking him from his pony. The warrior’s companions carried their wounded friend away and the Martin girls were saved.

A week later, a Cheyenne raiding party led by Cheyenne leader Turkey Leg, a chief and member of the Dog Soldier warrior society, barricaded the tracks with railroad ties ripped from the iron rails, west of Plum Creek (Lexington), Neb.

With no warning, the oncoming Union Pacific engine barreled through the ties and twisted rails in a dramatic pileup on the open plains. The engineer and fireman were killed on impact. A linesman, William Thompson, and a crew of five section hands, were sent out to repair the track,but they also were derailed. The section men were all killed and scalped. Thompson was scalped and left for dead. As he lay helplessly by, another train traveling eastbound crashed into the barricade. The entire crew was killed.

The booty taken from the trains must have seemed like a treasure trove to the Dog Soldier warriors. There were bolts of fabric, top hats, wool pants and Spencer carbine rifles. And there was liquor.

As the warriors celebrated in high style, they overlooked the light of life that was still burning in the broken body of William Thompson. He survived the ordeal and eventually went back to work for the railroad.

Maj. Frank North and 35 Pawnee Scouts were dispatched to the scene of the attack to find and punish the marauding band. The Pawnees tracked Turkey Leg’s band, and in a running battle, killed 17 warriors and scattered the rest over the plains. A Cheyenne woman and a nephew of Turkey Leg were taken captive.

Peter Campbell’s children, taken in the raid on his cabin, were recovered in exchange for the two Cheyenne captives taken from Turkey Leg’s band. The children had suffered greatly from hunger and ill treatment during their two-month ordeal. Counting his blessings, Peter Campbell moved eastward into the safer surroundings of Saunders County, Neb., where he and his children could grow old and recount their harrowing tale of captivity when trouble was near on The Way West.

“The Cowboy” Jim Gray can be reached at 220 21st Rd., Geneseo, KS 67444, (785) 531-2058 or kansascowboy@kans. com.