Obama Has No Compassion For The Zimmermans

Since being elected President, a lot of people in the liberal media have made a lot out of the fact that Barack Hussein Obama is a black man.

In what is supposed to be a color-blind society, it seems that we are reminded of this almost everyday in one way shape or another.

The liberal media and the Democrats celebrated his election by saying that his election trumpeted in a new era for America.

We were told that Obama will be less divisive, and bring more unity to our country - especially among the races.

During his first presidential campaigns, he did not run as a man running to be the "President of Black America".

And no, most of us did not even consider such an proposition would take place. No, not in my wildest dreams did I ever think that we would elect a president who would openly concern himself with the well-being of only one racial group of Americans.

With the Zimmerman verdict, President Obama has made himself the champion of black-America while successfully turning his back on the rest of the nation.

He has made himself the representative of black-America and only of black-America.

Imagine what he is doing?

Can you imagine if we had a White President who publicly showed himself to be a racist against blacks, or Hispanics, or Asian Americans?

Can you imagine if we elected a president who was so caught up with his own ethnic background that he only preferred to address the cares and concerns of that specific group over those of other Americans?

Well, that is what we have in President Obama.

For years now, it has been the policy of this administration to work in concert with the liberal media and label those who oppose his policies as "Racists."

We who have disagreed with him, have been told in the liberal media that we "secretly" don't agree with Obama because he was a Black man.

Over and over again, we have seen "Race" being used as a weapon to ward off opposition and criticism of his policies and programs. 

And yes, accusations of racism have been used as a crutch. A crutch for their incompetence and failure. 

Is Obama and others in his administration "racists"?

How about his appointed U.S. Attorney General who once referred to "his people" in a Congressional Hearing - as a reference to other black-Americans.

Do we have a "racist" and "white hater" in the White House? I believe the answer is yes.

President Obama addressed the George Zimmerman verdict today for the second time since Zimmerman was acquitted nearly a week ago.

The first time, he issued a statement saying that America should "honor Trayvon Martin."

And today? Well, today, the president interrupted a new conference to relate his own experiences to the "pain" the black community is feeling and going on to question so-called "stand-your-ground" laws.

During a surprise appearance in the White House briefing room, Obama suggested race may have played a strong role in the case, saying that if a "white male teen" were involved, "both the outcome and the aftermath might have been different."

Can you imagine this idiot saying such a thing?

He went far beyond his remarks a year ago in which he stirred controversy by saying if he had a son, he'd look like Martin. 

And yes, Obama certainly wasn't content to shut up after issuing a statement calling for Americans to honor the young punk who was killed while in the process of "ground and pound" smashing Zimmerman's head into the cement pavement trying to kill him!

Today Obama said, "Another way of saying that is Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago."

The president used the highly personal comments to put the anger in the black community in "context."

Since Obama went to expensive private schools and was only a dope smoking punk by choice and not economic circumstance, allow me to put the black community's anger in "context"

How's this?  

• Blacks are angry that Trayvon Martin didn't get away with murder!
• Blacks are angry in an attempt to get the public to accept the lie that Trayvon Martin was the victim - when in fact George Zimmerman was the victim here.
• Blacks are angry that Trayvon Martin failed to kill a "Whitey"!
• Blacks are angry that Zimmerman killed Martin before he himself was killed!
• Blacks wanted Zimmerman to get the death penalty!

The black community, and maybe Obama as well, acts as though this is what took place that night:

Trayvon Martin was such a sweet small sickly helpless child who was really just an innocent by-stander skipping down a street smelling flowers and counting raindrops when he was realized to his horror that he was being stalked by the White racist Martial Arts expert George Zimmerman who then cornered Martin and knocked the poor helpless child down to the ground. Once on the ground, Zimmerman jumped on him and started beating Martin severely until Zimmerman finally pulled his pistol and shot him - then reloaded and shot the little child Martin again and again. After that, the racist Zimmerman put on his White-Hispanic Ku Klux Klan robes and went looking for another poor helpless little child to victimize!

As much fiction as that is, it seem that that is what the black community and Obama are accepting as the truth.

But what is Obama forgetting about?

• Forget who was assaulting who.
• Forget that Trayvon Martin was the assailant - not the victim.
• Forget that Trayvon Martin was being a Racist when he attacked "White" George Zimmerman.
• Forget the facts of what happened that night.
• Forget who approached who and threw the punch that broke Zimmerman's nose
• Forget who was sitting on top of Zimmerman smashing his head into the concrete in an attempt to kill him.
• Forget that Zimmerman thought he was going to die.
• Forget that Zimmerman passed a lie-detector test that very night right afterwards.
• Forget what police investigators found.
• Forget that the police ruled it Self-Defense that night.
• Forget what the evidence says.
• Forget that all of the facts were weighed and it had absolutely nothing to do with race - no matter how much Obama wants that to be the case.
• Forget that the court was extremely sensitive to the issue of race during the trial - because of the president's remarks a year earlier.
• Forget that the president might have felt better about the assault on Zimmerman if Zimmerman were dead.
• Forget that blacks wanted Zimmerman charged and convicted and didn't want to settle for less - even when the facts did not support their false conclusion.

And how about the black protesters, what do they have in comon with the president?

• Forget trying to talk to those who are angry about this. They want "Justice For Trayvon!"
• Forget "Justin For George," he doesn't count. He's the wrong color, the wrong race, the wrong heritage, the wrong ancestry.
• Forget "Justice For George," he's not black!

Want proof? Today, Obama said, if a "white male teen" were involved, "both the outcome and the aftermath might have been different."

How does he know that?

If your lights were going out because someone was on top of you pounding your head into the cement - does Obama really think that the victim is going to stop and give a shit if the assailant is white or black?

Obama's not only a racist, he's also a fool if he thinks that that's the case!

Besides giving empathy for the Martin family while completely ignoring the Zimmerman family, today Obama gave support to Attorney General Eric Holder's call earlier in the week for a review of "stand-your-ground" laws.

Even though the Florida "Stand-Your-Ground" law had absolutely nothing to do with the case at hand, Obama and Holder want to see it changed. 

They don't like the idea that people can "legally" fight back and use deadly force if threatened with death. 

Imagine that for a minute?

You are getting your ass kicked and feel like you are going to die, but the Federal Government says you still don't have the right to try to stop your assailant even if it means killing him?

The Florida law allows people to use lethal force if they feel their life is threatened -- even if they might have the option of retreating.

I can only hope that neither Obama or Holder are ever in that position. But of course, they wouldn't be because they have armed security around them 24/7.

Believe it or not, Obama said, "If we're sending a message as a society ... that someone who is armed potentially has the right to use those firearms even if there's a way for them to exit from a situation, is that really going to be contributing to the kind of peace and security and order that we'd like to see?"

The president acknowledged that the law was not part of the Zimmerman defense, but suggested the laws might still "encourage" violence.

In a provocative statement, the president also questioned whether Martin, if he had a gun, could have been "justified in shooting Mr. Zimmerman because he felt threatened."

Of course, that is asinine, anyone who knows anything about carrying a weapon knows that that one has to feel as though their life is in mortal danger before deadly force can be used.

And for you liberals out there, no, the law does not say that you can just draw your pistol and shoot because someone looked threatening - we really do understand the difference between look threatening and having our life threatened.

And please remember this, Zimmerman didn't draw his pistol and fire when he was approached by the bigger Martin - or when he got his nose broken by Martin.

Zimmerman used deadly force only as a last resort when he thought he was going to be killed.

Since becoming president, Obama has shown apathy for the poor, ignorance of the needs of the unemployed, all while giving lip service to the uneducated as he cuts the services of seniors and the disabled.

 Now Obama is showing that he is unconcerned for those who are the victims of criminal activity such as rape and assault with the intent to kill.

Obama believes the defenseless should remain victims and not be legally able to stand and defend themselves - telling them that they have "an obligation to retreat".

His Attorney General Eric Holder said that every American has the "obligation to retreat even if that means leaving their own home" if threatened.

The Obama administration does not believe that we should take a stand and fight to protect the people and the things that we love and have worked so hard for.

Obama and his administration say that we should run away! That we are "obligated" to run away, to retreat!

Obama said he understands that protests may have to "work (their) way through," but said these cases are traditionally handled by state and local authorities.

He said Holder is reviewing, but that people should have "clear expectations."

Obama reiterated that the jury -- at the state level -- has spoken.

But Obama said, "It's important to recognize that the African American community is looking at this issue through a set of experiences, and a history that doesn't go away."

Obama said there are "very few" black men who haven't been followed while shopping at a department store -- "that includes me."

"I don't want to exaggerate this, but those sets of experiences inform how the African American community interprets what happened one night in Florida," Obama said.

I say, OK, but let's be fair about this. It's important to recognize that the White and Hispanic and Asian American communities are looking at this issue through a set of experiences, and a history that doesn't go away also.

There are reasons for people to be apprehensive of blacks who look like punks. The black community is 13% of the population and responsible for over 50% of the crime in our country.

Statistics show that they are the ones who commit most of the crime in America.

Sorry, but like it or not, you reap what you sow!

Everything that we do has consequences, benefits and repercussions. It comes back to us one way or another.

We cannot escape the consequences of our actions. We will see the long-term effects of our actions.

I'm a big believe in conducting yourself in a way that is positive for myself, my family, friends, and those around me. Yes, what goes around comes around.

Like it or not, our actions have consequences.  

To think that someone can follow the whole gangster lifestyle and not have consequences is fooling yourself.  

The president did not forget to say that his thoughts are with the Martin family, but he did not make mention of what the entire Zimmerman family has had to endure since that night.  

Obama failed to mention that the entire Zimmerman family and their lawyers have had many multiple death threats, financial troubles, and a great deal of hardship.  

For George Zimmerman, he lost his freedom and every promise of a good life. He is a man who has had to disguise himself, go into hiding, and may even have to change his name to live an unimpeded life in America.   

Did President Obama once look at life from George Zimmerman's point of view?   

• Would death have been better for George Zimmerman? 
• Would it all have just been better if he allowed Trayvon Martin, that sweet little child, to bash his head in and kill him?
• Why isn't George Zimmerman considered the victim? Is it because he fought back and survived the assault?
• What about Zimmerman's family, haven't they been through a lot?
• Why no compassion for them Mr President? 
• What about his family's safety?
• What about George Zimmerman's Civil Rights?
• Why is it that the President of the United States believes that it was OK for Trayvon Martin to violate George Zimmerman's Civil Rights by attacking him - yet it is not OK for George Zimmerman to fight back with the only means that he had to stay alive?
• Why is George Zimmerman's life worth less than Trayvon Martin's to the President? Is it because George Zimmerman is not black and Trayvon Martin was? 

Is it because Martin was black?

Does the president see the lives of black assailants as being more precious than their victims - especially if the victims are White or Hispanic or Asian?  

Obama is catering to the black community to stoke the fires of discontent by using his powerful office.  

An example of that is by his making the Justice Department find a way to convict Zimmerman - even if he is an innocent man.

Story by Tom Correa

(Yes, I'm labeled a White-Hispanic American) 

Wild West gold mine: Pennsylvania city auctions off artifacts to get out of debt

By Rick Leventhal, Kathleen Foster

Published July 18, 2013
FoxNews.com



An East Coast city that's been sitting on a Wild West gold mine is finally cashing in on the loot.

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania's state capital, is auctioning off thousands of antique artifacts this week, hoping the sale will help pull the city out of debt.

Back in 1980, the citizens of Harrisburg elected Stephen Reed as mayor.

He envisioned the city as a tourist destination, filled with museums, including one showcasing Harrisburg's one-time claim to fame as the gateway to the West.

He spent more than $8 million on roughly 10,000 pieces, including antique guns, old horse-drawn wagons, “Wyatt Earp’s Days of the Week Shaving Set,” Jesse James and Billy The Kid wanted posters and sheriff's badges.

The city built one museum, but went broke before it could build three more, as the mayor intended.

"He went about it in ways that were not exactly according to rules," said Arlen Ettinger, President of Guernsey's, the New York City-based auction house the city hired to sell the items.

"He took city monies to acquire things that he thought would look well in museums, and he was a great fan of the old West."

Harrisburg will take every penny it can get. Unlike most auctions, this one requires no minimum bids.

"If there was ever a sort of every person's auction, this has got to be it," Ettinger said.

"There are things that are going to be quite expensive, I suspect, and things that will go for very affordable prices and that makes it open to everyone."

In the first three days, the auction raised approximately $2 million, nearly half of it from antique weapons. Theodore Roosevelt's rare combination rifle and shot gun went for $115,000, 10 to 15 times more than expected.

Harrisburg will use the money to pay down loans and bonds, but this auction is not expected to make much of a dent in its mammoth debt, estimated at more than $300 million. That debt was largely caused by the building of a trash incinerator more than 40 years ago.

The incinerator was designed to collect and burn trash from across the state as a way to make a profit, but it never really worked properly and the city fell deeper and deeper in the red trying to keep up with payments on the money borrowed to build the burner.

Harrisburg's chief operating officer, Robert Philbin, says the auction signifies a turning point from the past into what he calls the “post-recovery future” for the city.

"This is the best way to do it I think. It will go to people who respect the collection and institutions that respect the collection rather than molding," Philbin said. "I mean it's not doing any good in a warehouse in the city of Harrisburg.”

The auction started Monday and runs through the weekend. Anyone interested in bidding can do so in person in Harrisburg or online at www.guernseys.com.

http://video.foxnews.com/v/2553152367001/struggling-pa-city-auctioning-off-historic-artifacts/

Editor's Note:

This is from Guernseys website:

History

Early in our Nation's history... pioneers considered Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to be the "Gateway to the West".

Years ago, the then Mayor of the Pennsylvania state capital saw the wisdom in creating a museum paying homage to those pioneering days.

To create the magnificent institution he envisioned, the City spent millions for the acquisition of rare artifacts pertaining to the Old West.

In the process, the Mayor also saw fit to assemble collections relating to the Revolutionary, Civil and Indian Wars, and a wide range of other historic collectibles.

For various reasons, the Old West museum that the Mayor dreamt of was never built.

The staggering collection he amassed on behalf of the City - consisting of more than 8,000 antiques, artifacts, firearms, and rare documents - has languished in Harrisburg's storage facilities.

Now, in what is certain to be a massive and glorious event to be held in Harrisburg this July. Guernsey's will be presenting at Unreserved Auction this magnificent Collection.

This will be a Sales tax - free event. Those interested are urged to either follow Guernsey's website (www.guernseys.com) for auction updates or feel free to contact Guernsey's directly.

The Auction

The Harrisburg Auction will be taking place July 15 through July 21st. The Auction will be taking place at City Island in Harrisburg.

There will be an Auction Preview being held at the D & D Building, part of the Public Works Complex at South 19th Street, Harrisburg, July 11 thru 14.

Bidders can participate 1. live in person, 2. by written bid, 3. by telephone, 4. in "real time" via the Internet. Internet bidding will be taking place on www.proxibid.com and www.liveauctioneers.com.

July 15 - July 20 will consist of "structured" auction days devoted to specific categories of antiques, historic artifacts and collectibles.

On these days, bidders can participate in any of the four ways listed above.

July 21 will be an "unstructured day" where a wide variety of less valuable, but nonetheless interesting, items will be sold.

Bidding on this day (the 21st) will be in front of a live audience only (i.e., no Internet). There is no charge to attend the Auction.

The Auction categories will include:

•The Wild West: which ranges from items relating to specific historic figures including Jesse James, Wild Bill Hickok, Annie Oakley, Wyatt Earp, Buffalo Bill and Doc Holliday, on to such items as original horse drawn wagons, frontier clothing, saloon and gaming paraphernalia, even the largest known casting of Frederic Remington's Bronco Buster, approximately 12 feet tall!

•American Indian

•Firearms and Swords

•Spanish Colonial

•The Early Wars: the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, and the Indian Wars

•Mercantile: featuring objects sold in the general stores of the Old West, advertising, etc.

All additional information, including specifics start times and the daily auction schedule category by category can be found on Guernsey's web site - www.guernseys.com or by contacting Guernsey's at 212-794-2280 or auctions@guernseys.com

Online Bidding

Those who are unable to attend the auction but would like to participate can view the full catalogue online, and leave advance absentee bids, as well as bid live as the sale is taking place at www.proxibid.com and www.liveauctioneers.com

Links

Interested bidders should review the Terms & Conditions, as well as the Bidder Agreement form, and the Absentee Bid form.

Driving Directions

City Island: (Auction Location) Driving in either direction on I-83 Take exit 43 for Capitol/2nd St. Turn left on to S. 2nd St. Turn left on to Market St. Continue on to the bridge Turn right on to Championship Way Continue to parking lot.

D&D Building: (Preview Location) Driving in either direction on I-83 Take exit 44B for 19th St Turn right on to S. 19th St Turn right into the Public Works Complex Continue on road, the D&D Building will be on your left.

Following is a small sampling of the significant items to be sold:

Advertising Board for Colt Revolvers

Advertising painted on board for Colt Revolvers with a specimen of the product mounted.

Colt Revolvers The Choice of the Texas Rangers with a mounted Texas Rangers emblem.

James Buchanan Gillett, Proprietor, former Ranger and El Paso Marshall.

On the back, printed letters Colt Adev 583 30 Marfa-Texas 26 1/2"H. x 20" W.

Estimate: $2,000 - 3,000

The Owl Slot Machine

Oak cased, raised owl decoration, patented Nov. 1898.

Side door opens to empty the money bag. 58" high x 22" w x 12" deep.

Estimate: $10,000 - 15,000

Pair Black Feet Beaded Hide Chaps & Jacket

Beaded decorations with rabbit fur embellishments. Stamped and painted decorations 36'L.

Estimate: $4,000 - 6,000

Snowflake Black on White Pitcher C. 1100-1200AD

C. 1100-1200AD / Salado. Four lobed pitcher. Location: Barth Ranch, Arizona. This four lobed pitcher is a rare form. It has an unrepaired rim "kill". The bottom of the bowl has been restored in an no design.

Estimate: $4,000 - 6,000

Remington Revolver, Shoshoni Beaded Holster

14 1/2"L.

Estimate: $4,000 - 6,000

Jessie James The Missouri Outlaw Poster

The Sensational Western Life Drama Jesse James, theMissouri Outlaw. Lige and Eliza Making Soldiers Toes Out. Donaldson Litho Co. Newport, Kentucky #2650. Some creases. Minor paper losses in the margins. 41"H. x 27"W.

Estimate: $1,000 - 1,500

Wells Fargo Blickensderfer No. 5 Typewriter

In case. Typewriter marked Blickensderfer No.5 Stamford, Conn. Case marked Wells Fargo & Co. and a plaque marked Wells Fargo Office, San Francisco, Calif. 12 3/.4"W

Estimate: $1,000 - 1,500

http://www.guernseys.com/Guernseys%20New/harrisburg.html

Good hunting!

The Tonkawa Massacre of 1862

A 1898 picture of the survivors of the massacre.
From left to right, Winnie Richards, John Rush Buffalo, William Stevens,
John Allen, and Mary Richards, and seated L-R, John Williams, Grant Richards, and Sherman Miles.

It must have been a Hellish Night!

It all started on the night of October 23rd, 1862, when several Indian tribes, including the Comanche, Delaware, Shawnee, Caddo, Wichita, and other tribes attacked the Wichita Agency in what later would become Anadarko, Oklahoma, then turned there sights on the Tonkawa.

The Civil War had been going on for over a year by then and most of the lines had been drawn as to which side the various Indian tribes would choose. The Cherokee nation was split and subsequently having a conflict of sorts. Parts were backing the Union, and parts were supporting the Confederacy.

Choctaw and the Chickasaw, and most of the Creek and Shawnee, sided with the Confederates. The Comanche, Kiowa, Cheyenne, Apache and Arapaho didn't support either side as they waged their war on whites. The Loyal Creeks, the Osage, some of the Shawnee, and the Wichitas had backed the Union.

The Wichita moved from the Agency to Kansas near the future site of Wichita, Kansas. A handful of smaller tribes such as the Caddo, Tonkawa and Wacoes were still located at the Wichita Agency which was now under Confederate control and basically remained neutral.

It Was The Largest Massacre In The Indian Territory -- And It Was Indian Upon Indian

The night of Oct 23rd, 1862, would bring about the largest massacre which the Indian Territory would ever witness. That night, the Osage and Shawnee, who were Union supporters, were attacking the Confederate post. The Osage riddled the structure with rifle shots and then set it on fire. The rest of the buildings at the agency were also burned and all the whites there were killed.

The raiders then moved on to Ft. Cobb where they killed the occupants and set that post on fire. Few of the whites believed him until he would take them outside and show them the glow of the burning Ft. Cobb five miles in the distance.

The whites believed that the friendly tribes would have warned them if there was going to be a raid. They were wrong. After the raiders had burned the Wichita Agency and Ft. Cobb, they turned south to the Tonkawa Village.

So why, when the American Indian had suffered so much at the hands of the white man, would Indian turn against Indian? This action against the Tonkawa had little to do with the Civil War. It was a longstanding hatred against the Tonkawa, a hatred held by all of the southern Plains Indian tribes.

It Was All About Unacceptable Behavior

The relations between the Tonkawa and neighboring tribes had been antagonistic for years for a variety of reasons including the Tonkawa acting as scouts for the Texas Rangers, and fighting alongside them in actions against hostile tribes including the Comanche. But besides helping the whites, the Tonkawas were cannibals. In fact, the word in the Comanche and Kiowa language used for Tonkawa meant the same thing "eaters of humans".

While the attack was probably a retaliation for the scouting done by the Tonkawa against the other Plains Indian tribes. The Comanche hated the Tonkawa for the killing and eating of a brother of one of their chiefs.

Then there is a story that a few years earlier two Kiowa boys about twelve years old were out hunting alone and ran into big problems with the Tonkawa. Supposedly, the Tonkawa tried to capture them but one boy escaped. The escapee hid in the bushes in a ravine and watched as the Tonkawas killed the captured boy and started cutting him up and began to cook the flesh on the campfire.

The escapee ran for his very life, but he was soon overtaken by a band of Comanches who were allies of the Kiowa. When the boy related the story, the Comanche went to the Kiowa village and gathered reinforcements. It was then that the two tribes rode to the Tonkawa camp and surrounded it.

Supposedly the Comanche and Kiowa approached the Tonkawa village by carefully hiding in the creeks and ravines until they were close enough to see if the boy's story was true. Once in position, supposedly they saw the dead Kiowa boy and the Tonkawa cooking his flesh on the fire.

It is said that the Comanche and Kiowa were so repulsed by what they saw that they immediately attacked and killed every man, woman and child in that Tonkawa village.

The Last Straw

This time the Tonkawa had supposedly killed and eaten two Shawnee, and that they were responsible for the death and dismemberment of a young Caddo boy.

Now the Osage, the Lenape, the Shawnee, the Caddo, the Comanche, the Kiowa, the Wichita and the Seminole had the entire Tonkawa tribe in one place, in one camp, and now they wanted to end this cannibalism.

It was nearly morning when the attack commenced, though the first streaks of daylight had not yet begun to spread over the Wichita hills. The Tonkawa camp was asleep. The surprise attack was not the only factor working against the Tonkawas. The attackers were mounted and armed with the newest rifles supplied by the Federals while the Tonkawa had mostly bows and arrows to defend themselves.

It wasn't much of a battle, it was just a slaughter. The few who escaped were tracked down and killed as they were found scattered in the brush and ravines. The massacre continued all through the night and into the next day.

While one report say that they had killed over 800 Tonkawa men, women and children, among them were Chief Plácido, or Ha-shu-ka-na ("Can’t Kill Him"), others reports only put the figure at 306.

One report said that the tribe had numbered over one thousand members the day before now was less that one hundred forty. The few Tonkawas that did survive straggled into Ft. Arbuckle, which was now under Confederate control being manned by the Chickasaw Battalion.

It was illegal for any other tribe to be in the Chickasaw Nation, so the commander at Ft. Arbuckle sent an urgent message to the Chickasaw governor asking permission for the tribe to seek shelter from the Osages in the Nation. The governor granted this permission.

The commander of the post gave what aid and food he could spare to the Tonkawas.  He then sent them to the springs on Rocky Creek eighteen miles east of Ft. Arbuckle to camp and recuperate. The rag-tag wounded survivors of the Osage raid moved into the safety of the springs on the first of November 1862 into the area that would someday become Platt National Park.

After that they then made their way to confederate-held, Fort Belknap in Texas in 1863. The massacre completely demoralized and fractured the remnants of the tribe, who remained without a leader and lived in squalor by Fort Belknap.

Afterwards

The remnants of the tribe then lived near Fort Griffin in Texas until 1884. They were then forced by the government to relocate temporarily to the Sac-Fox agency and then in the spring of 1885 to Fort Oakland, occupied by Chief Joseph’s Band of Nez Perce from 1878 to 1885.

Impoverished, their population continued to decline. In 1891, 73 members of the Tonkawa were allocated 994 acres of federal trust land, with an additional 238 acres in individual allotments, near the former Fort Oakland, which is today Tonkawa, Oklahoma, 12 miles west of Ponca City.

Numbering some 367 individuals at the time of the massacre, the Tonkawa tribe was almost nonexistent less than one-century later. The population on the reservation is 537 with 481 being officially on the tribal rolls.

Just for the Record

Just for the record, cannibalism was not a social norm with Native Americans. Most tribes have oral traditions that tell about how people become monsters if they partake in cannibalism. While that is true, some though say that the appetite for human flesh did not belong exclusively to the Tonkawa. It is believed that Kiowa and Cheyenne Indians ate the heart of an enemy they killed in battle.

But then again, those stories about the Kiowa and the Cheyenne might be all just part of the many tall tales that were spread about the viciousness of the "red man."

It is known that when some of the Cheyenne warriors who participated in the massacre at the Little Big Horn were later asked if they indeed ate the heart of some of Custer's soldiers - especially two time Medal of Honor recipient Tom Custer - they answered an emphatic "no!"

Is that why they dealt with the Tonkawa so severely? 

The word cannibalism conjures a detestable feeling in men and women everywhere. But even though that is the case throughout history, this strange and gruesome practice was not detestable in the Tonkawa world. And no, it was not merely Tonkawa warriors who ate human flesh. Fact is, there were other Native American tribes scattered throughout North America who did the same thing for one sick reason or another.

In the Tonkawa tribe, everyone participated in eating enemies who fell into their hands. Yes, men, women and children. Some historians believe that the Tonkawa believed that by consuming parts of an enemy’s body, the cannibal could acquire either some or all of the enemy’s power, courage, or fighting ability. Some believe that tribes who did this may have simply seen people as a food source.

Whatever the reasons, Tonkawa cannibalism angered the other Southern Plains tribes so much that they joined together to do something about it. And on the night of Oct 23rd, 1862, the other tribes showed their anger by wiping them out.

Tom Correa

The Antelope Hills Expedition of 1858

The years 1856 to 1858 on the Texas Frontier were particularly vicious and bloody as the settlers continued to encroach into the "Comancheria." Settlers plowed under valuable hunting grounds, and the Comanche lost grazing land for their herds of buffalo and horses. 

In addition, the United States had done a great deal to block the Comanche's traditional raids into Mexico. Finally, the Comanches struck back with a series of ferocious and bloody raids against the settlers.
The Antelope Hills Expedition was a campaign from January 1858 to May 1858 by the Texas Rangers and members of other allied Native American tribes against Comanche and Kiowa villages in their homeland known as Comancheria.

For me, I see it as a black mark on the history of the Texas Rangers. The campaign began in western Texas and ending in a series of fights with the Comanche tribe on May 12th, 1858 at a place called Antelope Hills by Little Robe Creek, a tributary of the Canadian River in what is now Oklahoma.

The hills are also called the "South Canadians," as they surround the Canadian River. The fighting on May 12th, 1858 is often called the Battle of Little Robe Creek.

As the American Civil War drew closer, federal forces were moved about even more and the 2nd Cavalry was transferred from Texas to Utah. Eventually the U.S. Army disbanded the 2nd Cavalry as it fell apart when the Civil War began in 1860.  All in all, the U.S. Army proved wholly unable to stem the Comanche violence.

Not only were units being transferred, but believe it or not federal laws and numerous treaties barred the Army from pursuing Indians into the Indian Territories while the raids took place. Although many Indians, such as the Cherokee, were trying to farm and live as settlers, the Comanche and Kiowa continued to live in that part of the Indian Territories which was traditionally the Comancheria, while raiding into Texas. The loss of federal troops led Governor Hardin R. Runnels in 1858 to reestablish disbanded Frontier Battalions known as Texas Rangers.

Because of this, on January 27th, 1858, Governor Runnels appointed John Salmon "Rip" Ford, a veteran Ranger of the Mexican-American War and frontier Indian fighter, as Captain and overall Commander of the Rangers, Militia, and Allied Indian Forces. Ford was ordered to carry the battle to the Comanches in the heart of the Comancheria.


John Salmon "Rip" Ford

Ford, whose habit of signing the casualty reports with the initials "RIP" for "Rest In Peace,” was known as a ferocious and no-nonsense Indian fighter. Commonly missing from history books is John Salmon "Rip" Ford's proclivity for ordering the wholesale slaughter of any Indian, man or woman, that he could find.

Governor Runnels issued very explicit orders to Ford:

"I impress upon you the necessity of action and energy. Follow any trail and all trails of hostile or suspected hostile Indians you may discover and if possible, overtake and chastise them if unfriendly."

Ford then raised a force of approximately 100 Texas Rangers and State Militia. I read where Ford had "repeating rifles."

Repeating rifles were a significant advance over the preceding breech loaded single-shot rifles used for military combat of the time because they allowed a much greater rate of fire. Repeating rifles saw use in the American Civil War during the early 1860's.

The Spencer repeating rifle was a manually operated lever-action, repeating rifle fed from a tube magazine with cartridges developed in 1860. It was adopted by the Union Army, especially by the cavalry, during the American Civil War, but did not replace the standard issue muzzle-loading rifled muskets in use at the time. Other than a few rotating cylinder rifles and such, there were not a lot of what we would consider reliable "repeating rifles" in 1858.

Ford's Rangers had muzzle-loading rifled muskets, buffalo guns, and Colt revolvers. What he needed was additional men, so he set out to recruit ones he did not have to pay as he did his Rangers and Militia.

Among the traditional enemies of the Comanche were the Tonkawa Indians, then living on a reservation on the Brazos River, in Texas. The books that immortalize and praise the Tonkawa as friends and allies of the settlers generally downplay the fact the Tonkawa were cannibals, who the Comanche and virtually every other Indian tribe despised and loathed.

Yes, at least one American Indian tribe was indeed cannibalistic. In fact, the word in the Comanche and Kiowa language used for "Tonkawa" meant the same thing "eaters of humans". Ford had no reservations about using cannibals to help him as long as they were eating Comanches and not Rangers.

On March 19th, 1858, Ford went to the Brazos Reservation, near what today is the city of Fort Worth, Texas, to recruit the Tonkawa to join him.

An Indian Agent, Captain L. S. Ross, father of the future Governor of Texas, Lawrence Sullivan Ross, called Chief Placido of the Tonkawa to a war council where Ross stirred Placido's anger against their mutual enemy. He succeeded in recruiting 120 or so Native Americans to join his campaign, 111 of whom were "eaters of humans" the Tonkawa under Chief Placido. Ford hailed them as the "faithful and implicitly trusted friend of the whites".

The others were the Anadarko and Shawnee. They joined with approximately an equal number of Texas Rangers to move against the Comanches.

Ford's orders from Governor Runnels were to follow any and all trails of hostile and suspected hostile Indians, inflict the most severe punishment, kill them and their families, destroy their homes and food supplies, and to allow no interference from “any source”. "Any source" meant the United States, whose Army and Indian Agents might try to enforce federal protections in the way of treaties and federal law against trespassing on the Indian territories in Oklahoma.

Ford was a real gem of a human being. He wouldn't let law, treaty, the probability of cannibalism, or the killing of women and children get in his way. He was the type of white that gave other whites a bad name. Actually, he was the type of human being that makes rattlers look wonderful in comparison.

At dawn on May 12th, 1858, Ford attacked a small Comanche village in the Canadian River Valley, flanked by the Antelope Hills. Later that day they attacked a second village. Those Indians provided much stiffer resistance until its Chief Iron Jacket was killed. His son, Peta Nocona, arrived with reinforcements, which led to a third distinct clash between the Texas forces and the Comanche. 

At day's end the Rangers and their allies retreated back to Texas as the Comanches though in retreat were gathering reinforcements as more of their tribe arrived, together with Kiowa and Kiowa Apache allies. Having suffered only four Ranger casualties, plus over a dozen Tonkawas, the force killed a reported 76 Comanche and took 16 prisoners and 300 horses. 

Ford had ordered Iron Jacket's village and the original small village which they had attacked both burned to the ground. There is only limited mention in history, and none in Ford's official reports on the battle, but it is true that the Tonkawa actually ate their dead Comanche rivals on the night of May 12th, 1858, in what is referred to as a "dreadful feast." Of course, a few years later the Tonkawa would suffer in what became know of the Tonkawa Massacre of 1862.

After the Battle of Little Robe Creek, Ford returned to Texas and immediately requested that the Governor empower him to raise additional Rangers so that he could return north at once to continue his campaign in the heart of the Comancheria. Thankfully for the Indian women and children in the Comancheria, Governor Runnels had exhausted the entire budget for defense for the year and was forced to disband Ford and the Rangers.

Although Ford was unable to continue this campaign, he changed the face of Indian fighting on the plains and marked the beginning of the end for the Comanche and Kiowa. Fact is, it was only the Civil War that delayed the inevitable for the Indians.

All in all, it was the first time that Texan or American forces had penetrated to the heart of the Comancheria and attacked both Comanche and Kiowa villages with impunity. Yes, it set the stage for what would take place in the future.

Tom Correa