Sam's Corner Traditional Cache
-
Difficulty:
-
-
Terrain:
-
Size: 
(other)
Related Web Page
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
Another easy roadside cache from Progneto
The people that used to run this station had a Mina bird that could say some things in English. They would take it to area schools to show the children. My family and I would stop here for a break while we were driving down to see family in southwestern Oklahoma. My ex-wife grew up on the farm just to the east of here. Her grandparents lived on the old homeplace that is visible to the east until about 2003 when both of them had finally passed away. It is still in the family. If you look under the awning in front of the station you will see lots of mud swallow nests.NOTE: ALWAYS WATCH FOR RATTLESNAKES IN THIS AREA!!!
Now for a little history. This was Indian country! For many years, white men did not dare to go into what is now the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles. One of the main reasons was that water was scarce and this was prime buffalo country for mainly the Comanche and Kiowa Indians.
A treaty had been signed to keep the Texas panhandle as hunting land for the Indians and white men were not supposed to enter.
"In 1873 English brothers James Hamilton Cator and Arthur J. L. (Bob) Cator were sent by their father, British naval officer Captain John Bertie Cator, to Kansas in search of financial opportunity. The brothers soon found their true calling as buffalo hunters and established an outpost along the North Palo Duro Creek. They named this camp Zulu, and it soon became known as Zulu Stockade." Wikipedia: (visit link)
Indians camped and lived all along the Canadian and Washita Rivers (South of the Canadian River). In 1864, Army Scout, Kit Carson encountered several thousand Indians camped north of current day Stinnett, Texas (West of here). If it had not been for a howitzer, he and his men probably would have been killed. Ten years later, north of where Carson's battle was, was what is now referred to as the Second Battle of Adobe Walls. The famed Comanche Indian who's mother was an abducted white woman, Quanah Parker and several Indians made a daring raid on the buildings at Adobe Walls. Bat Masterson, the gunfighter, was involved in the fight as well as Billy Dixon, famed buffalo hunter. It was at the end of this battle that Dixon, using a borrowed Sharp's .50 caliber hunting rifle made his famous shot, shooting an Indian at almost a mile away with only iron sights on the gun. The Indian was sitting on his horse with two of his comrades when, approximately three seconds after Dixon pulled the trigger, the bullet found its mark, killing him.
Several years ago, there was an archeological dig at the location of Adobe Walls. Some of the foundations of the buildings are still visible. There is a commemorative marker for the Indians and the Buffalo hunters who were killed there. Billy Dixon lived at that location for many years and ran a post office there for a few years. Later, Dixon and his wife moved to Oklahoma where he passed away. A few years later, his body was exhumed and buried at the location of Adobe Walls.
To the east of this location, into current day Oklahoma, Indians lived and thrived. As the westward expansion began, many battles between U.S. Cavalry and Indians were fought from western Oklahoma west and southwest through the panhandle of Texas. Gen. George Armstrong Custer fought Black Kettle and his Cheyenne Indians near present day Cheyenne, Oklahoma. Custer's book, "My Life on the Plains," gives vivid details of the battle, including the marching band who played while the battle ensued!
By the end of 1874, the Indian's, sole source of survival, the bison or "American Buffalo" were almost completely extinct after only about three years of vicious slaughter. The Plains Indians used every part of the bison; the meat for food, body parts for cooking utensils, canteens, etc. The hides were used for their homes, the teepee and for clothing and blankets.
"Late in September 1874, Ranald S. MacKenzie, Commander of the 4th U.S. Cavalry, tracked the Comanche to their secret winter camp in the Palo Duro Canyon." (visit link)
Approximately 1,500 of the Indian's ponies were killed by U.S. troops in one fateful day. The slaughter of their horses and the annihilation of the bison herds which once numbered in the millions, broke the back of the Indian's and they were forced to live on reservations.
Charles Goodnight, the inventor of the chuck wagon and rancher in Palo Duro Canyon is credited with saving a few head of American bison. Without his forward thinking, the beautiful creature would be extinct.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Haqre gur fbhgujrfg pbeare bs gur onfr sbe gur gnax.
Treasures
You'll collect a digital Treasure from one of these collections when you find and log this geocache:
Loading Treasures