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== Seeking Help ==
[[File:Adobewalls_battlefield.jpg|thumbnail|250px|left|Adobe Walls Battle Field.]]
That evening, under cover of darkness, a hunter named Henry Lease armed himself heavily and set out for Fort Dodge to beg assistance from the military. He arrived at the fort late that evening and asked for military support. Not one of the officers on duty had the authority to dispatch the cavalry; therefore, word was sent to the governor for permission. He was also too timid to act and shunned the responsibility to the military commander, General John Pope, who surprisingly denied the request. Although he was no lover of Native Americans, Pope adhered to the policies set forth in the Medicine Lodge Treaty and was not willing to jeopardize relations with the tribes by enabling the very men who breached the treaty agreements. General Pope disliked the tactics utilized by the hunters and realized the unjust manner in which they encroached on Indian lands and illegally hunted buffalo. Pope believed that the hunters had “‘justly earned all that may befall them,’” and that any troops he sent would be to “‘break up the grogshops and trading establishments rather than protect them.’”<ref>Richard N. Ellis, ''General Pope and the U.S. Indian Policy'' (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1970), 183.</ref>
== Conclusion ==
Most of the hunters abandoned the settlement, some stayed; however, to salvage what they could from their inventories. William Olds had been on guard duty in the watch tower overlooking the camp. While descending the ladder at the end of his shift, he stumbled and accidentally discharged his weapon, which landed a shot directly to his head. Mrs. Olds was waiting at the bottom of the ladder. Six weeks after the battle, all of the residents departed and the 6th Cavalry was ordered to guard the perimeter of the settlement in order to allow the Native Americans to return to gather their dead. Estimates vary greatly as to the number of Comanche and Kiowa killed; some reports stated the casualty number as low as nine, while others showed one hundred-fifteen. A cavalry scout reported that he encountered at least thirty Native American graves.<ref>Haley, 78.</ref>When the tribes departed with their dead warriors, the burned and destroyed any remaining structures at Adobe Walls then branched off into separate bands to continue fighting in Texas, New Mexico, Indian Territory (Oklahoma), Kansas, and southeastern Colorado. This battle marked the official beginning of the Red River War.<div class="portal" style="width:35%;">==Related DailyHistory.org Articles==*[[Why Was Vicksburg “The Gibraltar of the Confederacy?”]]*[[Interview:African American Soldiers During the Civil War: Interview with Author Bob Luke]]*[[How Did the German Military Develop Blitzkrieg?]]*[[Gilded Age/Progressive Era History Top Ten Booklist]]*[[What Was the Significance of the Southwest in the Outcome of the Civil War]]</div>
==References==
