Hat Creek Dateline: 1877/01/04
Stolen weapons are being sought
by Ed Cook, Contributing Writer
Military commanders at Camp Hat Creek and Camp Collier (near Edgemont, S.D.) are on the lookout for 14 new Colt Revolvers and 14 sabers stolen from the Fort Laramie ordnance storeroom yesterday. A prompt investigation into the robbery, conducted by Captain Munson, Captain Monahan, and Lieutenant John C. Thompson indicated that these weapons may be headed for the Black Hills. Fort Laramie's post commander, major Evans, ordered Lieutenant Rufus Brown, commanding Camp Collier, "to search any suspicious vehicles" passing his location.
Jan. 11, 1877: Dr. A. P. Frick, acting assistant surgeon for Company I of the Fourteenth Infantry at Camp Hat Creek, was ordered to Camp Collier today by Major Evans. Frick was to investigate the condition of Dr. R.M. Reynolds assigned to that outpost. Lt. Brown had reported to Major Evans that Dr. Reynolds was "suffering greatly from delirium tremers," and he was unsure if the doctor would recover. Reynolds' difficulty with liquor was already a matter of record, therefore Major Evans applied to Omaha for a permanent replacement, and advised Brown that Reynold's contract was to be annulled for drunkenness, as soon as he was replaced.
Jan. 14, 1877: Dr. Albert Chenoweth, acting assistant surgeon at Camp Robinson has been ordered to Camp Hat Creek for duty with Company I of the Fourteenth Infantry stationed here under the command of First Lieutenant Charles Akers Johnson.
Jan. 23, 1877: The mail carrier on his route between here and the Red Cloud Agency was attacked by 23 Indians today however he escaped uninjured. Travelers on the road from the Black Hills have reported several small parties of Indians in the last few days. There have also been recent horse stealing raids on ranches south of the Platte River. Much of this increased Indian traffic is thought to be fragments of the warring camps who are headed for the Red Cloud and Spotted Tail agencies in Nebraska to surrender.
The relentless winter campaigns conducted northwest of here by troops under the commands of Colonel Randal S. Mackenzie, and Col. Nelson a. Miles have had a devastating impact on the warring camps, many of them are suffering greatly and near starvation.
(Information source: "Fort Laramie 1876," by Paul H. Hedren; "John Hunton's Diary, Volume 2, 1876-1877," by G.I. (Pat) Flannery).