Across The Fence: Edmund Guerrier: Custer's scout in 1867

Edmund Gasseau Choteau Guerrier was born in a Cheyenne Indian village along the Smoky Hill River, when what would become Kansas Territory was then known as a portion of the vast Louisiana Purchase.

Edmund's mother was a Wutapai Cheyenne and was named Tah-tah-tois-neh ("Walks In Sight"). His father, William Guerrier, was a Frenchman employed as a fur trader by William Bent and lived among the Cheyenne where he had taken Walks In Sight as his wife.

Edmund's early life was spent with his Cheyenne people until the age of 10 when his father sent him east to the Catholic mission school in the area of present day St. Mary's, Kan. The previous year, Edmunds' mother had died of cholera and his father had recently formed a partnership with Seth Ward establishing a trading post on the Upper Platte River about twenty miles east of Ft. Laramie.

No doubt the elder Guerrier desired that his son be educated among the whites and so it was that young Edmund was later enrolled at the university in St. Louis. However, after learning of his father's death in the winter of 1857, Edmund soon left the university, before completing his studies and returned to his homeland.

Taking a job as bullwhacker, Edmund left the east from Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas Territory, in 1862 and drove his lumbering oxen along the Santa Fe Trail to New Mexico. The trip would have taken young Edmund to William Bent's new fort on the Arkansas River, where it is quite possible that he became reacquainted with his father's old friend.

Edmund's close connection with the Bent family would continue for the rest of his life.

Upon his arrival in New Mexico, Edmund was employed to assist in transporting Apache prisoners from Fort Stanton to Fort Sumner where Christopher "Kit" Carson was in command. Carson was also a close friend of William Guerrier and was most likely pleased to make the acquaintance of the son of an old friend who had recently crossed over. Surely, old Kit – known for his exaggerated tales – had more than a few stories to tell young Guerrier.

In 1864, Edmund returned to Kansas from New Mexico and was at Fort Larned, on the Pawnee River, when William Bent brought in several Cheyenne leaders for a peace council. Here, Edmund met many of his Cheyenne relatives and after the council, returned with them to their summer camp on the Smoky Hill River.

In August of that year Cheyenne leaders sent Edmund and fellow half-breed, George Bent, to deliver a proposal for peace to Fort Lyon, Colo. The proposal for peace was prepared at the request of William Bent and included an offer to exchange white captives held by the Cheyenne for Cheyenne captives being held in Denver.

Additionally the proposal for peace was contingent on a similar peace being made between the whites and the Kiowa, Comanche, Arapaho, Apache and Sioux.

Major Wynkoop received the white prisoners at the Cheyenne camps on Smoky Hill and Colorado Gov. Evans promised peace and winter rations with the surrender of the Cheyenne at Ft. Lyon. Chief Black Kettle and other Cheyenne leaders accepted Gov. Evans' offer and moved their camp to Sand Creek.

Edmund and George – their peace keeping mission completed – then joined their relatives on Sand Creek. George's brother Charles and his sister Julia were also there.

Learning of the location of Black Kettle's camp, Col. John Chivington organized an unauthorized surprise attack on the peaceful gathering. To insure a surprise attack, Col. Chivington held William Bent, and his third son Robert, under armed guard at Bent's Fort to keep them from warning the Cheyenne encampment on Sand Creek.

In the early morning of November 29, 1864, Col. Chivington and his assembled troops advanced on Black Kettles camp. A Cheyenne woman sounded the alarm and while Edmund Guerrier and trader John Smith approached the soldiers, Black Kettle hoisted a white flag of truce along with the American flag.

As they approached, the soldiers opened fire on Guerrier and Smith and as the two ran for their lives. Of the more than 160 Cheyenne killed by Chivington's troops, more than 100 were women and children. John Smith's son, Jack, was captured and executed. Charles Bent was taken captive, his brother George was wounded but managed to escape. Edmund Guerrier and Julia Bent also escaped the massacre.

When Charles was released and George had recovered from his wounds, the two brothers joined with a band of Cheyenne Dog Soldiers and took revenge through a series of deadly raids across the western plains.

In 1865 a congressional investigation was held at Fort Lyon to investigate the massacre at Sand Creek and a to discuss a treaty and settlement. Kit Carson and William Bent were there as was Edmund Guerrier who had been employed by Colonel Leavenworth as courier and interpreter.

Edmund was fluent in the English, French, Cheyenne and Arapaho languages and was trusted by many of the plains tribes. In addition to the government's apology for Chivington's actions, each half-breed child, which included the children of Thomas Fitzpatrick, William Bent, John S. Smith and William Guerrier, were given a section of land, compliments of the U.S. government.

In April 1867, Major Wynkoop recommended Guerrier as a scout and interpreter for General Winfield Scott Hancock. General Hancock's command consisted of cavalry, infantry, artillery and an ambitious young officer, in command of the newly formed 7th Cavalry, by the name of George Armstrong Custer.

General Hancock's first assignment for Guerrier was to find and bring in a large band of Cheyenne to meet with Hancock. Along with a fairly large contingent of Cheyenne, about 150, Guerrier brought in Chief's Bull Bear, Tall Bull and White Horse. Although pleased with Guerrier's results Hancock was displeased with what he considered a small number of Cheyenne and the absence of higher ranking chiefs with which to negotiate.

General Hancock then demanded to be taken to the Cheyenne camp but Bull Bear, Tall Bull and White Horse were suspicious of Hancock's intentions and refused.

Remembering Sand Creek, the three chiefs believed that Hancock intended to locate the Cheyenne camp and attack as Chivington had at Sand Creek. When the leaders left the council and refused to lead Hancock to their camp, Hancock ordered Custer to assemble his troops and Guerrier was ordered to lead them to the Cheyenne.

Despite Guerrier's advice that the Indians would flee when they saw such a large number of soldiers approaching, Hancock would not reconsider and his troops under Custer's command proceeded to march toward the Cheyenne encampment at the forks of the Pawnee River.

Hancock's troops were met by a large war party, led by Roman Nose, before they reached the camp. Custer lined his command into battle formation, ready to meet Roman Nose in battle.

Guerrier rode out to meet Roman Nose and was able to persuade him to meet with Hancock between to two opposing lines but the brief parlay ended when Hancock complained that it was too windy to talk and invited Roman Nose to meet with him later that night. The proposal was agreed to and while Roman Nose, White Horse, Tall Bull and Bull Bear met with Hancock and Custer, and while in council and unknown to the two commanders, the entire tribe of Cheyenne, men, women and children, disappeared as they scattered northward across the prairie from the Pawnee River to the Smoky Hill country.

When Roman Nose and the other leaders left Hancock's camp, Guerrier was ordered to accompany the chiefs and report back every two hours as to the actions of the village. When Guerrier arrived at the Cheyenne camp he realized that everyone had already gone but did not make his first report to Hancock until two and one-half hours later, giving the Cheyenne plenty of time to escape.

When Guerrier finally made his report, Hancock ordered Custer to pursue the fleeing Cheyenne and unaware of Guerrier's sympathies for his Cheyenne relatives, ordered him to act a guide and scout for Custer's troops. Believing that Custer intended to trap the Cheyenne and take them all as prisoners, or worse, Guerrier intentionally misguided Custer, using every possible means to allow the Cheyenne to escape.

Custer and his troops continued under orders to pursue the Cheyenne and bring them in for removal to reservations and to punish those warriors who had sought revenge for the atrocities at Sand Creek. The pursuit continued, with Guerrier as guide, until mid-July when Custer was arrested for improper conduct.

Edmund Guerrier continued as scout and interpreter for the U.S. Army for nearly 10 years. He finally settled on an allotment, with his wife Julia Bent, along the Canadian River in Oklahoma Territory.

Throughout his life he continued to work with the U.S. government and the Cheyenne people until his death in 1921. Anglicized for ease of pronunciation and spelling, Edmund Guerrier is honored for his role in history by his namesake, Geary, Okla.

M. Timothy Nolting is an award-winning Nebraska columnist and freelance writer. Contact Tim via email at [email protected].