Scott County People are Justifiably Angry.

Scott County officials are angry about man-made damage recently done to their National Historic property.

In 1878, a brutal battle was waged on Scott County land about 16 miles north of Scott City.

Scott County Sheriff, Glenn Anderson, has just sent out his own war cry as he filed legal paperwork against TGC Industries of Plano, Texas. Hopefully this will be a much more civilized fight this time in comparison to the battle that the U.S. Calvary and the Northern Cheyennes had waged at the Punished Woman's Fork. Sheriff Anderson is in agreement that the Plano company is guilty of criminal damage to property when their company vehicles drove through the ground that surrounds the National Historical place known as Battle Canyon.

Even though the Scott County Commissioner, County Attorney, John Shirley, and county clerk refused to grant the seismographic company the rights to be on the Scott County-owned property, the company did it anyway. The company was told that they could not be on the property on six seperate occassions! Their massive cehicles tore the land up very visibly.

Seismographic vehicles are built to travel cross country. As they travel across the land, they vibrate and shake the ground as they send sound waves into the earth's crust. The data that is produced from this shows the company what, if any, oil and gas is available there.

The major significance of this Scott County land is that the last Indian battle was fought there between the Cavalry and the Northern Cheyenne.

The site was nominated for the National Register in 2007 because archealogists were so impressed with how well preserved the view was. Now since major tire damage has been made, the property is no longer as perfect as it once was.

The tire ruts are deep and are easily seen because the heavy equipment's tires are 30 inches wide.

According to Albert and Vernon Maddux, authors of THE BATTLE OF PUNISHED WOMAN'S FORK, the area had provided a home for the American Indians for several centuries, including the pueblos of El Quartelejo, which was still standing in 1878.

The Cheyennes arrived in the Ladder Creek Valley, a familiar hunting ground, on their journey to Montana, knowing that the American Army was coming for them. The Indian leaders, Dull Knife and Little Wolf, led a group of about 353 people including 92 warriors, 120 women and 141 children. The Cavalry leader, Willian Lewis, was killed in the battle and became the last army official killed in Kansas in the line of military action.

The Cheyennes had planned their battle extremely well. Most of their horses were lost in the battle but the Indians were able to make their quiet escape during the night.

The land will heal but it will take several years. What the seismograph company did was show a major disrespect for the local people and the people of Kansas.

VLE-B