Marker at the former location of Adobe Walls
On June 27, 1874, twenty-eight men and one woman sleeping in a run down settlement called Adobe Walls learned it’s better to be lucky than to have an army on your side. Most of them were buffalo hunters, stalking bison in the Texas panhandle where they weren’t supposed to be. The Treaty of Medicine Lodge made it illegal for white men to hunt in Comanche territory, but the demand for buffalo hides was high and the animals were growing scarce.
Comanche and Kiowa warriors had driven white men out of Adobe Walls ten years prior with unrelenting attacks. The garrison had been blown up and abandoned, but the hunters were venturing back and putting increased pressure on the buffalo herds. The settlement consisted of a few crude buildings including Hanrahan’s Saloon. Continue reading
