Cattle Towns: Satanta, Kansas

Satanta (pronounced suh-TAN-tuh) is located in Haskell [HS] County in southwest Kansas on Highway 56, which has been designated a Santa Fe Trail auto route. Established in 1912 when the Santa Fe Railroad reached town, Satanta was named after Chief Satanta (Set-t'ainte or White Bear) of the Kiowa Indian tribe.

The community is situated in an extensive cattle feeding area. In fact, HaskellCounty ranks first in the state for number of cattle on feed. The county also contains some of the finest irrigated farmland in the state. A diverse array of crops are raised in the area including wheat, corn, soybeans, milo, sunflowers, alfalfa, and cotton. HaskellCounty ranked second in the state in 2002 for farm value of crops harvested at a total of $70,569,100. Oil and natural gas production play a major role in the economy of the region. Just southwest of Satanta is what is known as the "longest bridge over a dry river" where US HWY 56 crosses the Cimarron river, which only flows on rare occasions.

In Satanta you will be met with friendly people who are dedicated to the community and its well-being. You'll find a thriving main street and a healthy business community. Not many small towns offer such up-to-date facilities, including a modern hospital, schools, bank, fire station and a new ambulance building.

The clean, smog-free air to be found in this section of the country, coupled with a low crime rate and very few of the problems found in urban settings, make Satanta a great place to live and raise children.

Becoming a Town

Until 1912 the present townsite of Satanta was all cattle range. That year, the Santa Fe Railroad extended its line from Dodge City to Satanta, and named the townsite "Satanta." So severe was the negative reaction for naming a town after an Indian that it was the last town the Railroad agreed to name.

The townsite was surveyed and the first lot was purchased by James S. Patrick, a well known real estate dealer and abstractor who lived in Santa Fe, which was the county seat of HaskellCounty at that time.

Mr. Patrick moved a frame building which he had built in the front yard of his ranch at Santa Fe to Satanta, arriving with it the same day that the first train arrived in Satanta on October 22, 1912.

A Native American Heritage

The town of Satanta was named after Chief Satanta, a chief and warrior of the Kiowa Indian tribe. It should be pointed out that Satanta is the white man's corruption of Set-t'ainte, the Kiowa word for White Bear.

Chief Satanta was a tall, finely formed man with a very erect bearing and a piercing glance. He was rebellious and brutal as a warrior and Chief but was eloquent in speaking and represented his tribe in many meetings with governmental officials. He could, in fact, speak five different languages fluently -- four Indian toungues and Spanish. (Newspapers reported that those who could not understand a word he said were fascinated by the rhythmic tone of his voice.) Government reports said, "his manly boldness and directness, along with a keen sense of humor, made him a favorite with army officers in spite of his known hostility to the white man's laws and civilization." He was termed, "The Orator of the Plains."

He was among the signers of the 1867 Medicine Lodge Peace Treaty. At the treaty, he spoke: "I came to say that the Kiowas and Commanches have made with you a peace. The word shall last until the whites break their contract and invite the horrors of war. [The white man] once came to trade, now he comes to fight. He once came as a citizen, now he comes as a soldier. We thank the Great Spirit that all these wrongs are now to cease and the old days of peace and friendship are to come again -- You have patiently heard our complaints. To you they have seemed trifling, to us they are everything -- For your sake, the green grass shall not be stained with the blood of the whites. Your people shall be our people, and peace shall be our mutual heritage."

Unfortunately, following that impressive speech, everyone did not live happily everafter. Soon the government withdrew many of their promises. For instance, instead of having all the land south of the Arkansas River promised them for hunting, they were soon forced to live and hunt only on a reservation near Ft.Sill, and that was one of the many agreements the government failed to fulfill. Discouraged by the white man's broken promises, Satanta's people felt they had no choice but revenge.

Because of his participation in continued raids in southwestern Kansas, southeastern Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas, Chief Satanta was arrested and imprisoned on three separate occasions. On October 11, 1878 while serving out a life sentence in a prison in Huntsville, Texas, he complained of an injury or that his "heart was bad" (there is some disagreement which) to the prison physician. He was taken to the prison hospital on the prison's second floor, but before treatment could be given the erie chant of the Kiowa death song was heard as Satanta plunged headfirst from the second-story balcony to the ground below, ending his long resistence to the white man's injustice to his people. From "Satanta's Passing Show" by Tom Ungles, Haskell CountyMonitor-Chief Thursday, May 6, 1982.

In his book Satanta: The Life and Death of a War Chief, Charles M. Robinson III said, "...it would have been in character for Satanta, in his last act as a Kiowa warrior, to deprive the whites of victory by taking his own life. They had his corpse, but not his obedience. And for a warrior, that is an honorable death."

Chief Satanta was buried unceremoniously in Huntsville in a cemetery for deceased prison inmates and those whose bodies are unclaimed. Years later, in 1963, the Kiowa Indians arranged for Satanta's remains to be moved to Fort Sill, Oklahoma. There the chief has one of the cemetery's most elaborate gravesites. Citizens of the community of Satanta arranged for a headstone.

Along with many community events throughout the year, Satanta Day is held the second weekend in May each year. A display of our community's pride in our Native American heritage, the day-long celebration includes a parade, a barbeque, childrens' games, an all-school alumni reunion, and dances. For more information and a complete schedule, visit the Satanta Day page.

Source: Satanta Chamber Of Commerce

Feedyards In Satanta, KS