The Lou Stenner Story

The Cheyenne Indians were on a path of destruction through the southwest Nebraska and northwest Kansas region in 1878. While the families that gathered at Indianola were untouched, across the Republican river to the south they did much damage, killing 40 or 50 men, taking some women captive, and generally causing havoc and heartache.

The following story is taken from Pioneer Paths, written by Mary Loomis McDonald and re-printed in Ancestry Unlimited published by SW Nebraska Genealogy Society in the 1970s and 80s.

“At the Stenner place several of them- all Cheyenne-stopped and called Mrs. Stenner out of the house and asked her where her ‘smokeman’ (husband) was. Not knowing the Indians were hostile, she pointed to Mr. Stenner who was working in a filed nearby.

They tied their horses then, to her horror, walked several yards toward Mr. Stenner and shot him. They then returned to the house. The oldest girl, Lou, ran from the house but the Indians caught her, beat her terribly and drove her into the house. In her terror, she cried out, ‘Oh, God, help Me!’.

He must have heard her prayer for just then one of the braves noticed their ponies were loose and they hurried out to catch them. This gave Lou her chance. She with her four small brothers, all barefooted, ran out of the house and jumped into the creek, waded up stream so the Indians would not be able to track them. They finally found a place to hide under the creek bank but it was so cold they had to leave the creek bottom for the warmer prairie. When they could walk no farther, she put her brothers in the deep rut of a buffalo trail and covered them with bunch grass.”

“Lou spent the night watching her brothers, and wondering what to do next. She had no food. She was now even some distance from water. She was almost insane with worry about her mother and father and thought of her brother, Jake, almost a grown man, who had made a trip to the railroad. She hoped he was safe.

That day, when the children awoke, they started out again. She was afraid to go back home for fear the Indians might still be there so they trudged along hoping to find some farm house where they could get food. On the second day they headed back toward Beaver Creek and were overtaken by a squad of U.S. Calvary men who were after the Indians and, as usual, were a couple of days behind time.

The cavalrymen told Lou to keep on towards the creek. The calvary, of course, were unable to stop and give aid.”

“On the way to the Beaver they came upon a place where they hoped to find food. But here they found only three dead men and a short distance from them three very scared children and a small child not over six months old. The latter was near dead from exposure and lack of food. The other children told how the Indians had killed their men-folk and taken their mothers captive.

It was all of 25 hours later that Lou was able to get to a place where there was fresh milk and food for the children. It was Friday evening before Lou and her charges could make their way back to the Stenner home. They had wandered from Tuesday morning until Friday evening out on the bleak prairie. What a terrible experience!”

“Lou was glad to find that her mother had not been taken captive by the Indians. They had gorged themselves upon whatever eatables were in the house, then they ripped open the sacks of flour, scattered it all over the house, and over the flour had trickled the contents of a keg of sorghum. To add the mélange they (the Cheyenne) split the tick of a feather-bed and dumped feathers on top of the sorghum and flour. Such a mess has never been seen or heard of before or since.”

One brave young woman had saved not only her brothers, but the foundlings that would have certainly died without her finding them. Lou Stenner married Frank Welborn and in 1937 was living in Durango, Colorado. She was approximately 19 years old when the last Indian raid against settlers in our region occurred. Mary’s story did not reveal whose children Lou had saved nor if their mothers who had been taken captive were ever returned to them. Further research is ahead but a trip to Oberlin and the Last Indian Raid Museum may have those answers.

This Saturday is the November meeting of SWNGS. Our meetings are open to the public. Please join us at 322 Norris Ave., Ste. 2-7 at 1 p.m. There is an elevator for your convenience.