Cowboy Cemetery

Woods County · approximately 12 miles north of Camp Houston

On September 12, 1878, the bodies of Reuben Bristow and Fred Clark were found near here. It was believed they had been killed by Northern Cheyenne Indians led by Chief Dull Knife. Bristow and Clark were cowboys hauling salt for Comanche pool cattle when Dull Knife fled harsh conditions on the reservation near Canton. The salt haulers, probably killed for their mule team, inadvertently crossed the path of the Cheyenne during their desperate flight home to the Northern Plains.

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David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

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Marker data: Oklahoma Historical Society, Historical Marker Program. Marker texts and locations come from the Society's marker database, reproduced with the Society's written permission.
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Cowboy Cemetery

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