Historical Marker Program

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Cowboy Cemetery

Woods County
Location: approximately 12 miles north of Camp Houston
Coordinates: 36.96656, -99.14971
Material: Granite
Sponsor(s): Alva Monument
Topics: Indian Frontier and Trade; Ranching; Settlement Patterns; Territorial Period, 1861–1907

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.