The Buffalo Soldiers, Part 4: Cavalryman’s Paradise

This is Thomas Wayne Riley and welcome to the American Southwest.

“It just stayed quiet and there was just the wind. Just the sound of the wind in the sky and there's nothing around me but Yosemite, and the sound of my horse, and me, breathing as we moved along the trail. And I started thinking that this is what freedom must feel like. Never felt freedom when I was a sharecropper growing up in South Carolina. Never knew about freedom when my mother and my daddy had been enslaved. Freedom was this wind. Freedom was this rain. Freedom was being pushed up into the sky by these mountains beneath my feet and the rain and the rain and the rain coming down. That was freedom.” Alizy Bowman, sergeant, Troop K, 9th Cavalry, Buffalo Soldier. Alizy Bowman is actually a fictional character created by Ranger Shelton Johnson of Yosemite National Park who has for years worked to uncover the history and stories of the Buffalo Soldiers, especially when it comes to their time at the National Parks. He has a series of recordings and journal entries he’s written for this fictional trooper that I wish I could have just played for y’all but I wasn’t sure on the copyright so I quoted him instead. I implore you to visit the National Parks website if you’re interested though and hear some of his recordings. He paints a beautiful picture and he’s got a great voice to do it with.

“An Act to set apart a certain Tract of Land lying near the Head-waters of the Yellowstone River as a public Park”. That is the name of the act that President Ulysses S Grant signed into law in March of 1872 which officially established Yellowstone National Park as the Nation’s First National Park. Located in the then territories of Wyoming and Montana, Grant established it quote, as a public park or pleasuring-ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people. End quote. The later establishing of subsequent parks such as Sequoia and General Grant, which is known to us as Kings Canyon National Park in California, fell under the control of the Secretary of the Interior but securing and maintaining such vast tracts of land immediately became a problem. So, until the National Park Service was created by President Woodrow Wilson in 1916, the management and security of the Parks fell to the troops stationed at forts and bases located nearby. In 1886, Company M of the 1st Cavalry Regiment was temporarily sent to patrol and protect Yellowstone but instead the Army stayed in the park for 32 years! In Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks, our friends the Buffalo Soldiers, whom we’ve learned so much about over these past few episodes, were sent to serve over the summers of 1899, 1903, and 1904. About 500 of them from the 24th Infantry, which we haven’t talked too much about, and the 9th Cavalry served in those posts where they were given a plethora of jobs to complete over the vast area of land that the Parks encompassed.

I’ll just run down the pretty exhaustive list of duties the Buffalo Soldiers, or as they were called after the Spanish-American and Philippine-American War, Smoked Yankees, took care of while posted at the Parks:

They had to confiscate firearms (which I am not a fan of learning), curb poaching on account of the over hunting of many species by the locals. They stopped the theft of timber and other natural and cultural resources like archaeological artifacts. They had to suppress and extinguish wildfires, patrol towns in the vicinity, and end illegal grazing of livestock within park boundaries. There weren’t any courts or judges within the area to enforce park regulations so that duty had to fall on the Buffalo Soldiers who had to be simultaneously strong and diplomatic. I read that sometimes they would corral a shepherd and his flock before depositing the sheepherder at one end of the Park and his sheep on the other, some 125 miles away. That seems a bit extreme but I guess it came with the territory. They were the law and order in this rugged Mountain wilderness, after all. They also forged a road to the base of Moro Rock which allowed the public access to Sequoia National Park for the first time. They also oversaw the construction of many other roads and trails. One such trail being the first trail up to the 14,505 foot peak of Mount Whitney, which is the tallest mountain in the lower 48, but at the time, was the tallest mountain in the United States. They also built an arboretum in Yosemite National Park near the south fork of the Merced River in the summer of 1904. I read that the trails they established in the area were the first marked nature trails within the United States National Park System. Outside of California and Yellowstone, they also served as rangers in Hawaii and Glacier National Parks.

N.F. McClure of the 5th Cavalry, in the Journal of the U.S. Cavalry Association in 1897 wrote about being stationed in the Sierra Nevadas that quote, It is the cavalryman’s paradise. There’s food and drink for his horse everywhere. Though the cold of spring and autumn may be biting, though the life may be lonely, though the work may be difficult—still, happy is the soldier whose lines fall amid these scenes of grandeur and sublimity, where nature has put forth her mightiest efforts. End quote. While duties for the Buffalo Soldiers in the National Parks of the Sierra Nevadas may have been unusual, they were certainly welcome.

The third black graduate of West Point and the highest ranking African American officer in the US Army at the time that he served was a man named Charles Young. And in 1903 Charles Young became the acting military superintendent of Sequoia National Park which makes him the first black superintendent of any US Park. Young was a lover of the outdoors, nature, and ecology and made many suggestions to the Secretary of Interior on preserving vegetation and stopping erosion while he was at his post. He even persuaded local landowners to give up claims to some 3,877 acres of land within the National park boundaries for a fair price. Personally, I think those people were crazy but he succeeded in his task… although, in true bureaucratic fashion, the government didn’t follow through on it’s payment for ten years and not at the price established which just goes to show, you cannot trust the government ever with anything. Young would have this to say about the Parks in a 1903 military report, Indeed, a journey through this park and the Sierra Forest Reserve to the Mount Whitney country will convince even the least thoughtful man of the needfulness of preserving these mountains just as they are.

In that same year, Young and his 9th Cavalry Buffalo Soldiers also oversaw the escort of President Theodore Roosevelt when he came to tour the west coast and Yosemite National Park. Obviously, this was a great honor to the Buffalo Soldiers which had seen some of them serve with Roosevelt in Cuba at the battle of San Juan Hill. Since that battle though, Teddy had said some not so great things about the character of black soldiers that he was probably regretting. So personally choosing his once comrades on the battlefield to act as his Guard of Honor, may have been an apology. Thankfully, he’d later turn to his progressive ways again and backtrack on a lot of what he had said that we frown upon now.

While I did extensively cover the Buffalo Soldiers Cavalry Regiments of the 9th and 10th, I didn’t really discuss the other black troops of the 24th and 25th infantry. That’s mostly because by telling the story of the Cavalry, I was continuing from the previous entry on cowboys but also by telling the Cavalry troopers tale I was basically covering the infantrymen’s adventures since they often shared the same posts, forts, and battlefields. But now I’ll cover a little bit of the 25th Infantry Buffalo Soldiers by going into the 25th Bicycle Infantry Corps and their epic 1,900 mile journey through and around Yellowstone National Park to Saint Louis, Missouri in 1897.

The experimental 25th Bicycle Infantry Corps was made up, obviously, of the 25th Infantry Buffalo Soldiers who were stationed at Fort Missoula in Montana. One of their officers, Second Lt James Moss who’d graduated at the bottom of his class at West Point, suggested that the bicycle be explored as a tool and vehicle for war, much like some European armies were trying at the time with mixed success. Although it must be said that European roads were in better conditions than these western American ones. The reasoning behind the experiment being that bicycles don’t require food or water, don’t make nearly as much noise, they can be hidden more easily, they raise but little dust, you can’t tell which direction they’re traveling from the track, and they can be repaired if they break down on patrol. The disadvantage being you had to carry on your persons or on your bikes the necessary repair parts and tools. Not to mention your bedroll, tents, food, utensils, weapons, ammunition, clothing, water, rifle, sidearm, and more which weighed well over 100 pounds. But the Army was on board and the trials began.

Their first action started in August of 1896 with a four day, 126 mile ride around the town and fort of Missoula before resting for a few days and heading out again on the 15th. Their target this time was Fort Yellowstone in Yellowstone National Park which was a 300 mile journey. It only took them 8 days. 2 days later, after some rest and regrouping at Yellowstone, the Buffalo Soldiers set out for a tour of the park. They saw the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, waterfalls, hot springs, geysers, and they crossed the Continental Divide Twice before taking another 2 days of rest. Lt. Moss would say that quote, The soldiers were delighted with the trip…thought the sights grand…and seemed to be in the best of spirits the whole time. End quote. He’d also comment on the positive quote moral effect of the seething water, the roaring of the geysers and the sulphuric fumes. End quote. Not sure about the sulphuric fumes part. After taking the iconic photo of the men with their bikes at Mammoth Hot Springs, which will be up at the site, the buffalo soldiers proceeded to ride all the way back to Missoula for a total journey of 800 miles and all on a bicycle. At the time, a Montana Newspaper editor remarked: The prejudice against the…soldiers seems to be without foundation for if the 25th Infantry is an example of the [Black] regiments there is no exaggeration in the statement that there are no better troops in the service.

When I was a boyscout I got my bicycling merit badge which required a ton of miles on a bike including a 50 mile ride in one day. We did it on the coastal islands of Georgia and while it was beautiful and fun, my butt hurt so bad for days. These guys weren’t even cavalrymen so they weren’t used to riding in a saddle which makes me think this wasn’t super comfortable for them either. But it was a good warm up for what was coming.

Despite still not being convinced of the efficacy of wartime bikes, the Army went ahead anyway and approved Lt Moss’ next grand adventure which was to be a 1,900 mile expedition from Missoula to Saint Louis crossing what he called the quote, mountainous and stony roads of Montana; the hummock earth roads of South Dakota; the sandy roads of Nebraska and the clay roads of Missouri. End quote. And all on a bicycle. For this mission, he ordered twenty custom-designed Spalding bikes that would better accommodate the soldiers and their gear. The buffalo soldiers then trained hard for two weeks before finally embarking on June 14th, 1897.

Here’s what David McCormick wrote in The Buffalo Soldiers Who Rode Bikes about the beginning of the trip:

At midday a heavy rain pelted the riders, and the next afternoon bad roads and another downpour forced them off their bicycles to slog along on foot—an inauspicious beginning to their overland odyssey. On their fourth day out, as the men climbed into the Rockies, rain turned to blinding snow, and they couldn’t see past 20 feet. The steep descent presented more danger; Moss and his men had to walk their bicycles, all the while digging in their heels, lest they lose their footing and plummet downslope. Surely, they must have breathed a collective sigh of relief once the Continental Divide was behind them. But more challenges lay ahead.

In 1974, the historical novelist Pferron Doss led a commemorative overland journey of his own that retraced the route of the 25th Infantry Bicycle Buffalo Soldiers and he had this to say, quote, We thought once we reached the Continental Divide, it would be downhill all the way, but that wasn't the case. But it's a trip that every last one of us will never forget, because it was a time in our lives that we felt very proud to be doing this in their honor. End quote.

In some parts of Montana the soldiers had to shoulder their heavily laden bikes to cross flooded roads or overflowing wastewater ditches and many of them tumbled over their handlebars on rough stretches of downhill riding. And yet another time it was said that they huffed it through mountains of hail 8 feet high. No matter the terrain though, the men became experts at changing a bike’s tire.

McCormick also write, While riding between towns, the corps by necessity dispensed with any semblance of formation. Each rider pedaled a path that suited him. Some caught a wagon wheel rut and stayed with it, while others steered a zigzag pattern to avoid rocks. The line of troops often strung out, opening up miles between the lead rider and last straggler. But before entering each town, the men would regroup and strike formation, to emphasize they were a military unit and not just black bicyclists roaming the land.

These roads were usually anything but a road. They often followed wagon trails, game trails, and even railroad trackbeds where they jostled over the jawbreaking ties and many times they were forced to dismount and walk their heavy bikes as they travelled across the land. Moss would say that many of the roads were a, disgrace to civilization. The Daily Missoulian reporter Edward Eddie H Boos, who accompanied the black troops wrote that quote, the only choice of roads narrowed to bad ones and others that were worse. End quote. Boos would also comment on how the mud covered wheels looked like discs of gumbo and how rumors of rattlesnakes would break up an uncomfortable camp, forcing them to begin riding at night. They averaged about 52 miles per day with the toughest and slowest stretches being the Sandhills of Nebraska. Walking in sand is tough enough, I just know biking with that heavy of a bike can’t be easy either. Especially in temperatures of 110°.

At one point Moss drank some bad water and was out for four days and many of the other men were doubled over with the pukes. At another point, towards the end of the journey they came across a farmer in Missouri who rebuked their request of staying overnight in his field with the question of if they were Union Soldiers… thirty years after the end of the Civil War. Boos said when they realized he meant US Soldiers they said that why yes, they were. The farmer then told them they could either stay with the pigs or be gone. Wether this encounter actually happened or not is left up to the reader, but it’s still a funny anecdote.

After forty days and one thousand nine hundred and point two miles, they concluded their journey with an escort of hundreds of local saint Louis cyclists who led them cheering into town. Despite this roaring success, Moss wasn’t quite fulfilled and he asked the Army if the men could ride BACK to Missoula… thankfully they boarded a train instead. Moss would say to the St Louis Dispatch that, The trip has proved beyond peradventure my contention that the bicycle has a place in modern warfare. In every kind of weather, over all sorts of roads, we averaged fifty miles a day. At the end of the journey we are all in good physical condition. He’d conclude that, quote, Under favorable conditions the bicycle is invaluable for courier work, scouting duty, road patrolling, rapid reconnaissance, etc. End quote.

The next adventure from Missoula to San Francisco was scrapped due to the Spanish American War breaking out and the much like the 9th and 10th, the 25th Infantry Buffalo Soldiers were shipped to Cuba. But without their bicycles.

And that concludes my series on the Buffalo Soldiers and more broadly of Blacks in the American West. I’ve covered the Spanish, Mexicans, Africans, frontiersmen, fur trappers, migrants, explorers, religious pioneers, Mormons, cowboys, indians, wars, skirmishes, battles, massacres, heroes, devils, outlaws, lawmen, the US Army, and our National Parks and all through the eyes of our African american and black brothers and sisters. While I’m very proud of these episodes, I know there’s a lot left to discover and learn so stay tuned as I find other unique ways to tell you about the wonderfully wild and woolly american southwest.

For my next series I was going to cover the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 and the triumph, however brief, of the Native Americans after talking for countless hours of their many many defeats but I’m going to put that one on hold and cover something I’ve been excited to talk about since the first episode I did over the Bison. So stick around for next time when I’ll discuss the now extinct megafauna of the American Southwest and broader North American Continent. Think cave bears, dire wolves, giant ground sloths, mastodons, saber-toothed tigers, American lions, beavers the size of SUVs, horses, camels, and Mammoths.

Selected Sources:

Buffalo Soldiers on the Colorado Frontier by Nancy K Williams

‘No better troops.’ The 1896 ride of the Buffalo Soldiers through Yellowstone National Park by Michael Poland

Standing Guard by Kate Siber for the National Parks Conservation Association

NPS The Immortal 15, Fort Yellowstone, and Buffalo Soldiers

THE BUFFALO SOLDIERS WHO RODE BIKES by David McCormick

Very Hard Traveling by Michael Zimny for South Dakota Magazine

NationalParks.org