Che-to-pah

Che-to-pah, also spelled Chetopah (; c. 1810–January 8, 1877), was an Osage chief counselor of the Little Osage band. His Osage name is also spelled Tzi-Topa. The city of Chetopa, Kansas was named for him. He was one of several principal figures during the tumultuous time on the Kansas frontier after the Civil War, with Che-to-pah leading his own band and living between the Verdigris River and Chetopa Creek in modern-day Wilson County, Kansas.

Bluffing In September 1862, Four Lodges went on the war path against Kickapoos— or that's what he told Indian Agent E. H. Carruth and a band of Delawares. The scalp was to be given to the son-in-law of White Swan, chief counselor to Chief Che-to-pah. The mourner was several months into the Osage mourning ritual, which could last months. went to the mouth of Turkey Creek on the Cimarron River and instead of discovering an enemy, they found the Principal Chief of the Wichita. The Wichita were a peaceful tribe living on a nearby reservation; they were not at war with the Osage.

Wah-sah-she-wah-tain-kah, naked and painted black, found the chief unprepared for the unprovoked attack; however, Chief Esadowa was reportedly able to get an arrow ready to attempt to defend himself. While the chief fled on horseback, Wah-sah-she-wah-tain-kah shot him in the back with a gun. He and his companions decapitated the fallen chief, scalped him, and returned to the Osage reservation with the scalp. the governor decided to conduct a trial based on Indian rules.

Death