The Hungate massacre involved the murder of the family of Nathan Hungate along Running Creek on June 11, 1864. It was a precipitating factor leading to the Sand Creek massacre of November 29, 1864.
Background
The Hungate family moved to the area, about 25 miles southeast of Denver, about March of 1864. The Hungates included Nathan, his wife Ellen, and daughters, Laura and Florence. They lived on the ranch of Issac Van Wormer, who employed Nathan as the ranch manager. The ranch was located just south of the County Line Road between Araphaoe-Elbert counties, east of Running Creek, and north of the town of Elizabeth. Prior to that, in 1861, the Treaty of Fort Wise was made with Native American tribes in Colorado Territory to restrict their access to their hunting grounds, relocate to a reservation, and grow crops in exchange for provisions. There were periods of crop failures, however, and the government did not honor its agreement to provide provisions. Tribes began stealing food and livestock. In April 1864, John Evans, the territorial governor, called for Colonel John Chivington, commander of the 1st Regiment of Colorado Volunteers to "kill Cheyenne wherever or whenever found," without determining whether or not they were guilty. The cavalry killed innocent women, children, and men, which resulted in retaliatory raids against settlers in Colorado and Kansas.
Attack
On June 11, Nathan rode out with a hired hand, Mr. Miller, looking for stray heads of cattle. Several miles from the ranch, they saw smoke coming from the area of Hungate's cabin and suspected an attack by Native Americans. Miller said that he was riding for Denver and advised Hungate that his family was likely dead and if he went back to the cabin he would be killed, too. Hungate rode back to find that his cabin was on fire and his family had been killed and badly mutilated. He was captured and was similarly killed. The couple was in their twenties, Laura was 2 1/2 years of age, and Florence was a 6-month-old infant. Miller made it to Denver and gave news of the attack to Van Wormer, who rode to the ranch to find the Hungate family dead. Nathan Hungate's body was badly mutilated with 80 bullets, and was found a distance from the house. The bodies of Ellen and the two girls were found mutilated, bound together, and thrown into a shallow well. All of the family's stock had been taken and the buildings were burned down.
Aftermath
On June 13, the Hungate family's bodies were taken by Van Wormer to Denver and put onpublic display, creating anger and inciting revenge for the attacks presumed to be by Native Americans. An inquest was held on June 14, which resulted in a decision that they were killed by unknown people, likely Native Americans. It was speculated that they may have been members of the Arapaho or Cheyenne tribes. Jim Beckwourth, an experienced frontiersman, postulated that the manner of death was not consistent with either the Cheyenne or Arapaho, according to an article in Daily Commonwealth dated June 15. Others later believed that the attack was made by members of the Arapaho tribe. Residents of Denver were frightened and wanted revenge. Citizens took it upon themselves to attack Native Americans, which resulted in retaliatory reactions predominately from Cheyenne and Arapaho people. A 100-day volunteer cavalry was authorized by the U.S. War Department on August 11 and Colonel John Chivington was put in command. On November 29, Chivington led an attack on a Cheyenne and Arapaho encampment called the Sand Creek massacre. Van Wormer gave up the ranch, and after it reverted to the government, it was purchased by Frank Girardot. After four burials, the family was finally buried at Fairmont Cemetery in Denver in June 1892. In 1939, the Pioneer Women of Colorado erected a monument in Elbert County to the Hungates and the Dietemann family, who was shot and scalped in 1868. The monument is located in front of the Elbert County Courthouse in Kiowa, Colorado.
