DOHOSAN (Little Bluff)
1805-1866
Noted for his courage and defiance in the face of threats from the U.S. government, Dohosan is considered by many to be the greatest of a hereditary line of chiefs of the Kiowas. In 1833, he became principal chief of all Kiowas after the Osages decimated a band of Kiowas and took their Sun Dance gods. As a result, his predecessor, Dohate or "Bluff", was deposed.
Although he signed several treaties (notably the Fort Atkinson Treaty of July 27, 1852, and the Little Arkansas River Treaty of October 18, 1865), Dohosan had little regard for the white man and his agreements. He believed that Indians should fight to retain their lands and rights as free people. However, he identified with and respected the Mexicans, who thought and fought much as he did.
When Kit Carson started with more than 300 soldiers, a winter campaign against the restive nation of the Kiowas. On November 24, 1864, Kit Carson attacked a camp of Kiowas at Adobe Walls at the Canadian River. Dohosan, who was only a visitor in this camp, succeeded in repulsing this attack with great bravery. When Dohosan died in 1866 at the hands of a Dakota man, his name was bestowed upon his son, also a distinguished warrior.
Information from "The Ten Grandmothers" by Alice Marriott, published by University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, OK, 1945; and "Calender History of the Kiowa Indians" by James Mooney, published by Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C. from reports, 1895-1896.
Web page 7/12/2006