EPISODE 32A Anything That Moves (Part 1): The Parallel Stories of Sand Creek and My Lai

"Every Day/ On our fellow man we prey/ Dog eat Dog/ To Get by/ Hope you like my genocide” The Offspring

“Hello darkness, my old friend…” Simon and Garfunkel

“I believe now it is but the commencement of war with this tribe, which must result in their extermination.” Major Jacob Downing

“Damn any man who sympathizes with Indians! ... I have come to kill Indians, and believe it is right and honorable to use any means under God's heaven to kill Indians. ... Kill and scalp all, big and little; nits make lice.” Quote attributed to Colonel John Chivington

“They were so honorable and so strong, but I felt like they were alone and sometimes when you want to do the right thing, the people that want to do the right thing suffer… even today.” Lorraine Waters about Silas Soule and Joseph Cramer

“It was hard to see little children on their knees… having their brains beat out by men professing to be civilized.” Silas Soule

I’m not going to lie. This is one of the darkest episodes of History on Fire. But there are reasons for this journey into the heart of darkness. The stories of Sand Creek and My Lai offer an opportunity to explore human agency, the choices separating good and evil, and how some individuals can choose to become sources of light even in the most horrible circumstances. In this first part, we will explore the events that in Colorado in the late 1850s and early 1860s led to a dramatic clash between the Cheyenne tribe and the United States. Within the context of this painfully ugly story, 26-year-old Captain Silas Soule offers a shining example of heroism.

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