Arch ‘Little Arch’, ‘Walkabout’ Wolfe

Arch Wolfe was a Cherokee man.

Biography

Arch Wolfe was born in the Going Snake District of the Cherokee Nation in 1874, the son of Jack Wolfe and his wife Betsy Christie. (1) He died on 2 July 1912 at the Hiawatha Asylum for Insane Indians in Canton, South Dakota, and was buried in the cemetery there in an unmarked grave. (4) His death date is memorized in a Bronze plaque on a burial stone. (2) The asylum was ordered closed in 1933 by Interior Secretary Harold Ickes. (4)

Taken from Mihesuah, Devon. 2022. “Becoming Insane: The Death of Arch Wolfe at the Canton Asylum for Insane Indians”. https://doi.org/10.18061/dsq.v41i4.8444 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Background

In 1887, U.S. Deputy Marshall Dan Maples was shot and killed in Tahlequah, Indian Territory, and the capital of the Cherokee Nation. Despite there being no evidence, the blame fell upon the traditionalist Keetoowah Cherokee Councilman Nede Wade "Ned" Christie. Posses hounded Ned and his family for five years before one blew up his Wauhillau cabin and shot him to death. After Ned's demise in 1892, newspapers around the country printed hundreds of fraudulent stories about Ned and his family—and they still appear today. The fabricated image of Ned as a hulking, merciless desperado has inspired countless western movie characters. No proof exists that Ned murdered Maples, nor that he committed any of the other myriad invented crimes attributed to him and his "gang." Nevertheless, the Cherokee Ned Christie remains an iconic symbol of Wild West violence and Native savagery. 1

Arrest

At the time of Christie's death, newspapermen demonized Ned's teenaged cousin, Arch Wolfe. Arch had been living with Ned but was not present at the murder. Nevertheless, Arch was charged with assault with intent to kill posse members. The only evidence against Arch was a letter written by William Adair, a man whose ex-wife Nancy had married Ned. In that letter, Adair falsely claimed that Arch had tried to kill him and that Ned had amassed a large following of reprobates to assist him in killing lawmen. 2 Eager to punish anyone associated with Ned Christie, in 1893, the "Hanging Judge," Judge Isaac Parker, at Fort Smith Arkansas, sentenced Arch to two years of hard labor for the crime of assault with intent to kill, another eighteen months for the misdemeanor of "retail liquor distributing," and another eighteen months for "introducing spirituous liquor." 3 He was imprisoned almost 1400 miles away from his family and home, at the Kings County Penitentiary in Brooklyn.

On August 29, 1895, after fifteen months at Kings County Penitentiary, twenty-one-year-old Arch was transferred to the Government's first Hospital for the Insane (later named St. Elizabeths Hospital) in Washington, D.C. 4 The attending physician stated that "prison life" caused Arch to suffer from "acute melancholia." 5 No doubt Arch had become homesick and depressed. He did not speak much English and had no one to speak Cherokee with him. He still reeled from the trauma of losing his role model Ned and had suffered for months in the "Hell on the Border" prison at Fort Smith prior to his trial. 6

Transfer to Canton Asylum

In August 1903, Oscar S. Gifford, the Superintendent and Special Disbursing Agent at Canton, provided a summary of the first patients, rationalizing that, "Some of these unfortunate people have no relatives nor friends who are responsible, either legally or morally, for their care or support, and some Indians are quite superstitious regarding insanity and will have nothing to do with an insane relative or friend, except to get rid of them in the quickest and easiest manner possible." He added that, "They were a great burden to their relatives or friends, or to the agency or school officers, as the case might be, or they were neglected altogether." 18

In regard to Arch Wolfe, this claim could not be further from the truth. While this might have been true among some groups, the Cherokees had an Insane Asylum and Arch had many relatives and friends. His family repeatedly wrote letters reflecting their anxiety over information about him. They pleaded for his return to the Cherokee Nation. This brings into stark relief the settler logic that Native people were deficient as caregivers, leveraging ableism to sustain anti-Indian practices, including institutionalization.

Conclusion

Sadly, Arch ended up spending seventeen years—almost half his life—in insane asylums. He arrived as a homesick and despondent Cherokee who was a victim of racism and political maneuvering. At Canton, Arch and other inmates found themselves prisoners of weaponized Western medicine. Even their families and attorneys were powerless to save them. Those at fault for Arch's forced dislocation from his home, as well as for his and his family's despair, were all white men: spiteful lawmen, newspaper writers with a flair for sensationalism, the unforgiving Judge Isaac Parker, Dr. W.W. Godding who misinformed President Grover Cleveland, the incompetent Superintendent Oscar Gifford and his arrogant predecessor Harry Hummer, and the misguided Bureau of Indian Affairs. They—and many others then and since—leveraged ableism to extend violent settler goals of dismantling, erasing, and replacing Native people, nations, and history.

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Notes

from < FindAGrave Memorial # 56959214 >

Many accounts identify Arch ‘Little Arch’, ‘Walkabout’ Wolfe as a cousin of Ne-de Wa-de ‘Ned’ Christie’s. Actually, Ned Christie was related to Betsy Young as a grandson of the elder Arch ‘Big Arch’ Christie, (Big Arch) Watt's brother, making him a cousin, once removed, of Ned's. (Ned's first cousin).

[Source: Roy Hamilton] (see “Cherokee Genealogy with Roy Hamilton” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LFteBRns1I)

In Nov. 1893, Arch was arrested in a Chicago hotel lobby and returned to Ft, Smith, Ark. for trial, then sentenced to Kings Co. Penitentiary, Brooklyn, for 2 years at hard labor, plus three years for illegal whiskey selling on two counts.

Aug. 29, 1895, Arch Wolf was admitted to the Government Hospital for the Insane in Washington.

An undated letter to W.W. Godding, M.D., from Arch Christie, Record Group 418, Washington, D.C. is as follows:

"You please let me know What they gone Do for Him my Grand Son Arch Wolf, they the (sic) gone Hold Him till time out or they Turn him out. Want you let let (sic) me know that. I am yours Friend (signed) Arch Christie"

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From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ned_Christie

The government's pressure on the Cherokee continued. After the raid, Christie's nephew [sic: cousin] Arch Wolfe and the youth Charles Hair were each charged and convicted of assault and intent to kill a lawman. Because of his age, Hair was sentenced to three years in the State Reformatory in Illinois. It was far from his people. Wolfe was held for years in penal institutions. He was finally committed to the Canton Indian Insane Asylum in South Dakota, which opened in 1903 and was often used to house Indians considered troublemakers.[12] Wolfe died there in 1912. Run by officials with no background in psychiatric care,[12] the asylum had refused to allow Wolfe any contact with his family or to give them information about him.[9]

Source: The life, times and adventures of Rambling Bob. Ned Christie: Cherokee Outlaw (June 8, 2008). < link >. The officers found badly burned Charles Hare trying to excape, he was arrested. At first the badly burned body of Charlie Grease was identified as Arch Wolf. Arch had lost all his hair but had managed to excape. Later he would be arrested in Chicago. Charles Hare and Arch Wolf stood trial and were convicted of resisting arrest and intent to kill. They both did time. Little Arch became depressed behind bars and was admitted to a hospital for the insane, where he remained untill 1907. James Christie was shot by an assasan, eight months after his fathers death, reportedly his head was severed from his body.

MILLER APPLICATION # 5269

Arch Wolfe

Adair Co., Wauhillau, Oklahoma

Admitted. First cousin of MA # 1609, Rachel Spade nee Wolfe. Charles Young is the guardian of this applicant. (step-father)

Commissioner of Indian Affairs

Washington, D. C.

Sir:

I hereby make application for such share as me be due me of the fund appropriated by the Act of Congress approved June 30, 1906, in accordance with the decrees of the Court of Claims of May 18, 1905, and May 28, 1906, in favor of the Eastern Cherokees. The evidence of identity is herewith subjoined.

1. State Full Name: (Charles Young, guardian for Arch Wolfe) *(Step-father)

English Name- Arch Wolfe

Indian Name- *(If there is an Indian name listed, I can't read it)

2. Residence- Flint District

3. Town and Post Office- Wauhillau

4. County- Northern District

5. State- Indian Territory

6. Date and Place of Birth- 1873, Goingsnake District, Indian Territory

7. By what right do you claim to share? If you claim through more than one relative living in 1851, set forth each claim separately: Jack Wolfe, my father

8. Are you married? NO

9. Name and age of wife or husband-

10. Give names of your father and mother, and your mother's name before marriage-

Father- English name- Jack Wolfe

Indian name-

Mother- English name- Betsy Wolfe

Indian name-

Maiden name- Betsy Christie

11.. Where were they born? Both parents born in Goingsnake District, Indian Territory

12.. Where did they reside in 1851, if living at that time Both parents residing in Goingsnake District, Indian Territory

13.. Date of death of your father and mother? Father died 1906, mother living

14.. Were they ever enrolled for annuities, land, or other benefits? If so, state when and where- Emigrant payment 1852 in Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory. Cherokee payments from 1875 to 1894 and land by the Dawes Commission from 1902-06.

15.. Name all your brothers and sisters, giving ages, and if not living, give date of death- Arch Wolfe b. 1783 d. self

Sally Wolfe b. d.

Cynthia Wolfe b. d.

Dick Wolfe b. d.

Wa-la-lee Wolfe b. d.

16.. State English and Indian name of your grandparents on both father's and mother's side, if possible- Father's side: Alex Wolfe and 'Cah-lu-ke'

Mother's side: Arch Christie and Kate Christie

17.. Where were they born? East of the Mississippi River

18.. Where did they reside in 1851, if living at that time? Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory

19.. Give names of all their children, and residence, if living; if not living, give dates of deaths. Susie Christie, Cookson, Indian Territory

George Christie, Wauhillau, Indian Territory

Sally Christie, dead

20. Have you ever been enrolled for annuities, land, or other benefits? If so, state when and where- Cherokee payments from 1875 to 1894 and land by the Commission through (?) from 1902-06.

21. To expedite identification, claimant should give the full English and Indian names, if possible, of their paternal and maternal ancestors back to 1835.

REMARKS

(Under this head the applicant may give additional information that he believes will assist in proving his claim).

This claimant is in the insane asylum and had to have a guardian and I was appointed by M. S. Court as such guardian and I never knew all of his uncles and aunts.

Note: Answers should be brief but explicit: the words 'yes' , 'no', and 'unknown' may be used in cases where applicable. Read the questions carefully.

I solemnly swear that the foregoing statements made by me are true to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Signed: Charles Young

Subscribed and sworn to before me this 11th day of December 1906.

Signed: S. S. Bayles, Notary Public

AFFIDAVIT

(The following affidavit must be sworn to by two or more witnesses who are well acquainted with the applicant.)

Personally appeared before me C. N. Young and John Comingdeer, who being duly sworn, on oath depose and say that they are well acquainted with Arch Wolfe, who makes the foregoing application and statements, and have known him for 15 years and 15 years, respectively, and know him to be the identical person he represents himself to be, and that the statements made by him are true, to the best of their knowledge and belief, and they have no interest whatever in his claim.

Witnesses Signatures: C. N. Young and John Comingdeer

Subscribed and sworn to before me on this 11th day of December 1906.

Signed: S. S. Bayles, Notary public

• Transcriber Notes

Transcribed by Catherine Widener, 2003

Arch Wolfe family

Source: Oklahoma and Indian Territory, U.S., Dawes Census Cards for Five Civilized Tribes, 1898-1914 < AncestrySharing > Dawes Roll # 2040

Jack Wolfe, Jackson Wolfe and Arch Wolfe

On September 18, 1892 David M. Moore store at Moores Mill Arkansas was robbed. George Christie, Arch Wolf, Jack Wolf, Jackson Wolf and Jim Christie were arrested by Dave Rush. Indicted by Grand Jury ordered to show trial in the May 1893 term. Dismissed for lack of evidence.

jimanddeb76 originally shared this on 20 Mar 2011

Photo of Arch Wolfe in shackles circa 1893. (Courtesy of the Cherokee National Historical Society, Tahlequah, Oklahoma).

Source: Mihesuah, Devon. 2022. “Becoming Insane: The Death of Arch Wolfe at the Canton Asylum for Insane Indians”. Disability Studies Quarterly 41 (4). https://doi.org/10.18061/dsq.v41i4.8444

"Two Insane federal Prisoners Leave Penitentiary,"

Source: The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, August 29, 1895, Page 2. via Newspapers.com (link) accessed August 16, 2023)

References

1. Dawes Enrollment # 2040, Oklahoma and Indian Territory, U.S., Dawes Census Cards for Five Civilized Tribes, 1898-1914 < AncestrySharing >
2. US, Dawes Packets, 1898-1914 Case Number: 733. https://www.fold3.com/image/73314662 (document attached)
3. Virtual memorial < FindAGrave Memorial # 56959214 > the destroyed < Jack Christie Cemetery > in Wauhillau, Adair County, Oklahoma. < FindAGrave # 14493869 > “Arch died while a patient at the Hiawatha Insane Asylum for Indians.” Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Aug 1 2023, 15:07:26 UTC https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/14493869/arch-wolfe
4. “Hiawatha Insane Asylum: Canton, South Dakota” < Lincoln County, US GenWeb Project > “Land was set aside for a cemetery, but the Indian Office decided that stone markers for graves would be an unwarranted expense. Today, the cemetery (121 names) is located in the middle of a golf course in Canton. No one knows the cause of death of the incarcerated or why they were even at the asylum. The National Park Service has recently added the cemetery to the National Register of Historic Places."
5. Guion Miller 1903 GM #12639-Ricahard Wolf-brother
6. Guion Miller 1906 GM #65269-Arch Wolf (by Chas Young-Guardian)
7. Ned Christie: The Creation of an Outlaw and Cherokee Hero. By Devon A. Mihesuah. < GoogleBooks > “…Arch” Wolfe, the son of Ned's cousin Betsy, and who often is referred to as Ned's son (and also known as “Walkabout”). …”
8. The life, times and adventures of Rambling Bob: NED CHRISTIE: CHEROKEE OUTLAW cont. (June 10, 2008) < link > … Ned enjoyed having his family with him, so he was delighted when his oldest daughter Mary Gritts moved in with her one year old daughter Charlotte. Ned’s nephew [sic: cousin’s son], 14-year old Arch Wolf, was also often there. Christie liked having young people around and he was idolized as a hero by most of the youth in the area. However it the summer of 1890, the reputation as an outlaw continued to grow. Any act of illegality in the surrounding territory was attribituted to him. Many of his former admirers and friends began to drop away. They felt that his criminal activites were beginning to become too violent to tolerate. …
9. “Family, historians share insights about Cherokee Sen. Ned Christie” Cherokee Phoenix (June 5, 2020) < link > A report states when the deputies arrived at Christie's cabin on Nov. 2, 1892, Christie was living there with his wife Nancy and their daughter Charlotte. Also at the cabin were a young boy named Arch ‘Little Arch’, ‘Walkabout’ Wolfe and a man named Ned Adair. It was Arch who first saw the posse hiding near a creek. A deputy's bullet grazed his neck while running to the cabin to warn the others. "That attack, from what I've heard, was horrible," Frogg said. During the attack, Christie sent his family out the back door, a report states. The last to leave was Arch. After his departure, Christie ran out the front with his rifle and was killed on Nov. 3, 1892.
10. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=183486
11. https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/LHV1-RRW
12. https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:Canton_Asylum
13. Otto, Thomas. St. Elizabeths Hospital: A History. United States General Services Administration, 2013. < PDF >
14. Brownstoner: “Past and Present: The Brooklyn Penitentiary.” Jul 29, 2011 • 10:30am < link > No prison was a picnic, especially back in the 19th century, but the Kings County Pen was beset with charges of mismanagement, rampant cruelty towards prisoners, and generally horrible conditions for much of its existence.
15. Mihesuah, Devon. 2022. “Becoming Insane: The Death of Arch Wolfe at the Canton Asylum for Insane Indians”. Disability Studies Quarterly 41 (4). https://doi.org/10.18061/dsq.v41i4.8444.
    1. 1. See Devon A. Mihesuah, Ned Christie: The Creation of an Outlaw and Cherokee Hero (University of Oklahoma Press, 2018); for information on Arch Wolfe, see pp. 117-138. < GoogleBooks search > In February 1893, George Christie, Arch Wolfe, Jack Wolf, Jackson Wolf, and Jim Christie were indicted for stealing eight pairs of boots, six hats, fifty yards of calico, fifty yards of domestic, twenty dozen spools of thread, ...
    2. 2. Criminal Defendant Case Files for Tom Wolfe and Arch Wolfe, 1892, jacket no. 479, National Archives, Southwest Region.
    3. 3. "Criminal Defendant Case File for Arch Wolfe," indictments 3196, 3197, Liquor Jacket no. 479, file unit from Record Group 21:
    4. 4. Arch Wolfe, Case File #9653, folder 418.4.1: "Records of the Medical Records Branch," Records of St. Elizabeths Hospital, Federal Records, Record Group (RG) 418, NARA-DC.
    5. 5. "Two Insane federal Prisoners Leave Penitentiary," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, August 29, 1895, 2.
    6. 18. Annual Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs for 1903, 325.
    7. 22. H.R. Hummer to Commissioner, July 2, 1912, Box 19, Canton Asylum, CCF 1907-39, RG 75, NARA-DC. Cause of death: diabetes mellitus and pulmonary tuberculosis.
16. “Edward "Ned" Christie families of Cherokee Co., Oklahoma” (2002) < link > Child of BETSY CHRISTIE and JACK WOLF is: i. ARCH4 WOLF.

__________

1900 Jun 6 - "United States Census, 1900", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MMFC-S3V : Tue Oct 03 22:14:54 UTC 2023), Entry for Arch Wolf, 1900, pg. 806/875, line 84, 12th US census Government Hospital for the Insane, Washington City, District of Columbia, The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)

1900 Jul 25 - Enrollment for Cherokee Census Card by Blood 733
Name: Arch Wolfe Type: By Blood Age: 26 Sex: Male Indian Blood: Full Roll Number: 2040 City of Residence: Washington, DC Name: Jack Wolfe Type: Parent Sex: Male Name: Betsy Young Type: Parent Sex: Female
NAID: 218567280
Creator: Department of the Interior. Office of Indian Affairs. Office of the Commissioner to the Five Civilized Tribes. 1893-1914
Record Group 75: Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs
Series:
Enrollment Cards

1907 Mar 4 - Dawes Rolls, 1898–1914_Record Group 48 Records of the Office of the Secretary of the Interior_Series Final Rolls of the Five Civilized Tribes_Cherokee Roll_Indians by Blood_Line 2040 @ https://catalog.archives.gov/id/110154899?objectPage=39

1908-1910 - "United States, Native American, Eastern Cherokee Enrollment Records, 1908-1910", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QGTX-M2HH : Fri Oct 06 19:26:28 UTC 2023), Entry for Arch Wolfe, from 1908 to 1910, pg, 351/361, line 5269, United States, Native American, Eastern Cherokee Enrollment Records, 1908-1910

1908-1910 - "United States, Native American, Eastern Cherokee Enrollment Records, 1908-1910", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QGTX-M2HH : Fri Oct 06 19:26:28 UTC 2023), Entry for Arch Wolfe, from 1908 to 1910, pg, 351/361, line 14180 et. al., United States, Native American, Eastern Cherokee Enrollment Records, 1908-1910

1910 May 12-13 - "United States Census, 1910", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MPXP-WD8 : Fri Oct 06 11:29:57 UTC 2023), Entry for Gilbert Schrager and Sigar Monson, 1910, pg. 79/1082, line 25, Indian Insane Asylum lines 23-40, Canton Township, Lincoln County, South Dakota, Age 36

1910 Jul 2 - "United States, Native American, Census Rolls, 1885-1940", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:688C-DLFQ : Thu Oct 05 22:54:39 UTC 2023), Entry for Arch Wolf, 1910, pg. 504/522, line 32, Annual census, Asylum for Insane Indians by Harry Hummer to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs

1911 Jul 3 - "United States, Native American, Census Rolls, 1885-1940", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:68Z1-VQH1 : Thu Oct 05 20:37:54 UTC 2023), Entry for Arch Wolf, 1911, pg. 507/522, Annual census, Asylum for Insane Indians by Harry Hummer to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs

1912 Jul 2 - Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/14493869/arch-wolfe: accessed 07 November 2023), memorial page for Arch Wolfe (1874–2 Jul 1912), Find a Grave Memorial ID 14493869, citing Hiawatha Asylum Cemetery, Canton, Lincoln County, South Dakota, USA; Maintained by Graveaddiction (contributor 46528400).