  Archeological studies indicate that the earliest known inhabitants of Palo Duro Canyon lived in the canyon from about 10,000 to 5,000 B.C. These early men hunted bison and now-extinct elephant-like mammoths that roamed the area during the Pleistocene Ice Age. Their stone weapons and artifacts have been found in the canyon. Presumably these primitive people, like those who came later, were attracted by streams and springs in the canyon, and by game that came to feed there. Rock exposed in the canyon provided material for tools and weapons. Through the centuries, various tribes of Plains Indians, including Apache, Cheyenne, Arapahoe, Kiowa, and Comanche, made use of the canyon as a camping ground. After the arrival of the white man, the canyon became a favorite resting place for buffalo hunters and Indian traders who travelled the Plains. White men first established residence there in 1876. The last Indian battle in Texas was fought in the canyon south of the Park. Col. Ranald Mackenzie and his raiders, on September 25, 1874, attacked a large encampment of Comanche, Cheyenne, Kiowa, and Arapahoe in the canyon. They destroyed about 100 lodges and 1400 horses and mules. The damage inflicted was severe and by the following spring most of the Indians were returned to the reservation in Oklahoma. |
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