Cow Creek.—One stream bearing this name rises in the central part of Crawford county and flows southward through the counties of Crawford and Cherokee until it empties into the Spring river near the city of Galena. Another and more important Cow creek rises in the northern part of Barton county and flows in a southeasterly direction, its waters falling into the Arkansas river a little below the city of Hutchinson. This Cow creek was crossed by Lieut. Pike near the present town of Claflin on Oct. 10, 1806, and Fowler's journal of the Glenn expedition for Oct. 15, 1821, contains the following entry: "We set out at our usual time up the River N. 80 West and stopped at the mouth of bold stream of Watter 70 feet Wide," etc. The stream thus mentioned Coues identifies as Cow creek.

In the latter years of the Civil war some troubles with the Indians occurred along Cow creek. On the evening of Dec. 4, 1864, a small escort of the Seventh Iowa cavalry, with a wagon loaded with ammunition from Fort Ellsworth and bound for Fort Zarah, went into camp on the bank of Cow creek, about 15 miles east of Fort Zarah. Soon after going into camp they were attacked by a party of Indians, who crept up under cover of the creek bank. The driver of the team and one soldier were killed, and the others fled, three of them finally reaching Fort Ellsworth. Capt. Theodore Conkey of the Third Wisconsin cavalry, commanding at Fort Zarah, sent out a party of 25 men and brought in the wagon, though about one-half of the ammunition was damaged.

A government train bound for Fort Union, New Mex., was attacked by Indians on Chavis creek on June 9, 1865. Lieut. Jenkins, with 60 men, hurried up from Cow creek and followed the marauders to the Arkansas river, but they got away, having captured 101 mules, 3 horses and 75 cattle. Five days later the westbound overland coach, escorted by 6 men, commanded by Lieut. Jenkins, was attacked a few miles west of Cow creek station. Jenkins held on until reinforcements arrived, when he drove the Indians to the river, killing and wounding 15 without the loss of a man.