Medicine Bluffs - Fort Sill, Oklahoma
Posted by: 
gparkes
N 34° 41.127 W 098° 24.925
14S E 553547 N 3838317
Medicine Bluffs is considered a sacred place to the Indian tribes that frequent the area.
Waymark Code: WM8018
Location: Oklahoma, United States
Date Posted: 12/31/2009
Views: 33
The Medicine Bluffs
A Registered National Historic Site
This Unique Landmark at the eastern end of the Wichita Mountains was noted, described, and explored by all early expeditions and was held in deep reverence by the Indian tribes of this area from time immemorial. The four contiguous porphyry bluffs form a picturesque a mile in length on the south side of Medicine Bluff Creek, a tributary of Cache Creek and Red River. It is evidently the result of an ancient cataclysm in which half of a rock dome was raised along a crack or fault.
When Fort Sill was established in 1869, the Indians named it “The Soldier House at Medicine Bluffs.” The site is rich in legends and history.
You are facing the north side of bluff no. 3, which consists of a sheer cliff 310 feet high, rising abruptly from the creek. A rock cairn erected by medicine men on its summit was still standing when Fort Sill was founded. Here the sick were brought to be healed or disposed of by the Great Spirit, young braves fasted in lonely vigils seeking visions of the supernatural, and warriors presented their shields to the rising sun for power. Legends say that this was also a famous place for Indian suicides. The huge fissure between bluffs no. 2 and 3 was known as the “Medicine Man’s Walk.”
There are several sites, including this one, to visit on Fort Sill. Visitors to the historic sites at Fort Sill should plan on visiting the Fort Sill Museum. There visitors can get a handout with directions to all of the sites.