Kiowa War Chief. Chief Big Bow, also known as Zepko-Eette, was a prominent war chief among the Kiowa. He was born somewhere along Elk Creek in present day Oklahoma and was descended from a long line of war chiefs. Before Zepko-Ette had turned 18 years old, he participated in two successful raids in Mexico. In 1851, he was elevated to war chief. But Zeppo-Ette soon found disfavor among the Kiowa. He had eloped with the wife of another warrior and had frequently expressed disdain for tribal medicine men and religious leaders. Eventually Zepko-Ette's successes in raids against the Utes and Navajos redeemed his reputation as a war chief. Post Civil War migration into tribal lands decimated the buffalo herds and their way of life. To address this new threat, Zepko-Ette and his warriors turned their attention from conducting raids in Mexico and against the Ute and Navajo and directed it towards this new enemy. Zepko-Ette was soon leading his warriors from Kansas to Texas in attacks against the encroaching settlers, wagon trains and military units. Zepko-Etta's reputation for ferociousness became known and feared all along the Santa Fe Trail. The US Government was forced to desperately search for a solution that would end the carnage by the Southern Plains Tribes and open their lands for settlement. It was agreed that they would create a Peace Commission to negotiate a treaty with the southern tribes. In October of 1867, the Peace Commission met with leaders of the Kiowas and Comanches to sign a peace treaty at Medicine Lodge in Kansas. The treaty would force the tribes from their lands onto reservations in Oklahoma. The only Kiowa Chief who refused to sign the treaty was Zepko-Ette. Afterwards, he led his people to Northern Texas and aligned himself with those Comanches, who had also refused to sign the treaty. Between 1871 and 1874, Zepko-Ette's pace of attacks escalated. He and his warriors, in conjunction with the Comanches, participated in several major battles. Some of their raids included an attack and kidnapping of a young woman from a government wagon train at Howard Wells, joining Comanche Chief Quanah Parker at the Battle of Adobe Walls in Texas and between September 9th and 14th, 1874, laying siege to the Lyman Wagon Train near Allison Texas. But the constant hiding and fighting took a toll on the remaining bands that had not signed the Medicine Lodge Treaty. By the end of 1874, Zepko-Ette and his people were the only "hostiles." remaining free of the reservation. After years of attempting to kill or capture Zepko-Ette, civilian and military leaders decided to once again to try and negotiate with him. They sent Kiowa Chief Kicking Bird, one of the signers of the Medicine Lodge Treaty, to meet with Zepko-Ette. When Kicking Bird met with Zepko-Ette, he explained that the only way the war chief could prevent the annihilation of his people was to surrender and settle on the reservation at Fort Sill Oklahoma. Zepko-Ette recognize the truth of Kicking Bird's words. He and his people had just barely escaped death or capture by Colonel Ranald MacKenzie and Colonel Nelson Miles' soldiers during the Red River Campaign. Therefore, Zepko-Ette surrendered and led his people onto the reservation. Though he was no longer at war, Zepko-Ette's role in leading his warriors into battle was not over. As a Sergeant of Scouts, he led the pursuit after horse and cattle thieves, as well as other criminals, over the course of several years. Some of these excursions led to shootings and the deaths of a few rustlers. After his service as a scout, Zepko-Ette lived in peace until his death 25 years later.