The Danger Zone

My Favorite Fishin' Hole - The Medicine Bluffs

"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 crescent 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.

[This picture faces] the north side of bluff number 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."


---Historic Marker