USA > Texas > Border wars of Texas; being an authentic and popular account, in chronological order, of the long and bitter conflict waged between savage Indian tribes and the pioneer settlers of Texas > Part 18
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At nightfall the little force halted in close proximity to the enemy, whose position they reconnoitered. The Indians were encamped in a small horse-shoe like bend, some twenty three miles east of the fort and within about eight miles of a small settlement near the present town of Cameron, in Milam county. Resting till four in the morning, the horses were saddled, and tied to trees-ready to mount in case of retreat-and the men advanced afoot under cover of the creek bank.
As the Indians arose and commenced to build fires , Erath shifted his forces to a position within twenty five yards of the foe, and as soon as it was light enough to see sights on guns, delivered a well aimed volley, which tumbled
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eight or ten redskins to the ground-some of them falling into the fires. The Indians were taken completely by sur- prise and were thrown into confusion. Had the whites been supplied with repeating arms, (then unknown) they could have charged and kept the enemy on the run. As it was, how ever, they had to stop and re-load their pieces by the slow, old time process. This delay enabled the savages to recover in a measure, from their consternation. Some of them leap- ed behind trees and returned the fire, while others moved to the right and left flank to positions where they could look in- to the creek bottom, see the numerical strength of the whites, and enfilade them.
The engagement now berame desperate, the enemy be- ing Caddos, all well armed, mostly with rifles. David Clark and Frank Childers were mortally wounded, and all being greatly exposed, now shifted to the opposite bank and the protection of some small trees-Erath remaining behind to watch movements. He says: "As the men got posted, the Indians came charging with a terrifie yell. I retreated to the other side of the creek channel, but found myself under a steep bank six or eight feet high. The Indians jumped down the bank of the creek. One had his gun within a few feet of me, and fired, but missed me. I could not miss him,* and he fell right before me. This caused the others to dodge back a few feet behind trees."
As the Indians continued to advance, and fire in com- bined force, Erath ordered a retreat. This was successfully accomplished by alternation-one half the men covering the retreat of the other half for thirty or forty yards at a time, so that half of the guns were alternately loaded and fired. In this way, and favored somewhat by a number of elm trees and saplings, the men reached their horses at the edge of the prairie. In the retreat, a number of narrow es- capes and thrilling adventures occurred. Continues Erath :
*It is vouched for by his own men that at the report of his gun. Erath fell, but im- mediately arose to his feet. A ranger cried "George, are you hurt"? "No I'ish not hurt; my gun knocks down before and behind"!
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"At this juncture my left had reached the bank of the gul- ly we had just descended into. There was a big thicket on the other side. The Indians charged us with great fury and terrific yells. We could not be blamed for seeking shelter, but it extended my line, and seeing Indians on my right dashing up to us, McLochiin and myself took to a big tree standing on the extreme right. McLochlin presented his gun, but it was broken and would not fire. I had my gun loaded and took aim at a bunch of Indians close by, who were maneuvering obliquely, but advancing. I had no time to see the effect of my shot, but ran to another thicket with McLochlin, the Indians getting between us and the other men and keeping up their yelling. Fifteen or twenty steps more, we reached the ravine that went square up the creek. Here we found Clark going up the bed of it, just about ex- hausted ard sinking. He said somthing about fighting to the last or we would all be killed.
"I halted a few moments with poor Clark, who was now down and his life fast ebbing, but as half a dozen Indians were rushing towards us, I continued on up the gully, re- loading my gun as I went, and soon rejoined my men."
On reaching Clark, the Indians yelled and danced around in great glee, butchering up their unfortunate vie- tim in a horrible manner. But they never found poor Frank Childers, who, unable to join in the retreat, had sank down at the foot of a tree in a secluded spot, and expired within twenty steps of where the hottest of the fight had.been going on.
Fortunately, the Indians made no further attack and soon collected at their camp, where they set up a terrible howl over their dead. "I knew they would soon leave," continues Erath, "and proposed that we remain and look af- ter our dead, but I could not blame my men for refusing- several of them then told me that but for impeachment for cowardice and insubordination, they never would have gone into the affair."
Erath's reason for making the attack against such
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fearful odds, was that he and his men were employed to protect the citizens. "But for this engagement, this large body of Indians would very soon have been in the settle- ments below, killing, burning and stealing; for they never came down in such large numbers in those days, without desperate ends in view."
The rangers now returned to the fort and reported. Erath, on the following morning, Sunday, leaving under previous orders, for Coleman's Fort-never again visiting the scene of his hard fought battle. A burial party of fif- teen, sent out under Sergeant McLochlin on the 8th, failed to find Childers, and his remains were not discovered' till eight days later.
Summed up, the casualities of this engagement, were the loss of two gallant rangers, while according to their own admission, later, the Indians lost ten warriors whom they carried about a mile from the field and threw into & big hole of water. There were several narrow escapes during the action-some of the men receiving slight wounds, and balls cutting the clothes of nearly every one. Sergeant McLochlin seems to have been a special mark- ome ball breaking his ramnod, another the lock of his gun, a third bursting his powder horn, a fourth passing through his coat, and a fifth through; the handkerchief worn as a turban on his head.
The news of this engagement with such a large body of marauding Indians, so near the settlements, caused gener- al consternation and alarm, and preparations were rapidly made for pursuit by a combined force from the forts, under Smith. But a very heavy and severe snow storm and sleet set in on January 9th, delaying and preventing further op- erations.
KILLING OF THE FAULKENBURYS AND ANDERSON- NARROW ESCAPE OF ANGLIN.
Members of the dispersed Parker Fort Colony were soon to suffer further trials and to meet sad fates at the hands of
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Indians. On January, 28, 1837, Abraham Anglin, David and Evan Faulkenbury, James Hunter, Anderson and Douthit Left Fort Houston for the Trinity bottom in search of stray- ed hogy . Finding some on the east side, they sent them 'back by Hunter and Douthit, who promised to return the next day and bring a canoe in which to cross the river. Be- coming impatient, the remaining party improvised a log raft, crossed over, and after spending the forenoon in un- successful search, returned to the river to await their com- panions with the canoe.
We give the sequel in Mr. Anglin's own language :* ""To our surprise we found plenty of fresh moccasin tracks along the margin of the river, but supposing them to have been made by friendly Indians known to frequent that vic- inity, socn dismissed any apprehensions of danger. Being much fatigued and chilled, we sought shelter from the wind beneath the river bank and lay down to rest, falling asleep. But they were soon aroused by the war whoops and firing of a party of about thirty dastardly red skins, who had crept up within fifteen feet of them, and opened fire with rifles and bows and arrows. David Faulkenbury and Anderson were mortally wounded, but both leaped to their feet, and plunged into the river-Faulkenbury exclaiming, 'Come con boys, its time to go,'-and swam across." As Anglin arose to his feet, he received a gun shot in the thigh, the ball passing through his powder horn and burying part of the horn in his flesh. He said Evan Faulkenbury sought pro- tection behind trers, and the Indians behind a bluff. Seeing "the enemy were more advantageously posted, and with no hope of dislodging them, Anglin. throwing his gun in, took ¿to the river. "As I was swimming," continues Anglin's nar- xrative, "the Indians were discharging their arrows, and while climbing out on the opposite bank, I received several -other slight wounds. Weak and exhausted, however, as I was, I reached the bank, where I found David Faulkenbury too badly wounded to travel. He told me to escape if I
*Abraham Anglin, in Groesbeck Argus.
WALTER P, LANE RESCUES EUCLID M. COX-FAGE 251
ROBINETT KILLING CHIEF BUFFALO HUMP-PAGE 187
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could, and hasten back relief. Poor fellow, I knew he would soon be gone, but I did not know that I would survive him long. Fortunately, on going about four hundred yards, I met Hunter returning with the canoe, and mounting behind him, we rode as rapidly as possible for the fort."
A relief party was soon made up and started out that night. They found David Faulkenbury-but dead. He had cut the long grass near a pool of water, and made a bed on which to die. Some two miles from the scene of attack, they found the lifeless body of Anderson, with two arrows stick- ing through his neck. He had run that distance after swimming the river, and fell dead. Evan Faulkenbury's footprints were traced from the tree behind which he had last fought, to the river and down the bank a short dis- tance to where they disappeared. The stream was sounded for his body, but it was not found and nothing more was ev- er heard of him, except an Indian tale-that he fought like a demon, killing two of his assailants, wounded a third, and when scalped and almost cloven asunder, jerked away from them, threw himself into the river and swam as far as mid- str.am, where he sank from view.
Anglin recovered from his wounds and lived to partici- pate in other conflicts with the redskins, joining a ranger force in March of this year. He was a native of Kentucky, born Dec. 28, 1817, and emigrated with his parents to Illi- nois in 1818; thence, in 1833, with the Parker family, to Tex- as. He long resided in the vicinity of Fort Houston and Parker's Fort, leading an honorable and useful life till his death in 1875 or 1876.
TRAGIC DEATH OF JAMES CORYELL.
Numerous fancy sketches-all more or less unreliable- of this noted frontiersman and his tragic death, have been given the public from time to time. We give the facts as narrated by one from personal knowledge - says pioneer Newton C. Duncan:
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"James Coryell, for whom Coryell county was named, came to Texas in 1828 or 1829 from Ohio, coming down the Ohio and Mississippi River to New Orleans, from there to the mouth of the Brazos and on to San Antonio. He remained at San Antonio some time, and the next I knew of him he had joined a company under Bowie, going to hunt the silver mines at San Saba. This I think was in J831. Coming back from this trip he stayed in San Antonio awh''e, then he came to that part of Robertson's Colony, near where the town of Marlin now stands. While staying in that part of Texas he made his home with the family of Mr. Andrew Cavitt (father of Mr. Volney Cavitt). In 1835 Mr. Coryell went with Mr. Cavitt and they located the land still owned by the Cavitts in Coryell county, also locating land for Mr. Coryell on what is now Coryell Creek.
"After this, in the fall of 1836, Mr. Coryell joined a com- pany of soldiers under Capt. Thomas H. Barron. I knew him personally at that time, having come with my mother from Tennessee in the early part of 1836.
"The Indians had troubled us so much that we had all gone into Robertson's headquarters at Viesca. While here, Coryell, with some companions, had gone about half a mile on the road to Perry Springs, on what is now Perry's Creek, where there lived a lawyer named Judge Albert G. Perry. Here they had found and cut a bee tree and were sitting around eating the honey and talking. Mr. Coryell had told the other men that he could not run, if the Indians came, as he had been sick and was not able to run. In a short time they heard a noise as of sticks breaking, when they looked and saw twelve Claddo Indians right near them, too near for them to try to get away. Mr. Coryell rose to his feet. One of the guns in the party was empty, one failed to fire, and, as there were only three guns in the party, Cory. ell's was the only one left. The men who had no guns ran. Three of the Indians took aim at Coryell and he fired at the same time. Coryell fell grasping some bushes and pulling the tops off as he fell. He was scalped by the In-
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dians, but it is thought he wounded one of them, as the feathers from his cap were found, also some blood. Mr. Ber- ry, an old friend of Coryell's, stood and snapped his gun, trying to fire, until he saw the Indians pull Coryell down and begin to scalp him, then Berry ran and escaped, Coryell being the only one of the party killed. This party consist- ed of James Coryell, Sam Burton, Mr. Berry, Michael Cas- tleman, Ezra Webb and one other, whose name I do not re- member.
"Ezra Webb was the first one of the party to reach the settlement. Coming to the house of Capt. Barron he found a crowd of ladies gathered awaiting the orders of Capt. Bar- ron, as they were expecting to be ordered to the block-house for protection. When Webb ran in with great haste and fright, and breathless from his run, he fell on the bed, past speaking. The ladies gathered around, anxious to know what had happened. After a little time he was able to whisper 'Indians ! Poor Coryell !'
"Coryell was truly a frontiersman-an excellent woods- man, an agreeable companion, a brave soldier, and an admir- able gentleman-beloved by all who knew him. At the time of his death he was forty years old. A short time before his death, while out on a scout, he explored a region of country now known as Coryell county, and being a man of acute judgment, was struck with the beauty and eligibility of the country near the mouth of Coryell Creek. He there selected his head-right of one quarter of a league which was located after his death by his executor and thus gave his name to that stream. So far as I know Mr. Volney Cavitt and I are the only two men now living who knew Coryell in 1837" .*
At this time Erath, with his little company, had been withdrawn from the Little River fort, and stationed, with' other forces, at the Falls of the Brazos, where it was deem- ed advisable to concentrate all the rangers in that section, as
» Paper read at Reunion of Old Settlers, Belton, Texas, Sept. 4, 1903.
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they could be more advantageously utilized against the num- ercus bands of Indians then constantly raiding that section of country. At that time, however, Capt. Erath and most of his men were absent on a scout west of Little River-all the rangers being out on scouts-and thus the Indians who feil upon Coryell effected their retreat without pursuit.
CAPTURE OF WARREN LIONS .- SKIRMISH BETWEEN SETTLERS AND INDIANS. - RECLAIMING THE CAPTIVE .- TRUE ACCOUNT OF THIS NOTED EPEISODE.
Late in 1837, LaGrange, on the Colorado, was an out- post, Bastrop being the only settlement above. Northeast and west to the Guadalupe the country was still an unbrok- ( wilderness. Southwest from LaGrange, some sixteen miles, and near the present line of the Sunset railway, lived the Lions family -early emigrants to Austin's Colony from New York State-consisting of the father, mother, a married daughter (Mrs. Wm. B. Bridges) and four sons Seymour, George, De Witt and Warren, a boy thirteen years old. Some twenty miles further to the southwest, on the same road, from LaGrange to Texana and Victoria, and in the vicinity of the present town of Hallettsville, there were a number of set- tlers near the Lavaca, among them the names of Hallett Fo- ley, Zumwalt, Heath, Kent and Jesse Robinson-comrades in arms and adventure of Capt. Henry S. Brown in 1828-'9.
In the summer of this year a raiding party of about thirty Comanches, were discovered in the vicinity, descend- ing from the mountains on their usual route toward Victo- ria, their trail being some fifteen miles west of the Lavaca settlement. The alarm spread, and a party of 12 or 15 was hastily made up, without any leader, who struck and follow- ed the Indians' trail. In a very few miles, on the waters of Little Brushy, perhaps twenty miles southwest of Halletts- ville, and in an open forest, they suddenly came upon the savages, who had camped, "staking out" some of their horses and "hobbling" others. It was raining at the time,
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and hence their approach was undiscovered till they charg- ed with a view of stampeding the Indians' horses. With their bowie-knives some of the party cut the ropes by which some of the horses were staked, while others sought to secure the hobbled animals. But the Indians outnumbering their assail- ants two to one, soom rallied) and charged furiously to re- cover their horses. Against odds, and in the absence of a leader, confusion ensued. Two or three Indians were wound- ed, and Stiffier killed. The whites effected a retreat with a few of the horses, but the Indians followed them in, and at Zumwalt's recaptured a portion of the animals during the night.
While admittedly suffering defeat, the settlers at least prevented an intended raid on Victoria. But the Indians, somewhat emboldened, sought another field for their opera- tions. Deflecting to the northeast and rapidly covering the intervening distance of about forty miles, they suddenly ap- peared just after daylight at the Lions place, Mr. Lions and his son Warren having arose and entered the cow-pen to milk, while other members of the family were yet in bed. In a moment they killed and scalped the father, made cap- tive the son, and gathering up a number of horses belonging to Mr. Lions, left for their mountain fastnesses.
Ten long years rolled by and beyond vague, unreliable, rumors, no tidings were received of the lost boy. Relatives and friends gave him up and mourned him as one forever lost to civilization, perhaps dead-all but the hoping and praving mother. She "dreamed dreams" and had visions of her darling baby child, and ever believed he would come back to her-believing that Providence, in some way would restore her treasure.
In 1847, pending the Mexican war, a party of Coman- ches appeared at San Antonio on a trading expedition. It Jeaked out that among them was a young warrior, believed to be an American. Two near neighbors of Mrs. Lions hap- pened to be in San Antonio, and hearing of this rumor, deter- mined to investigate the matter. In the young warrior of
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twenty-three they found such a resemblance to the Lions brothers as to convince them he was Warren Lions. An in- terview through an interpreter soon removed all doubt. They resolved, if possible, to take him home, but this.requir- ed several days and much diplomacy. Warren well remem- bered his mother, but believed she was dead. He had two young wives and did not wish to leave them. Numerous presents were made to him, but still he remained obdurate till about the third day when his consent was won by a present of two very fine red blankets-one for each wife, with which he adorned them with the pride of a true knight. He, however, only promised to visit his mother, and then re- turn to his wives and his tribe. With that understanding he accompanied the gentlemen home, in the full garb of a wild Indian.
The Lions home stood just as he had left it, a double log house, on a prairie ridge, and visible from the west two or three miles. Warren recognized it. When about two hundred yards from the house, the unsuspecting old mother stepped out in the yard in plain view of the approaching party. Her long hair, originally of flaxen color, had only as- sumed a whiter hue. Warren instantly recognized her and dashed forward, uttering the wild man's "wail of joy."* Abruptly halting and dismounting, he sprang into the yard, weeping, wailing and gyrating in a manner so weird as to un- nerve the dear old mother, till the two neighbors shrieked to her: "It is Warren, your lost boy!" Then she shouted praise to God, and sought to encircle Warren in her arms, while he expressed his delight in Indian style, involving dan- cing, gesticulations and those guttural indications of joy pe- culiar to the wild tribes.
Warren was resolved to fulfill his promise and return to
When he came near the lot where his father was killed," says Wilbarger, "he point- ed it out and said: 'Dar me fadder kill-dar me take off,' and as soon as he saw his mother he cried out: 'Dar me mudder! Dar me mudder !! ' Thus showing that through the long years of his wild, nomadic life-in the chase and on the warpath-the tragic scenes of that morning ten years agone were vividly remembered, and that the mother's features had been indelibly impressed on the mind ef the youthful captive."
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his wives, but the whole country round joined in schemes to detain him, but all to no avail till his brother, DeWitt, in- duced him to accompany him and join a company of ran- gers in Southwest Texas, to fight the Mexicans. To this he assented, and this service gradually weaned him from his Indian habits, and reconciled him to civilization, ending in his marriage and domestic life; not, however, till he had par- ticipated in several engagements with the Indians, in which, like his brothers, he developed the characteristics of a coura- geous soldier.
INDIANS AMBUSH THREE SETTLERS.
Some negroes belonging to Mr. Beesan, of Columbus, on the Colorado, having run away from him, his two sons, Col- lins and Leander Beesan, accompanied by a Scotchman named Steele, went in pursuit, in the summer of 1837, hoping to intercept them before they made their way to Mexico. The three young men traveled along the San Antonio road, without mishap, until they crossed the Guada- lupe River at Gonzales. As they ascended the bank of that stream on the western side, they rode into an Indian ambuscade, and were received with a rifle volley that killed Collins Beesan, crippled and disabled Steele and shot Lean- der Beesan's horse from under him.
Leander Beesan ran to the river, threw his gun as far out into it as he could, and swam back to the other side, with bullets whistling about his ears and ricochetting un- comfortably near him. As he buffeted the current he heard some one swimming behind him, but did not turn to see who it was, either while crossing or after he reached dry ground. As he ran from the border of the river into the timber, he heard a groan, which led him to surmise that the person who had followed in his wake across the river was Steele. Finding that his heavy, water-soaked boots impeded his pro- gress, Beesan divested himself of them, and made his way home-arriving there some days later in a pitiable condition.
A company of ten men, including W. B. Dewees, . was
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immediately assembled and leaving their familice almost en- tirely unprotected, started for the Guadalupe. A gentleman who had just left the army and who was at Mr. Dewee's house sick, loaned them a spy glass.
When the party was within fifteen miles of Gonzales they saw, with the naked eye, a large number of horses at a distance through the timber. Dismounting and bring- ing the spy glass into requisition, they discovered that Indians were astride the horses, and were apparently await- ing the approach of the whites.
After a brief consultation, it was decided to attack the redskins. Slightly deflecting their course and concealed by timber and a hill, Dewees and his companions emerged into the open from an unexpected quarter and charged the Indians, taking them completely by surprise, routing them, and sending them scurrying as fast as their mustangs could be made to travel. The Indian loss is not stated by Dewees .* The pursuit was kept up for a short while. On arriving at the river the rescue party found and buried the body of Collins Beesan, but saw nothing of Steele. It was afterwards learned that the head of Steele was seen in the camp of the Indians, about three quarters of a mile above Gonzales.
THE "STONE HOUSE" FIGHT.
October 7, 1837, Capt. Eastland, then in command of Coleman's Fort, departed from that station with all, or the greater portion, of his force, and made a reconnaissance up the Colorado river to the mouth of Pecan bayou, and up that stream to its source. He desired the entire command to return to the fort; but a party under Lieuts. Benthuysen and Miles (in all eighteen men) either disobeyed his orders, or secured permission from him, and kept on farther west to the vicinity of the rock mound, called the "stone house," near Caddo Peak, in what is now Callahan county, and
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