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 29
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was cut so as to fit in the bottom of the grave, similar rocks being placed at the sides and also at the head and foot. Amother rock was placed over the body, and the grave fill- ed up. Thus was buried one. of God's noblemen." And so perished one of Texas' brainiest and best men, a fine ora- tor, far above the average in intellect, and, had he lived, would have proved a blessing to his country and assisted materially in its advancement-
"The pioneer was laid to rest, The red man set him free, Disturb him mot, but let him sleep Beneath the old oak-tree."#
But the precious bones of the beloved Denton were dis- turbed, and finally, after three quarters of a century, prop- erly honored-having been interred three times. First, by his sorrowing comrades in arms, in that lonely wilderness grave, in May, 1841; a second time, when the pioneer cattle- mam of Denton county, John Chisum, exhumed the remains and gave them burial in his yard at the Chisum ranch, near Bolivar, in 1860; and a third time, in 1901, when, through patriotic promptings of members of the Old Settlers Asso- ciation of Denton county, all that remained mortal of the hero were gathered up, and after an appropriate ad- dress by the late Rev. Wm. Allen, extolling the deeds and il- lumining the character of the deceased, and amid solemn and imposing ceremonies, the remains were laid to final rest be- neath a suitably inscribed slab, in the court house yard at Denton, the capital town of that fair county, each of which, as well as the principal stream which courses through that county, and an institution of learning, were named for amd will ever perpetuate the memory of one of the bravest and noblest defenders of the Texas frontier ..
OTHER EXPEDITIONS AGAINST THE INDIANS. June 13, 1841, Brig. Gen. James Smith, 3rd Brigade,
* Wilbarger's "Indian Depredations In Texas."
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Texas Militia, wrote from Nacogdoches to President Lamar, saying that Major Gage and his spy company had attacked a party of fifteen Indians and pursued the survivors, eight im number, and ambushed them at the crossing of the Trin- ity, where they killed seven of them-only one of the fifteen escaping.
Capt. Eli Chandler, in a report* dated June 19, 1841, gives am account of an expedition to the northwest bound- ary of the cross-timbers, on the divide between the Brazos and Trinity rivers, from which he had just returned with a command of forty-one men. Near the point specified, he cap- tured a young Mexican who conducted him to an Indian village from which the warriors were absent. On the way to and in, the village, he took fourteen prisoners. One of these informed him that sixty warriors were to meet at the vil- lage to go on a hunt. Thereupon, he despatched an aged woman to tell her people to bring in the American prisoners they had, and the Indian prisoners would be released and a friendly compact entered into. Continuing, he says: "I them proceeded immediately to where I left my baggage, where I arrived about 1 o'clock p. m. The party of warriors above spoken of, to the number of sixty, had arrived early in the day and attacked my baggage guard, who retreated a short distance to a ravine, took position and by their un- iom and valor, succeeded in driving back the enemy with the loss of their chief and one other killed. The whole number of Indians killed were four, and three or four wounded. None of my command received the slighest injury from the enemy. He says that he abandoned further pursuit as his force was small and he had the prisoner, to guard, and re- turned to Franklin, He asks instructions as to what he shall do with the prisoners. He says: 'The Mexican prisoner taken is a young man of smart intelligence-speaks the Eng- fish language quite well-states that he has been living among the Choctaws-was among these Indians trading- says they were principally Ionies, some Shawnees, a few
* Army Archives.
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Wacos; that the Waco's and Cherokees live not far distant; that the Tehuacanas, Caddos, Kickapoos, etc., all make corn between the Brazos and Trinity rivers; that mamy of them live at what is called the Big Bend Village on the Brazos, which he says is about twenty miles above where the Ameri- cans were last winter; that all of the different tribes talk of getting together and living at one place; that there is come little talk among them of making peace with the Ameri. cams; that they are generallynearly destitute of provisions and have great difficulty in obtaining the same; that they say they obtain their large quantities of lead by finding it buried in the upper country; says he can take us to several encampments. I expect to make another expedition as soon as my horses recruit, if circumstances should indicate the same."*
THE SANTA FE EXPEDITION.
The Santa Fe expedition, recommended by the Secre- tary of War and sanctioned by President Lamar, left Brushy Creek, near Austin, June 20, 1841, to traverse six hun- dred miles of wilderness to Santa Fe. It was commanded by Brig. Gen. Hugh Mcleod, brother-in-law of President Lamar and consisted of five companies of mounted infantry and an artillery company with one brass six-pounder (a total of two hundred and seventy soldiers), about fifty other persons (traders, teamsters and adventurers), and Wm. G. Cooke, R. F. Brenham, and J. A. Navarro, commissioners instructed to say to the people of Santa Fe that, if they were willing to acknowledge that portion of New Mexico as a part of Texas, the laws of the Republic would be extended over them.
*From July 15th to 20th between four hundred and five hundred volunteers from the Texas side of the Red River assembled at Fort Inglish for the purpose of another ex- pedition into the Indian country. They organized by electing Willian C. Young, colonel James Bourland, lieutenant colonel; John Smither, adjutant. and William Lane, David Key. and others, captains. While this was transpiring Indians captured two little boys on the Bois d'Arc fork of river, a few miles distant. and carried them off. The children were recovered about two years later. Gen. Tarrant assumed command of the expedi- tion. It moved southward into what is Wise county, and received news of its coming re- turned to Fort Inglish and disbanded.
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but if they did not, Texas wished to establish friendly com- mercial relations with them and would not use force to as- sert its territorial claims. President Lamar had previously issued a proclamation covering the same ground and declar- ing the objeets of the expedition to be wholly pacific.
Friends of the enterprise had introduced a bill in Con- guess, authorizing it, but the measure had been rejected by both houses. It was, therefore without statutory warrant, and was undertaken solely upon executive responsibility. The only legal sanction that could be claimed for it was that the act of 1836, defining the boundaries of Texas, in- cluded Santa Fe in the limits of the Republic and it was the duty of the President to enforce the sovereign jurisdiction asserted.
It is said that the season selected for the undertaking was too late and as a consequence, there was much suffering for want of grass and water. The wagons were overloaded, the distance to Santa Fe was under-estimated, and the guides were unfamiliar with the route. There seems to have beets a fatal combination of circumstances, that foredoomed the expedition to the humiliating disasters and tragire Buf- ferings it encountered. Not knowing what awaited it, it started forth in the gayest spirits and with the most san- guine expectations. "The long train of wagons, " Bays George Wilkins Kendall, "moving heavily forward with the different companies of volunteers, all well monted atd well armed and riding in double file, presented an imposing as well as amimating spectacle, causing every heart to beat high with the anticipation of exciting incidents on the bound- less prairies. "
Finally reaching New Mexico, after much suffering and many adventures, the advance troops of the Santa Fe Expo- dition under Col. Wm. G. Cooke, were induced, by treacher- ous representations, to lay down their arms and surrender to Commandant Col. Salazar, in New Mexico, on Sept. 17th, 1841. The remainder of the expedition followed. The pris- oners were marched on foot to the interior, (some perish- ing on the long journey) where many of them were impris-
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oned in gruesome and foul dungeons in the City of Mexi- co, and others at Puebla and Perote. News of the disaster to and fate of this expedition was not received in Texas un- til in January, 1842. Some of the unfortunate men were re- leased at the instance of Gen. Andrew Jackson and other friends in position to intercede for clemency; some died in prison, and the remaining survivors, 119 in number, were eventually all released by order of Gen. Santa Anna, June 13, 1843.
BATTLE IN CANON DE UVALDE.
In June, 1841, Capt. Jack Hays having slightly augment- ed his company, pursued and defeated a depredating party of Comanches near Uvalde Canyon, the particulars of which are given thus in his official report:
San Antonio, July 1, 1841. To the Hon. Branch T. Archer, Secretary of War:
I have the honor to inform you that I have this morm- ing returned from an expedition in pursuit of a party of In- dians that had been committing depredations, and driving off stock from the vicinity of this place. On the 24th of this month I set out with a company of thirty men, and took the trail which led in the direction of the Canyon de Uvalde. When within two miles of the entrance of the can- yon, we came upon a party of Indians, on their way from the main camp of the vicinity of this town. I immediately attacked them and succeeded n killing eight, and taking the two other prisoners," capturing all their horses and property. I would have continued on to their main camp, but as my horses were much jaded, and I found the camp more distant than I expected, I concluded to return, and af- ter recruiting proceeded to the encampment, the situation
*To take a Comanche prisoner was an affair of great difficulty. One reason was the fact that the Indian rule of Warfare was opposed to letting a captive live longer than cer- tain ceremonies could be performed. In some instances they seem to make an exhibit of the captured persons te the tribe or nation. After this was accomplished a cruel and lin- gering torture was inflicted. It is reasonable to suppose that the Comanches believed that the whites inflicted similar outrages and similar death upon the Indian prisoners.
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of which I have ascertained. But one of my command was wounded-Mr. Miller-and he not severely. The company consisted of sixteen Americans. In addition I was aided by Captian Flores, with about twenty Mexicans.
I have the honor to be your obedient servant,
JOHN C. HAYS.
Captain Commanding.
BORDER BANDITTI.
John T. Price wrote to Secretary of War and Marine Branch T. Archer, from Victoria, July 2, as follows:
"In accordance with a requisition made by the Sheriff of this county and Refugio, in company with some forty citizens, went to the Nueces for the purpose of arresting the maranders who have for some time past infested our fron- tier.
"Our party was composed of citizens of this county, Re- fugio and San Patrico. We reached the Nueces on the 22nd, ult., and there learned that a short time previous a Mexi- can had been to Kinney's Ranch and stated that a party of 300 soldiers were within thirty - five miles of that place, under the command of Col. Verial. He stated that the troops were in search of robbers and had succeeded in surprising a party of ten and had killed them all but one. The bodies of these men were found by our party. It ap- pears that they (the robbers) had a short time before killed a party of traders and robbed them of several hundred dol- lars, a lot of blankets, etc. This party of Americans was led by a Mr. Yearby who formerly resided at Austin.
"We learned also from some Mexicans recently from Camargo that Owensby, with about fifteen mem, had been surrounded by two or three hundred Mexicans, and that eight or nime of his men were killed and himself and five others taken prisoners. Verial with his command had re- turned to the Rio Grande before our arival at the Nueces.
"It appears from the statement made by the traders who have visited our counttry of late, that it is the settled
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purpose of the Mexican authorities not only to assert, but maintain, the control of the territory between the Nueces and Rio Grande.
Capt. Sanchez (aide de camp to Gen. Ampudia), in com- mand of fifteen Mexican cavalrymen, made a descent upon Flower Bluff, fifteen miles south-east of Kinney's and Au- brey's ranch, and captured Phillip Dimitt, J. C. Boyd, Stephen W. Farrow and Henry Graham. .
He also took $6,000.00 worth of goods that had been pur- chased as stock for the mercantile establishment of Dimitt, Gurley and Farrow. Boyd and Graham were em- ployees of Gurley and Farrow. Gurley was absent from the Bluff at the time the raid was made. Sanchez did not dis- durb the store of Kinney and Aubrey, which led Gurley and others to entertain and give expression to opinions that were perhaps unjust. Gurley writing . to Secretary Archer from Gonzales, said that indignation meetings had been held at Victoria, Lamar, Gonzales and other towns, and the people were willing and eager to turn out en masse make good the claims of Texas to the territory between the Nueces and Rio Grande, and inflict retaliation on Mexico for injuries suffered; that they waited only for the Texas gov- ernment to authorize them to act.
Dimitt and his companions were taken to Matamoras and thence to Monterey where they were delivered to Arista. By his order they were manacled and marched to Saltillo. On the way their irons were removed by Capt. Chaffind who commanded their guard.
At Saltillo they made an attempt to escape. Some of them got off a considerable distance. Capt. Chaffind sent them word that he would forgive them if they returned, and if they did not, he would have Dimitt shot. This message, was uttered in the presence of Dimitt, who as soon as he saw that he was umobserved, took a large dose of morphine which caused his death. Yoakum says: "Thus fell a noble
* Army Archives.
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spirit by whom the first Lone Star banner was unfurled on the heights of La Bahia."
CAPTAIN ERATH'S FIGHT.
Capt. George B. Erath, of the Milam County Minute Men, writing from Fort Bryant August 12, 1841, to the Secre tary of War, says: "Agreeable to appointment made with Capt. Chandler, from Milam county, I met the Robertson County Company on the 26th of July, 1841, at the Ionie vil- lage on the Brazos, and were also joined by Maj. Lewis, Mr. Archer, Mr. Landers, and several other gentlemen from Aus- tin. Captain Chandler took command by consent of part- ies and we proceeded slowly up the Brazos, having to con- tend and tarry with sickness daily. We passed several eva- quated towns of the enemy in the cross-timbers and our spies used every exertion to ferret out the grand village, but with eut success. On the 3rd, of August, being encamped in the upper edge of the cross-timbers and anxiously waiting the re- turn of our spies to commence retrograde movements, our provisions being exhausted, a few Indians made their appearance about camp. I was detached, with twenty men, in pursuit; and in search of the trail, divided my party, leaving some men with Capt. Love of Robertson county on the left. My men, in the meantime discovered the trail, and I pushed hard on the same, when I was fired upon by a party of Kickapoos, or Cherokees, from behind a cliff of rocks which secured the enemy completely, being only on one side possible to ascend it with the utmost difficulty; which passage was defended bravely by the rifles of the enemy. Their first fire killed one of my men, Capt. A. J. Smith of Milam county, and several balls grazed others without in- jury. I formed in a little grove of timber and returned the fire, which was kept up for half an hour, during which time it is thought that we killed two Indians and, perhaps, wounded others. At that time Capt. Love arrived, and another re-enforcement came up from camp. A charge was then made and the bluff carried. The Indians left the
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ground carrying their dead. The mountainous situation of the country made pursuit impracticable; and after bury- ing our dead man, we commenced our return through the cross-timbers. The 7th of August I separated my company from Capt. Chandler's and returned to the settlements by way of the Bosque, finding no sign of the enemy on our re- turn. We still feel convinced that a strong village exists on the Brazos, but that only a well fitted campaign can cap- ture it.
The toils and sufferings of the company were greater than usual, and the perseverance and vigilance of the men highly commendable *
The general election of the Republic occurred Sept. 6, 1841, and resulted in the choice of Gen. Sam Houston as Press- ident by a vote of nearly two to one over his opponent, Da- vid G. Burnet, and of Gen. Edward Burleson as Vice-Presi- dent by a large majority over Memucan Hunt.
Col. Martin Francisco Peraza, as envoy of Yucatan, ar- rived in Austin September 11, to solicit for his country na- val aid from Texas. This was granted after the Secretary of State received from John D. Morris and C. Van Ness, com- missioners who had been sent to Gen. Arista, a communica- tion stating the result of their mission and that no agreement had been entered into that rendered improper the granting of such aid .*
DEATH OF MAJOR HEARD.
In August of this year a company of eight "minute men," consisting of John Kerner, Charles Sevier, Gilbert HI. Love, John Hardister, Thomas Sypert, William McGraw, and Thomas Dromgoole, led by Maj. Heard, left Old Frank- lin for a scout up the country. They left on a rainy day afternoon and followed the trail leading towards Parker's Fort. Early next day, when about fourteen miles from
* Yoakum is mistaken in asserting that the negotiation with Peraza was effected while Arista's "peace envoy" was in Texas and that this circumstance and the Santa Fe expedition were responsible for the continuance of border warfare, murders, robberies, etc.
MOORE'S GREAT VICTORY-CHARGING THE VILLAGE-PAGE 333
DANS
HOUSTON'S INDIAN POW WOW-PAGE 377
-
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Franklin, while riding in single file and passing a couple of deep ravines, near their junction, about eighteen Indians rose from under the bank of the one parallel to the trail, and only thirty or forty yards distant, and fired on them, com- pletely surprising the party. Major Heard, riding in front, fell dead from his horse, pierced by three balls. Some of the men retreated a short distance and halted, others dis- mounted near by, and Love stood by the dead body to pre- vent its being scalped, but was soon compelled to join the others, all of whom rallied together. Love lost his mule, but succeeded in mounting the dead man's horse, and after some skirmishing the seven men returned to Franklin, when a party went out and carried in for burial the dead body which had been scalped, the head and hands cut off, and otherwise mutilated .*
The Indians were pursued for several days by a party composed of John Kerner, William M. Love, Gilbert H. Love, William McGraw and a number of others, but they failed to overtake them.
John Wahrenberger, employed as a gardener by Col. Louis T. Cook, was attacked at night in the fall of 1841 by Indians while he was carrying a sack of meal from the mill near the edge of town, to the home of his employer in Aus- tin. Ile ran for his life, but held on to his burden, which was a fortunate circumstance, a's some of the arrows shot at him by the pursuing Indians struck and stuck in the sack of meal, only one hitting him, making a slight wound in the arm. He fell breathless in the doorway of Col. Cook's house. Cook fired on the Indians, bringing one of them to the ground. This halted them. As soon as they could rally they picked up their wounded companion and ran for cov- er. The marauders were pursued the next day, but were not evertaken.
In the fall of 1841 Captain Jack. Hays and his rangers were attacked by, but defeated with great slaughter,
»Heard's Prairie in Robertson county perpetuates the name of this Worthy pioneer.
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a large force of Comanches at the "Enchanted Rock," in Gillespie county. During the action, Capt. Hays became separated from his men, but took position on the summit of a mass of broken, lava-like rocks, that sloped steeply down in every direction.
The savages swarmed up the escarpment, in mad en- davor to kill him and take his scalp. He shot them fast- er than they could ascend. The fortunes of the day went equally ill with them in other parts of the field, and at last they were forced into rout and retreated, uttering howls of defeat.
The sixth Congress convened at Austin, Nov. 1, 1841. President Houston and Vice-President Burleson were inaug- urated December 13.
President Houston's assertions that Lamar's Indian pol- icy had resulted in failure and that millions of dollars had been wasted in useless expenditures, were due to misappre- hension of facts. However, the pacific policy pursued by President Houston during his first administration (as the first constitutional president of the Republic) did not secure peace for the frontier, and left at its close the greater part of Texas in the possession of hostile, bloodthirsty and exul- tant savages.
The Cherokees entrenched in the east, and the Coman- ches, lords of the west, afforded the Mexican government op- portunity and means to plot and wreak vengeance on the people of Texas, and retarded the settlement and develop- ment of the country, which Lamar removed. He expelled the Cherokees, broke the power of the Comanches, ren- dered impossible serious co-operation of the Indians with Mexico in any plan of invasion and attempted conquest, and prevented Indian depredations and murders ever recurring on so large a scale and over such a wide extent of territory as in former years. Ill-timed and profitless as the Santa Fe expedition appeared to be at the time it occurred, it made Texas' claim to its "northwestern territory" sufficiently good for the state to obtain for its relinquishment in 1850,
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$10,000,000 from the United States government. The finan- cial cost of the expedition was less than $80,000. The greatest cost was the loss of so many noble lives. It is pleasing to reflect, however, that the men who fell perished not in vain. The large increase in the public debt, deplored in the message did not in the end amount to much. The debt was scaled to a fraction of its nominal total and was discharged by other millions of money paid to Texas, after annexation, by the United States, and not by taxes wrung from the pople. The gains obtained were enormous, and would have been fully compensatory if they had repre- sented returns for actual dollars contributed in part by the Texans of that day, and in part by their successors.
Perhaps, after all, the aggressive Indian policy of Lamar was of imperative necessity at the period of his administra- tion. There were at least extenuating circumstances and con- ditions, and much of public sentiment brought to bear upon him. But the genius and policies of Houston met emergen- cies that could have been moulded to advantage by no other means and manner. Each was a good and great man, and each labored bravely and conscientiously for what he be- lieved to be for the good of his countrymen.
The patriotic Texan of the present day-unbiased by the jealousies, animosities and politics of the past and viewing the men and measures of old in the clear light of accom- plished results-finds much to applaud, and little to censure in the administration of Lamar, and can say truly those meas- ures for which he was most criticised, brought the largest benefits to Texas and will longest preserve his fame and keep aglow the gratitude of posterity.
By the failure of Gen. Hamilton to negotiate a $5,000,000 loan for Texas in Europe, Lamar was saved from a great fol- ly that he would probably have committed, viz: the invasion of Mexico with a Texas army. Diplomacy, result- ing in later years in annexation, accomplished with- out cost and bloodshed, what any Texas army that could have been marshalled and supported with such a loan, would have failed to attain. The loan is said to have been de-
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feated by the influence of Saligny, the French minister to Texas. One of his servants killed a hog belonging to Bul- lock, a hotel keeper at Austin. The boniface thrashed the hostler and afterwards insulted and threatened Saligny, who demanded of, and failed to secure from the Texas gov- ernment, the redress to which he considered himself entitled.
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