History of Texas, together with a biographical history of the cities of Houston and Galveston; containing a concise history of the state, with protraits and biographies of prominent citizens of the above named cities, and personal histories of many of the early settlers and leading families, Part 31

Author:
Publication date: 1895
Publisher: Chicago, The Lewis publishing co., 1895
Number of Pages: 1532

USA > Texas > Harris County > Houston > History of Texas, together with a biographical history of the cities of Houston and Galveston; containing a concise history of the state, with protraits and biographies of prominent citizens of the above named cities, and personal histories of many of the early settlers and leading families > Part 31
USA > Texas > Galveston County > Galveston > History of Texas, together with a biographical history of the cities of Houston and Galveston; containing a concise history of the state, with protraits and biographies of prominent citizens of the above named cities, and personal histories of many of the early settlers and leading families > Part 31

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Besides these, all of which have large Sun- day-schools, the Young Men's Christian As- sociation has a large membership-a larger per cent of young people than any city in the Southwest-with a ladies' auxiliary.

No city in the United States has better schools than has San Antonio. She has a

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larger scholastic population than any city in Texas by over 3,000, it being 10,694, 1,590 of which are colored. Her public free school property is valued at $1,000,000, and com- prizes seven two-story and one threo-story building, latest designs, with all comforts and appliances, for white children, and one two- story stone aud two large frame buildings for colored children.

As a picturesque and historical city there is none in the United States that ean equal San Antonio. It is the tourists' paradisc. It was founded in 1691, and has been the scene of many an exciting affray. There are many points of interest that afford great at- traction for the visitors to the city. The chief one of these is the Alamo, which was originally founded as a mission under the name of San Antonio de Valero, in 1720. It became the garrison or fort for Spanish and afterward American troops. As such it was the scene of several battles, the inost memor- able of which was in 1836, when General Santa Anna, at the head of a Mexican army of 7,000, besieged it, and when, on the 6th of March of that year, he carried it by storm after being three times repulsed by Colonel William B. Travis, Davy Crockett, James Bowie and their 172 heroic companions, who died fighting for Toxas liberty, and whose bodies were burued by the savage Mexicans after the battle and their ashes lie buried in the sacred soil.

The Alamo is now the property of the State of Texas, is in the custody of the city of San Antonio and is open to visitors daily without charge.

The mission Concepcion, which is known as the first mission, was fonuded in 1716. It is situated on the left bank of the San Antonio river, abont two miles below the city. It was the scene of a battle between

Colonel James Bowie, commanding 90 Americans and abont 400 Mexican regular troops. The Mexicans were defeated with a loss of 60 killed and 40 wounded. The Americans lost one man killed. This battle was fought on the 28th of October, 1835. This mission was also. the scene of several Indian battles. Its name as a mission was " Mision Concepcion la Purisima de Acuna."

The second mission is the most beautiful and elegant of all the Texas missions. It is situated abont four miles below the city uear the river, and is named Misiou San Jose de Aguayo. It was founded in 1720, and the celebrated artist, IInica, was sont here by the king of Spain, and devoted several years to carving its various ornamentations, statues, etc. The hands of vandals have exceeded the ravages of time in its defacement. Like the others, this missiou has been the scene of many memorable conflicts. It is well worthy of a visit by all tourists.

The third mission differs in general de- sign from all the other missions. It was founded in 1716 and is situated about six miles below the city. Its name as a mission was Mision San Juan Capistrano. It was near here that the American patriots rendez- voused prior to their capture of San Antonio from the Mexicans nuder General Cos, in

1835,-a battle which aronsed the ire of Santa Anna and led to the holocaust of the Alamo and subsequently to Texan inde- pendence. Like most of the other missions, it is now in ruins-picturesque but silent elo- quence of past glories and tragedies.

Sherman, having in 1890 a population of 7,320, is the county seat of Grayson connty, and a good railroad point. Assessed value of all property in 1891, $4,966,334. Total of all property owned by the city, $20,872.

Sulphur Springs, the chief trading point

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in Hopkins county, grew in population from 1,000 in 1870 to 3,038 in 1890; and the assessed valnes increased from $800,000 in 1880 to $1,300,000 in 1890. This place also has a number of medicinal wells and springs.

Temple, in Bell county, is at the intersec- tion of the Missouri, Kansas & Texas and the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fé railroads, has a population of 6,500, and is a new and grow- ing city.

Terrell, thirty-two miles east of Dallas, is situated on the Texas & Pacific Railroad, is a great shipping point for cattle, and is abon- dantly supplied with wells of good water. In 1890 it had a population of 2,977. The Terrell Institute is a good school at the place.

Tyler, the county seat of Smith county, is on the northern division of the International & Great Northern Railroad, and on the Cot- ton Belt road, had a population of 6,908 in 1890, has the Charnwood Institute as one of its local institutions of learning, and a pub- lic library of 10,000 volumes. One daily and two weekly newspapers flourish there, and the principal shops and general offices of the Cotton Belt Railroad for Texas, are lo- cated at that place.

Victoria, on the Southern Pacific Railroad, in Victoria county, had 3,500 inhabitants in 1890. Being on the cast bank of the Gnadn- Inpe river, the prosperity of the place has been chiefly derived from navigation aud the shipment of cattle, etc.

Waco is a live city at the intersection of several railroads, and had a population of 14,- 425 in 1890. Assessed value of all property in 1891, $10,242,642. There are about seven square miles within the corporate limits.

Waxahachie, the county seat of Ellis county, is a railroad center, with a population in 1890 of 3,076. The county is the banner

one in the black-waxy district. As a sample of the improvement made, we may state that about $130,000 a year is expended in public and private improvements.

Weatherford, the capital of Parker county, is located at a railroad junction, sixty-six miles west of Dallas. Number of inhab- itants in 1890, 3,314; assessed valuation of all property iu 1891, $1,572,772.

MISCELLANEOUS.

"INDIAN DEPREDATIONS IN TEXAS."

The above is the title of a most interesting book to Texans, and even to the rest of the world, recently published by J. W. Wilbar- ger, from which liberal quotations have been made in this work. We only hope that the quotations we have made will whet the ap- petite of the Texmm public for the purchase of that book. Stories have interest only in their details, and such are given in that work. and they cannot be condensed for a larger publication like this, and therefore only extracts could be given in this volume. The work is illustrated with graphic pictures, and arranged by counties and dates in the index, so that ready reference can be made to any point.

From the above work we give the follow- ing story in our miscellaneous department:

THE FORT PARKER MASSAORE.

"The following graphic account of the Fort Parker massacre has been gathered from several reliable sources, but the greatest por- tion of them has been by the kind consent of James T. De Shield, copied from a little book published by him, entitled 'Cynthia Ann Parker.' In fact everything, from the conclusion of the extract from Mrs. Plum-

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mer's diary to the conclusion of the history of Quanah Parker, is intended to be a literal copy from said book.

"Among the many tragedies that have occurred in Texas the massacre at Parker's fort holds a conspicnous place. Nothing that has ever happened exhibits savage duplicity and cruelty more plainly than the massacre of helpless women and children.

"In 1833 a small colony was organized in the State of Illinois for the purpose of form- ing a settlement in Texas. After their arri- val in the country they selected for a place of residence a beautiful region on the Navasota, a small tributary of the Brazos. To seenre themselves against the various tribes of roving savages was the first thing to be attended to; and, having chosen a commanding eminence adjacent to a large timbered bottom of the Navasota, about three miles from where the town of Springfield formerly stood, and about two miles from the present town of Groes- beck, they by their joint labor soon had a fortification erected. It consisted of a stock- ade of split cedar timbers planted deep in the ground, extending fifteen feet above the sur- face, tonching each other and confined at the top by transverse timbers which rendered them almost as immovable as a solid wall. At convenient distances there were port- holes, throughi which, in case of an emer- gency, fire-arms could be used. The entire fort covered nearly an acre of ground. There were also attached to the stockade two log cabins at diagonal corners, constituting a part of the enclosure. They were really blockhonses, the greater portion of each standing outside of the main stockade, the upper story jutting ont over the lower, with openings in the floor allowing perpendicular shooting from above. There were also port- holes out in the upper story so as to admit of

horizontal shooting when necessary. This enabled the inmates to rake from every side of the stockade. The fort was situated near a fine spring of water. As soon as it was com- pleted the little colony moved into it.

"Parker's colony at this time consisted of some eight or nine families, viz .: Elder Jolm Parker, the patriarch of the colony, and his wife; his son, James W. Parker, wife, four single children, and his danghter, Mrs. Rachel Plummer, her Insband, L. M. S. Plummer, and an infant son fifteen months old; Mrs. Sarah Nixon, another daughter, and her hus- band, L. D. Nixon; Silas M. Parker (another son of Elder Jolin), his wife and four children; Benjamin F. Parker, an unmarried son of the elder; Mrs. Nixon, Sr., mother of Mrs. James W. Parker; Mrs. Elizabeth Kellogg, daugh- ter of Mrs. Nixon; Mrs. Duty; Samuel M. Frost, wife and two children; G. E. Dwight, wife and two children -- in all, thirty-four persons. Besides those above mentioned, old man Lunn, David Fanlkenberry and his son Evan, Silas Bates and Abram Anglin had erected eabins a mile or two distant from the fort, where they resided. These families were truly the advance guard of civilization in that part of our frontier, Fort Houston in Ander- son county being the nearest protection ex. cept their own trusty rifles.

"Here the struggling colonists remained, engaged in the avocations of a rural life, till- ing the soil, Ininting buffalo, bear, deer, turkey and smaller gaine, which served abun- dantly to supply their larder at all times with fresh meat, in the enjoyment of a life of Ar- eadian simplicity, virtne and contentment, until the latter part of the year 1835, when the Indians and Mexieans forced the little band of compatriots to abandon their homes and flee with many others before the in- vading army from Mexico. Ou arriving at

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the Trinity river they were compelled to halt in consequence of an overflow. Before they could cross the swollen stream the sudden and unexpected news reached them that Santa Anna and his vandal hordes had been con- fronted and defeated at San Jacinto, that san- guinary engagement which gave birth to the new sovereignty of Texas, and that Texas was free from Mexican tyranny.

" On receipt of this news the fleeing settlers were overjoyed and at once returned to their abandoned homes. The Parker colonists now retraced their steps, lirst going to Fort Hons- ton, where they remained a few days in order to procure supplies, after which they made their way back to Fort Parker to look after their stock and prepare for a crop. These hardy sons of toil spent their nights in the fort, repairing to their farms early each morn- ing. The strictest discipline was maintained for awhile, but as time wore on and no hostile demonstrations had been made by the Indians they became somewhat careless and restive under confinement. However, it was abso- Intely necessary that they should cultivate their farms to insure substance for their fam- ilies. They usually went to work in a body, with their farming implements in one hand and their weapons of defense in the other. Some of them built cabins on their farms, hoping that the gove ument would give them protection, or that a sufficient number of other colonists would soon move in to render them seenre from the attacks of Indians.

"On the 18th of May, 1836, all slept at the fort, James W. Parker, Nixon and Plum- mer, repairing to their field, a mile distant on the Navasota, early the next morning, little thinking of the great calamity that was soon to befall them. They had searcely left when several hundred Indians (accounts of the number of Indians vary from 300 to 700-

probably there were abont 500), Comanches and Kiowas, made their appearance on an emi- mence within 300 yards of the fort. Those who remained in the fort were not prepared for an attack, so careless had they become in their fancied security. The Indians hoisted a white flag as a token of their friendly in- tentions, and upon the exhibition of the white flag Mr. Benjamin F. Parker went out to have a talk with them. The Indians artfully feigned the treacherons semblance of friend- ship, pretending they were looking for a suit- able camping place, and inquired as to the exact locality of a waterhole in the ime- diate vieinity, at the same time asking for a beef, as they said they were very hungry. Not daring to refuse the request of such a formidable body of savages, Mr. Parker told them they should have what they wanted. Returning to the fort he stated to the inmates that to his opinion the Indians were hostile and intended to fight, but added he would go back to them and he would try to avert it. His brother Silas remonstrated, but he persisted in going, and was imme diately surrounded and killed; wherenpon the whole force-their savage instincts aronsed by the sightof blood -- charged upon the fort, uttering the most terrific and nnearthly yells that ever greeted the ears of mortals. The sickening and bloody tragedy was soon en- acted. Brave Silas M. Parker fell outside the fort, while he was gallantly fighting to save Mrs. Plnmmer. Mrs. Plummer made a desperate resistance, but was soon over- powered, knocked down with a hoe and made captive. Samnel M. Frost and his son, Rob- ert, met their fate while heroically defending the women and children inside the stockade. Old ' Granny ' Parker was stabbed and left for dead. Elder John Parker, wife, and Mrs. Kellogg attempted to make their esenpe, and

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in this effort had gone about three-fourthis of a mile, when they were overtaken and driven back to the fort, and the old gentleman was stripped, murdered, scalped and horribly mutilated. Mrs. Parker was stripped, speared and left for dead, but by feigning death escaped, as will be seen further on. Mrs. Kellogg was spared as a captive. The result summed up as follows: Killed -- Elder John Parker, aged seventy-nine; Silas M. and Ben- jamin F. Parker; Sammel M. and his son Robert Frost. Wounded dangerously --- Mrs. John Parker, old Granny' Parker, and Mrs. Duty. Captured -- Mrs. Rachel Plummer, daughter of James W. Parker, and her sou, James Pratt Plummer, two years of age; Mrs. Elizabeth Kellogg; Cynthia Ann Parker, nine years old, and her little brother, John Parker, aged six, children of Silas M. Parker. The remainder made their escape, as we shall now narrate.

" When the attack on the fort first com- menced, Mrs. Sarah Nixon made her escape and hastened to the field to advise her father, husband and Plummer of what had occurred. On her arrival Phmumer hurried off on horse- back to inform Faulkenberry, Bates and Ang- lin, who were at work in the fields. Parker and Nixon started to the fort, but the former met his family on the way and carried them some four or five miles down the Navasota, secreting them in the bottom. Nixon, though marined, continued on toward the fort, and mnet Mrs. Lney, wife of Silas l'arker (killed), with her four children, just as they were in- terrupted by a small party of mounted and foot Indians. They compelled the mother to lift her daughter Cynthia Ann, and her little son, John, behind two of the mounted war- riors. The foot Indians then took Mrs. Parker, her two youngest chiklren and Nixon on toward the fort. As they were about to

kill Nixon, David Faulkenberry appeared with his rifle and caused them to fall back. Nixon, after his narrow escape from death, seemed very much excited and immediately went in search of his wife, soon falling in with Dwight, his own and Frost's families. Dwight and family soon overtook J. W. Par- ker and went with him to his hiding place in the bottom. Faulkenberry, thus left ,with Mrs. Parker and her two children, bade her follow him. With the infant in her arms and leading the other child, she obeyed. Seeing them leave the fort, the Indians made several attempts to intercept them, but were held in check by the brave man's rifle. Several mounted warriors, armed with bows and arrows, strung and drawn, and with terrific yells, would charge them, but as Faulken- berry would present his gun, they would halt, throw up their shields, sight about, wheel and retire to a safe distance. This con- tinned for some distance, until they had passed through a prairie of some forty or fifty acres. Just as they were entering the woods the Indians made a furious charge, wlien one warrior, more daring than the others, dashed up so near that Mrs. Parker's faithful dog seized his horse by the nose, wherenpon horse and rider smumersaulted, alighting on their backs in the ravine. At this moment Silas Bates, Abram Anglin, and Evan Faulken- berry, armed, and Plummer, unarmed, came up, causing the Indians to retire, after which the party made their way umnolested.

" As they were passing through the field where the men were at work in the morning, Phunmer, as if aroused from a dream, de- manded to know what had become of his wife and child. Armed only with a butcher- knife he left the party, in search of his loved ones, and was seen no more for six days. The Fanlkenberrys, Lunn and Mrs. Parker

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secreted themselves in n small creek bottom, some distance from the first party, cach un- conscions of the others' whereabouts. At twilight Abram Anglin and Evan Faulken- berry started back to the fort to snecor the wounded and those who might have escaped. On their way and just as they were passing Faulkenberry's cabin, Anglin saw his first and only ghost. He says: 'It was dressed in white with long white hair streaming down its baek. I admit that I was more scared at this moment than when the Indians were yelling and charging on us. Seeing mae hesitate my ghost now beckoned me to come on. Approaching the object, it proved to be old . Granny ' Parker, whom the In- dians had wounded and stripped, with the exception of ber under garments. She had made her way to the house from the fort by crawling the entire distance. I took her some bed-clothing and carried her some rods from the house, made her a bed, covered her up, and left her until we should return fromn the fort. On arriving at the fort we could not see a single human being alive, or hear a Inmaan sound. But the dogs were bark- ing, the cattle lowing, horses neighing, and the logs equally making a hideons and strange medley of sounds. Mrs. Parker had told me where she had left some silver. - $160.50. This I found under a hickory bash by moonlight. Finding no one at the fort, we returned to where I had laid . Granny ' Parker. On taking her mp be- hind me, we made our way back to the hid- ing place in the bottom, where we found Nixon, whom we had not seen since his cowardly flight at the time he was resened by Faulkenberry from the Indians.

" In the book published by James W. Parker, he states that Nixon liberated Mrs. Parker from the Indians and rescued old

'Granny' Parker. Mr. Anglin in his account contradiets or rather corrects this statement. Ile says: ' I positively assert that this is a mistake, and I am willing to be qualified to the statement I here make, and can prove the same by Silas Bates, now living near Groesbeck.'

" The next morning Bates, Anglin and E. Faulkenberry went back to the fort to get provisions and horses, and look after the dead. On reaching the fort they found five or six horses, a few saddles and some meat, bacon and honey. Fearing an attack from the Indians who might still be lurking around, they left without burying the dead. Returning to their comrades in the bottom they all concealed themselves until they set ont for Fort Houston. Fort Houston, an asylum, on this, as on many other occasions, stood on what has been for many years a farm of a wise statesman, a chivalrous soldier and true patriot, John Il. Reagan, two miles south of Palestine.

" After wandering around and traveling for six days and nights, during which they suffered much from hunger and thirst, their clothing torn to shreds, their bodies lacerated with briars and thorns, the women and chil- dren with mushod and bleeding feet, the party with James W. Parker reached Fort Houston.

" An account of this wearisome and peril- ous journey through the wilderness, given substantially in Parker's own words, will eu- able the reader to more fully realize the hardships they had to undergo and the dan- gers they encountered. The bulk of the party were composed of women and children, principally the latter, and ranging from one to twelve years old. ' We started from the fort,' said Mr. Parker, ' the party consisting of eighteen in all, for Fort Honston, a dis-

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tance of ninety miles by the route we had to travel. The feelings of the party can be bet- ter imagined than described. We were truly a forlorn set, many of us bareheadeil and barefooted, a relentless foe on the one hand and on the other a trackless and nnin- babited wilderness infested with reptiles and wild beasts, entirely destitute of food and no means of procuring it.' Add to this the agonizing grief of the party over the death and capture of dear relatives; that we were momentarily in expectation of meeting a like fate, and some idea may be formed of our . pitiable condition. Utter despair almost took possession of ns, for the chance of csenp- ing seemed almost an impossibility ander the circumstances. *

* * I took one of my children on my shoulder and led another. The grown persons followed iny example and we began our journey through the thiekly tangled underbrush in the direction of Fort Houston. My wife was in bad health; Mrs. Frost was in deep distress for the loss of her husband and son; and all being barefooted except my wife and Mrs. Frost our progress was slow. Many of the children had noth- ing on them but their shirts, and their suf- ferings from the briars tearing their little legs and feet were almost beyond human en- durance.

" We traveled until about three o'clock in the morning, when, the women and children being worn out with hunger and fatigue, we lay down on the grass and slept until the dawn of day, when we resumed our perilous journey. Here we left the river bottom in order to avoid the briars and underbrush, but from the tracks of the Indians on the highlands it was evident they were hunting us, and, like the fox in the fable, we con- cluded to take the river bottom again, for though the brambles might tear on flesh

they might at the same time suve our lives by hiding us from the cruel savages who were in pursuit of us. The briars did, in fact, tear the legs and feet of the children until they could have been tracked by the blood that flowed from their wounds.

" It was the night of the second day after leaving the fort that all, and especially the women who were nursing their infants, be- gan to suffer intensely from hunger. We were then immediately on the bank of the river, and through the mercy of Providence a - pole-cat came near us. I immediately pursued and caught it just as it jumped in the river. The only way that I could kill it was by holding it under the water until it was drowned. Fortunately we had the means of striking a fire, and we soon had it cooked and equally divided among the party, the share of each being small indeed. This was all we had to cat until the fourth day, when we were lucky enough to catch another skunk and two small terrapins, which were also cooked aud divided between us. On the evening of the fifth day I found that the women and children were so exhausted from fatigue and hunger that it would be impossi- ble for them to travel much further. After holding a consultation it was agreed that I should hurry on to Fort Houston for aid, Jenving Mr. Dwight in charge of the women and children. Accordingly the next morn- ing I started for the fort (about thirty-five miles distant), which I reached early in the afternoon. I have often looked back and wondered how I was able to accomplish this extraordinary feat. I had not eaten a mouth. ful for six days, having always given my share of the animals mentioned to the chil- dren, and yet I walked thirty-five miles. in abont eight hours! But the thought of the unfortunate sufferers I had left behind de-

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Author: Publication date: 1895 Publisher: Chicago, The Lewis publishing co., 1895 Number of Pages: 1532

Author:
Publication date: 1895
Publisher: Chicago, The Lewis publishing co., 1895
Number of Pages: 1532