USA > Texas > Indian wars and pioneers of Texas, Vol. 2 > Part 5
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speak that after thorough and minute investiga- tion of the records and history of Texas he was con- strained to say that Robert M. Williamson had done as much, if not wore, than any other man in pre- cipitating and sustaining the revolution of 1835-36. This is the verdict of contemporary history, and will be the verdict of posterity for all time. With a price upon his head that betokened no quarter if captured, singled out with W. B. Travis from all his compatriots as an object of special vengeance by the usurper and invader, he faced the storm, defied the tyrant, redoubled his almost superhuman efforts to free his country, knowing that his good life would be the penalty for a failure, and won by the blessing of God.
"Soon after the inauguration of the new govern- ment he was appointed a judge of one of the dis- triets, which made him ex-officio a member of the Supreme Court. After that he was Senator in Congress or Representative in the Lower House of the Republic or State until the close of his public career, about 1850 or 1851. A few of his old fel- low-senators and members, still left to us, love to dwell upon the man and never tire in recounting his splendid bursts of eloquence, his withering sarcasm and ridicule, his keen sense of humor that often destroyed an adversary with a single shaft, his absolute freedom from fear, and his unwavering honesty. Many of the great measures of legisla- tion in use and effect to-day bear the imprint of his genius, and the jurisprudence of the Senate is indebted to him for some of its most salutary fea- tures. He passed away from us in the year 1859, at his home in the county of Wharton, a county rich in reminiscence and in the decds of the many eminent sons she has given to the State.
" In looking over the career of Judge Williamson, if I were called upon to select the most prominent of his many prominent characteristics, I should say that bis greatest virtues were sterling honesty, inflexible patriotism and an utter abnegation of self. He was too big a man to think of himself, too honest to build himself up at the expense of others, and too patriotic to tolerate with any degree of patience any measure that could by remote probability turn to injure the State or de- stroy the rights of the people.
" He belonged to his friends and not they to him. Hlis warm and generous nature forbade him to refuse a favor, and his knightly courage never per- mitted him to turn his back upon a foe. In all the corruption naturally incident to the revolution and the acquisition of a princely landed domain by the Republic, he walked upright before God and man, und came out without the smell of fire even upon
his garments. Nay, better even than this. He was ever the implacable foe of the land thief and the defender of the people's heritage. His eagle eye always saw through the flimsy veil of the jobber and detected at a glance the sinister pur- pose attempted to be concealed under the disguise of the public good; and every act and vote and thoughit of the man during his long and eventful carcer in our legislative halls, attest his nobleness of soul and his incorruptibility of purpose. He was always, and upon all occasions, the people's steadfast friend, and never spoke to them with a forked tongue. Too honest to tolerate deception he despised with loathing unutterable the slimy arts of the demagogue, and crushed with his de- nunciation the tricks of the politician. Men always knew how and where he stood and his simple word constituted his bond. And yet he carried in his breast a heart full of loving kind- ness for all, and a charity bounded only by the limit of his resources. Take him all in all we scarce shall look upon his like again. Faults he had, like other men, but these faults sprang from the youthful buoyancy of a heart that refused to grow old with age. He loved ' the boys ' and he remained one of them until he died.
" He may not have suited these times, but the man and the hour met in the rugged days of our earlier history, and the man was always equal to the hour.
" In debate upon the hustings he was matchless. In forensic tilts with his professional brethren at the bar he may have been equaled by some but he was excelled by none. In the councils of the State he was a patient investigator in committee, but a very thunderbolt on the floor. Upon the bench he was the urbane judge and finished gentleman, tol- erant of argument, painstaking in conclusion and inflexible in judgment. Tradition informs us that on one occasion he was specially commissioned by the President of the Republic to go to a distant county and there hold a term of court. The county was torn and rent into factions, and instead of raising crops the people had been devoting them- selves chiefly in the task of cutting each other's throats. As a consequence no courts had been held for years in the county, and none was wanted, for the obvious reason that it would prove exces- sively inconvenient to most of the citizens to be forced to plead to indictments for murder. Just before court convened a large mass meeting of citizens was held, which adopted a resolution that no court should be held. When Judge Williamson took his seat upon the bench a lawyer arose and after a few prefatory remarks read the resolution
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and sat down. The court room was crowded with armed and angry men determined to carry their point. The judge blandly asked the lawyer if he could cite any law for such a proceeding, as it appeared novel to him. The lawyer arose, and pulling out a bowie-knife laid it on the table and said: ' This is the statute which governs in such cases.' Quick as thought and with an eye flashing fire the Judge drew a long pistol, drew it down on the lawyer, and in tones that meant more than was said, replied: ' And this is the constitution which overrides the statute. Open court, Mr. Sheriff, and call the list of grand jurors for the term.' The court was held and without any conflict between the 'statute' and the ' constitution.'
" An old friend of Judge Williamson who himself has borne a most distinguished part in the affairs of the State, writes of him now as follows: 'Upon the organization of the government of the Republic Judge Williamson was selected to fill the important position of Judge of the Third Judicial District. He then removed his residence to Washington County, where he continued to make his home till about two years previous to his death. To evolve law and order out of the wild and discordant ele- ments of a revolutionary and frontier people is no slight undertaking. The restraints of family and the check which society imposes in older and better regulated communities were powerless here. The wild aud daring spirits attracted hither by the love of excitement and adventure, too frequently after the war was over, degenerated into lawless reckless- ness. To restrain and subdue this spirit no more judicious appointment could have been made. To great force of character and undaunted personal courage Judge Williamson united great suavity of manner aud calmness of judgment. These qualities inspired the admiration and commanded the love and respect of the bold borderers. Did time and space permit I might enrich this sketch with many an amusing anecdote of that period. After suc- cessfully establishing regular judicial proceedings and inaugurating the new order of things conse- quent upon the achievement of an independence Judge Williamson withdrew from the bench. From this time until about the year 1840, he assumed the practice of law.
"' He was induced then to become a candidate to represent Washington County in the Congress of the Republic; was casity elected, and from that time until 1850, with but a single exception, he represented that district in one or the other branch of the Legislature. In the stormy times which fol- lowed the dissolution of one form of goverment and preceded the institution of another, Judge
Williamson wielded a controlling influence. While it is not claimed for him that he originated many great measures, yet as a conservative power his influence was widely felt and acknowledged. IJe stood erect as a faithful and incorruptible sentinel over the rights and interests of the State.
" ' Having no selfish ambition to gratify, careless of money to a fault, he was inaccessible to the threats or flatteries of the cormorants whose object it was to prey upon the public treasury or the pub- lic domain. Individuals who had bills of doubtful merit before Congress or the Legislature feared the sleepless eye and withering invective of Williamson more than the opposition of all others. The good that he thus achieved for the country is incalcul- able.
"' When mad extravagance ruled the hour and the country seemed on the verge of destruction, his voice was heard loudest in stern rebuke of such evil practices. In the darkest hours of the Repub- lic, in 1842, when peace and credit and even hope itself had almost fled from our midst, again his clarion notes were heard cheery and blythe and hopeful to the end. He deserved the guerdon of merit which the Roman Senate awarded Varro when the Carthagenians were assaulting the very gates of Rome. 'For,' says the historian, ' while the weak fled in dismay and the bold trembled, he alone did not despair of the Republic.'
" When the great question of annexation came to be considered in 1845, Judge Williamson was its unflinching advocate. He was a member then of the Congress of the Republic of Texas, which accepted the overture of the United States and ratified Presi- dent Jones' call for a Convention and the appor- tionment of representation (a most difficult and delicate point). The stirring events of the past ten or fifteen years had not been favorable to study. The exciting political question of the day opened a wider field to the ardent temperament of William- son, and after once engaging therein he never again regularly resumed the practice of his profession. His last appearance before the public was as a can- didate for Congress, when he was defeated by a few votes by the Hon. Volney E. Howard. The result was attributed by Judge Williamson's friends to the late period at which he was announced and to his want of acquaintance on the Rio Grande, where a large vote was polled. From that time he led a quiet and retired life upon a small farm near Independence, in Washington County, devoting himself exclusively to the education of his children. Although his opportunities for acquiring wealth and independence were unequaled by those of any other man, yet he was of such generous and improvident
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nature that he was often embarrassed in his pecu- niary affairs. Like Mr. Jefferson, Mr. Monroe and many other great men. he not unfrequently felt the iron pressure of . Res _lugusta domi.' It may be stated as creditable to his integrity that in the midst of corruption and speculation, he lived and died in poverty.
" . He wasin many respects a remarkable man. He possessed a wonderful hold upon the affections of the masses, over whose passions and sympathies his control was unbounded. The reckless daring of his own character contributed largely to this influ- ence. This, aided by a generous, unselfish spirit and captivating manners, made him wherever known the idol of the people. Inacessible to threats or bribes, he was an upright and honest judge, who who unflinchingly administered the law. In Con- gress and the Legislature he had no selfish purpose to subserve ; he was therefore the able and watch- ful guardian of the people's rights. His intercourse with his brethren of the bar was marked by great courtesy. Toward the younger members he ever extended a helping hand and breathed a kind word of encouragement. The writer is but one of hun- dreds who remember gratefully the kindness ex- tended to them in days past by Judge Williamson. The eloquence of Judge Williamson more nearly resembled that of John Randolph than of any other historical character.
" ' When fully aroused there was a fire and vigor in his speech that surpassed deseription. True, there was quaintness and eccentricity, but it was all stamped with the originality and power of genius.
"' He was not only a wit of the first class, but a
humorist also; and, like all great humorists, he bore a burden of melancholy which was only heightened by these sudden sallies, as the storm clouds are illumined by the sheet lightning.
':' In an appeal to the people and as an advocate before the jury he was unsurpassed.'
"And now, gentlemen of the Senate, with a loving heart, and with filial pride most commendable, his son, born amid the stirring seenes which demon- strated his father's greatness, presents this picture to the State to adorn the walls of this chamber. As a work of art it speaks for itself and reflects luster upon the artist, but as a picture of a grand patriot it is meet and proper that every child of Texas who may hereafter study our history should look upon that face and draw therefrom inspiration of that patriotism which loved Texas more than all things else, and never faltered in the defense of her rights or the protection of ber honor.
" Men may come and men may go but in all the tide of time and amid the splendor of a mature development Texas will never have a more devoted son nor one who served her more unselfishly than Robert M. Williamson.
" In the approaching struggle of the people for supremacy over the grasp and greed of capital, would to God that another ' Three-legged Willie' could appear upon the scene as a great tribune of the people.
" God will take care of the liberties of this people, and circumstances will evolve the valiant defender of the true faith, endowed from on high with a courage and sagacity equal to the occasion and an honesty of purpose to which the howling demagogue of to-day is an entire stranger."
JOHN N. METCALF,
MERIDIAN.
John N. Metcalf, sheriff of Bosque County, Texas, was born in Scott County, Miss., in 1855. He was the second in a family of six children born to A. W. II. and Aun ( Liverman) Metealf. His parents were natives of Alabama.
His paternal grandfather, A. H. Metcalf. moved froin North Carolina to Tennessee, from Tennessee to Alabama and thence to Mississippi ; was a pioneer in those States and being a very firm, public-spirited and popular man was elected to and served with
distinction in their respective legislatures ; fought as an officer under Gen. Jackson at the battle of New Orleans in 1815, and died in Mississippi about the year 1854, after a long and useful career. A. W. II. Metcalf was a farmer and also figured in public life in Mississippi, serving as County Clerk and County Judge and filling other ofliees. Died on his farm in Mississippi in 1863.
The subject of this biographical notice was reared in Mississippi ; moved to Texas in 1876 and located
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on a farm on the Brazos river in Bosque County, and soon, in connection with this pursuit, engaged in stock raising; in 1887 was appointed Sheriff and served four years; in 1892 was elected to the office and re-elected in 1894.
He was married in 1888 to Miss Lelia Bifle, a native of Bosque County, and daughter of John Bitle, an early settler, who was also Sheriff of the county for a number of years. Two children have been born to them : Addie, and an infant daughter.
Mr. Metcalf is a Royal Arch Mason, a member of
the Blue Lodge and Chapter at Meridian and of the Commandery at Cleburne. He is also a member of the Sheriffs' Association of Texas. Since 1885 he has made his home at Meridian. He is still identified with the farming interests of his section, owning a fine prairie farm near Meridian, consist- ing of two hundred acres under cultivation and several hundred in pasture. He has made and is making a most valuable and acceptable public official and is considered one of the most vigilant and efficient sheriffs in Texas.
THOMAS CARSON,
BROWNSVILLE.
Hon. Thomas Carson, of Brownsville, Texas, was born in County Down, Ireland, March 12th, 1838; received a liberal education in the Church of England and parish schools; when seventeen years of age came to America; had various ex- periences, and, after engaging in the cotton bus- iness at Mobile, Ala., for some time, became business manager for Charles Stillman, and moved to Brownsville, Texas, in 1871, where he could give his personal attention to the diverse and extensive interests of that pioneer investor in land within and adjacent to the limits of that city. Since the death of Mr. Stillman he has managed the affairs of the estate.
He has pointed the way for many extensive enterprises, which would have placed Brownsville in a much more exalted position than she occupies to-day had he been properly supported and sec- onded by the community at large; but, the spirit of conservatism, and the hesitancy to disturb the primitive business methods of this completely iso- lated city, have acted as constant stumbling blocks in his way, and prevented progress, to a great degree. Nevertheless, he knows that the value of his plans remains undiminished, and quietly bides the time when his work will be appreciated at its true worth.
In connection with the Stillman estate, he has had 1,200 acres in the city of Brownsville plotted into lots, and placed in marketable shape, by the New York and Brownsville Improvement Com-
pany. He is agent for a tract of land on which is situated La Sal del Rey (the King's Salt), one of the most wonderful salt lakes in the world ; has interests in immense fisheries on the coast of Mex- ico, near Tampico, and is a joint owner of Mexican silver and lead mines.
In an official capacity, the Hon. Thomas Carson has been closely connected with the city and county governments for a long term of years. He has been successively installed as Mayor at every elec- tion since 1879. In the fall election of 1892 he was elected Judge of the County Court of Cameron County, which of necessity vacated his office of Mayor; but he continued to act in the latter capacity until his successor was legally elected. His services as a County Commissioner were grace- fully acknowledged by the citizens of the county by placing him on the bench in 1892, where he has presided with dignity, and exerted a powerful in- fluence for good.
Mr. Carson has been a principal promoter of every public movement inaugurated in recent years for the upbuilding of the town and section in which he resides, and has thoroughly identified himself with their best interests socially, financially and politically, and no citizen of Brownsville is more generally and highly esteemed.
He was married in Mobile, Ala., January 20th, 1870, to Miss Lydia C. Truwit. They have one of the most elegant and best appointed homes in Brownsville.
INDIAN WARS AND PIONEERS OF TEXAS.
411
GEORGE S. BONNER,
COOKE COUNTY.
George S. Bonner, until the time of his death a leading citizen of Cooke County, this State, came to Texas from Tennessee in 1840 and settled first in Lamar County, where he remained until 1861. In the latter year he moved to Cooke County and established himself as a farmer and stock-raiser on Elm creek, six miles distant from the town of Gainesville. Ilis wife still survives and resides with her son, Mr. George M. Bonner, in Cooke County. Six children were born to Mr. and Mrs. George S. Bonner, viz. : Martha, now Mrs. John Gillam, of Runnels County ; Sallie, now Mrs. E. C. Peery, of Gainesville ; Tennie, now Mrs. Judge Lindsay, of Gainesville; Duckie, now Mrs. T. P. Aiheart, of Colorado; George M., of Cooke County ; and Kate, who married Mr. G. W. Lindsay, but is now deceased.
December 21st, 1863, hostile Indians from the Territory made a foray into Cooke County for pur- poses of murder and robbery. Two of these Indians rode up to the Bonner home in sight of the house and drove off with them two horses belonging to Mr. George S. Bonner.
He at once armed himself, mounted and started in pursuit. He followed them for several miles when he came upon about three hundred mounted Indians. They started after him, but he succeeded, by hard riding, in effecting his escape.
Mrs. Bonner, with her little son, had walked about a mile from the house, and she had climbed a tree to see if she could see her husband, and he, seeing her as he approached, called to her to go back. The Indians, hearing him calling, thought he was calling to men behind the hill and slackened their speed, which enabled him and his wife and child to get back to their home. One of his daughters, a widow, Mrs. Martha Milliken, now Mrs. John Gillam, of Runnels County, prepared for their coming. When they first leftshe got on an old family horse and started to town for help, but the horse
scented the Indians and refused to go farther, and she returned to the house, and there gathered up all the axes, hatchets and pitchforks about the place to arm the household. Mr. Bonner stood in front of the house with his gun and frightened the Indians away by shouting to imaginary supporters, " Come on boys, we can kill them all." The Shannons, a family living out on the prairie, heard the Indians coming, and started for Mr. Bonner's house. They were overtaken by the Indians and Mr. Shannon and a little nephew were shot four times each with arrows, but all managed to make their way in and the wounded afterwards recovered. Some men who were hunting saw the savages com- ing and rushed to town to notify the people that the whole country was alive with Indians, and at about the time that Mr. Bonner took his stand in the yard, twenty-eight men from town came up. The Indians had crossed the creek and formed in line opposite. The twenty-eight men thought the Indians too many for them, did not charge them, and in retreating had one of their number killed. He was carried to Mr. Bonner's house and taken to town the following day. Mrs. Milliken was ready to fight and wanted all others to do so. After kill- ing the man referred to, the Indians left and Mr. Bonner's daughters were safely conveyed to town that night. He, with the remainder of his family, followed the next day. They did not move back to their country place for several years thereafter. They returned to their home eventually, however, and were there at the time of the formidable Indian raid of 1868. Mr. Bonner died in April, 1864, following the last mentioned raid, and is buried in Gainesville. This pioneer family encountered its full share of the dangers and hardships incident to the settlement of the country, and its members have always been among the most useful and highly respected citizens of the communities in which they bave made their homes.
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INDLIN WARS AND PIONEERS OF TEXAS.
DAVID HIRSCH,
CORPUS CHRISTI,
Was born April 24, 1831. His parents were Judah and Henrietta Hirsehi, of Darmstadt, Ger- many, both of whom died before he came to America. He was educated at Darmstadt and left home in 1852, and went to Havre, France, where he secured a position as clerk in an emigrant furnishing store, where he remained until 1853, and then took pas- sage to New Orleans, from which city he, with three hundred other passengers, started to St. Louis, Mo., aboard the Mississippi steamer Uncle Sam. Cholera broke out on the boat and fifty-three pas- sengers died before reaching Memphis, where Mr. Hirsch left the vessel and took another for St. Louis. There he secured a place with Greeley & Gail, grocers. The house still exists under another name. He remained with this house until Octo- ber, 1854, when he moved to Texas. Landing at Indianola, he proceeded from that port to Gonzales where he began peddling afoot. In a short time he was able to get a horse, with which he continued the business until the fall of 1858, and then moved to Belton, in Bell County and opened a general store, which he continued to conduct untillate in 1863, when lie moved to Matamoros, Mexico, where he remained until the elose of the war and made money. In 1865 be moved to New Orleans and en-
gaged in business there. In 1899 he returned to Texas, making his home at Corpus Christi, where he built up one of the largest mercantile establish- ments in the State.
He was united in marriage to Miss Jeannette Weil, of Lockhart, Texas, May 14, 1860, who died at Corpus Christi, May 11th, 1873, leaving two children, Hattie, now the wife of Silus Gunot, of San Francisco, and Joseph, also living in San Fran- cisco, where he is manager for M. A. Gunot & Co.
July 9, 1878, Mr. Hirsch married Miss Olivia Benediet, of New Orleans. Two sons have been born to him by this, his second marriage, Alcan, born in 1885, and Mark, bornin 1887. Mr. Hirsch retired from the dry goods business in 1878 and bought wool and loaned money until 1890, when he organized the Corpus Christi National Bank, of which he has since served as president and owns a majority of the capital stock. When he landed at Indianola in 1854 he borrowed six dollars to pay his way from that place to Gonzales.
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