Indian wars and pioneers of Texas, Vol. I, Part 11

Author: Brown, John Henry, 1820-1895
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Austin : L.E. Daniel]
Number of Pages: 922

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On the 13th a spy company was organized, under Capt. James E. . Box, and on the 14th Mabbitt re- newed his march for a junction with Rusk. On the afternoon of the 15th a few Indians were seen pass- ing the abandoned Kickapoo village, evidently carrying meat to Cordova. Gen. Rusk soon arrived, his united force being about seven hundred men. It was nearly night, and he pitched eamp on a spot chosen as well to prevent surprise as for de- fense.

At dawn on the 16th, Rusk was furiously assailed by about nine hundred Kickapoos, Delawares, lonies, Caddos, Cooshattas, a few Cherokees, and Cordova with his Mexicans. Indians fell within forty or fifty feet of the lines. Many were killed, and after an engagement of not exceeding an hour, the enemy fled in every direction, seeking safety in the dense forest. The assaults were most severe on the companies of Box, Snively, Bradshaw, Saddler and Mabbitt's command ; but owing to the sagacity of Rusk in the selection of a defensive position, his loss was only one man, James Hall, mortally wound- ed, and twenty-five wounded more or less severely, among whom were Dr. E. J. DeBard, afterwards of Palestine, John Murchison, J. J. Ware, Triplett Gates, and twenty-one others. It was a signal defeat of Cordova and his evil-inspired desire for vengeance upon a people who bad committed no act to justify such a savage resolve. He retired to Mexico, and thenee essayed to gratify his malignant hatred by a raid, under Flores, in the following year, which was badly whipped by Burleson, six or eight miles from where Seguin stands, and virtually destroyed by the gallant Capt. James O. Rice, in the vicinity of the present town of Round Reek, on the Brushy, in Williamson County. His last attempt to satisfy his thirst for revenge was in the Mexican invasion of September, 1812, in command of a band of Mexican desperadoes and Carrizo Indians. In the battle of Salado, on the 18th of that month, a yager ball, sent by John Lowe, standing within three feet of where I stood, after a flight of about ninety yards, crushed his arm from wrist to elbow and

INDLIN WARS AND PIONEERS OF TEXAS.

passed through his heart. This, however, is

digression.

The wounded of Gen. Rusk were borne on litters back to Fort Houston. Hall survived about twenty days - the other twenty-five recovered.

THE TERRIBLE TRAGEDY AT JOHN EDENS' HOUSE.

When the citizens of that loeality volunteered under Capt. W. T. Sadeller, a soldier of San Jacinto, to accompany Maj. Mabbitt in the Cordova-Kicka- poo expedition, the families of several of the party were removed for safety to the house of Mr. John Edens, an old man, and there left under the protec- tion of that gentleman and three other old men, viz .: James Madden, Martin Murchison (father of John, wounded at Kickapoo), and Elisha Moore, then a prospector from Alabama. The other per- sons in the house were Mrs. John Edens and daughter Emily, Mrs. John Murchison, Mrs. W. T. Saddler, her daughter, Mrs. James Madden, and two little sons, aged seven and nine years, Mrs. Robert Madden, and daughter Mary, and a negro woman of sixty years, named Betsey or Patsey. This is the same place on which Judge D. H. Edens afterwards lived, in Houston County, and on which he died. The ladies occupied one of the two rooms and the men the other, a covered passageway separating them. On the fatal night, about the 19th of October, after all the inmates had retired, the house was attacked by Indians. The assault was made on the room occupied by the ladies and children. The savages broke down the door and rushed in, using knives and tomahawks. Mrs. Murehison and her daughter, Mrs. Saddler, were instantly killed. Mrs. John Edens, mortally wounded, escaped from the room and crossed two fences to die in the adjoining field. Of Mary, daughter of Robert Madden ; Emily, daughter of John Edens, each three years old, and the two little sons of James Madden, no tidings were ever heard. Whether carried into captivity or burned to ashes, was never known, but every presumption is in favor of the latter. The room was speedily set on fire. The men durst not open the door into the passage. Mrs. Robert Madden, dangerously wounded, rushed into the room of the men, falling on a bed. One by one, or, rather, two by two, the four men ran the gauntlet and escaped, supposing all the others were dead. Early in the assault l'atsey (or Betsey), seized a little girl of John Edens', yet living, the beloved wife of James Duke, swiftly bore her to the house of Mr. Davis, a mile and a half distant, and then, moved by an inspiration that should embalm her memory in every

generous heart, as swiftly returned as an angel of mercy to any who might survive. She arrived in time to enter the rapidly consuming house and rescue the unconscious Mrs. Robert Madden, but an instant before the roof fell in. Placing her on her own bed, in her unmolested cabin in the yard, slie sought elsewhere for deeds of merey, and found Mrs. James Madden, utterly helpless, under the eaves of the crumbling walls, and doomed to speedy cremation. She gently bore her to the same refuge, and by them watched, bathed, poul- tieed and nursed - aye, prayed ! - till the morrow brought succor. However lowly and humble the gifts of the daughters of Ham, every Southron, born and reared among them, will recognize in this touching manifestation of humanity and affection elements with which he has been more or less familiar since his childhood. Honored be the memory and cherished be the saintly fidelity of this humble servant woman.

Mrs. James Madden, thus rescued from the flames, bore upon her person three ghastly wounds from a tomahawk, one severing her collar bone, two ribs cut asunder near the spine, and a horrible gosh in the back. But it is gratifying to record that both of these wounded ladies recovered, and in 1883, were yet living near Augusta, Houston County, objects of affectionate esteem by their neighbors.

On the day following this horrid slaughter, the volunteers - the husbands and neighbors of the victims -returned from the battle of Kickapoo, in time to perform the last rites to the fallen and to nurse the wounded. The late venerable Capt. William Y. Lacey, of Palestine, Robert Madden, Elder Daniel Parker, and others of the Edens and other old families of that vicinity were among them.

ANOTHER BLOODY TRAGEDY - MURDER OF MRS. CAMP- BELL, HER SON AND DAUGHTER.

In the year 1837, Charles C. Campbell arrived in the vicinity of Fort Houston, and settled on what is now called Town creek, three miles west of Pal- estine. His family consisted of himself, wife and five children - Malathiel, a youth of twenty ; Pa- melia, aged seventeen ; Hulda, fourteen ; Fountain, eleven ; George, four, and two negro men. They labored faithfully, built cabins, opened a field, and in 1838, made a bountiful crop.

In February, 1839, Mr. Campbell siekened and died. During a bright moon, about a week later, in the same month, soon after the family had re- tired, the house was suddenly attacked by a party

INDLIN WARS AND PIONEERS OF TEXAS.

of Indians. The only weapon in the house was an old rifle with a defective flint lock. With this Mala- thiel heroically endeavored to defend his mother and her children. The negro men, having no means of defense, managed to escape. Mrs. Campbell caused Pamelia. the elder daughter, to take refuge under the puncheon floor, with her little brother George, enjoining upon her silenee as the only means of saving herself and the child. The son soon found that the gun lock refused to work, and the mother sought to ignite the powder with a brand of fire, but in doing so stood so near the door that an Indian, foreing it slightly ajar and thrusting in his arm, nearly severed her arm from her body. door was then forced open, the Indians rushed in, and in a moment tomahawked unto death Mrs. Campbell, Huldah and Fountain. Malathiel, knife in hand, sprang from the room into the yard, but was speedily slain by those outside. While these things were being enacted in the house Pamelia, with little George, stealthily emerged from her hid- ing place and nearly escaped unobserved ; but just as she was entering a thicket near by, an arrow struck the back of her head, but fortunately it glanced around without entering the skull, and she soon reached Fort Houston to report her desola- tion.

The Indians robbed the house of its contents, including six feather-beds (leaving the feathers. however), a keg of powder, four hundred silver dollars, and a considerable amount of paper money, which, like the feathers, was east to the winds. At daylight the bloody demons crossed the Trinity eight miles away, and were thus beyoud pursuit by the small available foree at hand; for the west side of the river at that time teemed with hostile savages.

Pamelia Campbell, thus spared and since de-

prived by death of the little brother she saved, yet lives, the last of her family, respected and beloved, the wife or widow of Mr. Moore, living on Cedar creek, Anderson County.

THE LAST RAID.

The last raid in that vicinity was by one account in 1841, by another in 1843, but both agree as to the faets. A small party of Indians stole some horses. They were pursued by Wm. Frost, who escaped from the Parker's Fort disaster in 1836, and three others. They came upon the Indians while they were swimming the Trinity at West Point. Frost fired, killing an Indian, on reaching the bank a little in advance of the others, but was instantly shot dead by a warrior already on the opposite bank. The other three men poured a volley into the enemy yet under the bank and in the river. Four were killed, when the remainder fled, leaving the horses in the hands of the pursuers.

In 1837 there was a severe encounter in Maine's prairie, Auderson County, but the particulars are not before me, nor are those attending the butehery of the Killough family, which led to the battle of Kickapoo, and was one of the impelling causes of the expulsion of the Cherokees and associate bands from the country.

Iu the accounts here given some conflicting state- ments are sought to be reconciled. The unrecorded memory of most old men, untrained in the habits of preserving historieal events, is often at fault. Unfamiliar with the localities, it is believed that substantial aceuraey is attained in this con- densed account of these sueeessive and sanguinary events, illuminating the path of blood through which that interesting portion of our beloved State was transferred from barbarism to civilization.

Some Reminiscences - First Anniversary Ball in the Republic of Texas, and other Items of Interest.

The following relating to the first anniversary celebration of Texian Independence and the battle of San Jacinto, respectively given at Washington, Mareb 2d, 1837, and at the newly laid out town of Houston, April 21, 1837, will doubtless interest the reader.

The invitation to the first or Independence ball ran thus : -

WASHINGTON, 28th February, 1837 .- The pleas- ure of your company is respectfully solicited at a party to be given in Washington on Thursday, 2d

INDIAN WARS AND PIONEERS OF TEXAS.

March, to celebrate the birthday of our national independence.

Devereau J. Woodlief, Thos. Gay, R. Stevenson, W. B. Scates, Asa Hoxey, James R. Cook, W. W. Hill, J. C. Hunt, Thos. P. Shapard, managers.

All these nine now sleep with their fathers. Mr. Seates, the last to die a few years sinee, was a signer of the Deelaration of Independence ; Wood- lief was terribly wounded at San Jacinto; the gal- lant James R. Cook, a lieutenant at San Jacinto and a colonel under Somervell in 1842-43, was killed in a momentary difficulty about the first of April, 1843, a deeply lamented occurrence.

For a description of the ball in Houston eredit is due the gifted pen of a lady survivor of the scene, then little more than a child :

" Following the impulses common to humanity, as the 21st of April, 1837, drew near, the patriotic citizens of Texas, with the memory of San Jacinto still fresh in their minds and appreciating the ad- vantages resulting from it, resolved that the event should be celebrated at the capital of the Republie, which this victory had made possible, and which had been most appropriately named for him who wore the laurel. The city of Houston was at that time a mere name, or at best a camp in the woods. White tents and temporary structures of clapboards and pine poles were seattcred here and there near the banks of the bayou, the substantial log house of the pioneer was rare, or altogether wanting, it being the intention of the builders soon to replace what the needs of the hour demanded, with buildings fitted to adorn the capital of a great Republic.

"The site of the capitol had been selected where now stands the finc hotel bearing its name, but the materials for its construction had not yet arrived from Maine. There was, however, a large two- story building about half finished on the spot now occupied by T. W. House's bank. It was the property of the firm of Kelscy & Hubbard, and, having been tendered for the free use of the public on this occasion, men worked night and day that it might at least have floor, walls and roof, whiel were indeed the chief essentials of a dancing hall. As there was neither time nor material at hand for ceiling or laying the second floor, a canopy of green bouglis was spread over the beams to do away with the unpleasant effect of skeleton timbers and great space between floor and pointed roof.

" Chandeliers were suspended from the beams overhead, but they resembled the glittering orna- ment of to-day in naught save use for which they were intended. Made of wood, with sockets to holl the sperm candles, and distributed at regular distances, cach pendant comprised of five or six

lights, which shed a dim radiance, but alas, a liberal spattering of sperm upon the daneers beneath. The floor being twenty-five feet wide, by fifty feet in length, could easily accommodate several cotil- lions, and, although the eitizens of Houston were very few, all the space was required for the large number who came from Brazoria, Columbia, San Felipe, Harrisburg and all the adjacent country. Ladies and gentlemen eame in parties on horseback, distanees of fifty and sixty miles, accompanied by men servants and ladies' maids, who had in charge the elegant ball costumes for the important occa- sion. From Harrisburg they came in large row boats, that mode of eonveyanec being preferable to a horseback ride through the thiek under- growth, for at that time there was nothing more than a bridle path to guide the traveler between the two places.

" Capt. Mosley Baker, a captain at San Jacinto, and one of Houston's first citizens, was living with his wife and child (now Mrs. Fannie Darden), in a small house built of clapboards; the house com- prised one large room designed to serve as parlor, bed-room and dining room, and a small shed-room at the back .. The floor, or rather the lack of the floor, in the large apartment, was concealed by a carpet, which gave an air of comfort contrasting strongly with the surroundings.

" As- the time for going to the ball drew near, which was as soon as convenient after dark, several persons assembled at Capt. Baker's for the purpose of going together. These were Gen. Houston, Frank R. Lubbock, afterwards Governor, and his wife, John Birdsall (soon after Attorney-General), and Mary Jane Harris (the surviving widow of Andrew Briscoe. ) Gen. Houston was Mrs. Baker's escort, Capt. Baker having gone to see that some lady friends were provided for. When this party approached the ball room, where dancing had already begun, the music, which was rendered by a violin, bass viol and fife, immediately struck up ' Hail to the Chief,' the dancers withdrew to each side of the hall, and the whole party, Gen. Houston and Mrs. Baker leading, and maids bringing up the rear, marched to the upper end of the room. Hay- ing here laid aside wraps, and exchanged black slippers for white ones, for there was no dressing room, they were ready to join in the dance, which was soon resumed. A new cotillion was formed by the party who had just entered, with the addition of another couple, whose names are not preserved, and Mr. Jacob Cruger took the place of Mr. Bird- sall, who did not dance. Gen. Houston and Mrs. Baker were partners, Mrs. Lubbock and Mr. Cru- ger, and Mr. Lubbock and Miss llarris. Then

INDIAN WARS AND PIONEERS OF TEXAS.

were the solemn figures of the stately cotillion exe- cuted with care and precision, the grave balancing steps, the dos-a-dos, and others to test the nimble- ness and grace of dancers.

"Gen. Houston, the President, was of course the hero of the day, and his dress on this occasion was unique and somewhat striking. His rutlled shirt, scarlet cassimere waistcoat and suit of black silk velvet, corded with gold, was admirably adapted to set off his fine, tall figure ; his boots, with short, red tops, were laced and folded down in such a way as to reach but little above the ankles, and were finished at the heels with silver spurs. The spurs were, of course, quite a useless adornment, but they were in those days so commonly worn as to seem almost a part of the boots. The weakness of Gen. Houston's ankle, resulting from the wound, was his reason for substituting boots for the slip- pers, then universally worn by gentlemen for dan- cing.

" Mrs. Baker's dress of white satin, with black lace overdress, corresponded in elegance with that of her escort, and the dresses of most of the other ladies were likewise rich and tasteful. Some wore white mull, with satin trimmings; others were dressed in white and colored satins, but naturally in so large an assembly, gathered from many differ- ent places, there was great variety in the quality of costumes. All, however, wore their dresses short, cut low in the neck, sleeves generally short, and all wore ornaments or flowers or feathers in their hair, some flowers of Mexican manufacture being partic- ularly noticeable, on account of their beauty and rarety.

" But one event occurred to mar the happiness of the evening. Whilst all were dancing merrily, the sad news arrived that the brother of the Misses Cooper, who were at the time on the floor, had been killed by Indians at some point on the Colorado river. Although the young ladies were strangers to most of those present, earnest expressions of sym- pathy were heard ou all sides, and the pleasure of their immediate friends was of course destroyed.

" At about midnight the signal for supper was given, and the dancers marched over to the hotel of Capt. Ben Fort Smith, which stood near the middle of the block now occupied by the Hutchins House. This building consisted of two very large rooms,

built of pine poles, laid up like a log house, with a long shed extending the full length of the rooms. Under this shed, quite innocent of floor or carpet, the supper was spread ; the tempting turkeys, veni- son, cakes, ete., displayed in rich profusion ; the excellent coffee and sparkling wines invited all to partake freely, and soon the witty toast and hearty laugh went round.

* *

"Returning to the ball room, dancing was re- sumed with renewed zest, and continued until the energy of the musicians began to flag, and the prompter failed to call out the figures with his ac- customed gusto; then the cotillion gave place to the time-honored Virginia reel, and by the time each couple had enjoyed the privilege of " going down the middle," daylight began to dawn, parting salutations were exchanged, and the throng of dan- cers separated, many of them never to meet again.

" Ere long the memory of San Jacinto's first ball was laid away among the mementos of the dead, which, being withdrawn from their obscurity only on each recurring anniversary, continue to retain their freshness even after fifty years have flown.

" Of all the merry company who participated in that festival, only a few are known to be living at the present day. They are ex-Governor Lubbock, Mrs. Wynns, Mrs. Mary J. Briscoe and Mrs. Fannie Darden."

ADDENDA. In January, 1886, the following an- cient item in a Nashville paper, announcing the death of Noah W. Ludlow, the old theatrical man- ager, appeared, viz. : -

" In July, 1818, in Nashville, an amateur per- formance of Home's tragedy of Douglas was given, in which Mr. Ludlow appeared as Old Norval. There were remarkable men in that performance. The manager of the amateur club was Gen. Jno. II. Eaton. afterward Secretary of War during Gen. Jackson's presidential term. Lieut. Sam. Houston, afterward Gen. Sam Houston, of San Jacinto fame, played Glenalvon ; Wm. S. Fulton, afterward Gov- ernor of Arkansas. . was the young Norval; E. II. Foster, later United States Senator from Tennessee. was a member of the club, and the part of Lord Randolph was taken by W. C. Dunlap, who, in 1832, was a member of Congress from Tennessee. Gen. Andrew Jackson was an honorary member of the same dramatie club."

INDIAN WARS AND PIONEERS OF TEXAS.

Death of Capt. Robert M. Coleman in 1837 - Murder of " Mrs. Coleman and her Heroic Boy" and the Battle of Brushy in 1839.

Robert M. Coleman, a native of Trigg County, , little Thomas, she halted to look for him. It was Kentucky, born in 1799, is elsewhere mentioned in connection with the expedition under himself first, and Col. John H. Moore, secondly, into the Tehuacano Ilill region, in 1835. He was a gallant man, courageous and impetuous, and settled on the Colorado, near Bastrop, in 1830. He was in the siege of Bexar, in the fall of 1835, signed the Declaration of Independence on the second of March, 1836, and commanded a company at San Jacinto, on the 21st of April, his wife and children being then among the refugees east of the Trinity. In the summer of 1837, while on a mission to Velasco, at the mouth of the Brazos, he was drowned while bathing in the river. This was justly deplored as a great loss to the frontier of the country. He left, besides his wife, three sons and two daughters.

Mrs. Coleman returned to their former home in what was called Wells' prairie, a prolongation of the lower end of Webber's prairie, perhaps twelve miles above Bastrop, her nearest neighbors being the late Geo. W. Davis and Dr. J. W. Robertson, of Austin, and one or two others. Her cabin and little field stood in the lower point of a small prairie, closely flanked on the east, west and south by dense bottom timber, the only approach being through the prairie on the north, and it was very narrow. She and her sons made a small crop there in 1838.

On the 18th of February, 1839, while Mrs. Coleman and four of her children were employed a short distance from the cabin, a large body of Indians, estimated at from two to three hundred, suddenly emerged from the timber, and with the wildest yells, rushed towards them. They fled to the cabin and all reached it except Thomas, a child of five years, who was captured, never more to return to his kindred though occasionally heard of many years later as a Comanche warrior. At the moment of the attack James Coleman and -- Rogers were farther away, separated from the others by the Indians, and being powerless, es- caped down the bottom to notify the people below.

As Mrs. Coleman reached the door of the cabin, Albert and the two little girls entered, when, missing

but for an instant, but long enough for an arrow to pierce her throat. In the throes of death she sprang inside. Albert closed and barred the door, and she sank to the floor, speedily to expire. Albert was a boy under fifteen years of age, but a worthy son of his brave sire. There being two or three guns in the cabin, he made a heroic fight, holding the enemy at bay for some time, certainly killing four of their number; in the meantime raising a puncheon, causing his two little sisters to get under the floor, replacing the puncheon, and enjoining upon them, whether he survived or perished, to make no noise until sure that white men called them. Soon after this he received a fatal wound. As life ebbed he sank down, re- peated his former injunction to his little sisters, then, pillowing his head on his mother's pulseless bosom, died. A year later, in the Congress of Texas, my youthful heart was electrified on hear- ing the old patriot, William Menefee, of Colorado, in a speechi on the "Cherokee Land Bill," utter an eloquent apostrophe to " Mrs. Coleman and her heroic boy."

For some reason, doubtless under the impression that there were other men in the house, the Indians withdrew. They next appeared at the house of Dr. Robertson, captured seven negroes and, the doctor being absent, robbed the house.

At twilight John D. Anderson, a youth who lived within a few miles (afterwards distinguished as a lawyer and an orator), rode to the cabin and called the children by name. They recognized his voice and answered. He then raised a puncheon and released them. Remounting, with one before and one behind him, he conveyed them to Geo. W. Davis' house, where the families of the vicinity had assembled for safety - possibly at a different house, but Mr. Davis remained in charge of the guard left to protect the women and children.

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Indian wars and pioneers of Texas, Vol. I, Part 11

Author: Brown, John Henry, 1820-1895 Publication date: 1890 Publisher: Austin : L.E. Daniel] Number of Pages: 922

Author: Brown, John Henry, 1820-1895
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Austin : L.E. Daniel]
Number of Pages: 922