USA > Texas > Dallas County > Memorial and biographical history of Dallas County, Texas > Part 12
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lovely bowers clustering on the banks of some silvery stream. Whether this theory be true or not, it has been found that the Indian is by nature more kind and sympathetic than has ever been attributed to him.
The writer has ever had a feeling of sym- pathy for the red man, and in many respects the characteristics of this people are to be admired. In delineating the character of the Indian in a general inanner, and as if he now populated this country, the eminent and most eloquent writer, Washington Irving, wrote the following, which we give that the reader may better appreciate the red man as he was originally,-yes, as he was by nature and before he was driven hither and thither and forced to fight for his life and possession:
" There is a peenliarity in the character and habits of the Indian, taken in connection with the scenery over which he is accustomed to range, -- its vast lakes, boundless forests, majestic rivers and trackless plains,-that is to my mind wonderfully striking and sublime. He is formed for the wilderness as the Arab is for the desert. His nature is stern, simple and endearing; fitted to grapple with difli- eulties and to support privations. There seems but little soil in his heart for the growth of the kindly virtues; and yet if we would but take trouble to penetrate through that proud stoicism and habitual taciturnity that look upon his character from casual observation, we should find him linked to his fellow man of civilized life by more of those sympathies and affections than are usul- ally ascribed to him."
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" In discussing the character of the In- dian, writers have been too prone to in- indulge in vulgar prejudice and passionate exaggeration, instead of the candid temper of trne philosophy. They have not sufficiently considered the peculiar circumstances in which the Indians have been placed, and the peculiar principles under which they have been educated.
" In general, no being acts more rigidly from rule than the Indian. His whole con- duct is regulated according to some general maxims early implanted in his mind. The moral laws that govern him are, to be sure, but few; but then he conforms to them all. The white man abounds in laws of religion, morals and manners, but how many does he violate."
" It is claimed by many that the Indian had no civil rights here in this country; that he must be treated as a brute; that such is his nature that he could not be treated otherwise; that with all the kind treatment given him the more traitorous and ungrateful he would become. Just such ideas were also enter- tained by some historiaus concerning the Mexicans; but the writer is glad to state, at a time when but little was known of the bet- ter class of the population of our noble sister country, that a kinder and a more affectionate heart could not be found than that possessed by some of the crude, rough Indians,-yes, such as were found in this section, now Dal- las county. When he would find you his friend his devotion was remarkable. The following touching words, once spoken by an Indian chief, strikingly exhibit this remark-
able trait of character, found in the heart of almost all these Indians.
" I appeal to any white man if ever he en - tered Logan's cabin hungry and he gave him not to eat; if ever he came cold and naked and he clothed him not." Of course the wild, savage Indians were exceptions. Still the Indian race is like the colored race: the characteristics possessed by one tribe or class is possessed by all. Education ameliorates and civilizes to a certain extent, but does not change the characteristics peculiarly im- planted in them by Divinity.
TREATMENT OF THE INDIAN.
The rights of the Indian have been very little regarded and properly esteemed or ap- preciated by the white man in any section or country. He has been taken advantage of in peace, and by stratagem has been the " dupe of artful traffic," and his life or death has been regarded as that of a brute, of minor importance. The prejudice which existed in the primeval days among the pioneers exist to a certain extent at the present time; but, much to the credit of certain philanthrophic societies throughout the country at present, they have endeavored to ascertain the true characteristics and inward life of the differ- ent Indian tribes. Well has it been said and much to the honor not only of our county and State governments, but also of our na- tional government, that the American govern- ment has been indefatigable in its exertions to meliorate the situation of the Indians, and to introduce among them the art of civiliza- tion and civic and religious knowledge.
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HISTORY OF DALLAS COUNTY.
Even among the savages there are some who are approachable, and can be influenced to humble subjection if properly managed. When disputed lords of the land, to go where they pleased, and do and act as they desire, unmolested, it was perfectly natural for them to fight against any intrusions; but on mak- ing known to them by kind and hnmane treatment, that the whites mainly did not desire to rob them, they have been known to exhibit a reasonable degree of reconciliation, and after they have become somewhat civil- ized have forcibly shown a spirit of kind- liness and affection.
But it is alleged that they are treacherous and unreliable as to any agreements they as a nation or a class of people might make. Concerning these characteristics, the mnch admired historian above quoted, says further:
affections, his superstitions are all directed toward fewer objeets; but the wounds inflicted on them are proportionably severe, and furnish motives of hostility which we cannot sufficiently appreciate. Where a community is also limited in number, and forms one great patriarchal family, as in an Indian tribe, the injury of an individnal is the injury of the whole; and the sentiment of vengeance is almost instantaneously diffused. One council-fire is sufficient for the discussion and arrangement of a plan of hostilities. Here all the fighting men and sages assemble. Elo- quence and superstition combine to inflame the minds of the warriors. The orator awakens their martial ardor, and they are wronght up to a kind of religions despera- tion by the visions of the prophet and the dreamer. The story where some planters had plundered the grave of the sachem's mother of some skins, with which it had been decorated, is an instance of one of those sudden exasperations, arising from a motive peculiar to the Indian character, as exhibited in the primeval days.
" A frequent ground of accusation against the Indians is their disregard to treaties, and the treachery and wantonness with which, in times of apparent peace, they will suddenly fly to hostilities. The interconrse of the white men with the Indians, however, is too apt to be cold, distrustful, oppressive and "The Indians were remarkable for the rev- erence which they entertained for the sepul- chres of their kind. * Influenced by this sublime and holy fecling, the sachem whose mother's tomb had been violated gathered his men together and addressed them in the following beautifully simple and pa- thetic harangue, a curious specimen of Indian eloquence and an affecting instance of filial piety in the savage: insulting; they seldom treat them with that confidence and frankness which is indispens- able to real friendship; nor is a sufficient cantion observed not to offend against those feelings of pride or anperstition, which often prompt the Indian's hostility quicker than mere consideration of interest. The solitary savage feels silently, but aentely. His sensi- bilities are not diffused over so wide a surface as those of the white man; but they run in "When last the glorious light of all the stendier and deeper channels. His pride, his | sky was underneath this globe, the birds grew 11
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silent and I began to settle down, as my cus- tom is, to take repose. Before mine eyes were fast closed methought I saw a vision at which my spirit was much troubled, and trembling at the sight a spirit cried aloud: 'Behold, my son, whom I have cherished. See the breast that gave thee suck, the hands that lapped thee warm and fed thee oft. Canst thon forget to take revenge upon those wild people who have defaced my monument in a despiteful manner, disdaining our an- tiquities and honorable customs? See, now, the sachem's grave lies like the common peo- ple, defaced by an ignoble race. Thy mother doth complain and implores thy aid against this thievish people who have newly intruded on our land: If this be suffered I shall not rest quiet in my everlasting habitation.'
" This said, the spirit vanished, and I, all in a sweat, not able scarce to speak. began to get some strength, and recollected my spirits that were fled, and determined to demand your counsel and assistance.'
"This anecdote represents how acts of hos- tility suddenly kindled in the breasts of these people, which have been attributed to caprice or perfidy, did often arise from deep and gen- erous motives, which inattention to Indian character and customs prevent our properly appreciating."
COWARDICE AND TREACHERY.
There is another condemnable character- istic in the nature of the Indian, in the eyes of a great many, and that is a cowardliness, such as lead him to slip around and stab in the back. Of this element in his nature the
beautiful writer from whom we quoted above says:
"We have stigmatized the Indians also as cowardly and treacherous because they use stratagem in warfare in preference to open force; but in this they are fully justified by their rude code of honor. They were early taught that stratagem is praiseworthy; the bravest warrior thinks it was no disgrace to lurk in silence and take every advantage of his foe; he triumphed in the superior craft and sagacity by which he had been enabled to surprise and destroy an enemy. Indecd, inan is naturally more prone to subtlety than open valor, owing to his physical weakness in comparison with other animals, which are endowed with natural weapons of defense,- with horns, with tusks, with hoofs and talons; but man has to depend on his superior sagacity. In all his encounters with these, his proper enemies, he resorts to stratagem; and when he perversely turns his hostility against his fellow-man he at first continues the same subtle mode of warfare.
"The natural principle of war is to do the most harm to our enemy with the least harm to ourselves, and this of course is to be effected by stratagein. The chivalrons cour- age which induces ns to despise the sugges- tions of prudence, and to rush in the face of certain danger, is the offspring of society and produced by education. It is honorable be- canse it is in fact the trinmph of lofty senti- ment over an instinctive repugnance to pain, and over those yearnings after personal ease and security which society has condemned as ignoble. It is kept alive by pride and the
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fear of shame; and thus the dread of real evil is overcome by the superior dread of an evil which exists but in the imagination. It has been cherished and stimulated also by various means. It has been the theme of spirit-stirring song and chivalrous story. The poet and minstrel have delighted to shed round it the splendors of fiction; and even the historian has forgotten the sober gravity of narration, and broken forth into enthusi- asm and rhapsody in its praise. Triumph and gorgeous pageants have been its reward; monuments, on which art has exhausted its skill, opulence and treasures, have been erected to perpetnate a nation's gratitude and admiration. Thus artificially exeited, courage has risen to an extraordinary aud factitions degree of heroism, and arrayed in all the glorious 'pomp and circminstance of war.' This turbulent quality has even been able to eclipse many of those quiet but in- valuable virtues which silently ennoble the human and swell the tide of human happi- ness.
"But if courage intrinsically consisted in defiance of danger and pain, the life of the Indian is a continual exhibition of it, He lives in a state of perpetual hostility and risk. Peril and adventure are congenial to his nature, or rather seem necessary to arouse his faculties and to give an interest to his ex- istence. Surrounded by hostile tribes, whose mode of warfare is by ambush and surprisal, he was always prepared for fight and lived with his weapons in his hands. As the ship careens in fearful singleness through the sol- itudes of ocean, as the bird mingles among
clouds and storms, and wings its way a mere speck across the pathless fields of air, so the Indian hell his course, silent, solitary, but undaunted through the boundless bosom of the wilderness. His expeditions might have vied in distance and danger with the pilgrim- age of the devotee, or the crusade of the knight errant. He traversed vast forests and plains, exposed to hazards of lonely sickness, of lurking enemies, and pining famine. * His very subsistence is snatched from the midst of toil and peril. He gained his fool by the hardships and dangers of the chase; he wrap- ped himself in the spoils of the bear, the panther and the buffalo, and sleeps among the thunders of the cataract.
"No hero of ancient or modern days could surpass the Indian in his lofty contempt of death, and the fortitude with which he sus- tained its crnelest affliction. Indeed, we here behold him rising superior to the white man in consequence of his peculiar education. The latter rushes to glorious death at the cannon's mouth, the former calmly contem- płating its approach and triumphantly en- dures it, amidst the varied torments of sur- rounding foes and the protracted agonies of firc. He even takes a pride in taunting his persecutors, and provoking their ingenuity of torture; and as thic devouring flames prey on his very vitals, and the flesh shrinks from the sinews, he raises his last song of triumph, breathing the defiance of an unconquered heart, and invoking the spirits of his fathers to witness that he dies without a groan.
"Notwithstanding the obloquy with which
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the early historians have overshadowed the charters of the unfortunate Indians, some bright gleams occasionally break through which throw a degree of melancholy on their memories."
THE INDIANS OF NORTHERN TEXAS.
It is said that two classes of Indians prin- cipally occupied, roamed and hunted through this seetion of country now known as Dallas connty,-the Tonkawas and the nomadic tribes. The Tonkawa is said to have been much more mild-mannered and civilized than the nomadic. So considerate was Placidio, chief of the Tonkawas, that it is said he re- fuse to join the side of the Union army dur- ing the civil war of the United States, as he said he "could not fight against Texas, where he and his tribe had always lived." The nomadic tribes were inclined to be more treacherous and warlike. Any one who seemed to intrude upon their hunting ground for buffalo, which was their game here when the white settlers first entered this section, now Dallas county, was always most ferocious- ly attacked. As stated, the general character of all tribes of Indians is the same. Some are more civilized than others, and of course there is a difference in their mode and manner of living. In regard to their personal appearance, habits, employments, dress, food, manners, customs and so forth, we give the following compilation made by one of our historians. Their persons were generally tall, straight and well proportioned, their skins of the well known and peculiar tint. In constitution they were firin and vigorous,
and capable of sustaining great fatigue and hardship.
As to their general character they were quick of apprehension and not wanting in genius, at times being friendly and even courteons. In council they were distin- guished for gravity and a certain eloquence; in war for bravery and stratagem. When provoked to anger they were sullen and re- tired, and when determined upon revenge no danger would deter them; neither absence nor time could cool them. If captured by an enemy they would never ask quarter, nor would they betray emotions of fear even in view of the tomahawk or of the kindling fag- got.
Education amongst these rnde savages of course had no place, and their only evidence of a knowledge of letters was in a few hieroglyphics. The arts they taught their young were war, hunting, fishing and the making of a few articles, most of which, how- ever, being made by the females.
Their language was rude but sonorous, metaphorical and energetic, being well suited to public speaking, and when accompanied by the impassioned gestures and attended with the deep guttural tones of the savage, it is said to have had a singularly wild and impres- sive effect. They had some few war songs, which were little more than unmeaning choruses, but it is believed they never had any other compositions which could be called sueh or were worthy of preservation.
Their manufactures were confined to the construction of wigwams, bows, arrows, wam- pum, ornaments, stone hatchets, mortars for
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pounding corn. the dressing of skins, weav- ing of coarse mats from bark of trees or a wild hemp, and of making ornamental toys with beads.
The articles they cultivated were few in number, -- coru, beans, peas, potatoes, melons, and a few other products.
Their skill in medicine was confined to a few simple preparations and operations. Cold and warm baths are said to have been em- ployed, and a considerable number of plants were used. For diseases they knew but little remedy, having recourse to their medicine men, who treated their patients by means of sorcery. They had few diseases, however, in comparison with those prevailing among civilized peoples.
The women prepared the food, took charge of the domestic concerns, tilled the scanty fields, and performed all the drudgery con- nected with the camp.
Amusements prevailed to some extent, and consisted principally of leaping, running, shooting at targets, dancing and gaming. Their dances were usually performed around a large fire, and in those in honor of war they sang or recited the feats which they or their ancestors had achieved, represented the manner in which they were performed, and wrought themselves up to a wild degree of enthusiasm. The females occasionally joined in some of the sports, but had none peculiar to themselves.
Their dress was various. In summer they wore little besides a covering about the waist, but in winter they clothed themselves in the skins of wild beasts. Being exceedingly fond
of ornaments, on days of festivities, the sachems wore mantles of deer skins, em- broidered with shells or the claws of birds, and were painted with various devices. Hid- eous was the object aimed at in painting themselves, which was intended to strike terror into the hearts of their enemies.
In the construction of their habitations the Indians exercised but little judgment, their huts or wigwams consisting of a strong pole erected in the center, around which other poles were driven obliquely in the ground and fas- tened against the center pole at the top. These were covered with bark of trees, and were but poor shelters when considering the amount of material to be obtained in primi- tive forests.
The domestic utensils did not extend beyond a hatchet of stone, a few shells and sharp stones which they used as knives; stone mortars for preparing their corn, and mats and skins to sleep on. They sat, ate and lodged upon the ground, and their food was of the simplest and coarsest kind, con- sisting of the flesli and even the entrails of birds and beasts, in addition to the few garden products they raised.
Their money, called wampum, consisted of small particles of shells, strung on belle and in chains. They rated the value of wam- pum by its color: black, blue, white, purple.
Except when roused by some strong ex- citement, the men were indolent, taciturn and unsocial; the women too degraded to think of little else than toil. Their language, though energetic, was barren of words, and
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in order to be understood and felt it required the aid of strong and animated gestures.
GOVERNMENT.
The savage Indians have no definite form of government. What government is esta- blished by those less savage is an absolute monarchy: the will and command of the sachem is their law. While his decisions are absolute and final he sometimes honors the older numbers of his tribe by calling upon them for advice and counsel. This is said to be very seldom, however. One praiseworthy characteristic of the more eivilized and some- times of the savage, is that, when one of their number undertakes to address an assem- blage among themselves, the utmost defer- ence is paid to the speaker and profound silence reigns supreme. This characteristic was so striking to one of the early writers that he says of them :
" When propositions for war or peace were made or treaties proposed to them by the colonial governors, they met the embassadors in council, and at the end of each paragraph or proposition the principal sachem delivered a short stick to one of his council, intimating that it was his peculiar duty to remember the paragraph. After their deliberations were ended, the sachem or some counselors to whom he had delegated the office, replied to every paragraph in its turn, with an exactness scarcely exceeded in written correspondence of civilized power, each man remembering exactly what was committed to him, and he imparting it to the one entrusted in reply to the propositions or other matters of debate."
RELIGION.
The ideas of religion entertained by the tribes of Indians that circulated through Dallas county were evidently similar to those entertained by all the other Indian tribes. They were said to believe in two Great Spirits,-a Good Spirit and an Evil Spirit. They paid homage to both, and like all others of their kind constructed images after their conception of their deities. They also were found to possess a remarkable reverence for all the great elements of nature, and imagined, as in the days of mythology, that these forces possessed intelligence and some great power; as to the sun, lightning, thunder,-whatever was mysterious to them,-they with awe bowed their knee in reverence.
These Indians, the Tonkawas and nomadie tribes, were very harassing to the earlier settlers of Dallas county. After they had been driven from the county they would often slip in among the settlers and steal their horses and pilfer and destroy their property, and when an opportunity presented itself would murder the citizens.
An instance of their murderous deeds is recorded as late as 1841. During the fall of 1841, these early settlers had sent a man with a wagon to a place on Red river, then the most accessible point to secure what pro- vision was wanted.
This party was delayed longer than was expected, and three of the citizens, namely, Solomon Silkwood, Hamp Rattan and Alex- ander W. Webb (now living at Mesquite, in Dallas county), leaving their crude homes,
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HISTORY OF DALLAS COUNTY.
went out to hunt for the wagon. They had gone only a short distance, only to the east side of Elm Fork,-near which point the little town of Carrollton in Dallas county is now situated,-when they undertook to fell a tree which was believed to contain honey, and while engaged in doing so Rattan was killed by a squadron of Indians concealed in the brush. One or two of the Indians were killed by Webb and Silkwood, then they escaped to reach their homes in safety and convey the sad news of the murder of their companion. From the exposure endured on this trip, as it was exceedingly cold, the snow being at least six or eight inches deep, Silk- wood was stricken down with sickness and died after lingering only a short time. After this one of these brave pioneers entered the hunt alone for this relief wagon, and on pass- ing by this place, made sad by the killing of their esteemed citizen, Rattan's faithful dog was found guarding the dead body of his kind master !
THE EARLIER SETTLERS.
INDUCEMENTS OFFERED BY ACT OF LEGISLA- TURE-CONTRACTS FOR PETERS' COLONY.
On the 4th day of February, 1841, the Texan Congress passed an act to attract at- tention, and be an inducement to emigrants to come and populate this then uncivilized country.
We give the act in full to show the eager- ness and liberality shown to get the interest of emigrants:
AN ACT GRANTING LAND TO IMMIGRANTS, PASSED 1841.
" Be it enacted, etc., That every head of a family who has emigrated to this republic since the first of January, one thousand eight hundred and forty, or who may emigrate be- fore the first of January, one thousand eight hundred and forty-two, with his family, and who is a free white person, shall be entitled to six hundred and forty acres of land; pro- vided, he settle and actually reside on the same for the terin of three years, and culti- vate an amount of the same not less than ten acres; and further, provided, he shall have his land surveyed and plainly marked, so as to include his improvements.
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