Recollections of Early Texas (39 page)

3
This man's name was Robison. He arrived in General Burleson's camp on March 29, 1839, and on the same day Burleson attacked and defeated Cordova. In the battle a Negro named Raphael was captured who confirmed all the statements of Robison, but the turncoat was nevertheless closely guarded and watched during the rest of the campaign.
Telegraph and Texas Register
(Houston), April 17, 1839.

4
Andrew Sowell speaks of an Indian called Old Delaware Bob, who was an interpreter at times for the Texas Rangers. Sowell,
Early Settlers,
321, 372.

5
Harvey's fight took place in June of 1839. There were ten men in the party. They climbed up in trees when the Indians attacked and successfully defended themselves from there. Nothing is known about Burnet or Pipkin, but the Leffingwell was probably Ira Leffingwell, born in New York in 1818. He was wounded in John H. Moore's defeat on February 12, 1839, and was living in Williamson County in 1850.
U.S. Census,
1850, Bastrop County, 33; Wilbarger,
Indian Depredations in Texas,
263.

Chapter 6

1
On March 5, 1842.
Handbook of Texas,
II, 834.

2
Austin was practically deserted at this time. The government had been moved to Houston and most of the citizens had fled from the supposed invasion. A few of the older settlers who remained resolved to prevent President Houston's order for the removal of the archives from being carried out. Brown, “Annals of Travis County,” IX, 7; Hope Yager, “Archive War in Texas” (Master's Thesis, University of Texas, 1939).

3
The Battle of Salado took place on September 18, 1842.
Handbook of Texas,
II, 531–532.

4
Most accounts say Zadock Woods was around eighty years old, rather than sixty-two. After his escape, Henry Gonzalvo Woods met John C. Wilson, who washed the blood from Woods's head and poulticed the wounds with a prickly pear. They returned together to La Grange. Sowell,
Early Settlers,
25, 316, 817.

5
This was Samuel H. Luckie, one of Colonel Jack Hays's Rangers. He died in San Antonio in October, 1852. Brown,
History of Texas,
II, 229.

6
Michael Nash was killed on September 1, 1840, not in 1843. Nash had come to Texas in 1830 and settled at Bastrop as a carpenter. After his death his widow married James Putnam. Brown, “Annals of Travis County,” VII, 60; DeShields,
Border Wars,
329–330; W. H. Korges, “Bastrop County, Texas: Historical and Educational Development” (Master's Thesis, University of Texas, 1933), I, 74; Sowell,
Early Settlers,
342.

Chapter 7

1
Mark B. Lewis.
Handbook of Texas,
II, 52; for further details see Yager, “Archive War in Texas” (Master's Thesis, University of Texas, 1939).

2
The “Santa Fe men” were the members of the Texan Santa Fe Expedition, which is recounted in the next chapter, where Jenkins in telling of John Morgan's adventures flashes back to this expedition, which was one of the causes of the Mier Expedition.

3
This was General Antonio Canales, commandant of the town of Mier.
Handbook of Texas,
I, 288.

4
For details of the Mier Expedition see General Thomas J. Green,
Journal of the Texian Expedition Against Mier
(1845) (hereafter cited as Green,
Mier Expedition
);
Handbook of Texas,
II, 189; Houston Wade,
Notes and Fragments of the Mier Expedition
(1937) (hereafter cited as Wade,
Mier Expedition
).

5
Samuel W. Jordan and 180 Texans had fought beside the Mexican Federalists in 1839 in an attempt to set up the Republic of the Rio Grande. Jordan defeated the Mexican Centralists in the Battle of Alcantra on October 3, 1839, the battle of which Jenkins spoke.
Handbook of Texas,
I, 25, 929.

6
This escape took place on February 11, 1843.
Handbook of Texas,
I, 275.

7
The “Death Lottery,” or Black Bean Episode, took place on March 25, 1843. Green,
Mier Expedition,
169–173.

8
This was William Davis, a native of Maryland. He was a member of Company C and was released on September 16, 1844. Wade,
Mier Expedition,
I, 123.

9
The escape occurred on July 2, 1842 [1843]. Eight of the fourteen were recaptured. Green,
Mier Expedition,
447.

10
George W. Bonnell was editor of the first Austin newspaper, the
Texas Sentinel. Handbook of Texas,
I, 186–187.

11
For details see O. C. Fisher,
It Occurred in Kimble
(1937), 82–92.

Chapter 8

1
John Day Morgan was born in London, England, May 15, 1819, the son of Thomas F. and Sophia (Day) Morgan. See H. L. Morgan, “John Day Morgan,”
Frontier Times,
IV, 4–8.

2
The expedition actually started on June 19, 1841, from Kenney's Fort on Brushy Creek. Lamar's proclamation was dated April 14, 1840. There were 321 men in all.
Handbook of Texas,
II, 729.

3
This was Captain William P. Lewis, who later turned traitor. The piece of artillery was a brass six-pounder. H. Bailey Carroll,
The Texan Santa Fe Trail
(1951), 10; George Wilkins Kendall,
Narrative of the Texan Santa Fe Expedition
(1844), I, 71.

4
Colonel William G. Cook, Jose Antonio Navarro, and Dr. Richard Fox Brenham were civil commissioners for the expedition.

5
This village lay on the Pecos River east of Albuquerque, New Mexico.

6
William W. Alsbury was official interpreter for the expedition. He was released on June 14, 1842, along with Morgan and Payne. On September 11, 1842, he was made prisoner by General Adrian Woll when he captured San Antonio. After being released he served as a ranger and interpreter on various expeditions against Mexicans and Indians. Brown, “Annals of Travis County,” VIII, 13;
Northern Standard
(Clarksville, Texas), August 20, 1842, October 15, 1842, November 21, 1846.

7
Sam Alexander lived in Fayette County. He was a justice of the peace and a captain in the Confederate Army.

8
Jerome B. Alexander came to Texas with his father in 1832. He participated in the Siege of Bexar and the Battle of San Jacinto. He was killed with Dawson's men on September 18, 1842. Dixon and Kemp,
Heroes of San Jacinto,
181.

9
James Barber, a native of Massachusetts and resident of Bastrop, died on March 14, 1843. Green,
Mier Expedition,
437, 441; Wade,
Mier Expedition,
I, 120.

10
Apparently only two others, George C. Hatch and Neal, escaped with Morgan on April 10, 1843. Green,
Mier Expedition,
448; Wade,
Mier Expedition,
I, 130.

1
From Homer S. Thrall,
A Pictorial History of Texas,
1879

2
From Dudley G. Wooten (ed.),
A Comprehensive History of Texas, 1685–1897,
1898

1
From Homer S. Thrall,
A Pictorial History of Texas,
1879

2
From Dudley G. Wooten (ed.),
A Comprehensive History of Texas, 1685–1897,
1898

Chapter 9

1
One of the last Indian murders in the Travis-Bastrop County area, this event occurred on June 7, 1845, at Blue Bluff, eight miles down the Colorado from Austin. Brown, “Annals of Travis County,” V, 16; Wilbarger,
Indian Depredations in Texas,
260.

2
Wilbarger,
Indian Depredations in Texas,
72.

3
Peter Fohr, a Texas Ranger, was a resident of Bexar County.

4
Andrew Nelson Erskine was born in West Virginia in 1826. He moved to Seguin, Texas, in 1840 with his parents. See Blucher Erskine, “Andrew N. Erskine,”
Frontier Times,
IV, 40.

5
Samuel Highsmith was born in Boone County, Kentucky, in 1804. See
Handbook of Texas,
I, 809; Ray,
Austin Colony Pioneers,
307–308;
Telegraph and Texas Register
(Houston), April 17, 1839; Thrall,
A Pictorial History of Texas,
552; Maude Wallis Traylor, “Captain Samuel Highsmith, Ranger,”
Frontier Times,
XVII.

6
John Connor was also interpreter when a peace treaty was signed on October 9, 1844. He was a guide on the Chihuahua–El Paso Expedition under Jack Hays in 1848. On February 7, 1853, he was granted a league of land by a special act of the Texas Legislature and was required to pay no dues or office fees. H. P. N. Gammel,
The Laws of Texas, 1822–1897
(1898), III, 1402–1403; J. E. Haley,
Fort Concho and the Texas Frontier
(1952), 18; Harry M. Henderson,
Colonel Jack Hays, Texas Ranger
(1954), 93;
Texas National Register
(Washington-on-the-Brazos), 1845.

7
The fight mentioned by Jenkins took place in October of 1846. There were four men in the party: Sims, his nephew, Grant, and Clark. Sims was the only man to escape. Wilbarger,
Indian Depredations in Texas,
286.

8
This company of cavalry arrived at Goliad on March 16, 1836, but after a skirmish with the Mexicans on the next day it was sent to examine a route for retreat, thus missing the horrible Fannin Massacre. Horton was criticized for not trying to return to the main army, but this would probably have resulted in the loss of his entire company. See
Handbook of Texas,
I, 840.

9
George Neill participated in many of the early Indian fights of the Texans. He was in the Battle of Plum Creek and a Texas Ranger in Hays's company, in which he participated in the Battle of Bandera Pass. He lived in Travis County. Aloise Walker Hardy, “A History of Travis County, 1832–1865” (Master's Thesis, University of Texas, 1938), 26; Sowell,
Early Settlers,
23, 58, 313, 315, 317, 322, 809.

Chapter 10

1
The name Karankawa comes from the Coahuiltecanian word “comecrudo,” meaning “dog lover.” This could mean either liking for the dog as a pet or enjoyment of the dog as a food. They were known to be cannibals. Pioneers recount that their abominable body odor caused horses and cattle to run away from them. The tribe fled to Mexico prior to Texas statehood. Roy Bedichek,
Karankaway Country,
(1950), 8–11;
Handbook of Texas,
I, 938.

2
This fight with the Karankawas took place in 1823. Two of the men killed were Loy and Alley. Clark received seven wounds. See Brown,
History of Texas,
I, 114n.;
Handbook of Texas,
I, 355–356; Wilbarger,
Indian Depredations in Texas,
200.

3
This was the family of Charles Cavina, who was one of Austin's Old Three Hundred. The family lived near Live Oak Bayou on “Old Caney Creek,” but it is not known which of the thirty Texas streams known as Caney Creek it was. About seventy Karankawa Indians attacked Cavina's household and killed Mrs. Cavina and three daughters. A Mrs. Flowers was killed nearby. Captain Buckner and his company attacked the Indians and killed between forty and fifty of the band. The Cavina Massacre and Buckner's fight took place in 1831. Wilbarger,
Indian Depredations in Texas,
209–210.

4
This may have been Thomas Shuff, who was killed on Barton Creek in the spring of 1842. Wilbarger,
Indian Depredations in Texas,
274.

5
This Judge James Smith, not to be confused with Judge James Smith of Bastrop County, lived one-half mile north of the Colorado River at the north end of Montopolis, now part of Austin. At the time of his death, in January of 1842, Smith was Chief Justice of Travis County. He might have escaped the Indians pursuing them, had not his horse run under a low limb and thrown them off. The son was captured and a year later ransomed by John Roland for $60. He was still living in 1900.
Austin City Gazette,
January 27, 1841; Hardy, “A History of Travis County, 1832–1865” (Master's Thesis, University of Texas, 1938), 44, 85; Wilbarger,
Indian Depredations in Texas,
140–141.

6
This took place on July 10, 1842. Judge Joynes, or Jaynes, lived where the Austin State Hospital for the Insane now stands. Brown, “Annals of Travis County,” IX, 35, 64; Wilbarger,
Indian Depredations in Texas,
141–142.

7
Mrs. Simpson lived on West Pecan Street, three blocks west of Congress Avenue. The children were Emma, aged 14, and Thomas, aged 12. Thomas was ransomed at Taos, New Mexico, in 1844. The kidnaping took place in the summer of 1842. Brown, “Annals of Travis County,” IX, 30; Brown,
Indian Wars,
101–102; Wilbarger,
Indian Depredations in Texas,
139–140.

8
John R. Black and George M. Dolson were killed on August 1, 1842, on their way to swim at Barton Springs. The two were buried in the same grave. Dolson was twenty-nine years old and Black was thirty. A year later Captain Jack Hays captured three Mexicans under a notorious brigand, Rubio, who said that they, not Indians, had killed and scalped Dolson and Black. Brown, “Annals of Travis County,” VIII, 11, IX, 33–34, X, 17; Alexander W. Terrell, “The City of Austin from 1839 to 1865,”
Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association,
XIV, 123.

9
This attack took place on New Year's Day, 1843. The two men were Captain Alexander Coleman and William Bell. Hornsby and Edmondson were unarmed except for one single-shot pistol, but nevertheless determined to try to stampede the Indians and save Coleman. Coleman, although nearly naked, ran back to town and gave the alarm, while Edmondson and Hornsby chased the Indians, putting forth what later became famous as the Rebel Yell and shooting the little pistol as quickly as it could be reloaded. The citizens of Austin soon caught up with the two heroes and fought a little battle with the Indians, killing three and capturing all their accouterments. A Mrs. Whipple saw the fight from the top of the hill where St. Mary's Academy stood in Austin and counted forty Indians. The people of the town learned the next day that the Indians had, previous to killing Bell, captured one child of Judge Nolan M. Luckett and killed another. Brown, “Annals of Travis County,” X, 46, 49; Sowell,
Rangers and Pioneers,
58–59; Wilbarger,
Indian Depredations in Texas,
143–144.