In the Bo s o m o f the

C o man c h e s

A Th ri l l i n g Ta l e of S a v a ge I n d i a n L i f e , M a s s a c r e
and C a p t i v i t y Tr u t h f u l l y T o l d b y
a S ur v i vi n g Ca p t i v e

Te xas Borderland Pe rils and Sce ne s De picte d

T h e Cl o si n g D a y s of t h e Tr y i n g I n d i a n S t r u ggl e s
u p o n t h e F r o n t i rs o f e Te xa s

T A B AB B .

A m a r i l l o T e xa s
O ’
,
C o p y r i ght 19 12 by T A . . B A BB
'Al l ri gh t s r e s e r v e d '

PR ESS O F

jo H N F . W O R L E Y PR I N T I N G c o .

DA LLA S

fi / xfl

fi r ms z s s as
flo
o
 Inde x to Illustrations
D ot Bab b .

J am e s W B a b b .

D o t B a b b a nd his ho rs e , Ol d C o l e y
J oh n S B a b b . .

Om e r c a w b e y .

B l a c k H aw k a nd S q ua w
B l a c k H aw k .

M r s J D B e ll
. . . .

C o n g r e s sma n J o h n W S t e p h e ns . .

I nd i a n W arri or s
C h i e f H ors e B a c k
I nd i a n i n F ull R e g a li a
C h i e f E s s e r ha b e y .

J h n P s aw k y
o a a .

Chi f E h b G r a nd s o n S q ua w s a nd Pap
'

e ss e r a ey s , oo s e

Mi M a g i B b b
ss r e a
H C B bb
. . a .

J am W B a b b
es .

R uf us B o th o .

G o S t p h e ns
e . e
A n E x- W a r r i or Hi s F a mil y
a nd .

C o m a nc h e M e d i c i n e M a n a nd T e e p e e
J i mmi e R o b e r t s
Q ua na h P a r k e r a nd th r e e of hi s w i v e s
M r s T A 'D o t ' B a
. . . bb
M r s G r a h am
.

. .

G r a n d ma I b b i e G o r d o n
M ax i ne B a b b .

Q ua na h P ar k e r ’
s Stag e Co ac h
Q u a na h P a r k e r .

A ma r ill o R e s i d e nc e of Mr . a nd M rs D o t B a b b
.

Q ua na h P a r k e r ’
s H om e .

Q u a na h P ar k e r i n C s t um e o
Wa ne da P k ar er

S c e ne D ot B a
on s R a nc bb ’
h .

P ar k e r h e im e r q ua w a n d S o n , S
D au ght e r of C i e f T a b e r n a ni k a h
T o m W a t s a c o d e r a nd o e r n i a ns i n R e a l i a th I d g
h
C o m a nc e D w e ll i n g
I d
n i a ns B u c e r i n a C ow t h g ”

A a c e Gi r l s G o i n f or W a er
p h g t
Q ua na hP k
ar e r a n d hi s o l d om e h
h b
C o ma nc e B a e a nd C r a l e d .

T a h-h a h
I d tt
A n n i a n B e ll e o f r e c e n ime s
P t
re sen I d t g t
D a y n i a n Gi r l s Vi s i i n t h e Ci y
I d
n i a nsd g t
rawi n tS
r a i o ns n e a r F o r il l
th J
F o ur of b t S d k
ul y C e l e r a i o n ny e r , O l a , .

P t
re se n h th
D a y C o m a nc e M o e r a nd S o n “
 I NT R O D ' C T I O N

IN the unchallenged verity of t he chronicle of Theodore

A dolphus B abb better know n as Dot B abb recor d ed in
, ,

the pages that follow is vou chsafed a s ustained and ab

sorbing interest to the reader and the student ' a dissolvent
of the mystical haziness that has characterized s o mu ch
of the Indian lore cu rrent hitherto ' and a contri b u
,

tion to history an inestimable legacy and gif t to posterity

,

as rare and timely as tr uth is mighty and eternal M r . .

B abb a descendant of resol ute venturesome pioneer stock

, ,

entered upon an eventfu l boyhood in the u ntamed w ilds

of the w estern border of Texas in a locality and period
w hen the mou nted Indian marauder with hi s panoply of
w ar and death was often seen silhou etted against the
distant horizon at a time when the spectre of tragedy
,

and desolation of atrocio us massacre m utilation cap

, , ,

t iv i t y and to rture cast its terrifyi ng shado w athw art the

, ,

fireside of every pioneer home ' w hen u nheralded cunning , ,

monsters of vi ndictive savage hate here and there among ,

the settlers in u ngu arded repose or fancied security sprang

, ,

from stealthy ambush from the w ood lands dark border

,
-
’
,

the sheltering hillside and gulch or the shado w y lustre of an

,

unw elcome fateful full moon and amid and unheeding t h e,

shrieks of horror and frenzied slaughter mingled w ith t he

, ,

cries of anguish and prayers of women and children

kneeling before their doom they struck with the fangs of
,

the most vicious merciless and unreasoning beast and

, , ,

in their unrestrained and unresisted madness and feroci t y ,

they left in their crimson wake a sickening chapter of

ghastly human w reckage of whole families extermina t ed ,

in either a fiendish butchery or revolting captivity w i t h

out a cou nterpart in all the annals of every race and age
since t he hour of the daw n of Christendom if not since ,

the w orld began .

A t a t ime w hen there were no w hi t e flags and no

surrender and o nl y su ch alternatives as death fligh t or
, , ,

captivity ' w hen lion hearted men defian t of frigh t fu l

-

conseq uences went afield tended the herds and flocks

, ,

and pursued the chase and all the vocations of daily life
heavily armed perhaps never t o return or returning t o
, ,

find a home in ruin and the family either annihilated or

some members murdered some made captive and still , ,

o t hers t hat miraculously escaped by flight concealment , ,

the coincidence of absence or being stricken dow n and ,

unw ittingly left for dead ' w hen u pon these scenes of
appalling desolation men and w omen assembled the ,

survivors buried their dead and w ith the gory fra gments
builded again animated by the one unconquerable pur
,

pose t o defend hold or die on their border heritage A t

, ,
.

a ti me w hen keenest vigil day and night w as never re

l a xe d by man or beast w hen the horizon w a s anxio u sly
‘

scann ed for the ascending camp fire smoke sw irling ,

clou ds of du st or other su ch unfailing portents of the red

messengers of devastation and death ' when every moon
beam and shadow in thicket or grove w hen every sound ,

or noise breaking the slumbrous solitudes 'w hether a gu st

of w ind or the flapping of w ings or plaintive notes of
nocturnal fowls ' w a s seen heard and interpreted with , ,

strained senses of preternatural po w er ' at a time w hen

s wif t hoofbeats rang out upon the stillness of the night
the w arning of perhaps the sole survivor of the latest
massacre and w ith relays of horses fleeting and u ntiring
, ,

as if conscious of their mission the gru esome tidings were ,

borne to the settler far and near B eing thus warned .

S partan men and w omen grimly and silently prepared

for the onslaught padlocking corrals replenishing the
, ,

supply o f water from the S pring or w ell barricading doors ,

and with shotted rifles bulle t molds and po w der stoically

, , ,

awaited the attack D uring the nerve racking watches

.
-
of t he dismal night as babes and children lapsed into a
,

sl umber perhaps eternal no sen t inel nodded or slept a t ,

his expectant post When at leng t h t he attack came the

.
,

defenders con sciou s that no q uarter co uld be asked or

—
,

given w ere t ransformed into an incarnation of bille ge r e nt

,

fury a su per human maelstrom of ac t ion and comba tive

,

pow er and w ith so uls and all reserve forces and energies
,

ablaze and an unconqu erable p urpose to shield and

,

preserve their loved ones they grappled w ith t he demon ,

i a c al savage Failing all perished t ogether u pon t he

.
,

hallow ed altar and sanct uary of a family and home pul

sa t ing and resounding a f e w ho urs before w ith emotions
and manifestati ons of love j oy and hope , ,
.

From this cru cible of dramatic episodes stru ggle and , ,

p eril Dot B abb w a s evolved and amid su ch s t irring

, ,

scenes he passed his early youth and advancing boyhood

up t o the hour of the t ragical c limax of the u nutterably
horri fying and heartrending spectacle of his beloved
mother impaled by the Indians as she pleaded for her
children and his s t ill deeper sorrow in being torn from
her dying embrace f or the inevitable captivity w hich
immediately follow ed and her farew ell w ords of solace in
his inconsolable dis t ress and the tender maternal bene ,

dic t ion gen t ly spoken as he looked back into tear bedewed

eyes for the last glimpse and vision on earth of a sainted
face on w hi ch he plainly s aw the u nmistakable pallor of
fast approaching death In his enforced captivi t y by the .

Comanches one of the fiercest Indian tribes then extant

, ,

D o t B abb approached hi s maturing years as a full fledged -

w arrior being made t o engage in raids and ba tt les in

,

common w i t h t he Indian braves His experiences priv .

,

a ti o n s and exploi t s he recoun t s wi t h t he simplici t y and

,

vividness o f t ru t h and in a like manner details his re

,

clama t ion by t he Uni t ed St a t es A rmy and his event ual

res t ora t ion t o t he fragmen t ary units of his sha t tered
family his reciviliza t ion and s ubsequ en t caree r notable
,

for the highest probi t y of character and u sefulness as a

mos t w or t hy and valued ci t izen do w n t o t his good hour ,
which finds him happy and prosperous in the sunset of a
thrilling life whether peacefully pursuing the herds on
,

the broad acres o f his Panhandle ranch or extending the

proverbial pioneer hospital ity of a spacious and beauti ful
home in A marillo Texas to his old time friends w ho are
, ,
-
,

l egi on Upon his ret urn from an unwilling mili tant service
.

in the ranks of the red warriors to the society of his fe ll ows ,

M r B abb was quick to r e adopt and experience a com

.
-

pl e t e revival of the inherent sentiments and amenities o f

civilized life A fter becoming sett l ed in his chosen avoca
.

tion of catt l e raising he married the sp l endid and estim ab le

woman who to day is his greatest comfort in presiding
-

over his elegant and hospitable home and in sharing with

him the honor and b l essing of the sterling fami l y they
have reared .

A t an impressionable age Dot B abb the boy captive ,

and warrior had much intimate contact wi th the i nner

,

Indian l ife motives habits and triba l l aws superstitions

, , , ,

j oys and sorrow s of which the D ot B abb of to day dis

, ,
-

c l oses gl impses as rare a s they are interesting and in

structive M r B abb found much worthy of a dmiration
. .

and emulation if not adoption in the Indian charac ter i n ,

their traditional laws heroic and domestic life ' and being
,

made fami l iar with the Indian view point he has f ound no
l ittle to condone and defend that in the pub l ic im agination
has had universal and popular condemnation In th e .

p eriod of his capti vity there were cemented between him

and many of the chiefs and the rank and fil e ties of
strongest attachment that have not waned in all the l aps e
of tim e N ot a few of the ex warriors now dwe l ling i n
.
-

comf ort and contentment upon the i r al l otments learned

l ong ago after a fashion to write a mi xed Indian and
E ngl ish dial ect and have persevered in an unbroken cor
r es p ondence throughout all the intervening years with

M r B abb who both S peaks and writes the Indian l an

.
,

guage with the fluency and ease of a Comanche .

It has a l so been a fixed custom o f M r B abb t o mak e .

v i s i ts at regul ar intervals to many of his o l d su rvi ving

captors and is received and en t er tained by them w ith an
,

a lmost unexampled j oy and hospi t ali t y and perhaps more

so than if he w ere one of their tribal kin and brethren .

In fact the Comanches have all along regarded him as the

son of their ri ghtful adoption and w hen the big Fort S ill

reservation w a s being made ready for allotment and

settlement M r B abb w as urged by Chief ' uanah Parker
.

and su bordinates t o qu alify for allotments for himself

and each member of his family in common with the
Comanche and Kiow a Indians In all their dealings w ith .

the United S tates gove rnment and in all important triba l

questions and affairs whether business dome stic or
, , ,

social the counsel and advice of M r B abb has been sought

,
.

and freely given as he has ever been their steadfast friend

,

and co worker In their relations there have be e n the

-
.

same mutual confidence and reciprocal esteem and s ym

pathy that obtain in the better form s of civilized society .

M r B abb is therefore doubly uniqu e in his dua l

.

adaptability to Indian life and tradition and to the best

business and social life as fou nd in the higher circles of
substantial refined and enlightened men and w omen
, ,
.

It can hardly be said that any man living to d ay is

equipped w ith the same experience observation and , ,

knowledge and can speak s o authoritatively of the Indian

era of Texas the old Indian Territory and the S outh w est
, ,

as M r B abb
. Therefore the narrative of M r B abb
. .
,

rep l ete with deepest h uman interest and m uch pathos ,

and descriptive of expeditions of war and savage fury as ,

well as of the latter life of the subdued Indian w ith his ,

cri mson tomahaw k discarded forever is the t ruest l ink ,

yet formed between the Indian and civilization A s the .

Indian A merica s first great settler w ith such biographers

,
’
,

and interpreters of hi s life exploits and character a s M r

, , .

B abb is now essaying his role in the c l osing scene of th e

,

l ast contemporaneous drama M r B abb s realistic por,

.
’

tray al is nothing short of a note w orthy contribution to

,

the best Indian archives and an ampler appreciation of

one of the stirring epochs of a nation ' and as such it is
dedicated to the entertainment and e dificat ion of the
generations of t o day and those to follow
-
.

A L B E R T S I D N E Y ST I NN E TT ,

E di tor a nd B i ogr a phe r .

JAM E S W I B AB B , Dot B bb G
a
‘

s ra n d f a th e r
D ot B bb
a a nd h is h o rs e O ld C o l e y .
 In the Bosom of the Comanche s

M y name Theodore A dolphus B abb better kno w n

is ,

as Dot B abb I was born M ay 1 7 th 1 8 5 2 near Reeds

.
, ,

burg in Saurk County Wisconsin to which place my

, ,

father emigrated from O hio in an early day In 1 8 5 4 my .

father with his family consisting of my mother and

brother Hernandez Cortez B abb and myself entered
, ,

upon the long j ou rney to Texas We traveled the entire

.

distance in a t w o horse wagon and were twelve months

-
,

on the road . O ur first stop in Texas was in Grayson

county near S herman A bout one year later our family
.

moved in ox wagons to what was known as Dry creek in

Wise county about twelve mil e s west of D ecatur Texas
, , .

M y earliest definite reco l lections were in our ne w home

on Dry creek There w ere but few white people in that
.

section at that time but the Indians were numerous

, .

These Indians were then friendly and remained so til l

,

fugitive outlaw s and renegades from other states com

me nce d killing and steal ing their ponies and also killing ,

the Indians who undertook to recover their ponies The .

Indians at length decided t o strike back and putting al l ,

the white people in the same class commenced their

d e pre d at ion s u pon the w hite settlers generally about the
time of the breaki ng out of the civi l war This caused .

the state of Texas to p l ace i t s rangers on the western

border from the Indian Territory to M exico and ample ,

protection w a s afforded up to the c l ose of the w ar between

the states at which tim e the southern soldier w a s dis
,

armed and the state government turned over to an a l ien

m il itia concentrated at the state capital and other centers
20 IN THE B o s o m or T HE C O MAN C HE S

of popu l ation The border settlers had but little if any

.

protection from that time and the Indians became cruelly

savage killing and scalping w hole families taking children
, ,

into captivity stealing horses and engaging in al l manner

, ,

of barbaric practices and deeds .

In the spring of 1 8 6 5 my father J no S B abb and ,

. .
,

my o l der brother H C B abb started out with a drov e

,
. .
,

o f cattle for the markets of A rkansas l eavi ng mother , ,

me and t w o sisters at home M y oldes t sister was nin e

,
.

years o l d my baby sister eleven months and I about

, ,

thirteen years old There was a l so making her hom e

.

w ith us a M rs Luster about twenty two years o l d whos e

.
,
-
,

husband w a s killed in the Civi l War There were t wo .

other families l iving on our place and all were within ,

three or four hundred yards of each other O ne of th e .

families Harbolt by name had severa l boys some of whom

, , ,

became notorious outlaws in l ater years and many old ,

tim ers will recall the name of Jim Harbolt as a terri b le

bandit of the darkest days of the Indian Territory .

The other family was that of the widow E stes and

her several children .

A bout the midd l e of S eptember 1 8 6 5 between thre e , ,

and four o clock in the afternoon my e l dest sister and I

’
,

were at play when we discovered thirty fiv e or forty -

Comanche Indians in all the regalia and war paint of th e

savage warrior St upifie d with fright we l ooked again
'

and realized that they were advancing rapidly upon us ,

and wi th quickened heart beats we wondered what our -

fate wou l d be at the hands of these emissaries of murderou s

i mplacable hate We soon s aw they wou l d raid our home
.
,

and with their weird and unearth l y war whoops ringing

in our ears we ran to the house for the protection o f
mother and M rs Lu ster w ho had also seen and heard th e
.
,

demons approaching M other had us enter the house a s .

q u ickly as possible and closed the u nbarricaded doors .

I t wo uld be indeed impossible to describe the emotions o f

22 IN THE B OSOM OF THE C O MAN C HE S

broke open the door and as I w ould seize a gun they

wou l d take it from me and be l abor me over the head w ith
their quirts M y mother was tr y i ng to soften or make
.

friends by shaking hands w ith them and against the se ,

overtures they were as surlily obd urate and unmoved as

ever these ruthless s l ayers had been painted The first .

thing in their diabolical performances was to plunder our

home a nd take off everyting in the w a y of clothing and
bedd in g They then had M rs Luster come dow n from
. .

her hiding in the loft and she was bound by some

Indians and taken o utside to the other Indians and their
horses and there declared a captive The remainder of .

the Indians in the ho use seized my o l dest sister and

started off with her M y mother prompted by an un
.
,

controllable materna l instinct and affection interfered ,

and clung to my sister in an effort to prevent her being

taken and as she did so one of the Indians stabbed my
,

mother four times with a big butcher knife They then .

took my sister from the house and made captive of her

also along wi th M rs Luster S eeing my mother brutally
,
. .

and fatally stabbed I assisted her to the bed j ust as two

of the Indians c ame back and not finding my mother ,

dead as they expected one of them with draw n b ow shot

,

her in the l eft side with an arrow that ranged up t ow ards

her lungs I pulled the arrow out and sat upon the bed
.

by her doing all I could to conso l e and comfort her a s

,

her strength and life waned The same Indian drew his .

bow and pointed a deadly arrow at me and commanded

me t o go w ith him M other seeing that I too w ould be
.
,

killed if I resisted or refused said Go wi th him and be , ,

a good boy ”
O ne of them then grabbed me by the arm
.

and j erked me off the bed and as b e dragged me towards

,

the door the other Indian pounded me with his quirt .

In this miserable plight I was forcibly separated from my

mother dying in a mass of blood wi th my baby sister
, ,

enclasped wi thin her arms .

 IN THE B o som or T HE C O MAN C HE S 23

O M E R C A W B EY 'W a l k i ng F e ' N e p h e w f C h i e f H e B k

—B
“

ac o o rs ac

A v e y de p e t e I n d i n w h h t my m the w i t h
r s ra a o s o o w t t he t i me h w
r a rro s a s e as
k i l l ed nd l p t u ed I ne v e w h i m f te w d b u t u n de t d l te th t
a ca r r sa a r ar s. rs o o a r a
h e ha d b ee n s h o t bb
.

to de a t h D ot a
24 IN T HE BOSOM or T HE C O MAN C HE S

Here in a time of trustful security as the light lau ghter ,

o f playi ng children mingled w ith the songs of birds and ,

l ove and j oy unconfined rioted in t he fondest and most

sacred family ties in a fe w terrible moments was w ritten
,

i n blood a chapter of human bitterness and sorrow at

which all civilization and mankind would stand aghast .

A home rent asunder a mother sacrificed in anguishing

,

torture and death upon the altar of dutiful devoti on and

p urposefu l life a young woman and a youthful son and
,

daughter torn from the family roof tree to be carried into -

the unkno w n w ilds and the forbidding and darkest realms

of the fiercest and most unrelenting savage barbarians
that ever trod the earth an unrestrained inh uman , , ,

savage debauchery c rying aloud for the intervention and

mercies of God and man .

When they got ou tside with me I s aw my sister and

M rs Luster mounted on horses each w ith an Indian in
.
,

front of her on the same horse thu s riding in doub l e ,

fashion I w a s placed On a horse in a similar manner

.
,

with my hands tightly held by my Indian riding mate .

The plunder taken from my home had been securely

fastened on the pack animals and with the three captives , ,

consis t ing of my sister M rs Luster and myself the cav

,
.
, ,

alcade withou t ceremony but w ith much solemnity fear

, , ,

and sorrow upon the par t of the captives hastily moved ,

o ff the premises t e n w e had gone about half a mile

.

we came upon several of my father s horses grazing upon ’

the common The Indians selecte d some of the younger

.

of these horses w hich they drove alo ng with the other

,

horses they had seized or stolen and then took a route up '

Dry creek right through w here the town of Chico is now lo

c a t e d thence northw est pushing onward after nightfall and
, ,

only stopping t w o or three times the entire night f or short

’
intervals of rest B y nine o clock the next morning we
.

were out of the cross timbers a n d into an open plains

country Fearing p ursuit it w a s a custom of the Indians
.
IN T HE B O SO M or T HE C O M A N C HE S

B L A C K HA W K AND S' ' A W .

e v e e F i ght e i
r r n t he I nd i a n D av s
26 IN THE B OSOM or THE C O MAN C HE S

returning from a raid with captives stolen horses and , ,

other booty to undergo fatigue hunger and all manner o f , ,

privation and to exert themselves and horses to the point

of exhaustion to get beyond the line the white settlers .

w ould ventur e to follow Therefore for many hours the

“

.
,

Indians gave us but litt l e rest and neither food nor sle ep ,

but pressed onw ard persistently and swiftly .

We at l ength reached the Little Wichita river w hich .

was sw ollen by recent floods to bri mming bank full 'b ut

the Indians found a big accumul ation of drift on which ,

we crossed dismounted the horses being made t o swim

,

the river The first thing w e had to eat during the many
m
. ,

hours since setting out on this unw il l ing ournful j ourney ,

was after we had crossed the Litt l e Wichita river and

reached Holiday creek about eighteen miles southw est
,

from the site of the present city of Wichita Falls This .

feast w a s on the remains of a big steer that the lobo

.

w olves had freshly slain and of which they had eaten both
hams as w as their custom From here we proceeded t o
'

the B ig Wichita ri ver which we crossed j ust below the

mouth of B eaver creek and this course was kept till w e
,

reached Red river that afternoon about sunset at a point

a l ittle be l ow the mouth of Pease river B eing now com .

para t iv e l y safe from pursuit the Indians halted with us

,

for three days and four nights and during the time they ,

took rest and also nursed a wounded Indian who had been
shot with a bullet through the right knee in a skirmish
that they had with settlers before they reached and
devastated our home In this particul ar raid they e h
.

countered s tubborn resistance and had four or five severe

fights up to the time of attacking our lamented home and
family In the first of these fights they killed two white
.

’
men and two negroes on Carrol s creek south of Jacks ,

boro Texas and in the fights that fol l ow ed wi th the

, ,

O wens Higgins and A rmstrongs they had slain four of

, , ,

their warriors but they managed to carry off three of

,
 IN T HE B OSOM OE T HE C O M A N C HE S 27

their dead and only left one to be scalped by t he w hi t es .

The next fight was with B e n B lanton Glen Halsell and ,

Lansing Hunt The se me n w e re w orking for Dan Waggoner

.
,

and had penned some ca t tle t h at they migh t brand the

calves at the old Thorn place about t hree miles so utheast
of our home There w as a family living on t he old Thorn
.

place by the name of Couch but the man or head of the

,

family was not at home and the three men w ere busy
branding out in the corrals when the Indians charged
them The men ran to the house w here M rs Cou ch and
. .

t w o little children were and prepared f or a st ubborn

defence . The Indians attacked fiercely and t ime and
again w ere driven back by the deadly aim o f t he three
men besieged in the ho use The Indians af t er havi ng
.
,

t w o of their n umber killed and one w ounded in t he knee

became disco uraged and w ithdrew t aking w i t h them ,

several horses and bri dl es and also their dead A ccording .

to Indian superstition t here w ou ld be direful consequences

if they failed to carr y their dead off the bat t lefield and ,

this they never failed t o do unless in unpreventable and

exceptional cases Their next attack w a s upon o ur home
.

and in manner and resul t s previously detailed .

Resuming the course of the flight of the Indians w i t h

their cap tives and loot follow ing the three days res t with
,

the w ounded Indian on the south bank of Red river they ,

crossed Red river taking a northw esterly course and cros

,

sing the N orth Fork of the Red river at the mo uth o f

S tinking creek in w hat is now know n as Greer coun t y ,

O klahoma . Continuing they w ent by Headquarters

mountain and stayed all night and next morning w e ,

crossed N orth fork again an d thu s gained the northeast

side of that stream and kept a northw est course until w e
stopped on the Washita river the next night Keeping a .

northwesterly course we reached the Canadian river at

the end of another hard day s travel and on its bank s’
,
’
they pitched their camp for the night Here in the night s .
28 IN THE B OSOM or THE C O MAN C HE S

re p ose M rs Luster and I made our first desperate attempt

.

at escape from captivity M rs Luster l aid the p l ans and

. .

dire cted me duri ng the day to be sure and fasten a certain

fine horse s o he could not get far aw ay and that there
was a mare that would stay with him These t w o animals .

Were stolen on this raid from our neighbors the O wens .

I secured the knot of the rope on this horse between t wo

l imbs In making the beds for the night they made one
.

which they had M rs L uster sister and me occupy and

.
, , ,

the Indians then slept all around us I was so tired I .

went to sleep and did not w ake till M rs Luster nudged .

me into wakefulness about one o c l ock in the morning ’

.

The moon in the east was two hours high and the Indians
a l l were sleeping soundly .

We realized we were about to embark upon a p eri l ous

undertaking but in our desperation we were quite re
,

signed to the consequences A s I vi ewed these savages .

,

asleep and contemplated the cruel faces half lighted by

’
the moon s rays that filtered through the leaves of the
trees the scene and the predicament thrilled me wi th a
,

sense of indescribable horror M rs Luster and I sto l e . .

noiselessly away from our bunk upon the ground and

with cat like stealth tiptoed to the horses M rs Luster
-
. .

found a bridle and this we p ut on the horse previously

secured and led him to a log from which she could mount .

M rs Luster then whispered to me to get a brid l e for the

.

mare I was to ri de I got the bridle but the Indians

.

awoke before I cou l d get the bridle on the mare and came
running towards us M eantime M rs Luster had mounted
. .

and I told her to get aw ay if she cou l d whereup on she ,

bade me good bye and with the stillness and swi ftness of
-

a shadow disappeared into the night I threw the bri dl e .

away and turned back and in this way for the time being
disarmed the suspi cion of the Indians who had been
arou sed and noting my absence started in pursuit Upon .

returning I l aid down and could sleep no more for thinking

 30 IN THE B OS OM or T HE C O MAN C HE S

and wondering w hat they w ould do to me for trying to

e scape and it seemed an age before day dawned once more .

It was ful ly an hour after my return before th e y dis

c overed that M rs Luster had esca p ed and then eight or
.

ten Indians entered excited l y upon her pursuit A t l ength .

daylight came and al l the Indians got up and the ones

who had gone on a fruit l ess search for M rs Luster came .

back They waked my litt l e s i ster and had her get up

.

a nd then a ll fo rmed a l ine and one o f them took and stood

me against a big cotton wood tree They took their .

bow s and arrows and some o l d cap and ball p i sto l s and
were in l ine some twenty or th irty yards from me and the
one who had conducted me t o the tree made signs to me
that they w ere going to ri dd l e me wi th b ul l ets and arrows
and then take my scal p and have a big war dance ov er
i t Here again my who l e p ast l ife came into instant
.

revi ew and in the p rocession of events that quick l y p assed

were vi sions of kindred boyhood scenes of j oy and sorrow
,

and the woful and pathetic face o f my l amented mother ,

s tricken and dyi ng from t he dead l y knife thrusts and -

arrows of my fiendish captors M y l itt l e nine year o l d

.
- -

sister bei ng made to l ook on the line of warri ors wi th

guns and bows and arrows trained on me burst forth i nto
paroxysms o f wailing cri es and sobbings In this mom e nt
,
.

of doom I spoke t o her i n qui eting endeari ng term s and, ,

when she thought the next instant woul d be my l ast s he

fe ll upon the ground and hid her face I wa s sur e they .

were going to kill me and wanting the scene c l osed I

,

made signs t o them to shoot and end my unbearab l e

'

suspense When I did this several of the Indians re

.
,

l a xe d their draw n w eapons and thrust themse l ves be

tween me and the line of executioners ' and then all the
I ndians came up and pushed the imp ul sive defenders
a side and took a raw hide rope and tied me to the tr e e
-
.

They th en pul l ed l ong dead grass and col l ected a l ot o f

dry brush from the nearby t rees and p l aced al l around
 IN THE B OSOM or THE C O MAN C HE S 31

M RS J D. . . B E LL S i. s te r of Dot B bb
a .

T a ke n i n t o ca p t i v i t y b y th e C m o h e I n d i ans w i th D o t as r e la t e d
a nc . int hi s b oo k .

M rs . B e l l w i th h h u b nd
. er s a a nd s i x c h i l d r e n r e s i de s a t D e nt o n
. . T e xas.
32 IN THE B OSOM or THE C O MAN C HE S

me preparatory to cremating me alive and during a ll

, ,

th i s time my sister s cries broke the solitudes of thes e ’

savage wilds They had no matches but used flint and

.
,

steel in making fires ' and the fl int and stee l the y pl a ce d '

by the grass and brush piled about and over me and then ,

held what seemed a last cou ncil B eing more than ever .

tired of these preliminaries I made si gns to them to fir e

the grass but inste ad of doing so they al l came forward
,
'

“
saying Heap w ano you and untied me
, , .

I afterwards learned from them that my seeming tota l

l ack of fear and utter defiance of the most painfu l o f
deaths evidenced the qualities and courage needful in a
warri or and as such they spared my life and attached or
,

adopted me as a prospective militant tribesman S eeing .

No v 2 8 1 9 1 1.
, .

Mr .A S S t i nne tt
. . .

Y our l e tt e r of r e c e nt d a t e h a s no t be en a ns w e r e d p r o mp t l y
o n ac c oun t of my a b s e nc e a s a d e l e g a t e t o t h e P e a c e C o nf e r e nc e
i n R o m e It a l y I k ne w t h e B a b b f mi l y w e ll i n W i s e C ount y
, . a

ma ny y e ar s a go a nd I i nt ro duc e d a nd now h av e p e nd i n g i n t h e
,

H ous e of R e pr e s e nt a t iv e s a b ill t o r e fund t o th e m t h e va l ue of

t h e p r o p e r t y d e s t ro y e d b ur n e d a n d c a r i e d a w a y b y t h e C o
, r

ma nc h e I nd i a ns w h e n D ot B a b b th e n a b o y a nd hi s S i s t e r , ,

B i a nc a w e e c a p tu e d a nd c arr i e d o ff b y t h e I nd i a ns a nd th e i r
, r r ,

h ome b ur ne d a nd p ar t of t h e f ami l y k ill e d e t c I h a e ne v e r , . v

b e e n a b l e t o ge t th i s b il l th rou gh b e c aus e th e e a r e hu ndr e d s of r

S i mil ar c a s e s a nd th i s b ill i f p as s e d w ould o p e n t h e d o or f o r a l l

, ,

s i mi l a c as e s
r I h av e a l s o a g e ne ra l b i l l now p e ndi n g i n C o n gr e ss
.

t h a t w ould c ov e r th i s a nd a ll s i mi l a c a s e s b y p rmi tt i n g t h e r , e

c l a i ma nt t o b r i n g s ui t i n t h e C ou t of C l a i m s a g a i ns t t h e ' S r . .

G ov e r nme nt f or t h e va l ue of th e i r p r o p e r t y ' a nd h o p e t o ge t i t
,

t hr ou gh at t h e c omi n g s e s s i on of C o n gr e s s B i a nc a B a b b 'o ne .

of t h e p i s o n e s ' i s no w t h e w i f e o f M r J
r r D B e l l of D e nt o n . . .
, ,

T e xas , nd t h e c l a i m o f D o t B a b b a n d h e s e lf h a s b e e n ful l y
a r

p r ov e n b y affi d avi t s fi l e d b y m e w i th t h e C o mmi tt e e o n I n d i a n

A ff a ir s 'of wh i c h I am now t h e c h a i ma n' a nd I h av e no d oub t r ,

of th e i r jus t i c e or t h e t ruth o f th e i r s t a t e m e nt s a nd I s h a l l d o ,

e v e r y th i n g i n m y p o w e r t o a id th e m i n e ov e r i n g t h e va l u e of r c

t he p o p e t y d e st o y e d e t c
r r but no t f or th e i r p e s o na l i njur i e s
r , .
, r

or i m p r i s o nm e nt or f o t h e d e a th of o th e r m e m b e s
r f t h e f amil y r o .

a s th e r e i s no p e c e d e nt f or s uc h ac t i o n of C o n g r e s s a nd a t t hi s
r ,

l a t e d a t e i t w oul d b e utt er l y u s e l e s s t o a s k f or suc h d a ma g e s .

Y ou s v e r y t u l y r r ,

JNO H . . S TE P HE N S .
IN TH E B O SO M or T HE C O MAN C HE S 33

C O N GR E SS M A N J O HN H . S T E P HE N S
34 IN THE B OSOM or THE C O MAN C HE S

the pall of death lifted from me my litt l e sister embraced ,

me and wept for j oy The next step was to take up the

.

trail and recapture M rs L u ster in w hose escape the .

,

previous night I had assisted for which I so nearl y f or ,

f e it e d my life M rs Luster wa s a young widow of a t

. .

trac t ive person and a sub chief directing the marauding

,
-

b and that captured us saw and was conquered by M rs .

’
L u ster s beauty at the time of the attack on our home
a n d instantly resolved to take her a l ong as the favorite

o f the miscellaneo u s collection of squa w s attached t o hi s .

c amp . A s woul d be the case with any refined woman ,

M rs Luster looked with abhorrence and loathing upon

.

this enforced union with a Comanche w arrior wi thout '

warrant or ceremony other than the savage decree and

‘

the crue l circumstances that made her the helpless vi ctim

of an unspeakable violation humiliation and invo luntary , ,

debasement The other Indian braves concur red com

.

pl ac e ntly and as is their tribal custom scrupulous l y

,

respected the exc lusive rights and ownership of the chief ,

t o his l atest appropriation of a fair pale faced mate -

.

This Lothario of the forest and plain fai l ing in his aveng ,

i ng desi gns upon my l ife as atoning for the escape of his

white princess w ho on the fleetest horse of all the cam p
,

had sped away as i f on the shadowy wings of the night

“

Wa s in no temper to accept resigned l y his distressing loss .

The sun had now risen and summ oning one of the most , ,

a l ert and daring horsemen of the tribe as his assistant ,

two of the sw iftest horses were mounted and the tra il

t aken up in determined pursuit of the fl eeing p rize For .

s ome distance the fresh tracks pointed the way but at

l ength it was found she had doubled back crossed and , ,

r e crossed on a trail finally disappearing in the quick

,

s and bed of a wide shallo w stream B ew ildered and ex .

han sted the pursuit was abandoned and the dispirited

c hief rej oined his band conscious that the ardently coveted
,

q uarry w as forever lost to him M rs Luster w a s a daring . .

 IN T HE B O SO M or T HE C O M A N C HE S 35

I N D I A N W A RR I O R S
To m Bl
ac ks ta r 's i t t i n g ' so n o f g r e a t w arr i o r C h a r l e y M umc y k i
. .
's t and i ng '
.

d es c e nded f ro m fie rc e c h i e fs
.
36 IN THE B OSOM or THE C O MAN C HE S

horsewoman and equally at home whether i n the track

l ess forests or the unknown prairies .

The third day fol l owi ng her escape she hal ted that her
horse might rest and gr aze and being insufferab l y fatigued
s he fell into a deep s l eep Thus off her gu ard she was
.

discovered and captured by three Kiowa Indians who

took her to their main camp many miles distant and ,

again she was made the consort of an Indian and thi s

time a Kiowa chief M rs Luster was thus made t o
. .

su ffer an excruciating penalty for he r captiv a ting persona l

'

charm and beauty S he was about twenty two years old

.
-

and a shapely vi vacious brunette at the very climax of a

vigorous young womanhood and in her captivity had ,

she willed it she could have become the ido l of the w arrior
chiefs and the reigning queen of either the Comanche or
Kiow a tribes If she had read the frightful horoscope in
.

which was foreordained the death of her brother and her

h u sband in the Civi l W ar and her captivi ty and ma l
treatm ent that followed she doubtless would have pre ,

ferred the forfeit of her life to the terrible ordeal How .

ever the fates d e creed wi th invincib l e wil l She yielded not

, , .

Within thirty days after her adoption into the Kiowa

tribe during which period S he kept tensest vigi l day and
,

night she found and embraced the means of her eff ectua l
,

and final escape from savage captors and return to the ,

welcoming ranks of civilization something like eight

hundred miles in an opposite direction from that in w hich
her unwi l ling perilous and distressful j ourney began
, ,
.

The Kiowas would tu rn loose al l their horses at night to

graze except one to be ridden the next morning in round
,

ing up the herd For one long weary month M rs Luster

. .

kept a keen vigi l for an opportune moment to slip aw ay ,

and at l ength one dark stormy night it came A s th e .

Indians S l ept M rs Luster between midnight and dawn

.

mounted the horse kept at the camp and once more

,

essayed the dari ng dash for liberty ' a dash though im ,

38 IN THE B OSOM or T HE C O MAN C HE S

sacrifices and perils of the pioneer Women of the Texas

frontiers That they faced and met these dangers and
.

the attendant direful consequ ences with unflinching and

unw avering fortitude are suffi cient themes for every
eu l ogy or tribute that could be perpet uated in imperish
able marble or expressed in the best e l oquence of speech
or pen of al l grateful and p atriotic men and women now
and for ever more .

The morning after the flight of M rs Luster and my .

narrow escap e from the infliction of death the Indians

.

broke camp and after dividing themselv e s into severa l

,

groups they proceeded upon their march in different

direct i ons O ne group took my little sister whom I did
.
,

not see again till we met at Fort A rb u ck l e Indian Ter ,

ri t ory 'since incl uded in the state Of O kl ahoma ' some ,

t w o years later There were eight Indians in the grou p

.

to which I was attached and it took us ten days to reach

the headquarters camp or Indian village on th e A rkansas
river O n this last l eg of our long j ourney we had to walk
.

most of the way as the horses were so nearly exhausted

,

they had not the strength to carry us A t the head .

quarters w ere the squaws and the children living in tepees

scattered along the river a distance of two miles or more .

The retu rn of the braves from a long raid was made the
occasion of much demonstration and havi ng a white boy , .

captive produced a sensation in the vi llage The Indians .

boys would crowd around and point towards me saying ,

”
T ib ow tr ousop t ibow and this I soon learned signified
,

white person A s is well known the squaws did al l the

.

manual labor and camp work generally such as setting ,

up or taking dow n and moving the tepees carrying the ,

wood and water doing the cooking and all things else
,
.

Taking advantage of my helplessness and ignorance they ,

made me help t hem in these unmanly menial tasks the

greater part of the first wi nter A t length the boys and.

the young men inform ed me that I was being imposed

 IN THE B OSOM or T HE C O MAN C HE S 39

upon by the squaw s and that I coul d d o as they did and

l et the squaw s do everything in accordance w ith a time
honored prac t ice and cu stom I therefore asserted my .

rights and forthw ith disavow ed these domestic tasks and

consumed my time w ith play and helping care for th e

C H I EF H O R S E B A C K
Ad i g u
ar n . que b l e C m h e C h i e f w h w ged e l e t l e w
n co n ra o a nc . o a r n ss a r a nd co n

d u ted m e mu de u
c or r id
ro d d i e t ed m e h
s ra s an i ble m
r c or o rr e
ass ac r s

th p e h p
an r y th e l e de f th e v ge
a s an o r a r o sa a s .
40 IN T HE B OSOM or T HE C O MAN C HE S

horses From four to eight families would group their

.

horses together A t that time the Comanches had col

.

l e ct e d from frequent raids large herds of horses covering

every variety from gentle w ork stock t o untamed wild
bronchos I j oined the Indian boys in catching riding
.
, ,

and breaking wild horses which w a s an exciting sport and,

an excellent pastime .

O n horseback we chased deer antelope and buff alo , ,

and made frequent kills w ith bo w s and arrows as the ,

Indians then had but f e w g uns I n the main our food was .

buff alo meat but sometimes in the late winter when

,

bu ffalo became poor we w ould kill and eat the fattest

horse A t this time the Comanches w ere divided into
.

four di fferent bands and w ere headed and directed by

fo ur di fferent chiefs The N oconas had a chief by name
.

of H orseback and his brother Pe rne rne y one of the most

, ,

daring fierce and despera t e Indians t hat ever lived

, , ,

claimed me as his own H e had an old cap and ball six .

shooter and one day he loaded it and af ter painting

,

himself and bedecking his hideous person w ith an unusua l

array of horns and feathers he had me fo l low him into the
sand hills He had with him his shield and lance
. .

M o unte d o n his fiery horse he had me take the six shooter -

and told me when he charged me I was expected to take

accurate aim and shoot at his body and when he turned
hi s back on the retreat I w a s expected to shoot at his
'

back A ccording to this programme with lance in hand

.
,

he charged me and retreated from me four times I shot .

at him as I w as directed to do A s he advanced he he l d .

his shield in front and as he turned for the retreat h e

,

would sw if t ly shift the shield over on his back I shot at .

him s ix times and hit the shield each time He compli .

me nt e d my accuracy and declared I w oul d make a trust

worthy warrior The S hield was made from the thick
.

’
S kin of an old b uff alo b ull s neck and w a s fashioned into ,

a circular cuppi ng shape something like a saucer It was .

IN THE B OSOM or TH E C O MAN C HE S 41

I nd i a n i n F u l l R eg li
a a .
42 IN T HE B OSOM or T HE C O MAN C HE S

covered with heavy buckskin and in dimensions about

t w o feet in diameter These S hields w ere practical l y
.

impenetrable S kilfully handled by the Indians as they

.

were from long practice and usage they afforded great

protection and many an Indian life was th us saved in
,

the uneq u al combat betw een the Indians armed with

bow s and arrow s and the w hite man w ith rifles and
revolvers .

I w a s with this band or sub division of the Comanches -

abou t sixteen months During the time fifteen warriors

.

took me and headed in a southeasterly direction I .

thought surely they were bound for Texas on one of their

periodic raids and I was elated at the tho ught of getting
,

back and finding an opport unity to detach myself from

'

my savage captors I w a s especially possessed with this

.

conviction inasmuch as our mounts w ere carefully chosen

and our Supply of arrow s unusually heavy We ha d b e e n
'

out six days w hen w e reached the Washita river and ,

surprised seven Caddo Indians on a b uffalo chase These .

C a dd oe s were on horseback and as there w a s tribal hos

tili t y between the Comanches and C a dd oe s the moment
they saw us they fled at utmost speed Pe rne rne y our .
,

chief gave command Kill all of them ' they are C a d d oe s

, ,
”
.

We proceeded t o execute the command and soon killed

the entire squad of seven O ne of the number havi ng a n .

extra good mou nt w e had t o chase ten or tw elve miles

before w e caught up with him There w ere only three o f .

o ur party at the end of the pursuit consisting of P e rne rne y , ,

his brother Tut chi s pooder and myself P e rne rne y being
-
,
.
,

in the lead was the first to overtake him and had S hot
,

him twice from the effects of which he had fallen from

,

his horse and was sitting up as we all approached Per .

nerney handed me his old cap and ball pistol and com -

man de d me to shoot him in the head and this I did ,

.

Tuchis pooder then scalped him and we took his horse

-
,

a nd saddle and left him lying where he w a s killed O ut .

 IN THE B OSOM or T HE C O M A N C HE S 43

of these seven Indians slain six w ere scalped The , .

seventh being a w oman w as not scalped accordin g to

, , ,

tribal cu stom .

A s we retraced o ur w a y to where we had started the

attack on the C a dd oe s we found the other twelve of our
,

marauding band and in four or five days we arrived at

the Indian village w
,

e had left for the raid The scalps .

of the C add oe s w ere exhibited as trophies and a big w ar ,

dance followed M uch preparation was al w ays made f or

.

“ ” “ ”
t he se gal a fetes known to the Indians as war dances
,
.

Large arbors were constructed with such materials as -

poles and brush the dimensions usu ally being eighty to

, '

one hundred feet square The entrance to these b r ush .

temp l es was by means of a deep trench or t unnel in the

earth The Indian warriors w oul d place the latest scalp s
.

on poles set in the ground and then dance around them ,

making medicine as they termed it in E nglish or in their ,

pohocki t maham e y
“ ”
o w n language In these exercises .

they would be in full feathers and war paint w ith much

of their fighting paraphernalia They w ould circle in a .

half crouching attitude keeping tim e to the beating of a,

rudely fashioned drum emitting unearthly yelps that ,

could be likened unto the composite noise of the bark of

the coyote and wail of the pan t her ' in fact a distinctively
ferocious vibrant inh uman sound calculated t o give one
, ,
“
the cold shivers ”
N othing could be more strangely
.

weird than these awesome orgies of the Indian war dance ,

a mingled ex ultation over their latest deeds of horror and

“ ”
supplication to the Grea t Father to give them more
courage and power in their raids and battles that they
might kil l and exterminate all their foes and enemies .

They believed in a supreme being and instead of saying ,

“
God as w e do they would say Our sure enough Father ,

“ ”
which in their language is T o bicke Their faith w as -
.

that they w ould al l go to heaven unless their scalps w ere

taken w hen they would be doomed or forever lost I t
,
.
44 IN THE B OSOM or THE C O MAN C HE S

was due t o thi s be lief that they sca l ped their dead foes ,

with exception of the negro who according to their theory ,

ha d no soul . However they wou l d kil l negroes s o as to

,

ge t them out of the way and a l so to prevent them from

killing any of the Indian tribe .

D uring all the period of my captivity my father strove

d iligent l y to get some trace of me to ascertain i f my life ,

had been spared and if so to rescu e or recover me In

,
.

his effort to learn something of and locate me my father ,

S pent m uch time at Fort A rbuckle a post for United ,

S tates soldiers These so l diers had an Indian interpreter

.

by the name of Harris P Jones w ho aided my father in

.
,

the work of inducing the Indians to give me up ' The

I ndians w ould say that I w as dead but this father did ,

n ot believe as he had received a letter from an Indi an

trader in Kansas w ho had seen and talked w ith me and

w hom I had given my father s address with request to
’

write him the particulars of my location and the s p ecific

band of Indians that had me
. .

A s previo u s l y mentioned the Comanches were gov

e r ned by four chiefs and Chief Horseback headed the
,

band to which I was attached Chief E s se rhab y governed .

another band and in many respects w a s a most remarkable

He had splendid stature and a comm
,

Indian . anding
presenc e and for an Indian unusual inte l ligence and
, , ,

inasmuch as I owed so m uch to him for my safe return

and the further fact that he rendered such conspicuous
s ervi ce in l eading the Indians from the warpath to the

reservations and in establishing friend liness between the

Indians and the whites I S hal l digress for the pur p ose o f
,

briefly depicting this distinguished Comanche chief The .

c hi e f t a n cy with the Indians was not an hereditary a u

t horit y but rather bestowed by the e l ect i ve choice of the

respective tribes S ome of the more essentia l qualifica
.

tions were physica l fitness wisdom i n tribal affairs a, ,

record for dash and daring and va l or and firmness whether

,
46 IN THE B OSOM OF THE C O MAN C HE S

numerica l strength and dominated a l arge division of

Texas .They were notably fierce and aggressive and ,

also artfu l and courageous in batt l e and stubbornl y ,

contested every inch as they were beaten back S o long .

and persistently did they continue to struggle that the

remnant of this once vastly numerou s and powerfu l tribe
at the termination had an aspect the next thing to an
nihil a t i on .

E s se rhaby was such a dreaded warrior chief that i n

1 8 64 J W Throckmorton then governor of Texas l ooking
. .
, ,

to the pa cificat ion of the Indian and ending the struggl e

i nvolvi ng such a frightful loss of life and burden upon the
resources of the state devised a means of communication
,

wi th E sse rhab y and arranged a specific date for a con

ference or council at A ustin the state capital the par , ,

t i ci pan t s to be a large Indian delegation composed o f

chiefs and prominent tri besmen headed by E s se rhab y ,

and on behalf of Texas the governor and eminent civi l

o fficia l s and commanders of the state constabulary in ,

c l uding severa l captains of the Ranger forces w ho had ,

done heroic and sanguinary fighting upon the frontiers .

The deputation of Indians under the leadership of their

chief E ss e rhab y was met at the frontier by Texas Rangers
under w hose guidance as the guests of Texas they wer e
safely conducted to A ustin w here the conf erence w a s had
,

on schedul e time This counci l was histori cal and in

.

many respects notab l e The immensity of the pop ul ation

.

and power of the United S tates and the increased popu

l ation and strength of Texas were made c l ear b y ex
p l anation i ll ustration and ample obj ect l essons Ch i e f
, ,
.

E sse rhaby and his retinue of col l ea gues were v i sib l y and
p rofoundl y impressed with what they had seen h eard , ,

and been taught They were entert ained and maintai ned
.

at the expense of the state and were capt ivated by t he

.

considerati on and kindness extended by Governor Throck

morton and a ll the other offi cials and by the pe ople as a ~
 IN T HE B OS O M or THE C OMAN C HE S 47

whole A treaty was entered into by w hich E s s e rhaby

.

and his immediate follow ers w ould become the white

’
man s friends and w ould discontinue forever all acts of
hostility and depreda t ions and live on terms of mu tual
,

peace and respect for life and property rights with al l

white settlers u pon the borderland of Texas They .

further covenanted to exercise their influence to the

utmost in restraining other divisions of the Comanche
tribe and the Indians of all the other tribes hostile t o the
whites With the consummation of these treaties and
.

covenants and after much reciprocal felicitation and the

bestow al of abundant food and valu able gifts these ,

disting uished Indian gu ests w ere escorted on the long

return j ourney to their distant nomadic home s in the
p rimordial wilds of forest and plain .

B e it said to the credit of this splendid chief and truly

“ ”
great and noble red man that not in the slightest degree
even in the nature of a trespass w as there ever any i n
fraction of the treaty terms spirit or covenants upon his
, ,

part or that of his band or imm ediate subj ects It can .

a l so be said of him that his constant exhortation to his

fell ow tribesmen whether around the camp fires upon the
, ,

chase or in the councils of the chiefs was that of abiding ,

p ermanent peace , friendship and honesty In his irre .

vocable and inflexible stand he had much to combat in

the diabolical perversity and fiery impetuosity of other
chiefs but al l the w hile there was manifest a gradua l
,

waning and yi elding of the opposition The gr eat good .

that resul ted from the imm ovable firmness and unfailing
l oy al t y of this Ind i an sage and humanitarian co ul d not be
a

expressed in mere w ords S ome day wil l come that tardy

.

recognition when on a granite pedesta l a great marble

,

shaft 'wrought from Texas quarries ' wil l tower a l oft and , , ,

sur rounded by the monuments to others of the l ong honor

roll of Texan heroes and patriots will commemorate and

,

emb l azon the magnanirnit y and unw onted fidelity the ,

48 IN THE B O SO M or T HE C O MAN C H E S

loftiness of impulse and character of Chief E s s erhaby ,

once dreaded as an implacable w arrior foe and w ithal a ,

big brained masterful child of nature whos e vibrant sou l ,

strings w hen touched by the benevolent and patriotic

d emeanor and entreaties of Governor T hro ckm or t on
responded with all the unison and perfection in harmony
of the inspired music of the ancient harp or lyre .

Tw enty years later when the several hundred C o ,

manches and Kiow as the remnants of these once pow erfu l

,

and numerou s tribes were established on their reservations

,

across the Red river from western Texas in the Wichita

mountains and adj acent p l ains the little city of Wichita ,

Falls Texas the then terminu s of the Fort Worth and

, , ,

D enver railroad 1 1 4 miles w est of Fort Worth elected t o ,

celebrate its third anni versary and in a manner and on a

scale befitting its splendid growth and terminal im
p ortance . B eing then the first and farthest w estern
railroad outpost it w as resolved to invest the celebration
,

with such features as would not only be entertaini ng and

pleasing but m e morable and hist orical as well Wi chita
'

Falls w a s then the extreme western railroad gatew ay to

the vast and but litt l e know n Panhandle of Texas north ,

eastern N ew M exico N o M an s Land and all of the ,

-
’
-
,

immense area of southwestern and northwestern Indian

Territory n ow embraced within the state of O klahoma
,
.

This region in scope and breadth almost beyond compre

he n siv e grasp and so recently the habitat of the Comanche
, ,

Kiow a and A pache I n dians and the un numbered bu ffalo -

,

was n ow in that first transitiona l stage that made it

possible and safe for exploration and oc cupation by the
w orld s biggest cattle ranches that s o quickly followed
’
.

Therefore the hardy venturesome denizens of the great

‘

, ,

Western wilds and those of the older sett l ements of the

state and other states were invi ted to attend this cele
bration of one week and they attended by the thousands
,
.

The climax of the celebration was the presence of some

IN THE B OSOM or THE C O M A N C HE S 49

J O HN P A SA W A K Y So n o f
. C h i ef E s s e rha b e y .
50 IN THE B OSOM or THE C O MAN C H E S

five hundred Comanche and Kiowa Indians including ,

severa l hundred ex warriors under the comm and of the

-

grand old Chief E sse rha by and th a t o f the renowned ,

ex governor James W T hr o ckm ort on and John Ire l and

-
,
.
, ,

the then governor of Texas The lusty young city of .

Wichita Falls was l avi shly d ecorated and enthusiasm ,

and hospitality in an unparalleled degree abounded on

every hand as there was with one and a ll a consciousness
,

that this unique and extensive if not prodigious fore

gathering w a s to be the prelude to a momentous new era ,

in fact the christening and baptisma l ceremony of one of

the wor l d s latest and greatest empires ' and utter l y im
’

possible w ould i t have been for the anticipations and

purposes of this mul titude to have found ex p ression under
a more impressive auspicious and inspiring genera l
, ,

setting . E very i ncident and circum stance seemed to

conspire t o foreshadow and foretell the uninterrupted
industrial progress and substantia l achievements ordained
to follow .

I n pursuance of a studiously planned and prearranged

p r o gr am t h e
‘
ce l ebration was fi t t ingl y inaugurated with a
parade rea ching such proportions as to be nothing less
than a s p lendid pageant Co l orfu l and impressive t hi s .

parade w as headed by Governor Jno Ireland and t he .

venerable ex governor J W Throck morton and other

-
. .
,

distinguished vi sitors including men conspicuous a s daring

,

p ioneers and for servi ces rendered the state N ext in l ine .

were officers and soldiers from Fort S il l a rmy post across

the border in Indian Territory then a company of Texas ,

Rangers and veteran scouts and peace offi cers of the

frontier wilds Fol l owing c l ose l y was the Indian con
.

t i ngent composed of about two hundred erstwhi l e warriors

,

with chief E sse rhab y and other chiefs at thei r head a ll ,

mounted and in fu ll war paints a n d the same equ i pment

a nd parapherna l ia that had seen servi ce in many raids
a nd batt l es wi th th e whites ' then uniform e d frat e rna l
 IN T HE B OSOM or T HE C O MAN C HE S 51

organi zations and representatives of civic and benevolent

societies w ith citizens from the ranks of b u siness labor , ,

and the professions bringing up the rear making in all a ,

procession excee di ng a mi l e in length M ilitary and other .

brass bands were interspersed enlivening the stately ,

march to the barbecue grou nds where in characteristic ,

western style and hospitality a bounteous feast was

served The repast was greatly enj oyed and especia ll y
.

by the Indians for whom a superabundance of fat beef

,

had been barbecued Fervi d patriotic and prophetic

.

’
speeches were the features of the afternoon s program f or
the w hites and racing and competitive shooting with bows
,

and arrows engaged and entertained the Indians The .

entertainment committee enclosed severa l acres of smooth

plateau on an eminence overlooking Wichita Falls with a
high board wal l and here the Indians bivouacked and
thrilled the citizens and vi siting throngs with thei r weird
war dances each night of the severa l days celebration .

The Indians lent these war dances al l the coloring zest ,

and uncanniness of such performances during the darkest

hours of the bitter l y mur derous hosti lities that had pre
ceded a few shor t years o nl y In attendance upon the
.

war dance of the first night there were thousands of eager

S pectators and at the height of the performance there w as
,

a temporary suspension that there might be enacted a

scene that for dramatic aspect and historical e ff ect cou l d
'

have had but few parallels in the more striking and in

S piring episodes of this or any other age .

Upon a raised stand or platform stood ex governor -

Throckmorton imposing and maj estic in stature and

,

erectness and with hi s snow white hair and beard and

,

his undimrne d eyes f l ashing fiery enthusiasm he l ooked

every inch the grandest of patriarchs B y his side the .

l eoni ne imperturbable Chief E s se rhaby with soldierl y ,

mien s at upon a gorgeously capari soned cream colored -

charger A s these t w o immortals each a hero philosopher

.
,
52 IN THE B OSOM OF T HE C O MAN C HE S

and law giver looked into each other s eyes w ith pro
-
,
’

longed clasped hands there were vociferous cheers from

,

the excited mu ltitude W hose echoes will roll on when

memories are no more Let the imagination be exerted .

and taxed in an attempt to reproduce this extraordin ar y

picture with its wealth of coloring changefu l scenes and , ,

kaleidoscopic background ' for the expression of speech

or pen cannot In the glo w and shadow s of bonfires
.

blazing here and there throughout the grounds s a turnine ,

subdued Indian w arriors blanketed painted and highly , , ,

bedecked with feathers beads and multi colored orna , ,

-

mentation silently and noiselessly stalked as only an

,

Indian can Joyous and expectant men and w omen of

.

city and country from over Texas and sever a l other

states tou ched elbow s wi th d ignat arie s of state soldiers ,

and officers civi l and military w ith a spirit and senti

, ,

ment of reciprocal good w ill manifest in every act greeting

-

or expression With the unclasping of hands w i t h Chief

.

E s serha b y Governor Throckmorton w a s fo r mally pre

,

sented to the multitude over w hom fell an ins t ant hush ,

as in resounding voice he related retold and exp l ained , ,

the treaty made years before wi th Chief E s se rha by and ,

how this great Indian had kept the faith and proven an in
valuab l e ally and instrumentality in holding the hostile
Indians in check and the final establishment of p eace
, .

In his peroration this venerable and beloved statesman

and p atriot paid a beautiful glowing and well earned , ,
-

tribute to Chief E s se rhab y a colossus of his tribe and race ,

.

During the delivery of the oration by Governor Throck

morton Chief E s se rhaby was near by mounted on the
, ,

beautiful cream colored horse he had ridden that day in

-

the parade A t the conc lusion of Governor T hrock

.

morton s address E sse rhab y was i ntroduced to the big

’

concourse assembled and from his horse he delivered a

,

response notable for its candor and philosop h y and for

flashes of natural eloqu ence as p l easing and thrilling as
54 IN TH E B OSOM or THE C O MAN C HE S

they were rare and unexpected Chief E sse rhaby spoke .

some E nglish and had a very good understanding of it ,

but he lacked the necessary fl uency in E ng l ish f or so

important an oration H e therefore deli vered the r e
.

markab l e address in the Indian l anguage followed by a

ski l ful trained and experienced interpreter from the
, ,

governm ent Indian agency In his introductory remarks.

E sse rhaby told of the inherent convictions of the great

Indian tribes that in the invasion and l oss of their country
and hunting grounds they had suff ered a great inj ustice
at the hands of the whites ' how the whites were a l ways
advancing and taking more and more territory and that
eventu ally the Indians would l ose the heritage of their
forefathers the God given birth rights of their ancient
,
- -

race From this he passed into a recita l of the pe rfidy

.

and broken faith on both sides and the consequent decrees

of their councils to go on the war path and i n that manner -

seek reprisals and circumvent the extension of white

settlements and co l onies and d ri ve back and destroy
those farthest out on the frontiers H e then described in .

dramatic voice and gesture many of the battles he had

waged told of the victims a n d the sca l ps taken and de
, ,

pi ct e d the horrors and agonies of the dyi ng Within the .

heari ng of his voice were not a few whites who had also
p articipated in the very conflicts and batt l es he was
portra yi ng Here he re l ated how messages had reached
.

him as one of the powerful chiefs of the Comanches from

, ,

Governor Throckm orton the big white chief of Texas

, ,

asking if at A ustin the capital of the state a co nf erence

, ,

cou l d not be he l d looking to the formul ation of such

treaties and covenants that would end the strife and put
a stop to pillage and massacre ' and how he had harkened
to the overture and had had the ruling chiefs assemble ,

and in council consent to the program of Governor Throck

morton .
 IN TH E B O SO M or THE C O MAN C H E S 55

A t this juncture the unl ettered natural Indian orator

became more fervid and in ringi ng accents described
,

what he s aw and did at A ustin under the d i rections and

guardianship of the great Governor Throckm orton H e .

narrated the circum stance of his returning to his tribes

men and saying to them that if they persisted in w ar they
were doomed to extermination that when an Indian ,

warrior fe ll or perished in battle his place co uld not be

filled and that to slay one w hite one there w ere thousands
,

upon thousands to fill the ranks Using almost his exact .

language and expre ssions he said the white man was like
,

unto the leaves of their bou ndless forests or t he blades of

grass that b l anketed the uncharted plains and plateau s of
all the distant w ilds the Indians had ever seen or kno w n ,

and that the Indian had n o alternative bu t death or

p eace H e then exp l ained to them the pledges he had
.

made the great white father and the tribesmen ow ing ,

allegiance to him endorsed his pledges and treaties and

w ere t he r e a f t er as stea df ast in peace as they had been
'

aggressive and merciless in war In a vein of much feeling .

and pathos in w hich he referred to the sunset of his days

,

and pronounced a burning eul ogium upon Governor

Throckm orton and others of his distinguished w hite
friends and colleagues this splendid masterful old w arrior
,

chief concluded w hat was perhaps one o f the most r e

markable impassioned forceful and dramatic se t speeches
, , ,

or orations ever delivered by an Indian in any age presen t

o r past .

Resuming the n arrative leading up to the preliminaries

incident to my ultimate recovery from cap t ivity and
restoration t o my father I S hou ld explain I had been
,

held by the band of Comanches headed by chief Horse

back and my captivity w as know n t o chief E ss e rhab y
, ,

w ho now being a friend of the w hites w a s anxiou s and

ready to do all he could toward my release He pleaded .

my cause w ith chief Horseback and S poke feelingly of the

56 IN T HE B OSOM or T HE C O M A N C HE S

“ —
treaty w ith Governor T hro ckmort on whom he termed
B u ck skin Coat and represented as a steadfast friend
”
,
,

of all the Indians S hortly after this E ss e rhaby visited

.

Fort A rbuckle and made know n t o H P Jones Indian . .

,

i nterpreter and my father w here and by whom I w as

, ,

held and an understanding was had that E s se rhaby

should j ou rney to the headquarters of chief Horseback as
S pecial envoy in behalf of my recovery A ccording t o .

appointmen t he arrived at our camp or vil l age head

quarters and w as accompanied by two of his squaw s or
spouses They wer e guests at the camp some five weeks
.

and during the time there w ere frequent big council s the “

obj ect of them being the consideration of returning me

to my people A fter a display of much obstinacy it w as
.

finally agreed that I would be permitted to exercise my

own choice or pleasure bet w een remaining a tribesman
or w arrior and rej oining my father and civi lization Chief
-
.

H orseback and many of his band were confident that

after I had habituated myself so unr e s e rv e dly t o I ndian ‘

life and with such apparent reconciliation and satis

,

faction I wo ul d elect t o stay with t h em How ever in

,
.
,

this they w ere in great error as my decision was instant ,

and unalterable to return as quickly as possib l e to my

father and kindred I t was therefore decreed that I
.

should accompany Chief E s se rhaby with a so l emn pact ,

and understandi n g upon part of all that if E sse rhab y

failed t o deliver me to my father I would return at once to
’
chief Horseback s band Hasty preparations were made.

for our departure .

During my residence with the Indians many mutua l

attachments had been formed I was at an impressionab l e .

age and reciprocated the fondness and affection for me

,

that had found lodgm ent wi th a large number of these

Indians including braves squaws and their boys who
, , ,

were my closest companions Therefore my going .

,

seemed to cast a g l oom over the entire camp and there

 IN T HE B OSOM or T HE C O M A N C HE S 57

w ere enacted many pathetic scenes that I shall never

forge t N ot a f e w cried and w ept bitterly and notably
.
,

one squaw and her son w ho had claimed me as son and

“

brother and as such were my guardians and protectors ,

and to w hose immediate family and household I had been

attached This squaw w a s a sis t er t o chief Horseback
.

and she had tw o bro t hers besides the one that captu red

M I SS M A RG I E B A BB B b y S i
-
a s er of D ot B bb
a
58 IN THE B OSOM or THE C OMAN C HE S

me Perney and Tut chispoo d e r The close companion

, .

shi p had cemented bonds of affection almost as sacred as

fami l y ties Their kindn e sses to me had been lavi sh and
.

unvaryi ng and my friendship and attachment in return

—
,

were deep and sincere and I could scarce l y restrain my ,

emotions when time came for the final good bye E sser .

haby in getting me detached and into his possession had

not only to intercede plead and confer for weeks but to, ,

ransom me as wel l gi ving chief Horseback for his use and

,

distribution several fine horses and numerous saddles ,

brid l es blankets and other va l uable gifts

, ,
.

The ransom now having been delivered to chief Horse

back and all formalities of the farewell and separation
,

being over I Wa s duly transferred to the custody of chief

,

E s s e rhab y w ho w ith me his squaw s and a f e w w arriors

, , , , ,

departed in the direction of Fort A rbuckle w hich j ourney ,

we made in easy stages We w ould meet other bands of .

Indians and ha l t for several days at a place and were ,

six weeks reaching Fort A rbu ckle E sse rhab y enj oyed .

the sport of horse racing and w a s capable of shrew d

-

scheming in w inning horses from other bands of Indians .

E sse rha b y had w ith him some very swift horses and when ,

we met a band of Cheyenne Indians he matched a n umber

’
of races the w inner in each race to take the competitor s
,

horse I was a trained j ockey and did all the riding for
.

E s s e rha by and o ut o f six races we won six horses having

, ,

won every race B efore the races took p l ace E sse rhab y
.
,

had me to round up s ix of the best and fleetest horses and ,

with him and the horses steal off to a secluded flat severa l
miles distant and there test or try out the speed of each
horse A given distance w a s designated for me to cover
.
,

and as I would d o so E sse rhaby w ould count ' and w hen

the s ix horses had been run over this course at t heir
utmost speed he had their record In the fina l races w ith .

the Cheyennes he entered his proven animals and as ,

previou sly stated w on every race pulled off This s uccess .

 IN THE B O S OM or THE C O M AN C HE S 59

so pleased E s se rhaby that he wanted to postpone in

definitely our return to Fort A rbuckle or at all events ,

till w e coul d win a large herd of horses from the Cheyennes

and others To this I would not consent as I w as eager
.
,

t o unite with my father who was reported as w ai t ing at ,

Fort A rbuckl e with the hope and belief that I w ould be

brought in E sse rhaby assented and agreed that he
.

w ould forego the further racing program and has t en on

our j ourney .

We were now on the Canadian ri ver and in three days ,

reached the W ashita and follow ed the course of thi s

stream till reaching a point where A nadarko now stands . .

The Washita was running bank full from heavy rains on

its head w aters and a s we were on the north side E sser
, , ,

haby said that we woul d have to sw im over and proceed

dow n the south side of this river E veryone in the party .
,

squaw s included was an expert swimmer and w ith pack

, ,

mules horses camp equipment and genera l impedimenta

, , ,

w e plunged into the raging river and without mishap or

great di ffi culty w e landed on the south bank at about
noon We camped for the rest of the day and in the
.
,

bril l iant sunshine of the afternoon dried our apparel ,

bedding and genera l camp outfit E arly the next morning

, .

w e resumed the j ourney and about eleven o clock we

’

S ighted a be v y of w hite men camped at no great distance .

E ss e rhab y and his lieutenant made for the camp and ,

upon arriving beckoned or signaled to me and the squ aws

to follow with the horses and accoutrements .

A s we approached I saw my father H P Jones the , ,

‘

. .
,

United S tates interpreter and two other w hite men ,

.

A rriving at their camp my father kept his back turned t o

me think ing he would surprise me asking me numerous
, ,

questions among which when I had seen my father last '

,
“ ”
and I answered I am looking at him now ,
He co uld .

endure the suspense no longer and racked w ith emotion

and cryi n g he ran to me and embraced me w ith su ch
60 IN THE B OSOM or T HE C O MAN C HE S

exclamations as This is my long lost darling boy A .

convulsive j oy or hysteria seized and for a w hile claimed

both of us and the emotions that surged and possessed us
,

beggar and defy adequate expression It wa s not only a .

case of lost being found but one as if the dead had actual l y
,

risen A restoration unbelievable and one that had given

.

an illu sory hOpe such as the mirage that always rema i ns

,

j u s t ahead but forever continues unrea l and intangible .

A nd all this was changed into a reality and the s on so ,

long lost and so oft en be l ieved or imagined dead under

the most cruel and mur derous infliction was again in the
embrace of an affectionate father The reunion with my .

father w hile yielding unbounded mutual j oy had it s

bitterness from the awakened memory of that terri ble
scene of a be l oved w ife and mother in unspeakable
butchery forfeiting her preciou s life through a futile
e ffort to shelter and defend helpless chi l dren dearer to
her than life itself .

S ome hours of absolute rest necessarily fo ll ow ed t his

meeting that ha d so t axe d the emotions and strength of
'

both and we did not proceed on our return j ourney til l

,

in the afternoon whe n we had had time for composure ,

refreshment and recuperation M y father and M r Jones . .

,

the Indian interpreter had become impatient as a result

,

of the prolonged absence of chief E sse rhab y who had

m
,

been out severa l weeks on the specia l ission of my

recovery ' and when we met them they were on an ex
pe d i t ion either to find E sse rhaby or provi de some other
means for getti n g in touch with me and having me turned
over t o them In the middle of the afternoon we broke
.

camp and took up our march to Pau l s Va ll ey on the

Washita river This point we reached the next afternoon
.
,

and spent the night and several d ays a s the guests of a

M r Chanl er who had married a M exican girl that he had
.
,

rescued from the Indians a few years before They then .

had one chi l d but on coming in contact w ith them manv

,
62 IN T HE B OSOM or T HE C O MAN C HE S

p endent l y by my father who not assisted to th e

,
was
extent of one cent by the United S tates government ,

charged wi th the security and protection of the l ives and

p roperty of i ts citizens and subj ects .

A s was mentioned some tim e previ ousl y my S ister ,

had been recovered from another band of Indians and

had been wi th father at Fort A rbuckl e awaiting my
return In their proj ected search for tidings of E s se rhaby
.

and me father and M r Jones took my sister wi th them

,
.

ti ll reaching the hospitable home o f M r Chan le r where .

,

s he w as made to soj our n pen di ng our retur n j ourney to

Fort A rbuck l e ' and here I s aw my l itt l e sister f or th e

first time after the marauding Indians that captured us
were sub divided she being taken by one band or division
-
, ,

and I by the other To realize upon our meeting that her

.

l ife had been spared and that she was in robust health
was a delight and pleasure I am unab l e to describe B ut .

again I was to d ri nk from the cup of sorrow and b i tterness

more deeply than ever in witnessing the anguish and
consuming grief of my sister who had j ust learned that ,

our heroic mother did not survive the dea dl y thrusts o f

the b l ood stained l ance knife and arrow I had to draw
-
, ,
.

on my every resource courage and strength to sustain

, ,

myself through this chapter of horrors of which every ,

page was crimson with tragedy or re pl ete wi th fantastic

and harrowing adventure and experience Finall y when .

I realized the curtain was about to descend and shut out

the hideous life of savag e ry my fee l ings and spirits began ,

to rise and with many ex p ressions of gratitude to chief

,

E sse rhab y and M r Jones father and I entered u p on the

.
,

l ast lap that woul d take us out of the dominions of the

Indian Territory and away from its struggl es weirdness , ,

and savage hate and exploit and back to Texas where w e

woul d undertake to r e estab l ish th e famil y a l tar and out
-

liv e and master the bitter memories ca l ami ti e s and ,

adversities of the past .

 I N T HE B O S O M
'

or T HE C O M A N C HE S 63

The follow ing day w e once more reined up at M r .

Chanl e r s hou se and being j oined by my sister and al l

’
,

mounted on ponies we hurried on w ith quickened steps

,

and in four or five days arrived at Red river the boundary ,

betw een Texas and t he then notorious and fateful Indian

Territory We found Red river several hundr ed yards
.

wi de and almost bank full from prolonged heavy rains ,

and our onl y alterna t ive w as t o sw im across t o the Texas

side This performance w ith the river a raging torrent
.
, ,

i nvolved much peril daring, and skill To find a landing

,
.

p lace on the farther side and to test the force of the

cur rent my father disrobed and sw am the river selected ,

a p l ace the horses could get a footing and ascend the

ri ver bank and swam back to pilot sister and me across
,
.

W e at once entered the river on our three mounts and

JAM ES W . B A BB
D ot B bb
a
'

s g ra nd fa th e r B o rn i n I nd i a na
. in 1 787 .

D i e d in W i scons i n in 1 8 7 3
.
64 IN TH E B O SO M or TH E C O MAN C HE S

reached the farther shore and in so doing had a severe ,

struggle in which I narrowly escaped death Fa t her led .

S ister s horse and draw ing on his experience and coo l

’
,

daring their di ffi cul ties were less and more e a sliy overcome
than mine I w a s riding a small black bald face tw o year
.
- -

o l d and when we reached the main channel very swift

, ,

and heavy with sw irling sand the pony stopped sw imming ,

and turning somewhat on his side rather f l oated w ith the

current I being an expert swimmer coul d no doubt have
.

swum ashore bu t it was important that I sho uld save

,

my horse Tighteni ng my grip on him I floated w ith

.

him and final l y succeeded in steering him ashore about

,

t w o mi l es be l ow the starting point Father and sister .

l anded several hundred yards down stream al so and on ,

getting out and not seeing me father took to t he river

again and sw am and drifted down the stream till he saw
me resting safe l y on the Texas shore Tw o white men on .

the Texas side quite a distance off s aw our diffic ulties in

the river and hastened to the river to render us what
assistance they could ' but they w ere t oo late and in any ,

case they perhaps coul d have he l ped but little if any as ,

'

in such an angry current to save oneself was enough ,

undertaking for any man Father thank ed them and .

explained to them how mother had been slain and his

chi l dren abducted by the Indians and that he had j ust ,

recovered h i s children and was hurrying them back to

she l ter an d ci vi lization .

We were without food baggage or camp equipment , , ,

and in our hungry drenched condition the next move was

a hurried one to Gainesvi lle Texas a f e w mi l es distant , , ,

and then a smal l frontier hamlet We soon arrived at .

Gainesvill e and in the interim the ride in the w ind and

,

s un had dri ed out our raiment Father very q uickly .

procured an abundance of food W e partook ravenous l y .

,

and fe l t much relieved and more than ever thankfu l tha t

we had preserved our lives in the l atest heroic s t rugg le
 IN THE B OSOM or THE C O M A N C HE S 65

sw imming Red river The people of Gainesville on

.
,

l earning who we were and our experience and advent ures ,

plied us with myriads of q uestions w hich we answ ered ,

as best we coul d We were offered every conceivable

.

courtesy and hospitality but our chief aim was to h urry

,

on and with the least possible delay reach our kindred

,

and the scene of our former home and habitation Father .

hastily provi ded the necessary food c l othing and b l ank ets ,

for our further j ourney and we were off for Wise co unty
, ,

the last l eg of many hundreds of mil es of trave l that in

point of thri lling circumstances weird and harrowing ,

scenes and experiences of suffering and sorrow that

,

co uld have but few parallels in the most vivi dly co l ored
stories wrought from the imagination aside from a painf u l ,

realism s o burned into the sou l and memory that onl y

,

time coul d assu age but never w holly or partially efface .

O ur first night out from Gainesvill e we camped on

E lm creek and starting early in the morning and pushing
,

hard all day w e arrived by nightfall at the home of a M r .

B oothe t w elve miles north of Decatur There w e found

,
.

my brother H C B abb and my baby sister who ha d

,
. .
, ,

been spared by the Indians We were now about tw o .

mi l es from where we were captured by the Indians Our .

arrival w a s unexpected but the rej oicing on both side s

,

beggars description In this w ay the fragments of our

.

once j oyou s and devoted fam il y were reunited The first .

emotions of uncontrollab l e gl adness and rej oicing in

clasping each other in arms of aff ection soon gave way to
the realization that our beloved mother was not there ,

and that with her the onl y reuni on vouchsafed was w hen
each and all of us sho ul d answer the l ast summons With .

this as our only solace we resolved to so l ive and die a s

to be worthy of the memory and l ov e o f that dauntless
mother who bravely and u nflinchingly sacrificed her l ife
,

in extending sheltering arms around her trusting helpless

little ones For a short while we lived wi th the B ooth e
.
66 IN T HE B O SO M or THE C O MAN C HE S

family and were then placed in the home of a M r John .

Thompson j ust south of old B rid geport where w e r e ,

mained a few w eeks til l our father got possession of a log

house b uilt by M r Couch on our l and near the old place .

where w e w ere captured by the Indians .

In this l og ho use we undertook to estab l ish another

home The care of the house and children was l argely
.

entrusted to me M y father had exhausted his resources .

in his efforts to recover m y sister and me as the pursuit ,

was a long and expensive one aside from the money and
horses t urned over to the Indians as our ransom There .

fore my fathe r had t o accept gainful work where he cou l d

find it for our maintenance and we lived largely alone , .

The Indians w ere still dangerous and at regular interva l s ,

continued their depredations upon the frontier settlers .

To suppress such and protect the Texas frontier the

United S tates gover nment began the erection of a fort at
B uffalo S pri ngs Clay county Texas M y father w as
, ,
.

engaged on this work and t o this place we removed with ,

the family of M r John White The war department . .

M y f a th e r mov e d to Wi s e Co . in 1 859 . I was th e n 1 0 y e a rs

ol d .

Mr .
J . S . B a b b w as o ne of our ne i gh b ors , a nd we liv e d as

ne i gh b o r s unt il t e r t h e C ivil W araf .

A nd af t e r t h e war t h e I nd i a ns w e r e t r ou b l e s om e o n t h e f o nt i e r r

a nd i n t h e f a l l of th e y w e nt t o t he h ome of M r J S B a b b . . .

a nd mur d e r e d M r s B a b b a nd l e f t M ar g i e . i nf a nt i n t h e h ous e , , ,

a nd t o o k D o t B a nk ue ll a a nd a w id o w l a d y b y t h e nam e of
, ,

R b e r t s w i th th e m a nd k e p t th e m f o r s e v e ra l mo nt h s A t t h e
o .

t i m e of t h e k illi n g of M r s B a b b M r B a b b a nd hi s s o n H C .
, .
, . .
,

w e r e o n th e i r r o a d t o A r k a ns as wi th a b unc h of c a tt l e a nd h or s e s
f or l
sa e .

W h e n M r B a b b r e tur ne d t o t hi s C o h e f ound hi s w if e k ill e d

. .
,

hi s h ome d e s t ro y e d a nd hi s c h ild r e n c arr i e d o ff b y t h e s ava g e s .

H e l e f t H C a t m y f a th e r s h o me a nd s t ar t e d t o F t Si l l wh e r e
’
.
. .
,

h e f ound hi s c h il d r e n livi n g wi th t h e I nd i a ns .

H e s ucc e e d e d i n g e tt i n g hi s c hild r e n a wa y f r om t h e I ndi a ns

a nd b r ou ght t h e m b ac k t o W i s e C o wh e r e th e y live d s e v e r a l .
,

y e ar s .

D ot s oo n b e c ame ma n a nd marri e d M i s s
a P a tt 1 e G r a h am , a nd
mo v e d W e s t , a nd i s no w liv i n g a t A ma r ill o .

R' F' S B OOTH .

IN THE B OSOM or T HE C O M A N C HE S 67

R ' F ' S B OO T H
68 IN THE B OSOM OF T HE C O MAN C HE S

decided that the army post sho uld be further out and
abandoned the proj ect at Buffalo S prings Instead they .

established Fort Richardson at Jacksboro Texas and we , ,

moved thither Father continued in the service of the

.

government for some months and I and the children kep t

house for him We had a few catt l e scattered over the
.

range and l ooked after by my brother who worked for the ,

E arhart s
. In the S pring of 1 8 6 8 father arranged wi th
George S tephens who lived near D ecatur to take my
, ,

sisters i nto h i s home and that re l eased me to engage in

,

work for myself .

I began work w ith my brother and B aus B aker and ,

short l y thereafter we commenced gathering cattle for a

drive to Kansas markets A s the catt l e were gathered .

they were dri ven to and held herded on Hog E ye prairi e

i n Jack county Here we accumu l ated many cattle and
.

moved them to a range below Decatur and he l d them ,

there until completion of the herd A ssisted by Jim Ha ll .

the cattle were kept together and guarded by a l ternat e

watches day and night W e now had assembled ready for .

the trai l some th irty fiv e hundred cattl e consisting o f

-
,

cows calves year l ings and steers from two to twelve

, , ,

years old This was a mi scel l aneous assortment of long

.

horn catt l e S ome o f the o l der steers had such l ong and
.

wide s p reading ant l ers that they were frightful to behold ,

and in this day of S hort horn catt l e they wou l d be a -

drawing card in a museum The herd bel onged to fiv e .

different owners Jip E arhart Wit A dair Jim Hardin

, , , ,

B aus B aker and Joe Henry M arti n With the five own ers .

and Lansing Hunt , Jim Ha l l B ooze E arhart B ud and , ,

Jim Ham Jim and B e n Fowl er and Cook B raze l ton ' w e
, ,

started on the trai l to Kansas e ar l y in the summer We .

crossed Red river northwest o f Gainesvil le and as usua l ,

at that season Red river was up and we w e re a ll day

swimming the cattle over O ur wagon l oaded wi th .

supp l ies and baggage was drawn by oxen as was usua l ,

70 IN THE B OSOM or THE C O MAN C HE S

reached the opposite bank of the river where we had to

untie the logs to disembark the wagon In this operation .

there was some b l undering work and the wagon sank t o ,

the bottom in deep water The water was so deep and.

swift that we had to wait unti l the next day for som e
abatement of the river that we might un l oad and then
rescue the wagon which we did and soon proceeded to
,

t ake up the trail again W e trave l ed what was known a s

.

the S haw nee trai l and had but l ittle more trouble till w e
,

reached A rkansas ri ver B efore it was possible to reach

.

Kansas we had frost and had t o go into winter quarters

,

on Rock creek There being only a settler every here and

.

there w e had plenty of open country and hired settlers

,

to winter the cattle on prai rie hay .

In the meantime Joe Henry M artin had moved to

Kansas on the W hite W ater near A ugusta and the A dairs ,

and E arhar t s had moved to E ureka Kansas A s soon as ,

.

the cattle w ere delivered to the settlers t o winter I starte d

across the country from E ureka to A ugusta There were .

not a dozen families along the entire route I traveled I .

’
was in rain and snow the entire day s j ourney I did not .

get through to A ugusta the first day I followed th e .

course of the streams on which the straggling settlers

resided .The homes consisted of dugouts hay hou ses , ,

log cabins and other such make S hifts A s night a p -

.

proache d I applied at each house for l odging and not

withstanding the sleet and snow I was turned away by
first one and then the other each one saying I would be,

welcome at the next cabin In this w ay I kept going til l

.

darkness was closing in and here I found another cabin

,
.

I made know n my desire to stay over night and rec eived ,

the same old answer that they did not have room but
that I would find a house across the creek kept by two
men who would be delighted to have me I exp l ained .

my predicament and how I had been treated B eing near .

desperation I said I ll go no further but right here I l l

“
,
’

,
’
 IN T HE B OSOM or T HE C O MAN C HE S 71

p ut up for the night A gain my prospective host ob

.

je ct e d saying this time that he had no horse feed

, I .

pointed to a big hay stack near by and saying my horse , ,

cou ld eat hay I dismounted M y grim determination

'

, .

overcame him and he took my horse t o feed him and

,

directed me to go into the cabin This I did and thence .

,

forward was never treated more cordially by anyone than

by this man and his good wife I found my right foot .

partially frozen and accordingl y the wi fe kept back the

,

biscuit from the stove oven that I might use that space
and heat to thaw out my foot and remove the boot a ,

most pai nful operation With home l y remedies I saved

.

my foot and w as able to walk the next day and also to ,

get the boot on by leaving off the sock The nex t morning .

I resumed my j o urney to A ugusta w hich consis t ed of o ne ,

store building cond ucted by Dr S tew art The upper . .

story of this b uilding was used for the neighborho o d

school J oe Henry M artin lived abou t one mile w es t o f
.

A ug usta and with him I established myself for the winter

,
.

With the coming of spring and grass I went to E urek a ,

got a yoke of oxen and drove them to Law rence Kansas

, , ,

w here the herd had been collected from the vario u s

sections in which the cattle had been Wintered There .

were now fifteen hundred head o f Texas steers from fo ur

to twe l ve years o l d that we had d ri ven from Texas the
year before These steers belonged to B au s B aker and
.

were driven on through Kansas t o Lee S ummit M isso uri , ,

by Reece B arton and me after we had herded them un t il

they had fattened on the grass In driving t hrough .

Kansas w e had much stubborn O pposition The Kansas .

settlers were afraid of Texas fever in cattle but it was ,

understood that Texas cattle w intered in Kansas were

safe and w ere permissible O ur greatest di ffic ulty w a s
.

in convincing the Kansans we had w intered the herd in

Kansas . No w and th e n they w ould meet u s ten and
twenty strong with shot guns bull dogs and o t her devices
, ,
72 IN T HE B OSOM or THE C O MAN C HE S

of destru c t ion but being from Texas wi t h the terror of

,

Texas cow boys w e blu ff ed t hem wi th our old cap and ball - -

s ix shooters and moved right a l ong to our desti n atio n

-

wi thou t a scratch We shipped about half the herd from .

Lee S ummit to S t Louis and here we fell in w ith a man .

,

by name of Charley Dunlap a M exican reared in Texas , ,

who had four h undred Texas steers We consolidated the .

’
remainder of our steers w ith Dunlap s and drove over ,

land to Kansas City and from there S hipped t o S t Louis .

via the N orth M issouri railroad I w ent to S t Louis with . .

M r B aker the owner of our catt l e In Kansas City we

.
,
.

put up at the S tate Line hotel where we remained three ,

or four days while getting the cattle shipped We held .

our cattle in the valley between the mouth of Turkey

c reek and Kansas City along the K aw river Wyandotte .

was located on t he hill j ust across the K aw river from -

Kansas City A t that time there was neither live stock

.

exchange nor stock yards there being mere l y shipping

, ,

p ens A s before stated we shipped the cattle over the

.

N orth M isso uri railroad and crossed the M issouri river on

the bridge O n reaching S t Charles M issouri we crossed
. .
, ,

back this time on ferry boats four cars of cattle at a

, ,

time O ur cattle were unloaded in the N orth M issouri

.

S tock Y ards and then driven on foot up town to the sale

,

yards A t that time in S t Louis there were only the

. .

N orth M issouri and Pacific S tock Y ards I assisted the .

boys in driving catt l e from both yards up to the city .

There w a s no bridge over the M ississippi at S t Louis at .

that tim e but they had j ust started work on t h e first

,

bridge The cattle were ferried over the river some loose
.
,

in the boats and others in the cars rolled on to the boats .

E ast S t Louis was then a smal l vil l age I remained in

. .

S t Louis abo ut two weeks and had a fine t ime assisting

.
,

the boys handle catt l e I was supplied wi th a good horse .

,

but my sad dl e w a s what the cowboys called a human

saddle which was next thing to being bare back I also
,
-
.
IN THE B OSOM or T HE C O M A N C HE S 73

A n E x- W a rr i o r an d Hi s F a mi ly
.
74 IN TH E B OSOM or THE C O MAN C HE S

had fine S port rowing canoeing and swimming in th e , ,

M ississippi river and did not want to l eave , .

M r B aker my boss sai d the time had come for us to

.
, ,

depart and we did so by w a y of Kansas City where w e

, ,

j oined our outfit for the return t rip to Texas the greatest ,

state the sun ever shone upon Reunited with our outfit .

w e started for Texas A l l in the party were Texans except .

Reece B arton In the party were B aus B aker Jim a nd

.
,

Charley Burton N igger Cap myself and six or eight , , ,

others We crossed Kansas and what was then known as

.

Indian N ation We came by Parsons Kansas at which .

, ,

point there w as then on l y one merchandise store The .

return j ourney was most d elightful and at times exciting ,

a s gam e big and smal l abounded in indescribable plenty

'

on every hand and ever y where to sa y nothing of fish in ,

every stream We traveled in a leisurely fashion and

.
,

employed our time shooting and feasting on the choicest

game of al l the land T h is coupled with the wild solitudes .
,

of the vast untenanted region we traversed made the trip ,

one never t o be forgotten A t length we reached Red .

river the Texas boundary and crossed into Texas at

, ,

Colbert s ferry north of S herman A fter landing in Texas

’
,
.

w e started for D ecatur touching at S herman Denton , , ,

and Pilot Point Upon arriving at Decatur I took my .

t w o sisters and established a home for them and me My .

father having lost everything at the han ds of the Indians

, ,

did w ork on the outside wherever available for the needfu l

support of my sisters and could therefore be at home ,

w ith them but little In this way w e lived for abou t t w o .

years when father decided t o take my sisters to relatives

,

in Wisconsin .

Thus I was once more gi ven my liberty to s e t ou t and

d o for myself My C B abb was w orking
. .
,

with catt l e on the range for Dan Waggoner I j oined my .

brother in this work in 1 8 7 0 In 1 8 7 1 Joe Lovin g made .

a dea l with M r Waggoner t o take charge and ha ndle the

.
 IN THE B OSOM or THE C O M A N C HE S

cattle for a period of five years on the S hares I w as .

engaged by M r Loving and continued w ith the outfit

.
,
.

We had considerable trouble with the Indians w ho would ,

break in now and then and steal our horses In the fal l .

of 1 8 7 1 Joe Loving took me and tw o more hands and

j oining Frank M ul l of Parker co unty with four hands ,

w hose names were John and Henry S trickland Dave and ,

M at Loftin together w ith pack horses and four extra

,

saddle horses each we started for a round up of Jack and

,
-

Palo Pinto co unties We gathered all the big early calves

.

we could find that w ere not marked or branded We took .

in the mothers of some of the calves and some w e did not .

When we did not want the mother cow s w e cut them

back and if they returned we shot them in t he nose or
,

C m o a nc he M ed i c i n e IVIa n a nd T e p ee .
76 IN T HE B O SO M or THE C O MAN C HE S

p unched them I n this manner w e gathered abo ut five

.

“
hundred mavericks and drove them to the ranch in
,

Wise coun t y w here we marked and branded them

, ,

p utting on the marks and brands of M r Waggoner and .

M r M ull Having finished this job Joe Loving took an

. .

outfit and went i n below Deca t ur and brought back all of

the big calves he could s e e or get regardless of who o w ned
them Very soon the citizens discovered their calves were
.

gone and learned who had gotten them and s o angry ,

were they that there was talk of mobbing M r W aggoner

‘

.
,

who knew nothing whatever of this stealing of cattle .

M r Waggoner immediately bou ght out the interest of

.

Joe Loving and made j u st and satisfactory settlement

with the rightfu l o w ners of the stolen catt l e B y way of .

digression I shoul d say that in the earl y days of the cattle

industry unbranded cattle belonged to the ou tfits w ho
could get to them first and then have the means in the
way o f enou gh fighting men to hold and keep them A fter .

su ch a fashion many of the great herds and fortunes in

cattle were started and reinforced from time to time .

In 1 8 7 2 M r Waggoner decided to move his cattl e to

.

the far w est and this he did b y drivi ng to Clay and Wichita
counties and locating there I w en t with the second herd.
,

and we arrived at Big Wichita ri ver j ust below the present

city of Wichita Falls O ctober l 0th 1 8 7 2 I remained
, ,
.

with the cattle the winter that followed and was assisted
by my brother H C B abb and cousin Tom B abb S am
. .
, ,

M errick and Jim B arre nt o n half breed Cherokee Indian

, ,
- .

D uring the winter the cattle gave us but little trouble as ,

grass and water were everywhere plentif ul There was .

not then a w ire fence bet w een Red river and the Gulf o f
M exico Wi ll and Lish Ikard came in with a sma l l b unch
.

of catt l e j ust below us that W i nter Jim Curtis also .

brought some ca ttle the same winter which he located in ,

the forks of Wichita and Red rivers not far fro m us In .

the S pring of 1 8 7 3 Waggoner brought up another herd

78 IN THE B OSOM or T HE C O MAN C HE S

by name of A lison on Pond creek between the present

,

cities of Wichita Falls and Iowa Park in Wichita county .

O n the same raid they chased E d Terret who outran ,

them and escaped to M issouri where he w o ul d have to ,

be show n in the future These men were working for .

Glen Halsel l at time of the raid .

In t he summer of 1 8 7 3 Pat Kemp Harry Green Tom , ,

Flannery and I had charge of and guarded the cattle j u s t

north of t he Wichita ri ver M any days we had to s wim .

the river w hic h w e enj oyed very much E very day w as

,
.

b rirnful of excitement of one kind or another If nothing .

e l se pressed we chased and S hot down buff alo antelope

, , ,

deer and turkey The prairies and plateaus w ere l iterally

,
.

s w arming with the big game while the valleys and w ooded ,

margins of the streams were swarming with turkeys ,

chickens and qu ail The turkeys w ere so plentiful as to

,
.

afford us an abundance of fresh eggs whenever we wanted

them to ea t N o such abundance of game had been found
.

in any kno w n locality and we ki ll ed no t only for food

,

but pas t ime In the fall Pat Kemp l eft us and went to
.

south Texas and in the wi nter Bil l Graham took his

,

place . Harry Green went to work for the I k ard s and

Jimmie Roberts took his place and in the wi nter of 1 8 7 3 ,

Jimmie Roberts Tom F l annery B i ll Graham and I

, , ,

l ooked after the cattle and kept them together .

A side from other thrilling experiences there was now

and then a tragedy interspersed which added zest and
vari ety to the arduous as wel l as hazardous l ives we l ived
in those times of stress and peri l I recall one tragedy in .

p articul ar as having features partaki ng of both th e

pathetic and comic In A pril 1 8 7 3 M r Dan Waggoner
.
,
.

came up to the ranch from Decatur to look over th e

c att l e and conditi ons generally He travel ed in a buggy .

accompanied by C O1 B ooth and a very small man whos e

.

name I have forgotten M r Waggoner as usua l had his . .

o l d shot gun with him While M r Waggoner B ooth and

. .
,
 IN T HE B OSOM OF THE C O M A N C HE S 79

J IMM IE R O B E RT S
B or n in Mi s s i s s i pp i J a nua r y 3 d 1 8 5 2 G a me t o T e x a s 1 8 7 0
, , .
,

a nd e nt e r e d e m pl o y of D a n W a gg o n e r 1 8 7 1 a nd c o nt i nu e d wi th
,

h i m f or ma ny y e ar s r i s i n g e v e ntu a ll y t o r a nc h ma na g e r a nd
,

f or e ma n D ur i n g th i s p e r i o d M r R o b e r t s a nd M r B a b b w e r e
. . .

c l o s e l y a ss o c i a t e d a nd f a s t f r i e nd s J i mmi e R o b e r t s wa s no t e d
.

f or hi s b r av e r y a nd d ar i n g as a b uff a l o hunt e r a nd I nd i a n fi ght e r ,

a nd w a s a l s o a t e rr or t o c a tt l e th i e v e s a nd o th e r b a d m e n w i th
wh om h e h a d ma ny e nc ount e rs a nd a l l of w h i c h h e s urvi v e d
, .

A s h e i s t o-da y a p ro s p e r ous c i t i z e n of b o th T e x as a nd W e s t e r n
C a na d a h avi n g p ro p e r t y a nd b us i ne s s i nt e r e s t s i n b o th J i mmi e
, ,

R o b e r t s i s a no t a b l e e x amp l e of t h e t y p e of f e ar l e s s c oo l d e
, ,

p e nd a b l e me n who a t l e n gth r e cl ai m e d a nd c i v il i z e d t h e W ild

We st .
80 IN THE B OS O M or T HE C OM A N C HE S

their companion w ere aw ay from camp looking over the

cattle Joe Scamk a sk e y the Dutch cook and Jack S cott
, , ,

engaged in an angry qu arrel over a saddl e Jack applied .

an u nmentionable epithet to Joe who ran at Jack for a

'

fight Jack then drew t w o cap and ball s ix shooters and

.
- - -

Y ou D u tch wolf my
’
cocking them in Joe s face said , , ,

name i s Jack who is al w ays ready Joe b acked away

,
.

from the six shooters and retreated to the camp fire as

-
,

it w a s a bitterly cold day Thinking the diffi culty had .

ended J ack Pat Kemp and I w ent into the tent where
, , ,

w e slept We w ere talking along when Joe j umped into

.

“ ’
the tent with Waggoner s shotgun and said Take back ,

your abuse of me S hack ”

A s Jack started to draw his ,
.

six shooters Joe let drive with one barrel of the shotgun
-
,
’
at Jack and the charge tore off Jack s coat sleeve and
,

then int o the ground taking with it one of my boot heels , .

A t this Joe sprang out of the tent threw do w n the gun , ,

and ran for a saddl ed horse standing ne ar Jack was .

hotly pursuing Joe having shot at him twice w hen Joe ,

abandoned the horse and fled into the brush with Jack
after him Jack shot at Joe five or six times in the chase
.
,

missing every time E ventually the Dutchman distanced .

Jack and got back t o the shotgun picking it up j ust as ,

Jack approached With shotg un in hand Joe said S top “

.
, , ,
”
S hack I don t want to ki ll you
,
Jack instead of sto p
’
.
,

ping leveled hi s pistol w h i ch fail ed to fire A s he did so

, , .

Joe pulled the S hotgun trigger and twe l ve buckshot ,

pierced Jack under the ri ght arm from which he sank ,

upon the ground holding a cocked revolver in each hand , .

I said Jack are you hurt ? and his dyi ng answer was
“
,
”
, ,

The D utch hyena has kil l ed me This took place abou t .

ten o clock in the morni ng In the afternoon we ro ll ed

’
.

Jack s remains into a b l ank et and buried them in a s l ough

’
,

fou r or five miles bel ow where Wichita Falls now stands .

M y cousin T C B abb and I found Jack S cott in the

,
. .
,

wi nter of 1 8 7 2 near where the ci ty of Henrietta now is .

 IN T HE B OSOM or T HE C O MAN C HE S 81

H e wore Indian moccasins and good clothes being w itho ut ,

gun or pistol and afoot We took him t o our camp w here

.

he remained until he was killed He helped around the .

camp and seemed a man who had been w el l reared He .

had varied accomplishm ents among which was that o f ,

the bu ck dancer M y cou sin was a fiddl er and many

.
,

dreary hours in this isolated camp life in t he w ilderness

w ere passed wi th the dancing of Jack to the m usic of my
cou sin s fiddle
’
Jack w as about thirty years old and
.
,

said he w as from Kansas He may have had a mother .

and father brothers and sisters w ho looked for his return

, ,

in vain and who never knew of his fate and his last
, ,

’
lonely resting place in natur e s wildest solitude .

D uring these times we had frequent encounters and

narrow escapes from the Indians and s o evident w a s the ,

peri l that it was di fficult to keep a s uffi cient n umber of

men on the ranch How ever Ji mmie Roberts Tom
.
, ,

F l annery N igger Cap Lem Fowler and I remained on

, , ,

the j ob ' and at times when others w oul d not regardless ,

of pay or pleading .

A s a di gression and also as illustrative of the wildness

,

and remoteness of this extreme frontier of civilization ,

and the protecting arm of an organized government I ,

S hall relate an incident in w hich a fellow emp l oyee name d

Pat Kemp figured w ith me In the spring of 1 8 7 3 Pat .

and I w ere not closely occupied and decided we w ould ,

travel abo ut learning more of our unknow n surroundings

, .

O ne day our explorations carried us up Red river and at ,

the mouth of China creek we were taki ng in a large scop e

of country wi th our field glasses when we discovered a
company of United S tates soldiers in camp a t Fort Au g ur
across Red river o n the Indian Territory side A cting .

on the impulse we proceeded to cross the ri ver and pay

them a visit A s soon as the soldiers saw us approaching
.

from the distance the bugle was sounded and som e

,

eighty cavalrym en put ou t in our direc t ion meeting us ,

82 IN THE B OSOM OF THE C O MAN C HE S

in about one mile from the fort whither they escorted us , .

W e had our noon day meal with the soldiers and early in
-
,

the afternoon we remarked the time had come for us to

return to our ranch duties on the Texas S ide The captain .

“ ”
inquired Whose ranch and how far distant ?
,
We e x,

plained the ranch belonged to Dan Waggoner and was

l ocated on the B ig Wichita river some twenty fiv e miles ,
-

away The captain said that there coul d be no such

.

ranch or he would have know n of it and directed us to ,

remain and go under guard the followi ng day t o Fort S i ll .

I inquired why we shoul d be detained and sent to Fort

S ill and his answ er was that we coul d then gi ve an account
,

of ourse lves and establish whether or not we were Indian

S pies .I rep lied that we were not Indian S pies though ,

we saw Indians most every day and did our best to keep
away from and out of S ight of them I further emphasized .

that we Were nothing more or less than ranch hands and ,

urged that we be released to return to the cattle under

our care and protection The captain ordered us to re .

main til l next morning which of course we had to do and , ,

when the morning had come the captain announced his

decision to send us to Fort S i ll I said “
Captain we .
, ,

will obey your orders but we w ish you to send us by the

,

ranch headquarters so we can explain our ab sce nce from

,

the ranch otherwise there woul d be apprehension that

,

we had been s l ain by the In dians and no litt l e search ,

made for us by rescuing parties composed of our co ,

” “
workers on the ranch The captain said bluntly There
.
,

i s no ranch and consequently n o one to notify and I ll

, ,
’

theref ore send you directly to Fort S ill ”

I protested .
,

and disavowed our being l iars and at this j uncture Pat

“
Kemp said Captain you are a d
,
d liar if you sa y
,
,

— ,

there is no ranch over there as w e have stated and the , ,

“
c a p tain stated that a little stay in the guard house wi l l
”
d o you good young fe l low ,
.
IN THE B OSOM or T HE C O M A N C HE S 83
84 IN THE B O SO M or THE C O MAN C HE S

I undertook to smooth matters and proposed t hat we ,

b e sent to the divi de where our log ranch house coul d ,

b e seen throu gh the field glass just as w e had discovered ,

the fort The captain agreed to this but warned us

.
,

beforehand that if the ranch house fail ed to show up our

punishment would be severe We were impatient and .
,

said All ri ght let s be going and before starting give

“
, ,
’
,
”
back to us our guns The captain handed us our guns
.
,

but kept our ammuni tion sa yi ng that if w e had stated ,

the truth as to the ranch house he woul d deliver the

ammunition as he had re l eased us Pat says Captain “
.
, ,

if we meet or s e e any Indians will you gi ve us our car

” “
tridge s ? I guess so answered the captain and Pat , ,

said If you d on t we wi l l outrun the Indians as w e have

,
“ ’
, ,

done before . The captain being i nterested said Did “

, ,

you ever outrun the Indians A nd Pat dec l ared that had .

the captain wi tnessed the race he wou l d sure l y have

“
decided in our favor Pat said further O ne time B abb .
,

and I were together and B abb was mounted on a good ,

fast horse and I on an old sl ow stud pony and I said

, , ,
‘
B abb don t run off and l eave m e and B abb answered
,
’
,
’
,
‘
I won t and he did not either and by ho l ding our
’
,
’
,

ground we stood off sixty Indians and did not have to ,

”
kill them to do it Under escort of forty soldi ers we put
.

out in direction of the ranch and when we reached the ,

divide about sixteen mi l es from the ranch we showed ,

them the old cottonwood l og ranch house covered wi th

dirt in plain vi ew to all and the o ffi cer in charge said he
, ,

was convi nced Upon hi S handing us our cartridges we

.
'

bade the sol diers farewell and in a bri sk ga ll op made our ,

way to the ranch headquarters where we were warm l y ,

received by our associates They were gratified that w e .

were u nharmed and back with them for the work and ,

the added defense against the Indians .

A S Fort A ugur was one of the earlier outposts d uri ng

the stirri ng Indian days a brief des cription o f it shoul d ,
86 IN THE B OSOM or THE C O MAN C HE S

situated a few miles north of the present city of Wichita

Falls A t first we could sc arcely believe o ur eyes not
.
,

being able to realize the possibility of a peach orchard

beyond the boundaries of all civilized human habitation .

We partook of the peaches and were convinced and a ,

rarer and greater treat was n ever enj oyed We explored .

a little more and f ound an a b andoned l og hut overlooking

Red river which hu t no d oub t still stands intact We
,
.

afterwards learned that a ventures o me man by the name

of Gilbert undertook to establish a home at this place .

A fter living there two or three years undisturbed he was

discovered by the Indians and w ith his family barely
escaped t o the white settlements in t he vicinity of Gains
ville.

In the spring of 1 8 7 4 Clay county was organized as ,

the farthest w estern organized county and He nrietta was ,

established as the coun t y sea t w here a S hort t ime before ,

the pioneer C usie r family w as broken up by the Indians .

S ome of the members were massacred w hile t he others ,

were carried into captivi ty A t Henrietta a small log .

house was erected for the sessions of the court presided ,

over by Judge Lindsay as the first j udge and wi th L C

, ,
. .

B arrett now of A ma rillo as one of the first practising

, ,

attorneys at the Henrie tt a bar It happened that I w as .

one of the first j ury t o serve and then also had my first
“

j ury service There Wa s no felony docket the firs t session

.
,

the term of the court bein g eng aged i n misdem eanor cases
solely We members of the j ury gave verdicts of guilty
.

for all with minimum fines in each case For j ury service .

in this first session of the court now more than thirty ,

eight years ago I have not drawn my scrip which wi th

, , ,

interest compounded would t o day make a comfortable

,
-

sum if collec ted

,
.

A great deal has been said and written with reference

to the methods employed by the old time or origina l -

cow men in accumulating and increasing their herds I

-
.
 IN T HE B O SO M OF THE C O MAN C HE S 87

am in position to speak w ith authority on this subj ect ,

and woul d say they w ere na t urally as honest as the

average of men They w ere creatures of environment
.

and proceeded along cu stomary lines as men have a l ways ,

done before or S ince It was the custom t o take dry co w s

.

and strays al so mavericks w hich were cattle that may

, ,

have been marked but unbranded The idea or pla n wa s .

t otake in and properly mark and brand and approp riate

such cattle before the real cattle thief Coul d do the same
thing A t that time there w as no law against stealing
.

cattl e b ut there w a s an unw ritten law that w as severe

,

eno ugh w hen the thief w a s actually caught in the very

act of stealing the cattle E specially rigorous w as this .

la w w hen invoked or applied in case of the professional or

w eaker thief w ho paid t he penalty dangling at the end
,

of a rope over a limb of a tree or w as doubled up by the ,

ball of a Winchester or revolver A s best I can recall in .

,

A u gust of 1 8 7 4 w as the last Indian raid wi th fatal results '

This raid was through M ontague and Wise co unties and ,

being taken una w ares the entire H uff family w a s killed

,

by the Indians A t that time I w a s still on the ranch in

.

Wichita county .

In the fall of 1 8 7 4 I discontinued the w ork on t he ranch ,

and returned to Wise county There w ere then but t hree .

families residing betw een Wichita and Wise counties a ,

distance of eighty or ninety miles A t first I did not seem .

t o fi t in j ust righ t in a community of civilized people but ,

gradually I learned to adapt myself to the prevailing

conditions and being susceptible to the charms of the
,

girls I met I became more than reconciled To be sure .

,

there were not many girls as there w ere not many fam ,

il ie s b ut there w ere eno u gh to interest and engage me

, ,

and above all one in particular t o w hom I addressed

, ,

unw averin gand ever increasing attention O n O ctober 7 .

,

1 8 7 5 I w as married to M iss Pa t tie Graham t he seventeen

,
88 IN THE B OSOM or THE C O MAN C HE S

year old daughter of M rs M A Graham at old B ridge . . .

,

p ort Wise coun ty Texas

, ,
.

M y wife s mother was a native Texan and was

’
,

married in Red River county Texas before the M exican , ,

war Her mother w as M rs Isabella Gordon better

. .
,

M r s T A 'D o t ' B a b b w a s b or n D e c e m b e r 3 l s t ' 1 8 5 8 a nd i s

. . .
,

d e sc e nd e d f r om th a t s tur d y pi o ne e r s t oc k f r om w h om T e x a s a nd
a l l o th e r s t a t e s of th i s u ni o n d e r i v e d t h e e l e m e nt s of s t r e n gth
a nd g r e a t n e s s R e f e r e nc e i s m a d e i n a no th e r pl a c e i n th i s n ar
.

r a t i v e t o A u nt I b b i e G o r d o n M r s B a b b s p a t e r na l gra nd mo t h e r
’

, .
,
 IN T HE B OSOM OF TH E C O M A N C HE S 89

M RS T . . A .
'D o t ' B A BB
a ver y no at bl e a nd i l l us t r i ous w oma n of t h e t r y i n g a nd s t e nuous r

e ar ly days of T e x as A no th e r c o ns p i cuous a nc e s t or i s J o h n
.

H a n k s t h e ma t e r nal gr a ndf a th e r of M r s B a b b A n h e i l o om
, . . r

v e y h i gh l y t r e a su e d b y M s B a b b i s h e e i n r e pro d uc e d i n t he
r r r . r

f orm of a C o mm i s s i o n of Jus t i c e of t h e P e a c e of t h e t o w n h i p f s o

S e vi e r M il l e C ount y A k a ns a s i s su e d b y G ov e no C i tt e nd e n
, r , r , r r r ,

T e r i t o i a l G ov e no of A k a ns as a t L i tt l e R o c k O c t l t 1 8 2 4
r r r r r , ,
.
, .

T h us i t c a n b e s e e n 88 y e s a go M s B a b b s f o e b e a s w e e
ar r .
’
r r r
s e r vi n g th e i r c ou nt r y w i t h cr e d i t a n d f t i tu d e o n t h e b o d e or r r
l i n e of a n e v e r b r o a d e ni n g w t M s B b b t 5 4 i
es . ma k a b l y
r . a a s re r
w e ll p e s e v e d a nd t ru e t o t h e i nh e e nt pi i t of h e e d i t y i s e v e r
r r r S r r

on th a l e t f r t h e b e s t c h a nne l s f o
e r o the ex i s e nd d i e c t i n
r e rc a r o
of h e e ne r gi e s
r l o o k i n g t o t h e b e tt e m e nt of m n k i nd nd a
, r a a

h i gh e nd s t a b l e ivil i a t i n g n al l v
r a r c z o e er .
90 IN THE B OSOM or Ti n' C O MAN C H E S

k n o w n as A unt Ibbie Gordon and came to Texas with ,

her father in 1 8 2 3 being then e ighteen yea rs of age So

,
.

distingui shed w a s Aunt Ibbie Gordon my wife s maternal ,

’

grandmother in the early annals of Texas that I deem i t

, ,

entirely appropriate to reprod uce a part of the biograph

ical sketch appearing in a book now extant e ntitled ,
“
Prominent Women of Texas written by M rs E lizabeth ,
.

B rooks as follows ' The Hopkins family came to Tex

,

as from Kentu cky when t hat w as made a free s t ate they ,

being slave holders Hopkins county Texas was .

, ,

named for L and Dick H opkins uncles of my

'

.
,

mother They settled on a small creek in what

. .

is now B ow ie county the extreme northe astern ,

portion of the state and in the following year the ,

daughter married J ohn Hanks and the coupl e ,

moved to Jonesboro then an important trading post on ,

the so uthern bank of Red river and on the main line of ,

tr avel on the wes t ern frontier There the h usband died .

three years later leaving one daughter as the issue of the

,

marriage this dau ghter being the mother of my w ife M r s

, ,
.

B abb and the young widow w ent back to her fa t her s

,
’

house T w o years after w ards She married Captain Jim

“

Clark a native of Tennessee with whom s he re t urned t o

, ,

the former domicile in Jonesboro where they continued ,

to abide pending the preparation of a ne w home further

west It was w hile livi ng there that the war for Texas
.

independence began t obe w aged and it was t here on the ,

high w ay of travel that recruits from the northeast tarried

in their passage to the scenes of conflict Their zeal added .

fuel to M rs Clark s patriotism and her patrio t ism gave

.
’
,

aid t o their cause It was there that in 1 8 3 2 one of the

.

illu striou s men of Texas history first se t foot on Texas

soil . This w as S am Houston A merican by bir t h and ,

instinct once a congressman and governor of Te n e sse e

, ,

and already famou s as warrior statesman and politician ,

.

H e w as commissioned b v A ndrew Jackson to negotiate

 IN THE B O S OM or THE C O MAN C HE S 91

trades with the Indian tribes of the southwest and w a s on ,

his way to hold con ferences w ith their chiefs To reach .

the scene of his conf erence he follo w ed the trail tha t led
t o the Indian Territory and came to the northern bank o f
,

the Red river opposite which stood the trading pos t o f

,

Jonesboro He there fell in w ith B e n M ilam t he fu t ure

.
,

MRS . G R A HA M . M o th e r o f M rs D o t
. B bb
a
92 IN THE B OSOM or THE C o mA N oHE s

hero of Goliad and S an A ntoni o of w hom he inquired the ,

p robabilities of finding something to eat M i l am told .

him that he himself w as the guest of the family livi ng on

the other bank and that accommodations co uld no doubt
,

be had there They accordingly crossed the river to

.

gether and entering the onl y house on the southern bank

, , ,

were welcomed by M ilam s hostess A unt Ibbie Gordon of ’

,

our narrative In relating the sequ el of this meeting s he

.
,

says that with her ow n hands she cooked the first food
that S am Houston ever ate in Texas and that her house ,

was the first in Texas to shelter the future president of

the great repub l ic O ur distinguished guest tarried b ut
.

a day and resumed his southward trail t o N acogdoches

, ,

in those days the M ecca of all western enterprise His .

visit though brief was long enough t o make an impression

, ,

on his admiring hostess who described him as handsome ,

cour t eous intelligent and most fascinating in manner and

, ,

conversation T wo years after this episode M rs Clark

. .

removed w ith her husband to their new home in what is ,

no w Red Ri v er county and on the site where is situated ,

the present fl ourishing town of Clarksville They then .

l aid it s foundation and began to erect that which cu l ,

mina t e d in its present importance It was in 1 8 3 5 the .

,

year following their removal that M rs Clark met another ,

.

of the heroes that are famous in Texas history This was .

David Crockett who gave up his life in the b l oody siege

'

of the A lamo He was follow ing the usua l trai l on his

.

way t o the headquarters of the Texan a rmy S he h eard .

of his approach and resolved on giving him the welcome

s he had extended to the many p atriots who had passed

that w ay bef ore him but having removed to C l arksvil le , ,

somew hat off the main line of travel she knew she coul d ,

not s e e him u nl ess s he intercepted him in the course of

his route This she determined to do and after a horse
.
,

back ride of a few miles brought up at the home of a

settler where she found the obj ect of her eager pursuit
,
.
94 IN THE B OSOM or THE C O MAN C HE S

1 872, after a happy married life of thirty three years -

,

during which he and his w ife lived in her old Clarksvil le

domicile T here in t he house s he entered sixty years
.
'

before Au nt Ibbie Gordon lived t o reach the patriarchal

,

age of ninety not seared but onl y mello w ed by time

, ,

bright in mind cheerful in spirits and prior to her last

'

, , ,

illness in 1 8 9 5 so und in body and rej oicing in the rever

,

ence and affection of all who lived arou nd her Her life .

had moreover been blessed by several sons whose honor ,

able lives reflected the virtu es of their venerable mother ,

a n d bro ught t o her declining years the peace that onl y a

mo t her s hear t can feel

’ ”
.

M y wife s mother M rs Graham died some five years

’
,
.
,

ago at the home of her sons W H and G G Graham in ,

. . . .
,

A rtesia Ne w M exico M rs Babb and I lived in Wi se

,
. .

county on Dry Creek until the summer of 1 8 7 9 w hen we ,

moved to Wichita Falls Texas O n our arrival there we ,

.

found onl y three families making their home at that point .

These families were those of Judge B arwise Judge S ea l y , ,

and M ort W att e nburge r In the fall of 1 8 7 9 M r J H . . . .

Harris settled with his family i n Wichita Fall s A t that .

time the total number of families living in Wichita county

perhaps did no t exceed fif teen O ur union was blessed .

with six chi ldren three of w hom being born in Wise

,

cou nty and three in Wichita Falls We had the mi s .

f ortune to lose fo ur children all of them being buried at ,

W ichita Falls O nl y tw o of our ch il dren sur vived Tom

.
,

and A nnie both of wh om are now grown married and

, ,
.

making substantial head w ay i n life I engaged to D . .

Waggoner S on for w ork on their ranches and coul d ,

only be at home sometimes once a week and other times

once a month a s my duties kept me out on the ranges
, ,

l ooking after the cattle and far removed from home This , .

worked an especial hardship on my wi fe who had to liv e ,

a l one duri ng my pro l onged absence .

B y this time there w ere ranches estab l ished here and

IN T HE B OSOM OF T HE C O M A N C HE S 95

M A' I NE B A BB G
. ra n dd a u ght e r o f D ot B bb
a .
96 IN THE B OSOM or THE C O MAN C HE S

there all over the country and divi ding lines betw een the
,

di fferent ranches were agreed upon and respected by

mutual understanding It w a s necessary that cowboys
.

travel these dividing lines daily to keep the cattle thrown

back to their respective zones and prevent as far as pos .

sib l e the indiscriminate mixing up thereof

,
However .
,

despite all such preca utions the cattle would cross these
l ines at night and especially in wi nter when they w oul d
,

d ri ft before driving storms With the coming of spring

.
,

the cattle by the thousands woul d be found many miles

from the ranches on whi ch they belonged I t t herefore .

required many men and big work to get the cattle back
'

to their allotted ranges It must be borne in mind that

.

in those days there were no barb wi re fences and i t was -

,

owing to this fact that ea ch big ranch had to have a smal l

army of cow boys looking after their employer s in t erest ’
.

I t w as the c uston and a necessary one in those days to

, ,

have during the spring and early summer what was

, ,
“ ”
know n as the annua l round up and on the occasion o f -
.

these round ups it was not unusul to se e twenty fiv e to

- -

thirty chuck wagons with from thirty to sixty men t o t he

,

wagon . S eeing these l arge forces concentrated prepar

a t or y to entering upon the several months of ro und up -

work reminded one of the vanguard of an invading army ,

and this impression w as largely accentuated by the supply

of arms and ammunition carried by the cow boy fra t ernity
in those days and times The arms consisted of such
.

miscellaneous armament as l arge revolvers and Win

chester ri fl es of all styles and calibres The revolvers .

were worn strapped around the waist and the Winchesters

were carried in holsters pendant from the saddles In .

this w ay they were a l w ays prepared for batt l e and w hen ,

ever there was combat there w as fatal resul ts t o one or

both of the combatants The round up work w ould go
.
-

from one ranch to another until the w hole co untrv had

been worked over thoroughly after which all w o uld meet ,
IN THE B OSOM or T HE C O MAN C HE S 97
98 IN THE B OSOM or THE C O MAN C HE S

at the starting point B efore entering upon the work the

.

fir st s t ep woul d be to elect a general round up boss who

'

-
,

had supreme command of all divisions and sub divisions -

of the armv of cowboys engaged in rounding up the cattle

from the ranges far and near A fter all the cattle had .

been brought together each ranch o wner or ranch boss , ,

had charge of hi s given b unch u n til the cattle w ere al l

concen t rated in one general herd The general boss .

would then take charge and l et each outfit take its turn
c u t ting ou t the cattle belonging to it as designated by
marks and brands The cattle would then be held night
.

and day in the separate herds until the o wnership had

been es t ablished even to the last hoof
,
I have been .

engaged on these general round ups for six weeks to two -

mon t hs at a time and have gathered cattle from the

,

Colorado river to the N orth Canadian north and south , ,

and from Childress county Texas half way across the

, ,

Chickasaw N ation east and w est .

We con t inued our residence in Wichita Falls from

1 8 7 9 un til 1 8 9 8 with the exception of one year S pent on
,

N ine M ile creek ten miles from Fort S ill 'now in the
-
,

S tate of O k l ahoma ' The Indians wi th w hom I 11\ ed

.

d uring cap t ivity at length identified me at Wichita Fal l s ,

a nd from t hat time they urged me to remove to the Indian

T e rrit orv . They contended that I was by captivity and

adoption a Comanche Indian and had as much right in ,

the Territory as the rest of the tribe A t this time Captain .

Lee Hal l of Texas was Indian agent at A nadarko Indian ,

Te rri tory A cting on the suggestion of my Indian friends

.
,

I went over to A nadarko and called on Captain Hall and

said to him that he should issue me a permit to make my
home w ith them Captain Hall inquired into the history
.

of my case and found that the Indians claimed triba l

,

kinship with me and were not onl y willing but extreme l y

desirou s of having me settle wi th my family in their
midst A fter explaining to Captain Hal l my captivity
.
 IN THE B OSOM or T HE C O M A N C HE S 99

'' A N A H PA RK E R . C h i ef
C m he of the o a nc s .

Q ua na h P a k e r a o nc e p ow e rful C oma nc h e c h i e f a nd t he s o n
r , ,

of t h e w h i t e w o ma n C y nth i a P ar k e r w ho w a s c a p tur e d w h e n
, ,

a g i r l b y t h e I nd i a ns a nd t a k e n a s a w if e of t h e d i s t i n gui s h e d
C h i e f P e t a Noco na a nd su b s e q u e nt l y r e cov e r e d b y G e ne r a l
,

Sul R o s s at t h e e nd of a b a tt l e i n w h i c h G e ne r al R os s s l e w C h i e f
N oc o na a nd mo s t of hi s f o ll ow e r s .

C ac h e O k l a
, , Feb . 10, 19 10 .

Th i s i s to t if y th a t I k now N a di ne wmi pe o D ot B a b b
cer r .

He w as c a p tur e d b y t h e C oma nc h e I ndi a ns a l o ng t i me a go w h e n

h e w a s a b o y a b out 1 3 or 1 4 y e ar s ol d He was w i th t h e I nd i a ns
.

a b out t w o y e ar s ,

Q ' A NAH PA R KE R ,

C h i e f of the C o ma nc h e T r i b e .
1 00 IN THE B OSOM OF T HE C O MAN C HE S

and residence w ith them as a boy and ther adoption of

me into their tribe Captain Hall gave his consent ' w here
,

upon I moved my family from Wichita Falls Texas t o , ,

the Indian country and everything moved along smoothly ,

’
until Captain Hall s removal as Indian agent Following .

Captain Hall s re t irement from his position as Indian

’

agent a S pecial agent by the name of White w a s sent t o

,

investiga t e my right to settle and live w ith the Indians .

Upon his submitting his report to the Indian agent which ,

report w as unfavorable to me a squ ad of Indian polic e ,

were sent to me with orders to move out of the Indian

Territory ' but the Indian police advised me to disregard
the order and remain advising me that in doing so I ,

w ould have their support and protection The great old .

Indian chief ' uanah Parker E se t y e Wild Horse and

, , , ,

several other sub chiefs importuned me to remain saying

-
,

they w ould not suffer me and my family to be put out .

I had about decided to continue my residence with the

Indians ' but my w ife pointed out that w e might be
annoyed and t hat at all events we should return t o , ,

civilization w here we woul d have necessary school a d

,

vantages for our children With her persu asion along this .

line I consented and w e abandoned a good home we had

,

erected and returned to Texas .

We returned t o our home in Wichita cou nty Texas , ,

and lived there from 1 8 7 9 until 1 8 9 8 when w e moved t o ,

Clarendon Donley county

,
We resided in Clarendon .

until 1 9 0 6 w hen w e moved to A marillo Potter county

, , ,

Texas w here w e no w reside Kno wi ng the Panhan dl e as

,
.

I do I am firmly convinced t hat A marillo i s the future

,

metropolis of the great Panhandl e country and destined ,

to become one of the large cities of Texas .

A great deal has been w ritten from time to time as to

the inner life domestic traits habits and temper ament o f
, ,

the Indians concerning w hich there has been no littl e

,

exaggera t ion M y residence and intimate relations with

.
1 02 IN THE B OSOM or THE C O MAN C HE S

something to excite the anger of the others w hen they ,

would combine and give the offending sq uaw a terrib l e

beating Usually this had a very sal utar y e ffect and the
.
,

v i ctim of the flogging woul d rare l y if ever repeat t he , ,

o ffense N either the Indian men nor squaws woul d whip

.

or bodil y pu ni sh their childr en It was a recognized .

tribal custom for the men to have two and from that to ,

as many wi ves as they desired There were no marriage .

ceremonies and when a girl reached the age of four teen

,

to sixteen she was given aw ay by the father and mother ,

u nl ess in exceptiona l cases onl y an admirer would stea l

, ,

the gi rl somewhat after the custom so prevalen t with

,

white men Generally the men woul d be loyal to their

.

wives and their wi ves to them ' but now and then just
, ,

as is the case in civilized commu ni ties a man would find ,

“ ”
an a ffi ni ty in another man s squaw and take her away ’

from him The penal ty in such c ases was the recogni zed
.

ri ght of the man l osing the squaw to take al l the horses

and property of the India n steal ing the wife un t il the ,

victim fe l t that he had been ful ly satisfied Under no .

circumstances did they re s ort i t o fighting and killing over

the loss of a squaw which was always adjusted on a stri ct
,

monetary or property basis A nother striki ng trait w as .

that of the interest the several squaws be l onging t o one

man took in each other s chil dren and in fact such ’
,

children were as affectionatel y cared for as if the o ffspring

of that particul ar squaw In the main the s quaws lived
.

together in harmony A fter reaching a certain age the

.
,

men w oul d abandon the old squaws and supply their ,

places w ith younger women ' and in this way the older
and discarded squaws had the ri ght and l iberty to becom e
any other man s wi fe that woul d el ect to accept or adopt
’

her and the new al liance coul d be formed without the

,

consent of the former husband .

A l l the Indian subj ects showed great re spect and

obedience to their chiefs and head men During the .
IN THE B OSOM or THE C O MAN C HE S 1 03
1 04 IN T HE B OSOM or T HE C O M A N C HE S

summer the di fferent chiefs would assemble the tribal

members in their jurisdictions and separate camps would,

be constru cted and maintained accordingly S uch camps .

were usually pitched on the bank of some running stream

for the convenience of both grass and water It was also .

a cu stom to move these camps every eight or ten days ,

s o as al w ays to have plenty of grass near b y for their -

numerous horses The Indians were gregarious and would

.

l ive in tow ns with their tepees arranged w ith the same

,

precision as the streets of a city They wo ul d s e t the .

tepees with the doors facing to the east If it were c l oudy .

w hen they pu t them up resulting in some deviation from

,

the right direction this fact they would discover as soon

,

as it cleared up With the sun as a compass they would

.
,

then rearrange all the tepees The day before they would
.

break up and decamp for a ne w location the chief would ,

get on a horse and ride up and do w n the streets shouting

at the top of his voice a description of the l ocation t o
which all should move the next day S ometimes they .

wo uld cover twenty or thirty miles in one day and on ,

the day of break up for the move everyone got in a great

-

hurry and more esp ec ially the squaw s w ho had t o gather

, ,

up al l the belongings and attach them to the pack horses

and mules They woul d tie the tepee poles on each side
.

of a horse or mu l e by one e nd and let the other end drag .

These poles were from tw elve to t w enty feet l ong and on ,

such they w oul d pil e their impedimenta until one coul d ,

scarcely se e the back of the horse or mule bearing the

burden The children that were too l arge t o be carried
.

on their mothers backs and not l arge enough to ride

’

alone were tied on some old horse which moved with the
procession A s an improvi sed ambulance for the S ick or
.

w ounded they would tie a bu ffalo skin from one pole to

another and fasten one end of the pol es to the pack
saddl es the other ends draggi ng on the ground While
,
.

such locomotion seemed rough it al w ays answered the ,

1 06 IN THE B OSOM or THE C O MAN C HE S

purpose I t frequen t ly happened in moving that some o f

.

the pack m ules or horses w ould become frightened or

stampeded and in their flight scatter the sundry packages
,

and household pl under for mil es in every direction re ,

quiring several days to collect up the fragments and re

assemble the animals and their belongings In movi ng .
“

from one district to another the men and boys w ould

divide their time betw een chasing deer antelope and , ,

buffalo and driving the horses

,
They would begin .

moving operations just as early in the morning as they

could ' and as t o w ho should get started first in the movi ng
there was great rivalry since the first to reach the new
,

camp ground had choice of location .

A s before stated the tepees were arranged in the order

,

of streets O ne of the reasons for this was that of enabling

.

the w arriors to p arade first one street and then the other
in their efforts to arouse and incite the Indians w hen a
raid had been planned and r ecruits were w anted N otably .

was this the case preparatory to getting together a com

pany of warriors for an incursion into Texas and N ew
M exico The w arlike and restless spirit of the Indians
.

was dominant and they could not be quiescent for any

,

l ong peri od When seized w ith t he mania for a raid the

.
,

leading men w ould make medicine to determine whe n and

where the raid should take place A fter this poin t had .

been settled they woul d cover their faces with hideou s

war paint and array themselves in their most frightfu l
,

bonnets of feathers spears bow s and arrow s and in this

, , , ,

shape led by a man beating a drum they would parad e

, ,

all the di fferent streets A s the procession moved along

.

volunteers w ould j oin as the spirit moved them Thes e .

p arades in this fashion woul d continue each day wi th

increasing frenzy of war whoops and hideousness of para
phe r nalia for from twenty to thirty days su ch perform ,

a nce s ending only after the requisite number o f w arriors

had volunteered and enl isted for the raid in contemplation .

 IN THE B OSOM or THE C O MAN C HE S 107

U nl ike civilized governments they had no comp ul sory ,

military service and their fighting squ ads w ere recr uited
,

wholly from volunteers I have seen and been w ith them

.

when after a strenu ous three weeks recruiting campaign

they woul d be ready to start out wi th t w o h undr ed to
three h undred warri ors When an Indian w arri or w as
.

killed or slain in battle the other w arriors and squaw s

,

that were related t o the sl ain made what they tho ught to
be expiation by inflic ting such punishment upon them
,

selves as abstaining from food and dri nk for a good length

of time and cutting themselves severely with knives and
doing other severe bodi l y inj ur y t o themselves The s ur
”

v i v ing w arrior comr ades w o ul d shave the hair from the

ri ght side of their heads and the squa w s of the deceased

,

w arrior s family would sometimes cut off all their hair

’
.

I have seen the squaws take butcher knives and carve

their arms and legs and also their bodies in a most frightfu l
man n er and w hen the wounds w oul d be partially healed
,

they woul d reopen them s o as to prolong and intensify

their bodily s uffering In entering upon these bloody
.

orgies they would take a butcher knife in one hand and a

whet rock in the other and after carving a w hile would
,

sharpen the blade and carve some more O ccasionally .

this mutilation was carried to a fatal extent I had a very .

exciting experience and also narrow escape during the

enactment of one of these performances I had just been .

added t o the headquarters camp after my captivity on

the A rkansas river when cer tain w arriors had returned
from a raid in which a number of their comrades had been
killed and the mother of one of the slain wa s so crazed
,

with grie f as to be bereft of her reason I had been sent .

wi th some Indian girls to a r unning brook near by t o

bring Water to the camp and I heard horrifying shriek s
,

and moans . O n looking around I beheld this Indian

s quaw approaching with a large butcher knife and a w het

rock and the next thing I knew the inf ur iated woman
,
1 08 IN THE B OSOM or T HE C omA N CHE s

made a fierce attack w ith murderous intent upon me .

B eing unw illing to offer myself as a voluntary sacrifice ,

I fl e d w ith great celerity and seeing that she could not

,

overtake me she hal ted and carved herself to pieces I t .

mat t ers not how long I shall live this harrowi ng picture ,

will remain ever fresh in my memory and d uring the ,

intervening years not infrequently in my dreams has t he

,

apparition of this frenzied and demoniaca l squaw a p

pe are d unto me .

M any years after these troublous times I had occasion

to visit Fort S ill the headquarters of the Indians and
, ,

wha t w a s t hen know n as the Comanche and Kiow a re

servation ' and there I rene w ed my acquaintanceship wi th
man y of t he old time warriors and with them review ed
the t hrilling scenes of the Indian raids and exploits of the
years agone Certain prominent Indians were missed
.

from the ranks and concerning them I made inquiri es

,

wi th mu ch interest and solicitude N otable among them .

w ere Pe r nurme y and his brother Tut chispo o de r Per .

nurm e y w a s the leader in the raid in which I was captured ,

and he claimed me as his son In captivity he frequently .

sta t ed to me that he would die before he would let the

white people t ake their country a w ay from them In .

ans w er to my inquiry as to w hat he considered his country

he designated the country from Fort Worth east to Red
river and w es t to the Colorado river and from this l in e ,

W a n e d a P a r k e r t h e d au ght e r of Q ua na h P a r k e r t h e l a t e
, ,

C h i e f o f t h e C o ma nc h e I n d i a ns i s a y ou n g w o m a n of s t r i k i n g
,

a p p e a r a nc e a nd of muc h c ul t iv a t i o n H e r mo th e r i s a f ull b l oo d
.

C o ma nc h e w h il e h e r p a t e r na l g r a nd mo th e r w a s t h e f a mous
,

C y nth i a A nn P ar k e r a wh i t e w o ma n w ho w a s t a k e n i nt o ca p
,

t i v i t y i n g i r l h oo d l a tt e r l y t o b e c om e t h e c o ns or t of t h e f amous
,

C o ma n c h e c h i e f P e t a N o c o n a s l a i n i n a h a n d t o h a n d c o m b a t
, ,
-

b y th a t i mmo r t a l h e r o G e n e r a l Sul R o s s
, O ne o f W a n e d a
.

P a r k e r s e l d e r s i s t e r s w as ma rr i e d t o a M r E mm e t C o x a w hi t e
’
.
,

m a n a nd f r o m th i s u n i o n th e r e w a s a d a u ght e r w ho w a s e duc at e d
,

i n t h e b e s t s e m i nar i e s a nd i s no w a n acc o m p l i s h e d s c h oo l t e a c h e r
i n t h e Ph ili pp i n e I s l a nd s .
1 10 IN TIE B OSOM or Ti m C O MAN C HE S

north to the A rkansas river A t Fort S ill I learned that .

Pe rnurme y had made good hi s resolve to di e in defense

of what he considered his country and was killed in Lost ,

Va l ley Texas I was to l d by the survi vi ng I ndi ans at

,
.
,

Fort S i ll that five Indian warriors and one s quaw headed

by Pernurme y left the reservation at Fort S ill saying they ,

were going to Texas to get some more sca l ps of the white

men before l ayi ng aside the tomahawk forever
,
This .

was in 1 8 7 3 and on the raid Ira Long of Wise county

, , ,

Texas with a small company of rangers overtook them

, ,

killing four and wounding two A S the wounded were .

never heard of again they must have perished from their

wounds The Indians woul d rel ate to me their e xpe r
.

i e nce s in the vari ous fights and raids that they had made
i nto Texas for many years preceding They referred to .

the time w hen the white men had no guns except the o l d
muzzle loading patterns and in the attacks they made on
-
,

the white men they woul d wait unti l the white men would
s hoot and then dash at them while they were re l oading

these guns They described these w hite men as having

.

very l ong whiskers and being exceedingl y brave and expert

marksmen They fur ther said the white men did not
.

seem t o fear the charges made by t he Indians and paid ‘

n o attention to what w as going on until their guns wer e

reloaded at w hich junctur e the Indians wou l d have to

,

get out of the way a s qui ckly a s possible as by experience ,

they coul d well anticipate w hat the resul ts wou l d be .

T oo m u ch praise cannot be gi ven the organi zed forces

C a tt l e R a nc h l oc a t e d ne ar Al a nr e e d T e x a s o w ne d a nd , ,

o p e ra t e d a t p r e s e n t t i me b y D o t B a b b wh o i s s ur r ound e d b y a
,

f e w of hi s R e d P o l l c a tt l e w h il e hi s f avo r i t e h or s e g r a z e s i n t h e
,

b a c kg round A n e v e r 1 a il i n g cr e e k r uns n e a r b y w i th nume r ous

.

s pr i n g s a ff o r d i n g a b un d a nt s t oc k w a t e r fi ne fi s h i n g a nd duc k
, ,

s h oo t i n g T h i s s p l e nd i d r a nc h c o ns i s t s of s e v e r a l s e c t i o ns r i c h
.

g ra z i ng a nd a gr i cul tura l l a n d s S t oc k r a i s i n g a nd s t o c k f armi n g

.

a r e t h e l e a di n g f e a t ur e s o f t hi s pi c t ur e s q u e a nd g e n e r a l l y mos t
,

e x c e l l e nt r a nc h .
IN THE B OSOM or T HE C O MAN C HE S 111
1 12 IN THE B OSOM or THE C O MAN C HE S

of rangers and minute men maintained by the several

frontier counties for the eff ective defense and pro t ection
afforded the wi dely sca tt ered citizens and settlements in
the trying Indian days It can also be said tha t great
.

credit is due the hardy courageous cowboys that w orked

in conjunction w ith the rangers in repel l ing the Indians
from time to time and pursuing and drivi ng them out of
the l imits of the settlements These forces did much
.

more to safeguard the l i ves and property of the citizens

of the frontier than all of the United S tates soldiers
combined The custom of the Indians oftentimes w as t o
.

divide into small grou ps or raiding parties and in this ,

manner they would el ude the United S tates troops w ho ,

were better adapted to attacking the Indians in larger

bodies A small band of Indians woul d engage in a raid
.
,

and o w ing to the red tape enveloping the army posts

would cover a large scope and destroy great l ife
and much property and get away before the troops
co uld get into action A s the rangers and cow boys were
.

al w ays w ell mounted and armed and co uld get on the ,

trail and in pursuit of the marauding bands of Indians

almost immediately af t er they entered the boundaries of
the settlements the Indians knew and feared these forces
,
.

There co uld be no better ill ustration of how the Indians

regarded the relative eff ectiveness of the cow boys and the
United S tates troops than a dialogue that took place
betw een an Indian and the commandant of a certain
army post The Indian accosted the o fficer and asked
.

him if he would t rade him one of the mounted cannon at

the post whereupon the o fficer ans w ered that he w ould
,

“
not saying If I trade a cannon to you y ou will use it in
, , ,
”
killing my soldiers The answ er of the Indian w as that
.

su ch w ould not be the case as he w anted the cannon t o

,

shoot co w boys with and wo uld kill the sol diers wi th

,

clubs .

In the interest of history it can be recorded t hat t he

1 14 IN THE B OSOM or THE C O MAN C HE S

exceeding ten men When the engagement opened up he .

discovered that he had enco untered thr ee hundred Indians

and a band numerically so strong that he coul d not hope
to cope with them The battle opened and had raged .

furiou sly for some time when Captain S tephens seeing ,

that they could not hold out in their resistance much

l onger had his men dismount and seek She l ter in the
,

timber and canyons abandoning their horses a l together , .

In t his w ay they kept up a desultory fight under cover

and during the night e ffected t heir escape They se t out .

for D ecatur Wise cou nty w hich w as distant about eighty

, ,

miles w hich distance they covered on foot without either

,

rest or food This w as accomplished without the l oss of a

.

man and after i nflicting severe punishment upon a large

body of Indians I only recall the name of one o f the ten
.

men with Captain S tephens on this occasion and that was ,

John Hogg a brother of the late distinguished Governor

,

J S Hogg of Texas
. . .

A great deal has been said and written about th e

M ustang horses so num erous in the N orthwest and ,

especially in Texas from the upper Cross Timbers and ,

-
,

over the Panhandl e of Texas and in what was then ,

know n as N o M an s Land and is now B eaver county

” ’

O kl ahoma A s a digression I woul d say that i n the earl y

.
,

days N o M an s Land was the place of refuge and ren

’

d e z v ous for many of the most vicious outlaws and fugi tives

I nd i ah oma , O kla .
,

M a rc h 2 2 , 19 10 .

I will no w d ro p y u f e w l i ne s th i s mo ni ng I r e c e iv e d y our
o
“

r .

l e tt e r f e w d a y s a go I wa s v e r y g l a d t o h e ar f r om y ou N o w
. .
,

m y f r i e nd I h av e n t go t th e m pi c tu e s b e caus e I w as v e r y b us y
’

,
r , .

B ut I am g o i n g s e nt th e m t o y ou s o o n a s I ge t th e m fix e d Now .

if y ou c a n ge t th a t B i s cui t s w h e n y ou ge t i t a nd s e nt me jus t f e w
o f th e m W e ll h o w a e y ou g e tt i n g a l o n g I h O p e y ou a r e w e ll
.
,
r .

How i s p e o p l e a t T e x a s n y h o w W e ar e a l l g e tt i n g a l o n g v e r y
a .

ni c e l y . M y f i e nd I gue ss i t mus t b e a ll f or y ou t hi s t ime

r , I .

mus t c l os e i t no w
I a m y our d e ar e s t f r e nd , i ,

PA R KE R HE i ME R .
IN THE B OSOM OF T HE C O MAN C HE S 1 15

Parke rhe i me r S q
, u w
a a nd So n .
1 16 IN T HE B OSOM or THE C O MA N C HE S

that ever inh abited this continent These outlaw s had .

N o M an s Land practical ly all t o themselves and i t was

’ ‘

a very rar e instance that an o fficer of the law ever su c

ce e d e d in going into and tak ing ou t of this distric t any of

t he aforesaid outlaw s Frequent l y an o ffi cer w ould go in

.

and never be heard of again .

Resuming t he subj ect of the M ustang ponies I w ould ,

say that as far back as 1 8 6 6 to 1 8 6 7 I traversed all of the ,

country above described in the t w o years I was wi t h t he

Comanche Indians and the supposed M ustang horses
,

consisted of animals that had been abandoned by t he

Indi ans a nd origi nally stolen from Texas and N ew M exico
'

The Indians made a practice of stealing and having

plenty of horses and w hen hotly p urs ued by Texas
, .

rangers co w boys and United S tates soldiers i t would

, , ,

frequ en t ly happen they would have to abandon many of

their horses as in their hurried fl
,
ight they co ul d not
drive the horses fast enough and woul d necessari l y leave
them behind In this w ay the horses became scattered
.

all over the countr v I recall one instance when the

.

United S tates troops captured a band of India n s that had

an unusually large number of horses and the o ff icers in ,

charge gave orders to kil l most all of the horses in the

possession of the captured Indians In execu t ing these .

orders the troops rounded up and killed on this particular

occasion abou t tw o thousand horses .

Duri ng my compulsory soj ourn with the Comanche

I ndians I was not permitted to accompany them on any
of the raids into Texas but they were glad to have me as
,

one of their warriors on raids into M exico and on such ,

raids I accompanied them twi ce each raiding part y

“

consisting of about seventy fiv e men In each exploit

-
.

they secured a considerable number of horses and on the ,

last raid we kil led seven M exicans and captured t wo

M exican girls and one boy These chil dren ranged in a ge .

from eight to ten years and w ere still with the Indians as
,
1 18 IN T HE B OSOM or T HE C O M A N C HE S

captives when my release from them was eff ected S pac e .

woul d not permit me to depict and relate the circumstances

of the many harrowing Indian massacres of Which I had =

knowledge dur ing the dark days of the Indian d e pre d

at i ons but I will relate one instance terrible in i ts cruelty
, ,

and unusually pathetic in many respects This particul ar .

instance was that of the massacre of the Russell fami l y

that took place in the year 1 8 6 8 some four miles south ,

w est of the location now occupied by Chico Texas M r s ,

. .

Russell was a w idow that wi th her four chi l dren had lived
alone for severa l years S he had three sons about twenty .
,

one sixteen and ten years of age respectivel y and her

, , ,

daughter M artha was eighteen years of age

,
In th e ,
.

attack from the Indians all w ere kil l ed including th e

mother except B ean and M artha B ean was absent at
,
.

work as an employe of a United S tates government sa w

mill about ten miles from his home which was the old ,

Joe Henry M artin place The Indians destroyed thi s .

home on S aturday and on S unday morning B ean Russe ll ,

retu rned to spend the S abbath wi th the fami l y as w as ,

—
C y r il O k l a A pr 2 1 1 9 1 0
D e a r B r o D o t t I w a s v e r y g l a d t o ge t y our l e tt e r I w a nt
.
, .
, .
,

.
.

t o go up th e r e but I d o no t k now w h e n w i ll Q ua na h P a r k e r go
th e r e s o if y ou w ill l e t m e k now w h e n h e i s g o i n g I will go wi t h
,

hi m . I d o no t k now t h e w a y t o th e r e I w i ll s e n d y ou a f e w .

p i c tur e s th a t I h av e h e r e a nd n e xt t i m e I w ill s e nd s ome mor e .

W e ar e a l l w e ll h e r e h o pi n g y ou t h e s am e , .

Y o ur B r o , .

N am e m e a ns l os t a s i tt i n g d ow n . TO M WATS AC O D E R .

—
C y r i l O k l a N ov 3 1 9 1 0
D e ar B ro t h e r z I w i l l wr i t e a f e w l i n e s t o y ou th i s mor ni n g
W e ll w e a r e a ll s t ill i n g o o d h e a l th w e h av e b e e n i n a g oo d c o n
, .
, .
, .

, ,

d i t i o n s i nc e y ou l e f t h e r e Qua na h has g o n e and w e d i d no t

.

k now th a t th e y h av e t o pa y s om e m o ne y t o go hu nt th e r e s o I
d i d no t go W e d i d no t k now t h e w a y t o go d ow n th e r e I w ill
. .

no t wr i t e a l o n g o n e th i s t i m e but w ill d o b e tt e r n e xt t i m e , I .

h o p e th i s l e tt e r w ill fi nd y ou a ll w e l l th e r e s o mus t c l o s e f or
t im e . A nsw e r s oo n .

F rom y our b o th e r
r ,

M r D ot B a b b
. . TO M W A T S A CO D E R .
IN THE B OSOM OF T HE C O MA NC HE S 1 19
1 20 IN THE B OSOM or THE C O MAN C HE S

his usu al custom There he was conf ronted by the

.

ghastly sight of his murdered mother and brothers but ,

he coul d find no trace of M artha He at once hastened .

to the nearest neighbors three or four miles dista n t and

, ,

reported the horrible massacre A t this time there was

m
.

no t exceeding ten fa ilies in the county In this raid .

there w ere not less than three hundred Indians The .

mystery of all w as w hat had become of M artha With .

many t he conclusion w as that the beautif ul young girl

with golden hair had been made a captive by the Indians
who w ould take her away with them H ow ever this .
,

theory was shaken on seeing and talking with Uncle Dick

Couch and his sons w ho resided in the neighborhood and
, ,

w ho had just successfully w ithstood an a t tack from the

same band of Indians having in reality not only resisted
,

them but driven them off and given pursuit Uncle Dick .

and his sons con t ended that in the encou nter they saw
the en tire band and that M artha w a s not w ith them and
, ,

that t hey must have killed her after leaving the Ru ssell
home . Follow ing this there w as a general search for
M ar t ha w hose body was found by Uncle Dick Couch on
,

his way home on the day w e had buried the other three
slain members of the Ru ssell family He at once reported .

such t o t he neighbors w ho proceeded to b ury her remains

,

w i t h t he o t her members of the family It w a s found that .

these ruthless Indians had not only killed but had scalped
M artha and lef t her en t irely nude and when found the ,

w olves had badly mu tilated her remains It was sup .

posed the Indians scalped her that they might take her
very fine and lu xurian t suit of golden hair N eighbor s
‘

on inspe ctir g the Ru ssell home found that the w ido w ed

.

mo t her and sons had made a most desperate resistance ,

each d ying w ith one or more weapons in hand and sur

rou nded by large puddles of their o wn blood ' They had
fought w ith desperation and no do ubt had w ounded or
killed some of the a t tacking Indians ' but in case of killing
1 22 IN THE B o s on or THE C O MAN C HE S

the Indians it w oul d not have been know n as it was t heir ,

in vari able custom t o carry off their dead This frightful .

tragedy took place w i t hi n tw enty miles of a United S tates

army post Fort Richardson at Jacksboro Texas and is
, , ,

a further evidence of the inefficiency of the United S tates

government in protecting its ci t izens This is o nl y one of .

a coun t less number of similar massacres w hich will gi ve

m
so e idea of the suff erings dangers and hardships of the
,

daring pioneer people w ho blazed the w ay that civil ization ,

secur i t y and prosperi t y migh t follow in their wake and ,

furth er serves t o remi nd all of the debt of gratitude to

the brave pioneers of Texas t ha t can never be paid .

During my early ranch days with Dan Waggoner in

the coun t ies of Clay and Wichita there w ere immense
herds of buff alo roami ng t he prairies in all directions and ,

I w a s accustomed t ohavi ng some fine sport p ursuing and

occasionally kil ling the buff al o bul ls that w ere w on t to
S how fight .Pat Kemp my compani on to w hom I have
,

already frequently referred enj oyed thi s S port with me

,
.

I recal l a very lu di crou s ex perience one day w hen Pat and

I were chasing some large buff alo bul l s Dur ing the chase .

I had kil led thr ee or four and in the heat of the p ursuit I
,

had lost Sight of Pat Going in search of hi m I saw Pat s

.
’

riderless horse comi ng in my direction I felt very much .

al armed and hastened t o look over the surroun di ng

country w hen t o my grea t surprise a fe w hundred yards
,

di stant I saw Pat astride a buff alo bul l Thi nking that .

he w ould need assistance I put sp urs to my horse and

hurri ed to him and on overtaking him inquired w hy h e
was ridi ng the bu ff alo Pat s reply w as that O ld Buck
.
’“

”
skin the horse t ha t he had been ridi ng coul d not over
,
“
,
”
take the young b uffalo and being desirous of killing
,

some buffalo yearlings he had mounted the buff alo b ul l ,

believing that in that w a y he coul d get to the front and ,

that w hen up wi t h t he young b uff alo he coul d dismount ,

and kil l some of the yearlings t hat w ere leading the herd .
 IN THE B oson or TH E C o st a -
ca m 1 I
ou
C

B ut i ns t ea d t he buff alo ha d sul ked and w oul d n or r un

old

a t a fa t p
s ace I t hen asked hi m how he expe c t e d t o ge t
.

off t he bu al o
fi
and Pa t sai d Y ou ge t my Win chest er
.
“
.

w hen I t hrow 1 t do wn and I w ill show y ou ho w t o ge t OH

'

. '

w her eu pon he t hr ew do w n t he Winches t er a n d I gO t on ,

o f my horse and secur ed t he g u n so t ha t I co ul d sh o o .

t he buff al o i ne cess a ry A t t hi iunct ur e Pa t dr e w his

f
.
s

large bo wi e knif e w it h w hi ch he st ab b ed t he buff al o

-
,

several t imes t he bufi al o soon t her eaf t er f allm g dead in

'

hi s t racks . A s t he bufi al o fell Pat j umpe d rema r king .

.
,

“
Tha t is t he w ay t o ge t ofi an ol d buf falo bull ”
Thi s .

’
memorable buff alo ride w as on Gil be rt s c eek in Wich i t a r

coun ty Texa s in 1 8 7 3
, ,
.

Pa t and I ha d ma n y experi enc e s wi t h and ma ny n arro w

esca pes from t he w il d ani mal s w i t h w hic h w e ca m e in
frequent contac t as Pat and I w e re al w a y s in qu est of
,

somet hin g ne w as a mea ns of oc cu p ying t he m ore or less

idl e t im e t ha t w as not req uir ed in gi vin g a t t en t io n t o t he
ca t t le
. On one of t hese explora t ions t hrou gh n e an b v ‘

pl ai n and w oo dl and in w hich w e w ere al s o e ni oyi ng t he

,

exci t emen t of chasi ng the w il d hogs t ha t roamed in t he

'

bend of t he Big Wichi t a river j u st above Wic hi t a Fall s , .

near its pres ent ceme t ery an old bloodh ound t ha t w e .

had w i t h us found and t r e ed four pan t her cu bs Thr ee .

of t hes e cubs w ere in a big co t t onw ood t ree an d t he o t her “

in a hackberr y no t so large Pa t and I sho r t he t hree in .

t he cott onw ood and t he y cam e t umblin g t o t he g ound r .

t w o of t hem being dea d and t he O t her ba dl y w oun ded .

When it hi t t he gr o und i t w as cryin g j u s t like a c hi l d .

and on h e a ring it s w ail s t he cu b in t he hackberry t r e e

came t um blin g dow n al so as if i t had been sho t B e t w een ,
.

Pa t and ol d Red t he bloo dh oun d and m y sel w e managed

,
,
f

af t er a despera t e st ru ggle t o cap t ur e t hi s cub and t ied

him secur el y and as w e w ere fini shi ng t he t w o ol d or
.
,

paren t pan t hers appea red on t he scene in response t o t he

scream s of t he w oun ded cub B efore w e coul d real iz e .
1 24 IN THE B OSOM or THE C O M A N C HE S
'

their presence and threatened attack old Red had e n

gaged t hem bo t h in unequ al combat O ld Red did no t .

seem t o be ver y much in their way and I would like to ,

have adeq uate expression of ho w I felt when I s aw them

approachi ng but I have not the langu age t o d o so O ne
,
.

of t heir first eff orts w as to undertake to release the cub

that had be e n t ied and all the w hile they were menacing
,

u s w i t h an a t t a ck that w e knew to be right at hand I .

seized mv Winchester ri fle and Pat hi s 4 5 Colt s pisto l ’

,

w hich he used w i t h one hand hol di ng on all the w hi l e to

,

the youn g panther with the other There was no tim e .

for us to prepare a campaig n of defense a nd in the e me rg ,

ency w e had t o look out each for h imse l f and shoot as

rapi dl y and un erri n gly as possible This w e both did .
,

and t o mv great relief as w ell as astonishment we suc

, ,

ce e d e d in k illing both of t he inf ur i ated beasts j ust as ,

t he v w ere in t he act of seizing and tearing us to pieces .

We could not have escaped a s we did at all had it not

been for t he brave and un flinching w ork of old Red the ,

hound w ho seized the mother panther in the begi nning

,

of the a tt ack and during the fight never released his hold ,

not wi t hs t anding the horrible wounds and laceration he

recei ved . In this w a y the mother panther the more ,

vicio us of the t w o as wou ld n a t ural l y be the case w as

, ,

l
bad y han di capped We w oul d shoot and both panthers
.

would con t inue t o advance and we m ust have shot them

ten t o fif t een t imes before killing them They were intent .

upon bu t one thing and that w as our destruction a nd

, ,

had w e retreated t he least b i t or had missed our aim in

,

a u v ins t ance w e co ul d no t and w o uld not have sur vi ved

.

the comba t We carr ied our y oung panther to the ranch

.
,

and w i t h t he general treatment we adm inistered it b e

ca me v e r v docile and w a s valued highl y by us as a rare
pet just as w e w ere becomi ng much attached to i t Dutch
. .

Joe came up from S herman and w e made hi m a p resent

of the y oun g panth e r which he took with him on his
,
 1 26 IN THE B OSOM OF THE C O MAN C HE S

return to S herman The wi l d hogs referred t o on th e

.

W ichita r iver were the off s p ri ng of a stock o f hog s

.

owned by the man Gil bert who had the hardihood to ,

establish h i s home on the R e d ri ver some fi fteen mi l es

d i stant before the Civi l W ar These hogs had wand e r e d
.

from Red river to the woodlands bordering on Wichita

river and there mul ti p l ied in great number and wer e
, ,

j ust as wi l d and vicious as any o the other dang erous

f

d enizens of the p l ai ns or woods We d er ived a great d e a l

.

of excitement from t he chase of these wi l d hogs wi th our

b l ood hound o l d Red as the chase was a l ways full o f
-
, ,

zes t and d anger .

A nother dang e r more dreadful than W i l d bea sts and ,

o ne that in the summer and fal l seasons l ur ke d ever near ,

w as t hat o f the fata l fangs of th e venomous ratt l esnak e s

that abounded in great numbers on e very hand These .

were the b l ack and di amond ratt l esnakes frequently ,

a ttaining a l engt h of six to eight f eet and having from ,

ten t o twenty ratt l es These dea dl y monsters o f the

.

p l ai n were al ways in an a ggr e siv e mood and wer e ever

r e ady to contest the ri ght of way wi th a ll comers what
so e ver A t the approach of man or beast t heir rattl e s
.

sounded that awf ul al arm so often t he pre lud e to thei r

fata l and dead l y strike They woul d coil i nstant l y
.
,

gi vi ng out the hideous ratt l e a ll the wh il e and wi th ia ,

c a l cul able ra p idity st ri ke their ful l l ength inj ecting a ,

venom equa l in fatality to t hat of the w or l d famed cobra -

.

I t was not the particular propensity of the rattler to hunt

out victims but rather to hold its ground and a ttack and
fight v iciously upon t he sudden and unexpected approach
o f almost any li vi ng creature To re treat in the fac e o f
.

a n e ne mv or of t hreatened danger or combat was no part

of the code of a ratt l esnake whose sel f confidence and

,

bravery were alw ay s supreme The greatest peri l from .

th e s e terri b l e snakes so very like the hu e s o f the parche d

,

gr ass concea ling t he m wa s rea l iz i ng by th ei r ratt le that they

,
 IN THE B OSOM or T HE C O MAN C HE S 127

we e near you and not kno w ing in w hat di rection t o jum p

r

or fl ee and rea l izing also that if you moved precipitately

,

likely as otherwise you woul d la nd w ithin t he radi us of

their stri ke s o deadl y a s t o be almost beyond all hope
,
.

On e of the safeguards emp l oyed w a s that of heavy boots

with high t ops but withal occa s ionally a ver y large
,

rattler woul d plant his fangs entirely above the boot s ’

protection Y ou have read and he ard recited the stor y

.
1 28 IN TH E B OSOM or T HE C O MAN C HE S

of the tranquil abode in t he prairie d o g hole of the ra ttler -

, ,

the prairie dog and the o w l All of w hi ch i s the v e i i e st

-
,
.
“

fiction since whenever the rattler entered the hol e the

,

dogs and ow ls eit her w ent out of the hole or into t he

snake for the snake subsisted largely on both Wi t h the
,
.

coming of settlements ratt l ers disappear rapi d l y as no

, ,

one was ever in too great a hurr v not to k i ll the rat t l er if he

had or w a s ab l e to secure the means w ith whic h t o di s
patch this most hated and dreaded of all species of ven
om o u s and deadly reptiles T o surround the camp tent
.

or t he lonel y bunk upon t he slope with a hair rope wa s

an e ffectual expedient ofte n em ployed agai nst an un
w elcome noct urnal v isi t and a stealth y occupa n c y of
either the tent or bu nk wi th such dire resul ts as death ,

either from fright or p oison The ra ttler like the t ar .

,

antul a and other t errible creeping cra wling t hings that

, ,

once menaced t he l i fe and comfort of the un protected

sleepers upon the gro und w ould not cros s a hair rope
. .

Upon occasion I have been in such dangerously close

quarters with the rattler that I w oul d cheerfully have
exchanged him for the biggest l i on or the most ferociou s
man eating tiger that ever trod the j ungle I shall on l y
-
.

relate one particu lar harro wing experi ence with a rattler
from which I escaped wi th such a narrow margi n as to
m ake m e shudder at the reflection even now some forty ,

years after the occurrence In the afternoon of a very.

ho t d ay I entered u pon p ursuit of some cattle that had

wa ndered too far from the range and not wi shing to ,

ret urn without them I persisted in the search until I

found them and started them back at the close of the day .

I drove t he cattle along as hurri e d ly a s possible but at ,

length the skies became overcast with heavy clouds and ,

in the intense darkness of the sultr y night I had di fficu l ty

in finding my way I therefore decided as I had often
.
,

d one before to halt for the night and with th dawn

, ,
e

overtake the cattle and proceed to the ranch head

1 30 IN THE B O S OM or THE C O MAN C HE S

the snake m ust be coiled enabling it to stri ke nearly if not

,

quite the dista nce covered by its f ul l l ength .

Havi ng l ived wi th the I ndi ans for two years I am in ,

p osition t o speak author i tative l y of their inner domestic

l ife concerning which there has been much said and
,

wri tten of a fan ciful and exaggerated nature I therefore .

con sider that in submitting certain facts a l ong this line -

such wil l prove benefic i al to a ll who may want to kn ow

the truth The savage tri bes subsi sted mainly on buff al o
.

meat both fresh and dried They a l so now and then

.

partook of horse fl esh and when it became necessary at

-
,

certain interva l s subsisted whol l y on t he meat o f the

horse as at times the buff alo was not ava il able It w as
, .

the custom t o cur e in the sun the meat t hat t he y woul d

put away for wi nter consum p tion In prepari ng meat .

they woul d beat it up and then parch i t on the coa l s .

S ometimes they stewed the ir meat and t hen dipped it ,

into a sal t brine as they ate it They had no regular hours .

for repasts and had the habit of eating whenever they

,

were hungry They did not eat any bread at all They
. .

lived in what is known as te p ees or wi gwams which we re ,

made out of buffa l o hides dressed and tanned after a ,

process o f their own They wou l d take ten or fifteen

.

buff al o skins a fter pr e pari ng th em and se w them to ,

gether so as to make one tep e e They used the sinew o f .

the bu ffa l o in maki ng thread and cord This sinew was .

found in the back o f the anima l e xten di ng from the hip

bon e s to the shoul der b l a d es It coul d b e subdivi ded .

into sm al l strands like thr ead and each strand of the ,

sinew had ten times the strengt h of the thread of the

same size They also made their bowstri ngs of the sinew
'

.
,

which stri ngs were practical l y unbreakab l e A s before .

stated th e prevailing custom was for the men to have

,

whatever number of wi ves or s quaws they deemed ne ce s

sary which ordi naril y amounted to two t o six wi ves to
,

each man The impression has obtained that the chief

.
IN THE B OSOM or T HE C O MAN C HE S 1 31

C h ie f ' uana h Parke r and His O ld Home

1 32 IN THE B OSOM or THE C O MAN C HE S

had speci a l prerogat i ves as to the number of squa ws he

co ul d possess ' but that is a mistake as al l the Indian men ,

were on the same footin g and permitted to have what ~

ever num ber of wives they desired wi thout respect to

rank The women that were the wives or squa w s of one
.

man a ll l ived together and acknowledged the man as

theirs in common There were a great many more women
.

than men as many of the warriors were kil l ed from time

,

to time in thei r raids and b att l es ' and owi ng to the greater
number of women a great latitude was extended to the
men as to the n umber of wi ves or squa ws they should
possess E ach man and his squaws woul d occupy tepees
m
.

separatel y fro the others but strange to say the squaw ,

woul d devote the same attention to the ch ildren of o t her .

women as the y woul d their own O nl y in rare instances .

was there ever any fri ction or discord betw een the squa w s
of the same or d iff erent households and it was the rul e , ,

generally observed never to whip the chi l dren but to

, ,

direct them by persuasion and obj ect lessons How ever .

,

they were firm with their chil dren and commanded .

obedience and respect from them .

A s to the mann er of dress the men w e re shirts leg ,

gings and breech clouts and ei ther a blank et or b uf falo

, ,

robe . M ost of the garments were made o f buckski n .

They als o wore moccasins on their feet made of the same ,

material The Indian women and girls were dressed i n

.

buckskin with b l ankets and any kind of cloth they could

,

obta in They woul d take a blanket and cut a h ole in the

.

middle so they could get their heads through and then ,

put a piece on each side in a V shape so that it would ,

S pread out like a skirt and serve to drape the bo d y It .

was also a fixed custom that the squaws were t odo all the
meni al work They ski nned and dried the buffalo meat
.
,

dressed the hides and prepared all of the food supplied

, ,

the dr ink ing water moved the tepees and in fact were
, ,

the servants and menials of their lor d s in every manner

1 34 IN THE B OSOM or T HE C O MAN C HE S

of domestic work and service The men were always kind .

.

and aff e ctionate to the squaws and were never t y rannical ,

in t h eir treatment of them O ccasi onally a warrior woul d

.

captur e a white woman for the p urpose of add i ng her to

his harem and when he did so no other Indian wou l d
,

d are mo l est h im or int rude u po n hi s exclusive o wnership

of the white squaw The women of the tri be were mora l
.

and virtuous t o a most remarkable degree and W i th but ,

few exceptions were l oyal to the men with whom they had
been mated They seemed to have had a considerable
.

conception of hum or and indulged in the habit of prae

,

tica l j okes and much fun at each others expense which is ’

,

contrary t o the belief so prevalent that the Indian is

stoica l and solemn on all occasions .

When an Indian buck died t he v w ou l d kil l severa l

horses for hi m to ri de i n the next world They a ll b e .

l ie v e d imp l icitly in the Great S pirit as is general l y known ,

.

“
Th e y had heal ers kn own as medicine men and in case”
,
'

of sickness or anyone being wounded the medi cine men

would come and wait upon the patient in such a manner as
t o cal l on the Great Father to help him s o administer
treatment as woul d enab l e the patient to recover In .

cases of fatal illness the grie f of the parents and ki nsmen

, .

was often inconso l ab l e I recal l one particul ar instance

when I was residing i n Wichita Fall s in 1 8 8 7 when an
“

Indian by the name of B l ack Horse in the emp l oy of ,

M essrs Frank and George Kn ott i n Wichita Falls who

.
,

had grass l eas e s in the C omanche reservation l ost one of ,

his chil dr en B l ack Horse kille d five of his horses saying

.
“

that he wanted to be sure the little boy woul d be well

mounted in the next world to which he had gone B l ack ,
.

H orse onl y had eight horses and the ki lli ng of five l e ft

.

him three onl y which was not a suffi cient mount for the
,

remaining five members o f th e fami l y and h e at onc e

,

came to Wichita Fall s for the pur pose of havi ng th e

Knott brothers buy him tw o more horses B lack Hors e .
IN THE B OSOM or T HE C O MAN C H E S 1 35

T A H-HA H A
. M o de rn C m
o a nc he I nd i a n Gi rl .
1 36 IN THE B OSOM or TH E C O MAN C H E S

did not know how to explain t o the Knott brothers and ,

he came t o mv home between twelve and one o c l ock at ’

n ight when my fam i l y and I were so un d a

,
sleep He .
,

ho wever poun d ed on the house and called for me by my

,

Indian name Finally he had aroused M rs B abb w ho

. .
,

called to me saying There are some I n dians wanting

, ,

you on the out s i d e ”

M rs B abb was famil iar with my
. .

Indian name and f or that reason understood the Indian

,

desired to s e e me I went to the door and asked w ha t

.
,

t hey wanted Black Horse related his troubles and re

.
,

q uested me to go with him the next morning t o M r .

’
Knott s home and explain to him the obj ect of his mis
sion as B lack Horse co ul d not speak E nglish I accord
,
.

ingl y accompanied him and after due and satisfactory ,

explanations M r Knott let him have the t w o horses A s

. .

a further mani festation of his gri ef over the loss of his

little b oy B lack Horse had burned up his tepee s wagons
, , ,

buggy harness and in fact most everythi ng he ha d and

, , ,

said he did so because i n this w a y all of such e q uipment

would reach his boy and be of assi stance to him in the
other world I mention this instance t o explain th e
.

pop ular conception the Indians had of death and the l ife
hereafter .

The Indian dr um or tomtom w as m ade by stretchi ng

rawhide over some hollow vessel fashioned af t er the natur e
of a cheese hoop The shields the v u sed so effect ively i n
.

protecting their bodies from b ullets were made out o f

b ul l neck oval shape d abou t eighteen inches across and
, , ,

wou ld tur n almos t any bullet These shields the Indi an s .

would use held in front if adva n cing or thrown over their ,

-

backs if re treating
,
The Indians woul d undergo any .

amount of peril and danger in taking their wounded off

the field of battle unless scalpe d as they had a super ,

s t i t iti on against recovering a scalped victim of their

tribe .

C hieftains were usuall y m e n w ho had won leadersh ip

1 38 IN TH E B OSOM or THE C O MAN C HE S

father s rank In the event of t he death of a chi ef with

’
.

out a direct descendant to succeed him there woul d b e

hel d a council of the warri ors who woul d se l ect one o f
their number and install him as their chief There wer e .

always division chiefs who wou l d have direct supervisi on

,

over about a thousand wa rri ors each and each c hi ef ,

would have his staff somethin g in the manner of a genera l

,

of the army ' and the chiefs and their staffs or counsellors ,

as they were known were suprem e in a l l tri bal la ws and

,

regul ations There were never any inter tribal marri age s
.
-
,

as the policy was for each trib e to live to itsel f Th e y .

also observed much the same ru les as t o marr yi ng th eir

kin as are prescribed by the rul es and laws of civil ization .

I have heard them exp l ain that in this observation they

desired to avoid disease deformity and many other ill s
, ,

common t o intermarrying in too c l ose a degree of kinship .

The y were if anything more particul ar in this respect

th an white people It i s notable that with the Ind ian s
.

there is n either ins anity nor epilepsy They had no .

w ritten records of any kind and depended so l e l y on

tradition as handed down from one generation to another .

They ha d un bounded adm ir ation for any white man w ho

ha d exhibited bravery in their combats with them and ,

in revi ewi n g the past a l ways spoke in terms of greatest

praise of their w hite adversaries who withstood t he
terri ble Indian c harges unf linchingl y A not her striking .

characteristic was their truthf u lness and their respect for

the tr uth in al l d ailv intercourse and transactions In the .

beginn ing they were made t o undervalue the good traits

of the white man as their first contact with the whit e
,

race w as with thieves and outlaws causing them t o con ,

elude that a ll wh i te men were alike and that in kil ling

and p u nishing them they were doing a righteous and just
deed ' and there can be no question but that they wer e
more or less animated by what they esteemed t o be a
prote ction of their rights p riv leges and possessions The
i

.
, ,
 IN T HE B OSOM or THE C O MAN C HE S 1 39

Indi an war riors generall y had good di scipline and when ,

on the warpath the y w ould put out sentinels on high

poi nts and guard the rear as the y marched or slept Their .

c ustom w a s t o sleep aw hi l e and travel again making ,

sometimes as many a s t hre e s l eeps in one night In their

'

skirmishes and battles the variou s units w ould sometimes

become sep ara t ed and in reunitin g t he v w ould at night
,
1 40 IN THE B OSOM or TH E C O M A N C HE S

build fir es and surround them wi th b l ankets and thus

force col umns of smoke to ascend as sentinels to be seen
a nd used as a comm on rendezvo u s .

The In d ians had no ey e brows eye l ashes nor whiskers , , ,

a s they were pu l led out with tweezers The Indian men .

would all have whiskers about the same as whi te men but
.

for this fact The Indians were also respectfu l and un

'

usual l v a ffectionate to their old people and would provi de ,

and care for them tenderly The In dians also in their .

p rimeval state were alm ost immune from disease and

usuall v d i ed from senility and often attained t o the gr eat
,

age of over a hundred y ears There w ere rare l v ever any

.

de a ths at childbirth and the wom en were not very pr o

,

lific wh i ch was suppose d t o be d ue t o the drudgery o f

'

their servile lives and excessive horseback ridi ng It

m
.

wou ld be a rare case when there w ou ld be ore than

three children bor n to one s quaw The Indian counted .

the w in ter and summer as a year each In the buria l of .

their d ead the C omanches would select a site on a b l uff

and cover the remains wi th rocks and in extreme cases , ,

if a Chieftai n they w ou ld dig a grave and make inter

, ,

ment therein The Chevennes buri ed in tree s or on

.

sca ffolds Wh e n a warrior was b uried his bows arrow s

.
, ,

c l othes gun and all war trappings were buried with him
, ,
.

The men an d w omen were p ermitted to mate or marry as

t heir mutual a ffections a nd sentiment directed and it ,

was a general practice of the old me n to select the y o ungest

girls w henever moved bv desire to recruit their harems .

Genera ll y the I nd ians were very considerate of their

captives and I have known no t a few to return to the
,

Indians and others that woul d have returned if they had .

been given the O p p ortunit y Such captives had found the

.

Indian s hospitable and generous divi ding l iberal l y and ,

f reely any and ever ything they had or could get that
would minister to the pleasure and comfort of the cap
ture d St range as it may seem the Sav age tribes h ad
.
,
1 42 IN THE B OSOM or T HE C O MAN C HE S

manV o f the instincts and finer impulses and emotions

inh eren t in the best races of peop l e and civ i lization th e
worl d over .

D uring my captivi ty wi th the Comanche Indians I

l earned the ir s p eech and l ingo pretty thoroughly S ome .

four or five hundred words compri se their vocab ulary ,

consisting a lmost wholly of nouns and adj ectives Their .

speech embodies mainl y the names of obj ects Th e .

deficiency in l anguage as to their emotions shades o f ,

feel ing and descri ptive utterances found an amplified

expression in th e art of gesticulati on in which they wer e ,

both masterful and graceful They had no patronymics

.

or surnames and derived their in di vi dua l names from

,

some c l ose l y connected circumstance e vent or happening , , ,

trivia l or otherwise and these names even wi th chiefs

, , ,

passed out forever wi th the bearer thereof .

In closing this autobiogra p hy I refrain from reciting

many incidents in the hope that I may avoid the pro
,

lixit y of t o o vo l um inous a narra tive Within the scope .

embraced herein I have endeavored to throw some light

on al l of the phases of l ife tri bal characteri stics and view
, ,

points of one of the great subdivisions of the aborigina l

inhab i tants of N orth A meri ca and in doing s o I fee l t hat
,

I have performed no mean serv i ce There i s now l eft.

only the shadow of the mul titudi nous Indian tribes who
unti l so recent l y overspread this continent B efore th i s .

fact can be rea l ized the shadow will have van i shed en
t ire l y and forever and any record that wi ll f aithfull v
,

i lluminate the exp l oi ts the part p l ayed and even the

, ,

very existence of the Ind i an races s o numerous and ,

powerful i n the past must enr i ch history and prove a

,

v al ued heri ta ge to generat i ons now li ving and t o fo ll ow .

B ei ng myse l f one of the pathfinde rs I have stri ven to ,

convey something of the suff er i ngs and sacrifices of the

fearless ,
and nob l e men and w omen who pushed
ever back the borders of the frontiers and broa d ened the
IN THE B OSOM or T HE C O MAN C HE S 1 43
1 44 IN THE B OSOM or T HE C O MAN C HE S

zone and l imits of c ivil ization These were the pioneers of

.

Texas most of them having been called to their last

,

reward b ut not until they reali ed that t hey had be

,
z

que athe d to mankind one of the greatest commonwealths

known to the nations of all the w orl d .

A s I now enter the l engthening shadows of l ife and ,

look i ng back reckon the march of the wheels of progress ,

I fee l amp l y compensated for the pri vations sorrows , ,

and struggles experi enced and borne by me in the modest

part I have performed in that thri l ling dr ama enacted
upon the Texas frontiers w hich in tragedy endurance , ,

daring pathos vari ety and intensity of action is com

, , ,

parab l e with the imperishable roles of th e world s best

’

heroes in al l t he ages of an unmeasured past .