The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 7, July 1903 - April, 1904 Page: 29

-Reminiscences of Early Texans.

REMINISCENCES OF EARLY TEXANS.
A COLLECTION FROM THE AUSTIN PAPERS.
J. H. KUYKENDALL.
[6.1] Recollections of Capt. Gibson Kuykendall.
(Born in Kentucky, Anno 1802.)
My father, Abner Kuykendall, and his brother Joseph, with their
families, left Arkansas Territory for Texas in October 1821. At
Nacogdoches they were joined by their brother Robert, who had, for
some time, been residing west of the Sabine. The three families
crossed the Brazos river at the La Bahia road, on the 26th day of
November 1821. We found Andrew Robinson and family camped
on the west side of the river. Robinson had preceded us two or
three days. His was the first immigrant family that crossed the
Brazos river. Here we all stopped for about a month, in which
time a few more families arrived. About Christmas Robt. and
Joseph Kuykendall and Daniel Gilleland proceeded on to the Colo-
rado and settled temporarily on the east side of the river near the
crossing of the La Bahia road. These were the first families that
settled on the Colorado.
About the first of January 1822, my father and Thomas Boat-
right moved ten miles west of the Brazos and settled near New
Year's creek, about four miles south of the present town of Inde-
pendence. We had explored this part of the country a week or two
before we settled in it. During this exploration we found a herd
of buffalo and killed one, but found no more during our residence
there. We were now without bread. We had about two bushels
of corn which we saved to plant the ensuing spring. Deer and tur-
kies were abundant. The deer were lean but the turkies were fat
and fine and constituted, for several months, the most valuable part
'These numbers are inserted and should have been bracketed in the in-,
stallments of the reminiscences given in THE QUARTERLY for January and
for April.-EDITOR QUARTERLY.