The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 12, July 1908 - April, 1909 Page: 75
332 p. : ill. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Recollections of S. F. Sparks.
Soon after this the Indians became very troublesome. During
the moonlit nights they would make raids, and in one night they
would steal all the horses in a whole settlement. We would leave
our wives and go in pursuit of them, taking with us our guns,
bayonets, stake ropes and a pone of corn bread, and dried beef if
we had it. The Cherokee and Shawnee Indians lived about thirty
miles north of the settlement. They pretended to be at peace with
the whites, but they were probably interested in the stealing; for
as soon as they found they were being pursued they would divide
in small numbers, so as to make it difficult to follow the trails.
I bought a piece of land on the outside of the settlement, and
my wife, mother-in-law and I moved out there. We had three or
four negroes with us. We never knew at what moment we would
be attacked, and I slept with my gun at the head of my bed, where
I could lay my hands on it. I hired a young man by the name
of B. F. Sells to live with me, as much to help protect my family
as to work for me. We would take our guns with us to the field
to plough, and we would leave one gun at one end of the rows
and one at the other; then we ploughed so that he would be
at one end and I at the other, so they could not cut us off from
both our guns at the same time.
They shot my nearest neighbor while he was ploughing in this
field. They fired and shot him through the left arm just as he
drove to the fence, and turned his horse back into the row, and
another ball cut the side of his neck. The same party killed one
of my beeves, and barbecued it within six hundred yards of my
house. The night before they shot my neighbor, we got together
and built a kind of fort, so in case they made a general move on
the settlement we could take our wives to the fort, and protect
them better there than at our homes. We were none too soon in
getting ready. We had been notified that the Cherokee Ind;ans
and the Mexicans living in that section would attempt to murder
men, women and children, and then leave for Mexico. All the
settlers had come to the fort, and we had a heavy guard day and
night.
We learned that some Mexicans were herding some stolen horses
at a point ten miles above us. So an uncle of mine, and a cousin,
and two or three other men went to see if there was any truth in
the report. The Mexican settlement, commanded by C6rdova, and
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Periodical.
Texas State Historical Association. The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 12, July 1908 - April, 1909, periodical, 1909; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101048/m1/83/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.