The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 24, July 1920 - April, 1921 Page: 54
332 p. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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The Southwestern Ilistorical Quarterly
protest from the government of the United States.89 These ac-
tivities made necessary the use of the whole army in the East, and
the West was left unprotected. On January 2, 1839, Joseph
Baker, Indian agent at San Antonio, reported that the Comanches,
Lipans, and Tonkawas were active, and that several children had
been captured at Gonzales; on the 16th, several citizens sent a
circular announcing Indian attacks in Robertson County, and ap-
pealing for aid.40
It is not worth while to enumerate all the Indian attacks during
this period. It is sufficient to say that a lack of interest in fron-
tier protection had caused the depletion of the army, and a lack
of funds at the outset of Lamar's term made impossible the carry-
ing into effect of the ambitious program that he had announced.
His response to the appeals for help coming from the western
counties was' that the lack of funds made him unable to do any-
thing effective in defending the frontier, but that an agent was
then in New Orleans attempting to sell bonds, and that he would
apply all the proceeds from the sale to the purchase of ammunition
and the payment of soldiers." On February 28 he called for vol-
unteers from eight counties in western Texas for an Indian war.
Edward Burleson had been appointed a colonel in the regular
army and stationed at Bastrop, but recruiting was very slow, and
practically the only defence for the western frontier during the
year was by volunteer bodies, supported by what there was of a
regular army. It is likely, however, that the endorsement of an
aggressive policy by Lamar gave encouragement to the citizens in
their local warfare with the Indians.
By far the most troublesome Indians to the Texans were the
Comanches, who had established themselves on the headwaters of
the Colorado before the American occupation. Throughout the
period of the Republic, and even after annexation, they made fre-
quent attacks on the western settlements. President Houston was
authorized by the Senate to make a treaty with them in 1837, and
he invited a number of their chiefs to Houston where he had a
conference with them, giving them presents, and accepting their
"Indian Affairs, 1831-1841; McLeod to Lamar, November 21, 1838,
Lamar Papers, No. 882; 32d Cong., 2d sess., Senate Document, No. 14,
p. 17.
4"Lamar Papers, Nos. 982, 1016.
'Lamar to Inhabitants of Robertson's Colony, February 22, 1839, Lamar
Papers, No. 1084.
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 24, July 1920 - April, 1921, periodical, 1921; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101078/m1/60/: accessed April 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.