The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 31, July 1927 - April, 1928 Page: 105
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A History of the J A Ranch
was to keep the Indians from stampeding them and gaining
possession of them again.
General MacKenzie had accomplished his purpose-namely, he
had broken up the winter quarters of the Indians, and they soon
began to return to the reservation at Fort Sill. The following
spring General MacKenzie was put in charge of the station at Fort
Sill and under his "firm, just and decided course with the several
thousands of Indians, there never has been an outbreak or necessity
for a campaign in Texas since."26 While the above statement is
true, it was nevertheless necessary for the ranchmen of the Pan-
handle to be on guard at all times for several years, because roving
bands would occasionally break away from the reservation. Per-
haps, the final act of the western drama of Indian depredations
occurred on the J A Ranch in 1878, the year that Quanah Parker
and his followers left the reservation and came back to their old
camping grounds on the Palo Duro Canyon. Colonel Goodnight
gave the writer the following account of this incident:
Much has been erroneously said about my capture of Chief
Quanah. Now the fact is that he was not captured at all. In
February or March of 1878, Indians made their appearance on
the border of our ranch. We maintained outposts on all outer
borders of our property whose responsibilities were twofold, cur-
tailing wanderings of stray cattle and watching for rustlers. At
that time I had headquarters in the upper canyon at what is
known as the "Old Home Ranch." The outposts sent me a run-
ner stating that Indians were coming in considerable numbers.
I at once mounted a good horse and started to meet them. In
cases like this it was safer to do so, as a fight was less likely to
result.
The weather was bitter cold, with snow on the ground. Be-
fore I could meet the Indians they had entered the canyon, where
they split in three bands. This necessitated my following up
three trails. There being no buffalo at this late year, the In-
dians were killing cattle at a fearful rate, having killed about
forty before I got to them. The Kiowas seemed to be in one
band with two bunches of Comanches cooperating.
When I met the Kiowas, they were in an ugly mood. It looked
like trouble. I thought my time had come. Fortunately, there
was with them a renegade Mexican with a good knowledge of
Spanish. I soon reached an understanding to the effect that the
band was to proceed up the canyon to Headquarters for a parley.
20Manuscript, Charles Hatfield to Bruce Cerdis, as cited.105
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 31, July 1927 - April, 1928, periodical, 1928; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101088/m1/117/: accessed May 2, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.