The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 58, July 1954 - April, 1955 Page: 39
650 p. : ill., maps (some col.), ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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The Expedition of Major Neighbors to El Paso in 1849 39
was then the editor of the Texas Democrat of Austin, had dis-
tinguished himself as a Texas Ranger in the Mexican War and
was to gain further distinction fighting the Comanches and in
the Confederate service. Ford and Neighbors were closely asso-
ciated at various periods after the El Paso expedition.
Ford was accompanied to the Trading House by Thomas C.
Woolridge, who was to return Ford's faithful charger, Old Hig-
gins, to Austin, as it "was understood that none but mules would
stand the journey." Old Higgins was a character in his own right.
He was noted for his endurance, sagacity, and rascality. As a
famous race horse in East Texas, he had won much money. Dur-
ing the Mexican War, he served with distinction before Mon-
terrey, and then accompanied Ford to Mexico City for the cam-
paign there. On the transport to Vera Cruz, Old Higgins termi-
nated an encounter with a cantankerous Irish menial much to
the hilarity and satisfaction of Ford's men. The Irishman first
made himself obnoxious by unsuccessfully trying to turn Ford
out of his stateroom. Then he went below and annoyed the
enlisted men. Some time later Ford heard a commotion below,
and when he inquired the cause, he was told that:
Today he [the Irishman] was meddling with the horses. He came
in reach of Old Higgins, and the old scoundrel pitched at him, open
mouthed. He took Paddy's ear off as clean as it could have been
done by a pair of shears, then chewed it up and swallowed it. He
looked all the time like the devilment pleased him.19
Captain Shapley Prince Ross lived on the Brazos, opposite
where Waco was laid off, and it was at his home that Neighbors
added Sullivan and Neal20 to the expedition after Jim Shaw
suggested that it would be dangerous to venture across the region
in too small a party.21 Colonel Hays's party of the previous year
had consisted of seventy-three armed men.22 Gomez and several
hundred Apache warriors were actually lurking in the Davis
Mountains, as Whiting later reported.
Sullivan proved to be the life of a camp. He could sing for
hours and not repeat a song.
19Ford, Memoirs (MS.), III, 408.
20lbid., 504.
21Neighbors to Harney, June 4, 1849. R. W. D. L. R.
22John C. Caperton, Sketch of Colonel John C. Hays (typescript, Archives, Univer-
sity of Texas Library), 37.
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 58, July 1954 - April, 1955, periodical, 1955; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101158/m1/58/: accessed April 30, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.