Texas Almanac, 1968-1969 Page: 63
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LAST OF THE INDIANS IN TEXAS 63
Sabine, Angelina and Neches Rivers. After
Texas had established its independence of
Mexico the Senate of the new Republic re-
fused to ratify this treaty.
This angered the Cherokees. In 1839, three
companies of white settlers invaded the Cher-
okee grounds and drove them out, the tribe
migrating northward across the Red River.
It was in this conflict, known as the Chero.
kee War, that the courageous old Chief
Bowles (or Bowl) was shot to death. This
attack was during the administration of Pres-
ident Lamar, who had little patience with the
red man. Sam Houston, who had once lived
with the Cherokees in Arkansas, bitterly de-
nounced the repudiation of the treaty with
the Cherokees and their expulsion from
Texas.
The Cherokees did not relinquish their
claim to the East Texas lands. As late as the
1960s they were seeking compensation for
more than a million acres.
Today's Tribes
Only Tiguas, Alabamas and Coushattas
have Texas homes today. The Alabama-
Coushattas settled along the Neches early in
the nineteenth century. In 1854, Sam Houston
succeeded In having two sections of land,
1,280 acres, appropriated to them. Here they
lived in the midst of the Big Thicket until
their impoverished conditions attracted atten-
tion in 1927 when a congressional appropria-
tion provided money for the purchase of an
additional 3,000 acres. The state also ren-
dered some assistance, improving the living
conditions.
A 3-member Commission for Indian Af-
fairs,, created in 1965, aids tribal councils in
development of resources and supervises the
Alabama-Coushatta reservation and the small
reservation for the Tiguas which was estab-
lished in El Paso County in 1967.
Some Other Tribes
Kickapoos and Delawares also drifted
into Texas, most of them settling with the
Cherokees, and going north with them after
the Cherokee War. Some Seminoles migrated
to Texas and settled among the Cherokees,
but others drifted westward to Kinney Coun-
ty. They lived on a small reservation main-
tained for a number of years near Fort Clark
at Brackettville. When this was abandoned
some settled in that county while others
drifted across the Rio Grande.
The once-powerful Caddoes were rapidly
thinned by war and pestilence and a small
remaining number finally settled on a reser-
vation in Indian Territory.
The Karankawas and Coahuiltecan tribes
retreated across the Rio Grande as did the
Lipan Apaches. The Tonkawas of Central
Texas were fairly numerous until after the
middle of the nineteenth century.
The United States held in Texas no public
domain on which to establish Indian reser-
vations, all of the public domain having been
reserved by Texas under the agreement by
which it was annexed.
In 1852, the state Legislature established
two reservations from the public domain. A
tract of 37,000 acres was set aside near Fort
Belknap on the main channel of the Brazos.
(Near present Graham, Texas.) A somewhat
smaller reservation was established on the
Clear Fork of the Brazos about 40 miles
above. Comanches were gathered on the lat-
ter. The larger reservation was allotted to
the Tonkawas, Caddoes, Delawares and other
tribes. Difficulty arose between whites and
the Indians on the two reservations result-
ing in the Indians being transferred to fed-
eral reservations north of the Red River.
This was during Governor Runnels' admin-
istration, 1857-1859.Comanche Battles
Comanches fought many of the fiercest
battles, not only with settlers but also with
other tribes. Before and after tribes in the
eastern half of Texas were peaceful (most
of them during Houston's second administra-
tion as president), Comanches savagely op-
posed the white man as he moved westward.
Even after the War Between the States, this
tribe was a menace. Only a few of their
fights can be mentioned here.
During the Lamar administration the Co-
manches raided in the vicinity of San An-
tonio. They were asked to a meeting with
the whites, March 19, 1840. Prisoners were
to have been exchanged, but when the Co-
manches appeared with only one prisoner
the whites determined to hold 30 to 40 as-
sembled warriors as hostages. A fight ensued
in which the Indians were killed with one or
two exceptions. This was known as the Coun-
cil House Fight.
About 1,000 incensed Comanches appeared
in the Guadalupe Valley, Aug. 3, 1840, and
swept to the coast, killing many persons,
especially in the Cuero and Victoria com-
munities. They sacked Linnville, while its
residents sought safety in boats on the bay.
After several days of raiding and with
1,500 or more stolen horses and much mer-
chandise taken at Linnville, the Indians start-
ed their retreat They were overtaken and
decisively defeated in the Battle of Plum
Creek, Aug. 12, near Lockhart, the volunteer
army of Texans being led by Gen. Felix
Huston, Gen. Edward Burleson, Capt. Mathew
(Old Paint) Caldwell and others.
Between 1845 and the outbreak of the
Civil War, Indian troubles diminished. This
was largely because of the establishment of
U.S. forts along the borders of the state and
in other unsettled areas. But military control
disappeared after 1860 and Indians resumed
their raids during the war and the postwar
years.
In 1868 General Sheridan concentrated Co-
manches, Kiowas and Apaches at Fort Sill
reservation in Indian Territory (now Okla-
homa), but the Indians continued to make
raids into Texas. In 1871, Gen. William Te-
cumseh Sherman visited Texas, marching
with a small detachment from San Antonio
along the line of western posts to Fort Belk-
nap. He ordered an investigation at Fort Sill
and Satank, Satanta and Big Tree, chieftains,
were arrested, charged with a wagon-train
raid and ordered to Jacksboro, Texas, for
civil trial. Satank was killed en route trying
to escape, but Satanta and Big Tree were
given the death penalty, later commuted by
Governor Davis to life imprisonment. The In-
dians were confined at Huntsville peniten-
tiary. They were released in 1873 conditioned
on good behavior. Subsequently Satanta was
rearrested and returned to the penitentiary,
where he killed himself in 1876.
The two Battles of Adobe Walls, Nov. 26,
1864, and June 27, 1874, did much to weaken
Indian power in Northwest Texas. They were
fought near the ruins of an 1843 fort in Hutch-
inson County a short distance north of the
Canadian River. Another Panhandle battle of
this period was the Buffalo Wallow fight,
Sept. 12, 1874, in Wheeler County.
Gen. R. S. Mackenzie of the U.S. Army
was commissioned to round oup the Indians of
Northwest Texas and return them to the In-
dian Territory reservations. This he did in
an aggressive campaign which ended when
Mackenzie's forces trapped the main body of
the Comanches and Kiowas near the junction
of the Tule and Palo Duro Canyons after
their horses had been stampeded by a sur-
prise night attack. This campaign, which
ended ?n 1874, first year of Coke s administra-
tion, marked the end of Indian hostilities in
Texas except for minor incidents.
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Texas Almanac, 1968-1969, book, 1967; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth113809/m1/65/: accessed May 5, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.