The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 29, July 1925 - April, 1926 Page: 140
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
ranche, now deserted- from the delapidated appearance of the
premises it cannot have been inhabited for a good many years past.
No doubt the settlement was broken up by the Indians-32 the land
is rich and water plenty, but timber scarse- The guard having
heard the lowing of cattle overnight,33 in the morning several of
the Company started out in search of a beef-which they procured,
but of a different kind from that commonly used in the white
settlements. I.E. Bull Beef. they killed two of the Rio gentle-
men and brought as much as they could pack into camp- thus
encouraged the Company determined to lay by a day and supply
themselves, but in this we were disappointed for in the evening
every man returned to camp as bloodless as he left it- They found
but very few, and they being more familiar with the entanglements
of a Chapparel than their pursuers made their escape- The
morning of the 18th the Company again decamped and traveled
that day twenty miles- About 10 o. c. we passed the grave of Capt.
Murcherson- he met his untimely death on the 28th of July by
the accidental discharge of his own gun. I was never more shocked
than when I found the grave, and there read his name. He is
buried upon the bank of a little brook beneath a large Cedar-
his death is deeply deplored by all who knew him- This is a
parallel case to that of poor Fuller, and should be a constant warn-
ing to us of the danger of the careless use of fire arms-
On the 19th we traveled fifteen miles. This day the hunters were
more successful having killed two or three Beeves. About night we
were visited with the severest storm that we have had on the road.
Within ten minutes from the commencement the tents were all
prostrated, and our Camp ground was at least six inches under
water- Many light articles about camp were carried off by the
water before they could be gathered up, and the little ravine close
by which was dry when we stoped was in that short time roaring
and plunging like a Cataract- We all passed a disagreeable night,
3"The country between Guadalupe Pass and Tucson had been occupied
by the Spaniards during mission days, but after the break up of the
missions in the first quarter of the nineteenth century, the ranches were
deserted because of Indian depredations. The ranche mentioned was San
Bernardino. For a good description see Bartlett's Narrative, I, 255.
"These cattle were the wild offspring of herds that had been deserted
when the ranches had been abandoned. Colonel Cooke, the emigrants, and
all travellers through this region replenished their diminishing supplies
from these wild cattle. Parties frequently remained in camp a day or so
to cure the surplus beef.140
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 29, July 1925 - April, 1926, periodical, 1926; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117141/m1/154/: accessed May 14, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.