The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 44, July 1940 - April, 1941 Page: 21
546 p. : ill., maps ; 24 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Two Texas Patriots
were on United States soil and that he was compelled to dis-
arm them. Snively protested that he felt sure he was west of
the 100th meridian boundary line, and as the line between the
United States and Texas never had been surveyed, this was at
best disputed territory. Captain Cooke was inflexible, and gave
the Texans an hour to lay down arms, asserting that if any
attempted to escape he would immediately fire. Without giving
Colonel Snively a chance to return to his force, Captain Cooke
crossed with his command, surrounded the Texans, and dis-
armed them. Colonel Snively protested the inhumanity of de-
priving them of their arms in a country infested with thou-
sands of hostile Indians, so Captain Cooke gave back ten of the
rifles and offered to allow as many as wished to accompany him
back to Missouri. Grandfather and some forty others had been
able to conceal their rifles beneath birchbark, which strewed the
ground, and gave up captured Spanish escopetas (short rifles)
in their stead. Captain Cooke then recrossed the Arkansas,
accompanied by some of the Texans.
Colonel Snively moved a few miles up a creek. His force
was now reduced to about fifty. Twice they fought off attacks
by Indians, losing a few men and a good many horses. How-
ever, they decided to attempt to intercept the wagon train. Two
scouts, sent forward, were killed by Indians; others were sent
out and reported that the train had crossed the river into Texas
a few days before, and had gone on its way.
After they had followed the Santa Fe Trail for several days,
discontentment again arose among Snively's men, and they
began dropping out of line until only ten were left to continue
the pursuit. In Grandfather's diary he remarks:
We ten were overwhelmed with disappointment and
chagrin. A march of four days would have sufficed to
put the wagon train in our power. With reluctance
we followed the others. In a short time we were sur-
rounded by five hundred Comanche and Kiowa war-
riors. We received them with galling fire and emptied
a number of saddles, and repulsed the attack. This was
our last affair with the Indians. The last four days of
our march we had nothing to eat.
The Texas Government made an earnest protest at Captain
Cooke's action, which Grandfather attributed to Mexican bribes.
The United States finally paid $18.50 for each of the guns taken21
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 44, July 1940 - April, 1941, periodical, 1941; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth146052/m1/27/: accessed April 30, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.