History of Texas, Together with a Biographical History of Milam, Williamson, Bastrop, Travis, Lee and Burleson Counties. Page: 235
[7], iv-vii, [2], 10-826, [2] p., [56] leaves of plates : ill., ports. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this book.
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-~~~~~~ITR ODTXS 3
point, and, riding to the top, to my inexpressible
surprise, found myself within 200
yards of a Comanche village, located on a
small stream winding around the base of the
lill. It was a most happy circumstance that
a piercing north wind was blowing, bearing
with it a cloud of sand, and my presence was
unobserved and the surprise complete. By
signaling my men as I stood concealed, they
reached me without being discovered by the
Indians, who were busy packing up preparatory
to a move. By this time the Indians
mounted and moved off north across the
level of the plain. My command, with the
detachment of the Second Cavalry, had outmarched
and become separated from the citizen
command, which left me about sixty
men. In making disposition for attack, the
sergeant and his twenty men were sent at a
gallop, behind a chain of sand hills, to encompass
them in and cut off their retreat,
while with fifty men I charged. The attack
was so sudden that a considerable number
were killed before they could prepare for defense.
They fled precipitately right into the
presence of the sergeant and his men. Here
they met with a warm reception, and finding
themselves completely encompassed, every
one fled his own way, and was hotly pursued
and hard pressed.
" The chief of the party, Peta Nocona, a
noted warrior of great repute, with a young
girl about fifteen years of age, mounted on his
horse behind him, and Cynthia Ann Parker,
with a girl child about two years of age in
her arms, and mounted on a fleet pony, fled
together, while Lieutenant Tom Kelliheir
and I pursued them. After running about
a mile Kelliheir ran up by the side of
Cynthia's horse, and I was in the act of
shooting when she held up her child and
stopped. I kept on after the chief, and abouthalf a mile further, when about twenty
yards of him, I fired my pistol, striking the
girl (whom I supposed to be a man. as she
rode like one, and only her head was visible
above the buffalo robe with which she was
wrapped) near the heart, killing her instantly,
and the same ball would have killed both but
for the shield of the chief, which hung down
covering his back. When the girl fell from
the horse she pulled him off also, but he
caught on his feet, and before steadying hinmself
my horse, running at full speed, was
very nearly on top of hiim, when he was
struck with an arrow, which caused him to
fall to pitching or ' bucking,' and it was with
great difficulty that I kept my saddle, and in
the meantime narrowly escaped several
arrows coining in quick succession from the
chief's bow. Being at such disadvantage he
would have killed me in a few minutes but
for a random shot from my pistol (while 1
was clinging with my left hand to the pommel
of my saddle), which broke his right arm
at the elbow, completely disabling him. My
horse then became quiet, and I shot the chief
twice through the body, whereupon he deliberately
walked to a small tree, the only
one in sight, and leaning against it began to
sing a wild, weird song. At this time my
Mexican servant, who had once been a captive
with the Comanches and spoke their language
fluently as his mother tongue, came
up in company with two of my men. I then
summoned the chief to surrender, but he
promptly treated every overture with contempt,
and signalized this declaration with a
savage attempt to thrust me with his lance
which he held in his left hand. I could only
look upon him with pity and admiration.
For, deplorable as was his situation, with no
chance of escape, his party utterly destroyed,
his wife and child captured in his sight, he235
HISTORY OP TEXAS.
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History of Texas, Together with a Biographical History of Milam, Williamson, Bastrop, Travis, Lee and Burleson Counties. (Book)
Book containing a brief overview of the state of Texas and more specific focus on six specific counties, with extensive biographical sketches about persons related to the history of those places. An alphabetical index of persons who are included follows the table of contents at the front of the book.
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Lewis Publishing Company. History of Texas, Together with a Biographical History of Milam, Williamson, Bastrop, Travis, Lee and Burleson Counties., book, 1893; Chicago, Illinois. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth29785/m1/240/?rotate=90: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.