The Junior Historian, Volume 30, Number 2, November 1969 Page: 4
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THE JUNIOR HISTORIAN
In addition to being expert horse
thieves, the Comanches were proud of
the variety of torture they had invented
for human captives. An example of one
of these tortures occurred near Cedar
Creek. One afternoon a small band of
Comanches killed and scalped a man
working in his field and captured his wife
and baby. While camping by a creek, one
warrior seized the infant and threw it
into the surging water. The desperate
mother flung herself into the creek, sav-
ing the baby, only to have it thrown
back again. This cruel act was repeated
again and again until the exhausted
mother became so angry that she seized
a large stick and knocked the warrior
senseless. His companions roared with
laughter and allowed the woman her
freedom.Because of the constant harassment
by the Indians, the settlers were forced
to band together for their own protec-
tion. Forts were established at the larger
settlements, and during attacks the in-
habitants of the Cedar Creek area fre-
quently went to Bastrop, Wilbarger, or
forts higher up the Colorado. By the
1850's most of the Indians had moved
100 miles to the north and west. Al-
though this threat had diminished, the
settlers still maintained a hospitality and
concern for others which became a part
of Texas tradition.
Another significant influence on the
lives of the people of Bastrop County
was the system of Negro slavery prac-
ticed throughout the South. To the rural
population of Bastrop County, the Civil
War came as a terrible shock. In the
whole of the county in 1857, no morethan twenty-five families (nearly all along
the Colorado River) actually practiced
a plantation economy with a large num-
ber of slaves. The majority of farmers
and plantation owners owned smaller
numbers of slaves and would have pre-
ferred abolition of slavery to war. The
operations of abolishionists in the state,
which had reached a climax in the sum-
mer of 1860, had caused a violent re-
action among the Anglo society. Run-
away slaves on their way to Mexico were
captured and prosecuted. Nevertheless,
Bastrop County did vote against seces-
sion by a narrow margin because of two
major reasons. A large number of Ger-
man immigrants were opposed to seces-
sion because of their liberal political
views and their strong allegiance to the
national union. Many argued that Texas's
newly achieved annexation should not be
so quickly cast off.
The war and its subsequent conclusion
brought on a host of new and terrible
problems for the people of Cedar Creek.
Their two objectives during the war were
to supply men for military service in the
Confederacy and to defend the Texas
frontier at home. As the war dragged on,
the women and children and loyal slaves
who remained found it increasingly diffi-
cult to make a living. There were short-
ages in merchandise, increasing prices,
news of death on the war front, and
numerous other hardships of war.At the end of the war the fortunate
returned to most unfortunate conditions.
Some found their families scattered or
killed, their livestock missing, their
houses burned, their land choked with
brush, and perhaps worst of all, a sys-
tem of martial law and a severe policy
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Texas State Historical Association. The Junior Historian, Volume 30, Number 2, November 1969, periodical, November 1969; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth391288/m1/6/: accessed May 21, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.