Indian Wars and Pioneers of Texas Page: 129 of 894
762 p., [172] leaves of plates : ill., ports. ; 30 cm.View a full description of this book.
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INDlIN WARS AND PIONEERS OF TEXAS.
117
Elmore's than they had at Lander's and when the
overwhelming force of Indians came in sight strung
out for a considerable distance, with their yells and
queer decorations, all hope sank. Some women
prayed, others screamed and cried, while -others
held their children to their bosoms in mute despair.
Soon the Indians were around the place and had
driven off the loose horses that had been driven
along by the fleeing people with the hope of saving
them. The horses that had been ridden and driven
were brought inside the yard fence and tied. It
was some time before all the Indians congregated
and, as they would come up, they would stop near
the house, shoot arrows at the men in the yard,
occasionally fire a gun or pistol, and at times some
daring fellow would come within gun-shot, but the
citizens were too experience(l in Indian warfare to
fire until it had to be done to save the dear ones
in the house. The Indians were so slow about
making an attack upon the house that it was thought
that the women and children might be hurried over
the steep bluff that was just north of the house and
down this the Indians could not follow them on
their horses, and if the bluff could be reached
escape was certain to most of the party. A plan
was soon arranged; the Indians were south of the
house and the main body of them three hundred
yards away. The bluff was north of the house and
one hundred and fifty yards away. The men and
boys with guns were to mount their horses and
form a line for the protection of the women and
children, who were to make a break for the bluff.
The men were soon on their horses and the women
and children started, but as they poured out of the
house and out of the yard; the Indians set up an
uneartlily yell, and all the women and children ran
back into the house. After some further delay,
another effort was made to carry out this scheme.
It might not have been successful, but about the
time the women and children got out of the yard,
the soldiers came in sight upon tile brow of a high
hill a mile away to the north, and this gave the
Indians something else to do. They at once took
to their heels and ran for two miles to the highest
point of the divide between Fish creek and Dry
Elm and then halted.
The soldiers seen were Capt. Rowland with that
part of his own company that was with him the day
before, and that part of Capt. Patton's Company
that had joined them the night before at Wallace's,
as already related. They had learned early on the
morning of that day that the Indians had again
crossed Red river and were continuing their depredations.
Capt. Rowland immediately ordered a
pursuit and he found it no trouble now to trail theIndians, as he could follow them by the burning
houses. But they had so much the start and
traveled so rapidly that long before Capt. Rowland
came in sight of them the horses of many of his
men were completely worn out and they could go
no farther. By the time the soldiers reached
Lander's, Capt, Rowland's own horse had given
out, but he was furnished another by Clark. Some
of his men also obtained fresh horses from the citizens
who were only too glad to show favors to those
who had just saved them and their families from
death. Some of the citizens joined the soldiers in
pursuit of the Indians. The Indians were overtaken
near the high point where they had first
stopped. Indeed they showed no disposition to get
away when they ascertained the small number of
whites. Capt. Rowland led his men through Capt.
Potter's prairie farm and, in going out on the south
side, the rail fence was thrown down and left down
in two or three different places. This fact proved
most fortunate to the whites, as will hereafter
appear. After going some three hundred yards
south of the fence, Capt. Rowland halted his command,
but it was with great difficulty that he got
them into a tolerable line. The Indians soon
seemed to divide into two wings, one starting east
and the other west around the soldiers, to surround
them. The troops, without waiting for command,
commenced firing, but at such long range as to do
little damage. As the Indians got closer and began
to fire upon the line, many of the soldiers
thinking the odds too great, broke line and started
to run. Capt. Rowland did all in his power to stop
this and to rally the men, but the panic soon became
general and the whole command fled. The
object seemed to be to go through the gaps
left in the fence and turn and fight the Indians
from beliind the fence. The Indians at once
began a hot pursuit of the flying men, and with
their guns, and pistols, bows, arrows and spears,
they did fatal work on the poor men whose tired
horses could not carry them out of reach of the
Indians. Before the fence was reached three men
were killed and several others were wounded. Mr.
Green, of Capt. Pollard's Company, also another
man, whose name is not remembered, were killed.
Mr. Pollard, an officer in Rowland's Company, was
severely wounded, having four arrows shot into his
back, which were pulled out by Capt. Rowland
after the men had reached the inside of the field,
but the spikes from some of the arrows were left in
his body. S. B. Potter, a son of Capt. Potter, was
also wounded in the head by an arrow that struck
the skull and then turned to one side. There was
quite a rush among the men to get through the gaps
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Brown, John Henry. Indian Wars and Pioneers of Texas, book, 1880~; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth6725/m1/129/: accessed March 29, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .