Indian Wars and Pioneers of Texas Page: 130 of 894
762 p., [172] leaves of plates : ill., ports. ; 30 cm.View a full description of this book.
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118
INDIAN WARS AND PIONEERS OF TEXAS.
in the fence to a place of security behind it, as the
Indians were pressing them hard. Men rode at full
speed against the fence, endeavoring to get through
the gaps. Capt. Rowland was about the last man
to pass through the gaps. He had purposely kept
near the rear, and did what he could to protect the
hindmost of the men, reserving his fire until a shot
was absolutely demanded. Just before riding into
the field he fired his double-barrel shot-gun at an
Indian not more than thirty yards from him, and
at the fire the Indian dropped his shield and gave
other signs of being badly hurt. It was afterwards
learned that this shot killed him and that he was
the chief. When the Indians saw the men forming
behind the fence they precipitately fled. Capt.
Rowland attempted to encourage his men to again
attack them, but they were too much demoralized
to renew the fight against such odds. Capt. Rowland,
finding that he could not hope to again fight
the Indians with the force he then had, dispatched
couriers to different points to give the alarm and
with a few men he went to the head of Elm in Montague
County where there were a few families
without protection. The Indians soon continued
their raid, going south and east, and soon reached
the Jones' settlement on Dry Elm. Here they
came upon and mortally wounded Mr. White and
dangerously wounded his step-son, young Parker.
Mr. Jones, their companion, escaped. Parker belonged
to Wood's company of Fitzhugh's regiment.
He had been severely wounded in the battle at Mi!lican's
Bend, June 7th, 1863, and was home on
sick furlough.
The Indians beat a hasty retreat that night and
crossed Red river with a large number of stolen
horses before daylight next morning. Small squads
of Indians would scatter off from the main body
and commit all sorts of depredations. One of
their parties came upon Miss Gouna, who was carrying
water from a spring some distance from the
house. They thrust their spears into her body inseveral places and cut off her hair, but she escaped
and finally recovered from her wounds.
Young Parker, above alluded to, saw the Indians
and heard the shooting in their fight with Capt.
Rowland, but did not believe it was Indians and
kept riding towards them, against the protests, too,
of his companion, Mr. Miles Jones. He did not
discover that it was Indians until a squad of them
dashed upon and mortally wounded him. He died
in ten days.
The following additional facts are taken from a
letter written by me at the time to the Houston
Telegraph :
" At.every house burnt, the savages derisively
left hanging a blanket, marked 'U. S.' During
the night of the twenty-third, they made a hasty
retreat, left about fifty Indian saddles, numerous
blankets and buffalo robes, and considerable of the
booty they had taken from houses.
"' In the meantime nearly a thousand men had
reached Gainesville and made pursuit next day as
soon as the trail could be found; but a start of
twenty-four hours by fleeing savages cannot be
overcome in the short and cold days of winter, when
they could travel at night and only be followed in
daylight. The pursuit, though energetic under Maj.
Diamond and aided by Chickasaws, was fruitless.
" As soon as the news reached Col. Bourland, at
Bonham, that old veteran spared neither himself
nor horse till he was on the ground doing his duty.
Capts. Patton, Mosby and many citizens were in
the pursuit under Diamond. Lieut.-Col. Showalter,
with Capts. Wm. S. Rather (then and now of
Belton), Wilson and Carpenter, with their companies,
made a forced march from Bonham, hoping
for a tilt with the Indians; but on reaching Red
river, some twenty miles northwest from Gainesville,
information from the advanced pursuers rendered
the effort hopeless. Being on detailed duty
at that time in Bonham, I accompanied Col. Showalter
in this severe march."The Murder of Mrs. Hamleton and Children in Tarrant County,
in April, 1867.In the fall of 1860 James Myres, wife and six
children, came from Missouri and settled on Walnut
creek, in the northwestern edge of Tarrant County.
His wife, Sally, was a daughter of Nathan Allman,
who had settled on Walnut creek in 1850 and onwhose land a country church was built. Mr.
Myres died in the spring of 1861, and a year or so
later his widow married William Hamleton, by
whom she had two children. The tragedy about
to be related occurred in cotton-picking time in
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A history of pioneers in Texas and their confrontations with local American Indians.
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Brown, John Henry. Indian Wars and Pioneers of Texas, book, 1880~; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth6725/m1/130/: accessed April 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.