Indian Wars and Pioneers of Texas Page: 98 of 894

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INDIAN WARS AND PIONEERS OF TEXAS.

fresh trails, apparently converging to a common
center, it became evident they were in the vicinity
of an Indian town. Secreting his party in a low
and well hidden spot, Capt. Hall sent Judge
Reagan and Isaac Bean on foot, to discover the
exact location of the village and the best means of
approaching and surprising it. These brave but
cautious men, well-skilled in woodcraft, spent over
half a day in " spying out the lay of the land,"
finding the Indians in quiet possession of their
camp and that it was approachable at both the
upper and lower ends of the village. Thus informed
they lost no time in reporting to Capt. Hall, who,
as soon as night came, cautiously emerged from his
hiding-place with his party, and hastened with the
information to Gen. Smith, who, by the way, was a
gallant old soldier in the Creek war under Gen.
Jackson. Camping at night on Mountain creek,
after starting as soon as possible after the arrival
of Hall, Gen. Smith reached the village about noon

next day. The command was divided into two
battalions, respectively commanded by Gen. Smith
and Lieut.-Col. Elliott.
Judge Reagan acted as guide in conducting Smith
to the upper end of the village, while Bean performed
the same service in guiding Elliott to the
lower. Both moves were successfully made; but,
when the crisis came and the enthusiasm of the
men was at fever heat, it was found that the enemy
had already precipitately fled, leaving some supplies
and camp fixtures.
The simple explanation was that the Indians had
discovered Tarrant's force and fled barely in time to
elude Smith. Pursuit, under such circumstances,
would be useless.
Without meeting, each command, in its own way,
returned homeward; but, though bloodless, the
invasion of the Indian country, in such force, had
a salutary effect in preparing all the smaller hostile
tribes for the treaty entered into in September, 1843.

Death of McSherry and Stinnett
Killing of Hibbins and
Creath and the Capture of Mrs. Hibbins and
Children-1828 to 1842.

In 1828, there arrived on the Guadalupe river a
young married couple from the vicinity of Brownsville,
Jackson County, Illinois--John McSherrv
and his wife, Sarah, whose maiden name was Creath.
They settled on the west side of the Guadalupe,
near a little creek, which, with a spring, was some
two hundred yards in front of the cabin they erected.
This was in the lower edge of DeWitt's Colony, as
it is now in the lower edge of DeWitt County.
Their nearest neighbor was Andrew Lockhart, ten
miles up the river, and one of a large family of
sterling pioneers on the Guadalupe, bearing that
name. Mrs. McSherry was a beautiful blonde, an
excellent type of the country girls of the West in
that day, very handsome in person, graceful in
manner and pure of heart. Mr. McSherry was an
honest, industrious man of nerve and will. They
were happily devoted to each other.
Early in 1829, their first child, John, was born in
that isolated cabin, in one of the most lovely spots
of the Southwest.
Later in the same year, about noon on a pleasant
day, Mr. McSherry went to the spring for a bucket

of water. As he arose from the bank, bucket in
hand, a party of Indians with a wild yell, sprang
from the bushes and in a moment he was a lifeless
and scalped corpse. His wife hearing the yell,
sprang to the door, saw him plainly and realized
the peril of herself and infant. In the twinkling of
an eye, she barred the door, seized the gun and
resolved to defend herself and baby unto death.
The savages surveyed the situation and manceuvered
to and fro, but failed to attack the cabin and soon
disappeared. Thus she was left alone, ten miles
from the nearest habitation, and without a road to
that or any other place. But truly, in the belief
of every honest person of long frontier experience,
the ways of providence are inscrutable.
About dark John McCrabb, a fearless and excellent
man, well armed and mounted, but wholly
unaware of the sad condition of matters, rode up to
the cabin to pass the night. Hearing the recital his
strong nerves became stronger, and his heart pulsated
as became that of a whole-souled Irishman.
Very soon he placed the young mother and babe
on his horse and, by the light of the stars, started