Galveston County, Texas - The whole text, 1895 (part 8 of 26)

San Antonio is, as siiown by the last United States census, the largest city in Texas. It is by far the jjrettiest, the most healthful, and has the finest drinking water of all cities anywhere, and her visible water supply is more than sufficient for a city of two millions of people. That this is no exaggeration may be seen by remembering that the San Antonio river, with a width of from thirty to se\-enty-iive feet of purest, clearest water averaging from live to six feet deep, flows right through the middle of the city with a current of more than twelve miles an liour; and tiie San Pedro springs send a third as much through the city in the old aceqnias dug by the Spanish missionaries nearly 200 years ago; then it has one pnblic artesian well right in the main inisiness part of the city that flows over 3,500,000 gallons a day. This gives a public supply of more than 30,000,000 gallons of water a day, and its clearness, purity and sweetness are marvels to scientists as well as to visitors. Besides this, factories, ice works, the United States Government headquarters, laundries, breweiies and private premises have a large number of wells, making the present flow of water within the corporate limits of San Antonio more than 45,000,000 gallons a day.

There is no climate yet known that equals that surrounding San Antonio. Southwest Texas, as shown by the most carefully kept statistics and scientific observations, surpasses any known country. Consnmption, catarrh, malarial and typhus complaints are unknown among the natives here, and those cominir here in the earlv stajres of hint; diseases I'ecover, and a great improvement im mediately follows any stage. The evenness of temperature in this section is conducive to healthfulness. The highest temperature in 1890 was 0(5 in July, and the lowest 24 in February, and the air is almost perfectly dry except when raining. It was these facts of healthfulness, purity of water and mildness and evenness of temperature tiiat caused the Siianish missionaries to select San Antonio and southwest Texas as tiieir aliode and headquarters. As soon as the truth is known hundreds of thousands of people will flock to this section.

In the way of climate, air, water, soil, scenery and unlimited i-esources, nature has blessed this section of the United States above almost any eounti'y on earth. Ten years ago a city of 20,000 inhabitants, with scarcely any modern business houses, with but one street worthy the name of a business street, with plazas, muddy eye-sures, streets unpaved and with few sidewalks, we find to-day a modern city of 41,181 iniiabitants, and improvements completed and under construction that place the "Alamo City" in the front rank of Southern cities in appearance and in appliances for comfort.

As to municipal improvements the rapid increase in the assessed values of the city has enabled tiie authorities to inaugurate unprecedented expenditures in this direction, while the tax rate has been actually reduced from that of four years ago, and now stands at 1 per cent., a rate lower than that paid in any large city in the United States; and there are more than 155 miles of water mains in San Antonio, nearly 75 miles of paved streets, more than 125 miles of smooth cement sidewalks and the best electric street-car system of all cities in the United States - seventy-five miles.

The total numlier of inannfactorics now in operation is about 150, with a capital of ?;'2,- 7r)0,300. The i-aw material used in 1889 amonntt'd to something like §1,800,000. In ihese estaljlishments some 1,500 persons find employment, to whom wages are paid amounting to $400,000. The value of the products for 1889 aggregated 13,750,000.

One of the i^rand features tliat promises to have a great effect in San Antonio's success as a manufacturing center is the discovery of natural gas in considerable quantities both in and adjacent to tlie city. The wells already developed have more than enough to sujiply the entire city for domestic lighting and heating purposes. It has a coniiiied pressure of from 50 to 200 pounds per square inch. And on the same lands, belonging to Mr. George DuUnig, are some oil wells that flow the best lubricating oil on the market. It brings 20 cents a gallon for all that is pumped, and the Southern Pacific Railway gave a certificate saying one of their freight engines, oiled with it, had run over 3,000 miles without replenishing the cups - a record unprecedented for any lubricating oil ever discovered.

The increase in taxable values is a good index of the prosperity of San Antonio. Tax - State, city and county - is less than in any city in the United States - less than $2 on the $100 for all purposes whatever.

The San Antonio military post will one day be the largest in the country, as to-day it is the most beautiful. Nature has given the site, the location, the sti-ategic importance, and Uncle Sam has always recognized the importance of keeping troops here.

The first military post in San Antonio was established in 1865, The troops were withdrawn in 1873, but two years later they were marched back, as the war department had discovered what an imporiaiit point this was. It was determined to make the establishment here permanent and the citizens were agreeable to the ide:i. What is now known as Government hill, be ing then a long distance from the town, met with favor in the eyes of the officers detailed to select a site.

The various Christian and Jewish denojuinations have a strong representation in the city. Many of the buildings in which their worship is conducted are fine fpeeimens of church architecture. The ir.ost imposing church building is the San Fernando cathedral, which -is the central church of the Catholic religion in the Southwest. This cathedral is situated on Main plaza and its fine peal of the bells and sweet-toned organ are famous throughout the State. The largest Protestant church is called St. Mark's. It is the seat of the Episcopalian bishop of Western Te.\as. This church is beautifully located on Travis square and is widely noted for its magnificient choir and choral services. In the same neighborhood are situated the Jewish synagogue the First Baptist church and the Methodist Episcopal chui'ch. South. The following list shows the number of churches owned by the several denominations: Episcopalian 4, Catholic 4, Presbyterian 3, Methodist 6, Baptist 5, Lutheran 1, Christian 1, colored denominations 7. The rolls of church membership are large, and well filled churches attest the great number of worshipers in the city.

Besides these, all of which have large Sunday-schools, the Young Men's Christian Association has a large membership - a larger per cent of young people than any city in the Southwest - with a ladies' auxiliary.

larger scholastic population than any city in Texas by over 3,000, it being 10,694, 1,500 of which are colored. Her puhlicfree school property is valued at $1,000,000, and comprizes seven two-story auil oue three-story building, latest designs, with all comforts and appliances, for white children, and one twostory stone and two large fi-amebuildincrs for colored children.

As a picturesque and historical city there is none in the United States that can equal San Antonio. It is the tourists' paradise. It was founded in 1691, and has been the scene of many an exciting affray. There are many points of interest that afford great attraction for the visitors to the city. The chief one of these is the Alamo, which was originally founded as a mission under the name of San Antonio de Valero, in 1720. It became the garrison or fort for Spanish and afterward American troops. As such it was the scene of several battles, the most memorable of which was in 1836, when General Santa Anna, at the head of a Mexican army of 7,000, besieged it, and when, on the 6th of March of that year, he carried it by storm after being three times repulsed by Colonel William B. Travis, Davy Crockett, James Bowie and their 172 heroic companions, who died fighting for Texas liberty, and whose bodies were burned by the savage Mexicans after the battle and their ashes lie buried in the sacred soil.

The Alamo is now the property of the State of Texas, is in the custody of the city of San Antonio and is open to visitors daily without charge.

The mission Conccpcion, which is known as the first mission, was founded in 1710. It is situated on the left bank of the San Antonio river, about two miles lielow the city. It was the scene of a battle between

Colonel James Bowie, commanding 90 Americans and about 400 Mexican regular tJ'oops. The Mexicans were defeated with a loss of 60 killed and 40 wounded. The Americans lost one man killed. This IjattU; was fouglit on the 28th of October, 1835. This mission was also the scene of several Indian battles. Its name as a mission was " Mision Concepcion la Purisima de Acuna"

The second mission is the most beautirnl and elegant of all the Texas missions. It is situated about four miles below the city near the river, and is named ^Ji^ion San Joso de Aguavo. It was founded in 1720, and the celebrated artist, lluica, was sent here by the king of Spain, and devoted several years to carving its various ornamentations, statues, etc. The hands of vandals have exceeded the ravacres of time in its defacement. Like the others, this mission has been the scene of many memorable conflicts. It is well worthy of a visit by all tourists.

The third mission differs in general design from all the otlier missions. It wa^ founded in 1716 and is situated about six miles below the city. Its name as a mission was Mision San Juan Capistrano. It was near here that the American patriots rendezvoused prior to their capture of San Antonio from the Mexicans under General Cos, in 1S35, - a battle which aroused the ire of Santa Anna and led to the holocaust of the Alamo and subsequently to Texan independence. Like most of the other missions, it is now in ruins - picturesque but silent eloquence of past glories and tragedies.

Sherman, having in 1890 a population of 7,320, is the county seat of Grayson county, and a good railroad point. Assessed value of all property in 1891, $4,966,334. Total of all property owned by the city, $20,872.

in Hopkins county, grew in population from 1,000 in 1870 to 3,038 in 1890, and the assessed values increased from $800,000 in 1880 to $1,300,000 in 1890. This place also has a number of medicinal wells and springs.

Temple, in Bell county, is at the intersection of the Missouri, Kansas & Texas and the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe railroads, has a population of 6,500, and is a new and growing city.

Terrell., thirty-two miles east of Dallas, is situated on the Texas & Pacific Eailroad, is a great shipping point for cattle, and is abundantly supplied with wells of good water. In 1890 it had a population of 2,977. The Terrell Institute is a good school at tiie place.

Tyler., the county seat of Smith county, is on the northern division of the International & Great Northern Railroad, and on the Cotton Belt road, had a population of 6,908 in 1890, has the Charnwood Institute as one of its local institutions of learning, and a public library of 10,000 volumes. One daily and two weekly newspapers flourish there, and tlie principal shops and general offices of the Cotton Belt Eailroad for Texas, are located at that place.

Victoria, on the Southern Pacific Railroad, in Victoria county, had 3,500 inliabitants in 1890. Being on the east bank of the Guadalupe river, the prosperity of the place has been chiefly derived from navigation and the shipment of cattle, etc.

Waco is a live city at the intersection of several railroads, and had a population of 14,- 425 in 1890. Assessed value of all property in 1891, $10,242,642. There are al)out seven square miles within the corporate limits.

one in the black-waxy district. As a sample of the improvement made, we may state that about $'130,000 a year is expended in public and private improvements.

Weatherford., the capital of Parker county, is located at a railroad junction, sixty six miles west of Dallas. Number of inhabitants in 1890, 3,314; assessed valuation of all property in 1891, $1,572,772.

Miscellaneous

The above is the title of a most interesting book to Texans, and even to the rest of the world, recently published by J. W. Wilbarger, from which liberal quotations have been made in this work. We only hope that the quotations we have made will whet the appetite of the Texan public for the purchase of that book. Stories have interest only in their details, and such are given in that w. ; ' and they cannot be condensed for a larger publication like this, and therefore only extracts could be given in this volume. The work is illustrated with graphic pictures, and arranged by counties and dates in the index, so that ready reference can be made to any point.

The Foet Parker Massacre

"The following graphic account of the Fort Parker massacre has been gathered from several reliable sources, but the greatest portion of them has been by the kind consent of James T. De Shield, copied from a little book published by him, entitled 'Cynthia Ann Parker.' In fact everything, from the conclusion of the extract from Mrs. Plum-

"Among the many tragedies that have occurred in Texas the massacre at Parker's fort holds a conspicuous place. Nothing that has ever liappened exhibits savage dujilicity and cruelty more plainly than the massacre of helpless women and cliildien.

"In 1833 a small colony was organized in the State of Illinois for the purpose of forining a settlement in Texas. After tlieir ;irrival in the conntry they selected for a plai'e of residence a beautiful region on the Navasota, a small tributary of the Brazos. To secure tliemselves against the various tribes of rovinj^ savages was the first thing to be attended to; and, having chosen a commaiuling eminence adjacent to a large timbered bottom of the Xavasota, about three miles from wliere the town of Springfield formerly stood, ami about two miles from the present town of G roesbeck, they by their joint labor soon had a fortification erected. It consisted of a stockade of split cedar timbers planted deej) in the ground, extending fifteen feet above the surface, touching each other and confined at the top by transverse timbers which rendered tliciu almost as immovable as a solid wall. At convenient distances there were portholes, through which, in case of an emergency, tire-arms could be used. The entire fort covered nearly an acre of ground. There were also attached to the stockade two log cabins at diagonal corners, constituting a part of the enclosure. They were really blockhouses, the greater portion of cadi standing outside of the main stockade, the upper stoi'y jutting out over thu lower, with openings in the fioor allowing perpemlieular shooting from above. There were also ])ortholes out in the upper story so as to admit of horizontal shooting when necessary. This enaliled the inmates to rake from every side of the stocK-ade. The fort was situate<l near a fine spring of water. As soon as it was completed the little colony moved into it.

"Parker's colon}' at this time consisted of some eight or nine families, viz.: Elder John Parker, the patiiarch of the colony, and his wife; his son, James AV. Pai'ker, wife, fouisingle children, and his daughter, Mrs. Kachel Phimmer, her husband, L. M. S. Plummei'. and an infant son fifteen months old; ]\Ii->. Sarah Nixon, another daughter, and her husband, L. D. Nixon; Silas M. Parker (anoth( r siuiof Elder John), his wife and four children ; I'enjamin F. Pai-ker, an unmarrieil son of the elder; ilrs. Nixon, Sr., mother of Mrs. James W. Parker; Mrs. Elizabeth Kellogg, daughter of Mrs. Ni.xon; ]\[rs. Duty; Samuel M. Frost, wife and two children; G. E. Dwight, wife and two children - in all, thirty-four persons. Besides those above mentioned, old man Lunn, David Faulkenberry and his son Evan, Silas P)ates and Abram Angliii ha'' erected cabins a mile or two distant from the fort, where they resided. These families were truly the advance guard of cixilizafion in that part of our frontier, Fort Houston in Anderson county being the nearest protection except their own trusty rifles.

"Here the struggling colonists remained, encTa'Ted in the avocations of a rural life, tillino- the soil, hunting bufialo, bear, deer, turkey and smaller game, which served abundantly to sui)ply their larder at all titnes with fresh meat, in the enjoyment of a life of Arcadian simplicity, virtue and contentment, until the latter part of the year ISo-j, when the Indians and xMexicans forced the little band of compatriots to abandon their homes and flee with many others liefnre the invadino- arm; from Mexico. On arriving at the Trinity river they were compelled to halt in consequence of an overflow. Before they could cross the swollen stream the sudden and unexpected news reached them that Santa Anna and his vandal hordes had been confronted and defeated at San Jacinto, that sanguinary engagement which gave birth to the new sovereignty of Texas, and that Texas was free from Mexican tyranny.

" On receipt of this news the fleeing settlers were overjoyed and at once returned to their abandoned homes. The Pprker colonists now retraced their steps, first going to Fort Houston, where they remained a few days in order to procure supplies, after which they made their way back to Fort Parker to look after their stock and prepare for a crop. These hardy sons of toil spent their nights in the fort, repairing to their farms early each morning. The strictest discipline was maintained for awhile, but as time wore on and no hostile demonstrations bad been made by the Indians they became somewhat careless and restive under confinement. However, it was absolutely necessary that they should cultivate their farms to insure substance for their families. They usually went to work in a body, with their farming implements in one hand and their weapons of defense in the other. Some of them built cabins on their farms, hoping that the government would give them protection, or that a suflicient number of other colonists would soon move in to render them secure from the attacks of Indians.

« On the 18th of May, 1836, all slept at the fort, James W. Parker, Nixon and Plummer, repairing to their field, a mile distanton the Navasota, early the next morning, little thinking of the great calamity that was soon to befall them. They had scarcely left when several hundred Indians (accounts of the number of Indians vary from 300 to 700 - probably there were about 500), Comanches and Kiowas, made their appearance on an eminence within 300 yards of the fort. Those who remained in the fort were not prepared for an attack, so careless had they become in their fancied security. The Indians hoisted a white flag as a token of their friendly intentions, and upon the exhibition of tlie white flag Mr. Benjamin F. Parker went out to have a talk with them. The Indians artfully feigned the treacherous semblance of friendship, pretending they were looking for a suitable camping place, and inquired as to the exact locality of a waterhole in the immediate vicinity, at the same time asking for a beef, as they said they were very hungry. Not daring to refuse tiie request of such a formidable body of savages, Mr. Parker told them they should have what they wanted. Eeturning to the fort he stated to the inmates that to his opinion the Indians were hostile and intended to fight, but added he would go back to them and he would try to avert it. His brother Silas remonstrated, but he persisted in going, and was imme diately surrounded and killed; whereupon the whole force - their savage instincts aroused by the sightof blood - charged upon the fort, littering the most terrific and unearthly yells that ever greeted the ears of mortals. The sickening and bloody tragedy was soon enacted. Brave Silas M. Parker fell outside the fort, while he was gallantly fighting to save Mrs. Plummer. Mrs. Plummer made a desperate resistance, but was soon overpowered, knocked down with a hoe and made captive. Samuel M. Frost and his son, Robert, met their fate while heroically defending the women and children inside the stockade. Old 'Granny ' Parker was stabbed and left for dead. Elder John Parker, wife, and Mrs. Kellogg attempted to make their escape, and in this effort Ijad gone about tliree-fonitlis of a mile, when they were overtakiii ami driven hack to the fort, and tlie old irentlfuuui was sti-ii)ped, murdered, i^caljeil and horribly mutilated. Mrs. Parker was ftri|>i)ed, soeared and left for dead, hut by feigning- death escaped, as will be seen further on. Mrs. Kellogg was spared as a captive. The result summed up as follows: Killed - Elder John I'ai'ker, aged seventy-nine; Silas M. and Benja.uiin F. Parker; Samuel M. atid his son Robert F'rost. Wounded dangerously - Mrs. John Parker, (dd '(iranny' Parker, and ^Irs. Duty. Captured - Mrs. Pacdiel Plummer, daughter of James AV. Parker, and her son, James Pratt Plummer, two years of age; Mrs. Elizabeth Kellogg; Cynthia Ann Parker, nine years old, and her little brother, John I'arker, aged si.x, eliildren of Silas M.Parker. The rei.r<iinder made their escape, as we shall now narrate.

" When the attack on the fort first commenced, Mrs. Sarah Ni.\on made her escape and hastened to the tieM to advise her father, husband and Plummer of what had occurred. On her arrival i'lumnier hurried off on horseback to inform Faulkenberry, Bates and A ntrlin, wdio were at work in the fields. Parker and Ni.xon started to the fort, hut the former met his family on the way and carried them some four or five miles down the IS^avasota, secreting them in the bcjttom. Nixon, tliough unarmed, continued on toward the fui-t, and met Mrs. Lncy, wife of Silas Parker (killed), with her four -children. Just as they were interrupted by a small party of mounted and foot Indians. They compelled the mother to lift her daughter Cynthia xlnn, and her little son, John, liehind two of the mounted warriors. The foot Inilians then took .Mi-s. Parker, her two youngest chiidren and ^'i.\on on toward the fort. As they were about to kill Mixon, David Faulkenberry ajipeared with his rille and caused thein to fail back. Nixon, after his narrow escape fi-om dealb, seemed very much excife<l and immediately w-ent in starch of his wife, soon faliiiig in with Dwight, his own and Fr ist's families. Dwight and family soon overtook J. W. Barker and went with him to his hiding place in the l)ottom. Fuidkenberry, thus left w-itii Mrs. Parker and her two children, bade Iun' follow him. AA'ith the infant in herarmsand leailing the other child, she obeyed. Seeing then] lea\'e the fort, the Indians made several attempts to intercept them, but wei-e held in check by the brave man's lifle. Several mounted warriors, armed witli bows and arrows, strung and drawn, and with territic yells, would charge them, but as Faulkenberry would present his gun, they would halt, throw up their shields, sight aliout, wheel and retire to a safe distance. This continued for some distance, until they had ]>;tssed through a prairie of some forty or tifly acres. Just as thev were entering the woods the Indians made a furious charge, when one warrior, more daring than the others, dashe<l up so near that Mrs. Parker's faithful dog seized his horse by the nose, whereupon horse and rider summersaulted, alighting on their backs in the ravine. At this moment Silas Bates, Abram Anglin, and Evan Faulkenberry, armed, and Plummer, unarmed came up, causing the Indians to retire, after which the party made their way unmolested.

'' As they were passing through the field where the men were at work in the morning, Plummer, as if arouse<l from a dream, demanded to know what had btconie of his wife and child. Armed only with a Initeherknife he left the party, in search of his loved ones, and was been no more for six days. The Faulkenberrys, Lunu and Mrs. Parker secreted tlicmselves in a small creek boftoni, some distance IVotn the first party, tavli unconscious of the others' \vl;ereal>outs. At twilight Abrain Angliii and Evan Faiilkenberry started back to the fort to suecor the wounded and those wlio might liave escaped. On their way and just as they were passing Fanlkeuberry's cabin, Angliri saw his first and only ghost. He says: ' It was dressed in white with long white hair streaming down its back. I admit that I was more scared at this moment than when the Tntlians were yelling ami charging on lis. Seeing me hesitate my ghost now beckoned me to come on. Approaching the object, it proved to be old 'Granny' Parker, whom the Indians had wounded and stripped, with the exception of her undergarments. She had made her way to the houte from the fort by crawling ihe entire distance. I took her some bed-clothing and carried her some rods from the house, made her a bed, covered her up, and left her until we slmuld return from the fort. On arriving at the fort we could not see a single human being alive, or lie:ir a huujp.n sound. But the dogs were barking, the cattle louing, horses neighing, and the hogs equally making a hideous and strange medley of sounds. Mrs. Parker luid t(jld me where she had left some silver - §160.50. This I found under a hickory bush by moonlight. Finding no one at tlie tort, we i-etiirned to where I had laid 'Granny' Parker. On taking her np behind me, we made our way back to the hiding place in the bottom, wdiere we found Nixon, whom we had not seen since his cowardly flight at the time he was rescued by Faulkenberry from the Indians.

'Granny' Parker. Mr. Anglin in his accoimt contiadicts or rather corrects this statement. He says: ' I positively assert that this is a mistake, and I am willing to be r^ualificd to the statement I here make, and can prove the same by Silas Bates, now living near Groesbeck.'

"The next morning Bates, Anglin and E. Faulkenberry went back to the fort to get provisions and horses, and look after the dead. On reaching the fort they found five or six horses, a few saddles and some me .t. bacon and honey. Fearing an attack from the Indians who might still be lurking around, they left without burying the dead. Returning to their comrades in the bottom they all concealed themselves until they set out for Fort Houston. Fort Houston, an asylum, on this, as on many other occasions, stood on what has been for many years a farm of a wise statesman, a chivalrous soldier and true patriot, John H. Peagan, two miles south of Palestine.

"After wandering around and traveling for six days and nights, during wdiich they suffered much from hunger and thirst, their clothing torn to shreds, their bodies lacerated with briars and thorns, the women and children with unshod and bleeding feet, the party with James W. Parker reached Fort Houston.

"An account of this wearisome and perilous journey thi'ougli the wilderness, given substantially in Parker's own words, will enable the reader to more fully realize tie hardships they had to uiidei-go and the dangers they emountered. The bulk of the party were com])ostd of women and children, principally the latter, and langing from one to twelve years old. ' We started from the fort,' said Mr. Parker, ' tiie party consisting of eighteen in all, for Fort Houston, a dis- taiice of ninety miles by the route ve liad to travel. Till' iVeliiigs of the ])artyc;tn be betti-r imao-iiieil than (lesicribed. We were truly a forlorn set, many of ns bai-elK'ailel and barefouted, a relentless foy on the one liand and on the other a trackless and uninhabited wilderness infested with reptiles and wild beasts, entirely destitute of food and no means of procuring it.' Add to this the agonizing grief of the party over the death and capture of dear relatives; that we were momentarily in exjjectatioii of meeting a like fate, and some idea may be formed of our pitiable condition. Utter despair almost took possession of ns, for the chance of escaping seemed almo.^t an imj)nssibility under the circumstances. * * * j f,,,,]- m,y ,,f my children on my shoulder aud led another. The grown persons followed my example and we began our journey through the thickly tangled und'-rbrush in the direction of Fort Houston. Aly wife was in bad henlth; Mrs. Frost was in deep distress tor tlie loss of her husband and son; and all being liarcfooted except my wife and Mrs. Frost our progress was slow. Many of the children had nothing on them but their shirts, and tlnir sufferings from the briars tearing th.-ir little legs and feet were almost beyond human endurance.

" We traveled until aljout throe o'clock in the morning, when, the women and childien being worn out with hunger and fatigue, we lay down on the grass and slept until the dawn of day, when we resumed our ])erilous journey. Here we left the river bottom in order to avoid the briars and undt'rbrush, but t\\m\ the tracks of the Indians on the highlands it was evident they wcie hunting us, and, like the fo.x in the fable, we concluded to take the ri\er bottom ;ioain, for though the brambles miy;ht tear our Hesii they might at the same time save our lives by hiding us from the cruel savages who were in [lursuit of us. The briars did, in fact, tear the legs and feet of the children until they could have been tracked by ihu blood that ilowed from their wounds.

" It was the night of the secon<l day af'ei le.iving the fort that all, and especially the women who were nursing their infants, began to suffer intensely from hunger. Wt; were then immediately on the bank of the river, and through the mercy of Providence a pole-cat came near us. I immediately pursued and caught it just as itjiiinpcd in the i-iver. The only way that I could kill it was by holding it under the water until it was drowned. Fortunately we had the means of striking a tire, and we soon had it cooked and equally divided Among the party, the share of each being small indeed. This was all we had to eat until the fourth day, when we were lucky enough to catch another skunk and two small terrapins, which were also cooked and divided between us. Un the eveniu" of the fifth day I found that the women and children wei-e so exhausted from fatigue and hunger tbiit it would be impossible for them to travel much further. After holding a consultation it was agreed that 1 should hurry on to Fort Houston for aid, leaving Mr. Dwight in charge of the women aud children. Accordingly the next morn, ing I started for the fort (about thirty-five miles distant), which I reached early in the afternoon. I have often looked back and wondered how I was able to accomplish this extraordiuiiry feat. I had not eaten a mouthful for six days, having always given my share of the animals mentioned to the children, and yet I walked thirty-live miles in about eight hour^! I'ut the thought of the unfortunate sntlerers I had left behind deliLi-TOHy OF TEXAS.

pendent on my efTorts, p;av'e me strength an'l perseverance that can Ik; rcalizod only hy those who have been phtccl in siinilur .situations. God in His hountifiil mercy upheld me in this trying lioiir and enabled me to perform by ta>k.

"The first pjrson I met was Captain Carter of the Foit Houston settlement, who received me kindly, and promptly offered me all the aid in his power. He soon had five horses saddled, and lie and Mr. Jeremiah Courtney went with nie to me^t onr little band of fugitives. We met tliem just at dark, and, placing the women and children on the horses, we reached Caj)tain Carter's about midnight. There we received all the kind attention and relief that our conditions required, and all was done for our comfoi-t that sympathetic and benevolent hearts conld do. AYe arrived at (.'aptaiu Carter's on the 25th of May. The following day my sonin-law, Mr. Plummcr, reached there also. He had given us up for lost and hail stai-ted to the same settlement that we had.

" In due time the niemhers of the Jiarty located te lip irarily as best snite i the respective families, most of them retnrnitig to Fort Parker soon afterward. A burial party of twelve men from Fort Houston went up and buried the deal. Their remains now repose near the site of old Fort Parker. Pence to their ashes. Unadorned are their graves; not even a slab of marble or a memento of any kind has been erected to tell the traveler wdiere rest the remains of this brave little band of pioneer heroes who wrestled with the savage for the mastery of his broad domain.

" Of the captives we will briefly trace their checkered career. After leavintr the fort the two tribes, the Comanches and Kiowa-;, remained and traveled together until midniiiht.

They then lialted on open prairie, staked out their horses, placjd their pickets and pitched tiieir camp. Bringing all their prisoners together for the first time, they tied their hands behind them with raw-hide thongs so tight as to cut the flesh, tied their feet close together and threw them upon their faces. Then tlie braves, gathering round with their yet bloody-dripping scalps, commenced their usual war dance. They danced, screatned, yelh-d, stamping upon their prisoners, beating th 'in with blows until their own blood came near strangling them. The remainder of the night these frail women suffered and had to listen to the cries and groans of their tei:der little children.

" Mrs. Elizabeth Kellogg soon fell into the hands of. the Keechis, from whom, six months after she was captured, she was purchased by a party of Delawares, who carried her to Nacogdoches and delivered her to General Houston, wdio paid them $150, the amount they had paid and all they asked.

" Mrs. Rachel Pliimmer reinalneJ a captive ai)ont eigliteen months, and to give the reader an idea of her suffering during that period we will give an e.xtract from lier diary: 'Tn July and a portion of August we were among some very high mountains oti which the snow remains for the greateiportion of the year, and I suffered more tliaii I had ever done before in my life. It wa^ very seldom I had any covering for my feet, and but very little clothing for my body. 1 had a certain number of buffalo skins io dress every day, and had to mind the horses at night. This kept me employed pretty much all the time, and often I would take my buffalo ^kins with me to finish them while I was minding the horses. My feet would often be frost- Id tten wldla I was dressing the skins, but I dared ' not complain for fear of being punished. \u Oc'ti:it)er I ga\e birth to in\' second son. I .-av ()cto'ier, hut it was aU guess work with me, a.s I had no means of keeping a I'ecord of the <iavs as the}' passed. It was a hcautifid and lu'alihy liaby, l)ut it M-a< inipo-sih'e for me to procure suitahle comforts for nivself and infant. Tile Indians were not as harsh in tlieir treatment toward me as I feared they wouhi be, l)ut I was appreiiensive for the safety of my chihi. I had been with them six montlis and liad learned their language, and I would often l)e^eech iny mistress to advise me wliat to do to save my child, but she turned a deaf ear to all my supplications. My cliihl was six months old when my ma-ler, thinking, I sup))ose, that it interfered with my M'ork, determined to put it out of the way. One cold morning ti\'e or six Indians cairie where I was surkinj^ my liahe. As soon as tliev came I felt sick at heart, for my fears were aronsid for the safety of my child. My fears were not iII-grounilei|. (_)ne of the Indians caught my child by the throat and strangled it until to all ajipearances it was dead. I exei'ted all my feeb'e strength to save my child, Init the otliei' Indians held me fjiSt. The linlian wdio had strangled the child then threw it up into the air repeatedly and let it fall upon the frozen ground until life seemed to be extinct. They then gave it hack to me. I had been weeping incessantly while they had been murdering my child, hut now my grief was so great that the fi'untain of my tears was dried up. As I gazed on the cheeks of my darling infant I discovered some symptoms of returning life. I hoped that if it coidd be resuscitated they would allow me to keep it. I washed the blood from its face and after a time it began to breathe again. But a more heartrending scene ensued. As soon as the In dians a.-certained that the child was still alive, they tore it fnnn my arms and knocked me down. They tied a [ilaited rope around its neck and threw it into a hunch of prickly pears and then pulled it backward and forward until its tender tlesh was literally torti from its body. One of the Indians wduj was mounted on a horse then tied the end of the rope to Ids saddle and galloped around in a circle until my little innocent was not oidy dead but torn to pieces. One of them untied the rope and threw the remains of the child into my lap, and I dug a liole in the earth and buried them.

'- 'After perfcjrming the last sad rites for tlio lifele.^s remains of my dear babe, I sat down and gazed with a feeling of relief ujion the little gra\'e I had made for it in the wildernes.-^, and could say with David of old, '' Yon can not come to me, but I must go to you ;" and then, and even now, as I record the dread fid scene I witne-sed, I rejoiced that my babe had ])assed from the stjrrows and sufferings of this woidd. I shall hear its dying cries no more, and, fnlly hereving in and relying on the impute I righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, I feej that my innocent babe is now with kindred spirits in tiie eternal world of joys. Oh that my dear Savior may keep me thnntgh life's slnu't journey, and bring me to dwell with my children in realms of eternal bliss !'

" After this she was given as a servant to a very cruel old squaw, who treated her in a most brutal manner. Her son had lieen carried off by another party to the far West, and she supposed her Imshand and father had been killed in the massacre. Her infant was dead and death to her would have beeii a sweet relief. Life was a burden, and driven almost to desperation she resolved no longer to submit to tlie intolerant old sqnaw. One day wlien the two were some distance from, although still in sight of, the camp, her mistress attempted to beat lier witli a club. Determined not to submit to this, she wrenched the club from the hands of the squaw and knocked her down. The Indians, who liad witnessed the whole proceedings from their camp, now came running up, shouting at the top of their voice. She fully expected to be killed, but they patted her on the shoulder, crying: B ue >i o / Jincno/ / (Goodl Good!! or Well done!). She now fared much better, and soon became a great favorite, and was known as the ' Fighting Squaw.' She was eventually ransomed through the intervention of some Mexican Santa F'e traders, by a noble-liparted American merchant of that place, Mr. William Donahue. She was purcliast'd in the Rocky Mountains so far north of Santa Fe that seventeen days were consumed in reaching that place. She was at once made a memljerof her benefactor's family, where she received the kindest of care and attention. Ere long she accompanied Mr. and Mrs. Donahue on a visit to Indejendence, Missouri, where she had the pleasure of meeting and embracing her brothcr-in law, L. D. Nixon, and by him was escorted back to her people in Texas.

" During her stay with the Indians, Mrs. I'lummer had U'any thrilling adventures, which she often recounted after her reclamation. In narrating her reminiscences, she said that in one of her rambles, after she had been with the Indians some tini", she discovered a cave in the mountains, and, in company with the old squaw that guarded hei', she explored it and found a large diamond, but her mistress immediately demanded it, and she was forced to give it up. She said also she saw here in these mountains a bush which had thorns on it resembling fish-hooks, which the Indians used to catch fish with and she herself has often caught trout with them in the little mountain streams.

"On the 19th of February, 1838, slie reached her father's house, exactly twentyone montlis after her capture. She had neviM' seen her little son, James Pratt, since soon after tlieir capture and knew nothing of his fate. She wrote or dictated a thrilling and graphic history of hercapture and the hori'tu's of her captivity, the tortures and hardships she endured, and all the incidents of her life with her captors and observations among the savages. This valualdeand little book is now rare, and out of print. The full title of tlie volume is: ' Narration of the perilous adventures, miraculous escapes and sufferings of Rev. James AV. Parker, during a frontier residence in Texas of fifteen years. AVith an important geographical description of the climate, soil, timber, water, etc., of Texas. Tc which is appended the narration of the capture and subseqiient sufferings of Mrs. Rachel Plnmmer, his daughter, during a captivity of twenty-one months among the Comanche Indians, etc. (18mo., pp. 95 and 35; boards. Lo'.iisviUe, 1844).'

" In this book she tells the last she saw of Cynthia Ann and John Parker. She died on the 19th of February, 1839, just one year after reaching home. As a remarkable coincidence it may be stated that she was born on the nineteenth, married on the nineteenth, captured on the nineteenth, released on the nineteenth, reached Independence on the nineteenth, arrived at home on the nineteenth, and died on the nineteenth of the month!

diffeient tribes, and traveled suv ral tlK)ll^^HIld miles, was ransomed and taken t" Fort Ciilisoii late ill 1S4::2, and reached liume in 1843. in diarge of liis grandfather. He liecaMie a respected citizen of Anderson county, lloth he and his fathei' are now dead.

'-This still left in captivity Cynthia and .lohn Tarker, whoas sulisc(|iiently heaidwere held liy separate haiuls. The brother and sis tcr thus se|iaiate<l gradually, i'orif(jt the language, manners and customs of their own people, and became thorongli Coinanches as the long years stole slowly away. How long the camera of their brains retained the impressions of the old home within the old fort, and the loved faces of their pale kindred, no one kllo^^-s; though it uxuild appear that the fearful mas,-ai-ro should liave stanijed an impi'ess indelible wliile life continued. l]ut the young mind, as the twig, ij inclined by present circumstance-, and olfen forced in a way wholly foreign to its native and original bent. grew up v.-ith the semi-nude Coniaiudie boys of his own age, and played at hunter and warrior with the pop gun, made (d' elder stems, or bcws and arrows, and often liu.--]ied the cliapparal for hare and grouse, or entrapped the finny denizens of the mountain brook with the n.any peciiUar and ingenious I'evices of the wibl man foi' securing for his repast the toothsnme Iront which abLiunds so plentifully in the elevuted and delightful reeidu so long inhabited by the lordly Conianches.

When John arrived at maidiood he aclouipaiiied a i-aiding party down the Rio (irandeand into Jlexico. Among the caplives taken was a young Mexican girl of gieat beauty, to whom the young warrior felt his heart go out. The affection was reci[)rocated on the part of the i'air Dona Juanita, and the two were engaged to be married as soon as they should arrive at the Comanche village. Each day, as the cavalcade moved leisurely but ste^-dily along, the lovers could be seen riding together and discussing the anticipated pie '.-ures of connubial life, when sndileiily John was prostrated by a violent attack of sniallpo.x. The cavalcade could not tarry, and so it was decided that the poor fellow should be left all alone, in the vast Llano Estaeado, to die or recover as fate decreed. Cut the little Aztec beauty refused to l(\ave her lovei-, insisting on her captors allowing her to remain and take care of him. To this the i ndia-is reluctantly consented. "With Juanita to nurse and cheer him up, John lingered, lived and ultimately recovered, when, with as little cei'emony, perhaps, as consummated the nu[)tials of the first pair in ]<]den, th.ey assumed the matrimonial relation, ami Dona Juanita's predilection for the ciist(uns and comforts of civilizatitm were sutiicieiitly strong to induce her lord to abandon the wild ami nomadic life of a savage for the comforts to be found in a straw-thatclied house. 'They settled in Texas,' says Mr. Thrall, the historian of Texas, ' on a stock ranch in the far West.' When the Civil war broke out ,lohn Parker ioined a Mexican company in the Confederate tervice and was noted for his gallantry and daring. He, however, rel'used to leave the soil of Texas, and would nuder no circumstances cross the Sabine into Louisiana. He was still on his ranch across the Rio Grande a few years ago, but up to that time had never visited any of his relatives in Texas."

Cynthia Ann Pakkeb Eistubt Of Tux As

torn from a mother's embrace and carried into captivity. During this time no tidinjfs have been received of her. Many efforts have been made to find lier wliereabonts, hut without success, when, in 1840, Colonel Len. Williams, an old and honored Texan, Mr. Stoat, a trader, and an Indian guide named Jack IJarrj', packed mules with goods and engaged in an expedition of private tiafllc with the Indians.

"On the Canadian river they fell in with Pa-ha-u ka's band of Comanches, with whom they were ] eacefuUy converrant; and with this tribe was Cynthia Ann Parker, who, from the day of her capture, had never seen a white person She was then about fourteen years of age and had been with the Indians about five years.

''Colonel Williams found the Indian into whose family she had been alopled and proposed to redeem her, but the Comanche told liini all the goods he had would not ransom her, and at the same time ' the firmness of his counienance,' says Colonel Williams, ' M'arned me of the danger or further mention of the subject.' But old Pa-ha-a-ka prevailed upon him to let them see her. She came and sat down by the root of a tree, and while their presence was doubtless a haj)py e\ent to the poor, stricken captive, who in her doleful captivity had endured everything but death, she refused to speak a word. As she tat thei-e, musing, perhaps, of distant relatives and friends, and the bereavements at the beginnings and progress of her distress, they employed every peisuasive art to evoke some expression. They told her of her playmates and relatives, and asked what message she would send to them, but she had doubtless been commanded to silence, and, with no hope or prospect to returr), was afraid to app"ar sad or dejected, and, by a stoical effort in order to prevent future bad treatment, put the best face possilile on the matter. But the anxiety of her mind was betrayed by a perceptible opinion on her lip. showing that she was not insensible to the common feelings of humanity.

" As the years rolled by Cynthia Ann speedily develcped the charms of womanhood, as with the dusky maidens of her companionship she performed the menial offices of drudgery to which savage custom consigns woman, or practiced tbose little arts of coquetry natural to the female heart, whether she be a belle of Madison Square, attired in the most elaborate toilet from the elite bazaars of Paris, or the half- naked savages with matted locks and claw- like nails.

"Doubtless the heart of more than one warrior was pierced by the Ulyssean darts from the laughing eyes, or cheered by the silvery ripple of her joyous laughter, and laid at her feet the game taken after a long and arduous chase among the atitelope hills. Among the number whom her budding charms brought to her shrine was Peta Nocona, a Comanche war chief, in prowess and renown the peer of the famous and redoubtable Big Foot, who fell in a desperately contested hand-to-hand encounter with the veteran ranger and Indian fighter. Captain S. P. Koss, now living at Waco, and whose wonderful exploits and deeds of daring furnished theme for song and story at the war dance, the council and the camp fire.

"Cynthia Ann, stranger now to every word of her mother tongue save her own name, hecaine the bride of Peta IVcicona, peiforming for her imperious lord all the slavish offices which savagism and Indian custom assigns as the duty of a wife. She l.'ore him children, and, we are assured, loved him with a fierce paSbion and wifely devotion; 'for, some fifteen years after her capture," says Victor M. Eose, 'a party of wliite lumters, including some friends of lier family, \isited tiie Comanche encampment, and recognizing Cynthia Ann - prohably tliroxigh the luedinm of her name alone - soimded liei" as to the di^agreeableness of a return to her people and the haunts of civilization. She shook her head in a sorrowful negative, and jjointed to her little naked barbarians sporting at her feet, and to the great, greasy, lazy buck sleeping in the shade near at hand, the locks of a score of scalps dangling at his belt, and wliose first utterance on arousing would be a stern command to his meek, pale-faced wife, though, in truth, exposure to the sun and air had browned the complexion of Cynthia Ann almost as intensely as those of the native daughters of the jiLiius and forest.'

"She retained but the vaguest remembrance of her people - as dim and flitting as tlie phantom of adieam; she was accustomed now to the wild life she led, and found in its repulsive features charms in which 'uppertendom ' would have ])rovou totally deticient. 'I am jiappily wedded,' she said to these visitors; 'I love my husband, who is good and kind, and my little ones, who too are his, and I cannot forfake them.'"

This incident, in all its bearings, is so unique an one that it seems highly warrantable to follow Cynthia's career to the end. About a score of years passed and young Ross, of Waco, had seemingly silenced the Comanches at Antelope hills and Wichita mountains, but it was a false silence, as the writer above quoted shows below:

''For some time after Koss' victory at the Wichita mountains the Cmnanches wo'e less hoftile, seldom penetr:iting f.'irihjwn into the settlements. P.ut in l^S'-l "(JO the ccndition of the frontier was truly depl .lahle.

The people were obliged to stand in a continued posture of defense, and weria ju continual alarm and hazard of tiieir lives, never daring to stir abroad unarmed, for small bodies of savages, quick-sighted and accustomed to perpetual watchfulness, ho\ered on the outskirts, and, springing from behind bush or rock, surprised their enemy before he was aware of danger, and sent tidings of th'-ir presence in the fatal blow, and after e.xeeution of the bloody work, by superior knowledge of the country and rapid movements, safely retired to their inaccessible deserts.

"In the autumn of 1^(50 the indomitable and fearless Peta Xocona led a raiding party of Comanches through Parker county, so named in honor of the family of his wife, Cynthia Ann, committing gre:'.t depredatioUb as they passed through. The venerable Isaac Parker was at that time a resident of Weatherford, the county seat; and little did he imagine that the chief of the ruthless savages who spread desolation and death on every side as far as their arms could reach, was the husband of his long-lost niece, and that tlie commingled blood of the murdered Parkers and the atrocious Comanche now coursed in the veins of a second generation - bound equally by the ties of consanguinity to murderer and murdei'ed; that the son of Peta Nocona and Cynthia Ann Paiker wouhl become the chief of the proud (Jomanches, whose boast it is that their constitutional settlcnjent of government is tiie jiurest democracy ever originated or administered among men. It certainly conserved tlie object of its institution - the protection and happiness of the people - for a longer period and much more satisfa,ctorily than has that of any other Indian triiie. Tlie Comanches claimed a superiority ovei' the other Texan tribes; and they unquestionably were more intelligent and courageous. Tlie reservation policy - necessary though it be - brings them all to an abject level, the plane of lazy beggai-s and thieves. The Comanche is most qualified by nature to receive education and for adapting himself to the requirements of civilization of all the Southern tribes, not excepting even the Cherokees, witii their churches, schoolhouses and farms. The Comanches, after waging an unceasing war for over fifty years against the United States, Texas and Mexico, still number 16,000 souls - a far better showing than any other tribe can make, though not one but has enjoyed privileges to which the Comanche was a stranger. It is a shame to the civilization of the age that a people so susceptible of a high degi-ee of development should be allowed to grovel in the depths of heathenism and savagery. But we are digressing.

"The loud and clamorous cries of the settlers along the frontier for protection induced the Government to organize and send out a regiment under Colonel M. T. Johnson, to take the field for public defense. But these efforts proved of small service. The expedition, though at great expense to the State, failed to find an Indian until, returning, the command was followed by the wily Comanches, their horses stampeded at night, and most of the men compelled to reach the settlements on foot, under great suffering and exposure.

"Captain 'Sal' Ross, who had just graduated from Florence Wesleyau University, of Alabama, and returned to Texas, was commissioned a captain of rangers by Governor Sam Houston, and directed to organize a company of sixty men, with orders to repair to Fort Belknap, receive from Colonel Johnson all government property, as his regiment was disbanded, and take the field against the redoubtable Captain Peta Noeona, and afford the frontier such protection as was possible with his small force. The necessity of vigorous measures soon became so pressing that Captain Ross soon determined to attempt to curb the insolence of tiiese implacable ene mies of Texas by following them into their fastnesses and carry the war into their own homes. In his graphic narration of this campaign. General L. S. Ross says: 'As 1 could take but forty of my men from my post, I requested Captain N. G. Evans, in command of the United States troops at Camp Cooper, to send me a detachment of the Second Cavalry. We had been intimately connected on the Van Dorn campaign, during which I was the recipient of much kindntss from Captain Evans, while 1 was suffering from a severe wound received from an Indian in the battle of the Wichita. He promptly sent me a sergeant and twenty-one men well mounted. My force was still further augmented by some seventy volunteer citizen^, under the command of the brave old frontiersman. Captain Jack Cureton, of Bosque county. These self-sacrificing patriots, without the hope of pay or regard, left their defenseless homes and families to avenge the sufferings of the frontier people. With pack mules laden down with necessary supplies, the ex pedition marched for the Indian country.

'"On the 18th of December, 1860, while marching up Pease river, I had suspicion^ that Indians were in the vicinity, by reason of the buffalo that came running in grta' numbers from the north toward us, and wlii.r my command moved in the low ground 1 visited all neighboring high points to make discoveries. On one of these saml hills I found four fresh puny tracks, and, being satiftied that Indian ve<lettes had just gone. 1 galloped forward about a mile to a higlur point, and, riding to tlie ti)p, to my inexpressible surprise, found myself within 200 yards of a Comanche village, locateil on a small stream windin<i; around the base of the hill-. 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. 13y signaling my men as I stood concealed, they reached me without being discovered by the Indians, who were busy packing up prepai-atory to a move. r>y this time the Iiidians 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 si.xty 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 tliey 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 nf)ted warrior of great repute, with a young girl about fifteen years of age, mounted on his horse beliind him, and Cynthia Ann I'arker, 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 aliout a mile Kellilieir 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 about half a mile further, when about twenty yards of him, I flred my pistol, striking the girl (whom I supposed to be a man, as she rode like one, and oidy 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 olf also, but he «aught on his feet, and before steadying himself my horse, running at full speed, was very nearly on top of him, when he was struck with an arrow, which caused him to fall to pitching or ' bucking,' and it was with great ditticulty that I kept my saddle, and in the meantime narrowly escaped several arrows coming in quick succession from the chief's bow. Being at such disadvantage he would have killed me in a few minutes but foi- a random shot from my pistol (while 1 was clinging with my left hand to the pommel of my saddle), which broke his I'ight ariri at the elliow, 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 eveiy ovei-ture with contempt, and signalized this declaration with a savao-e 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, he was undaunted by tlie fate that awaited him, and as he seemed to prefer death to life, I directed the Mexican to end his misery by a charge of buclishot from the gun which he carried. Taking up his accouterments, whicli 1 subsequently sent to Governor Houston, to be deposited in the archives at Austin, we rode back to Cynthia Ann and Kellilieii-, and found him bitterly cursing himself for having run his pet hoi-se so hard after an 'old squaw.' She was very dirty, both in her scanty garments and person. But as soon as I looked on her face, I said: 'Why, Tom, this is a wliite woman: Indians do not have blue eyes.' On the way to the village, where my men were assembling with the spoils, and a large caoallada of ' Indian ponies,' I discovered an Indian boy about nine years of age, secreted in the grass. Expecting to be ivilled lie began crying, but I made him mount behind me and carried him along. And when in after years I frequently proposed to send him to his people, he steadily refused to go, and died in McLennan county last year.

" After camping for the night Cynthia Ann kept crying, and thinking it was caused from fear of death at our hands, I had the Mexican tell her that we recognized her as one of our own people, and would not harm her. She said two of her boys were with her when the fight began, and she was distressed by the fear that they had been killed. It so happened, however, both escaped, and one of them, ' Qiianah,' is now a chief. The other died some years ago on the plains. I then asked her to give me the history of her life among the Indians, and the circumstances attending her capture by them, which she promptly did, in a very sensible manner. And as the facts detailed corresponded with the massacre at Parker's Fort, I was impressed with the belief that she was Cynthia Ann Parker. Petiirning to my post, I sent her and child to the ladies at Cooper, where she could receive the attention her situation demanded, and at the same time dispatched a messenger to Colonel Parker, her uncle, near Weatherford; and as I was called to Waco to meei Governor Houston, I left directions for the Mexican to accompany Colonel Parker to Cooper as interpieter. When he reached there her identity was soon discovered to Colonel Parker's entire satisfaction and great happiness." (This battle broke the spirit of the Comanches for Texas.)

"Upon the arrival of Colonel Parker at Fort Cooper interrogations were made her through the Mexican interpreter, for she remembered not one word of English, respecting her identity; but she had forgotten absolutely everything apparently at all connected with her family or past history.

"In despair of being able to reach a conclusion, Colonel Parker was about to leave when he said, ' The name of my niece was Cynthia Ann.' The sound of the once familiar name, doubtless the last lingering memento of the old home at the fort, seemed to touch a responsive chord in her nature, when a sign of intelligence lighted up her countenance, as memory by some mystic inspiration resumed its cunning as she looked up and patting her breast, said, ' Cynthia Ann ! Cynthia Ann!' At the wakening of this single spark of reminiscence, the sole gleam in the mental gloom of many years, her countenance brightened with a pleasant smile in place of the sullen expression which iiabitually characterizes the looks of an Indian restrained of freedom. There was no longer any doubt as to iier identity with the little girl lost and mourned so long. It was in reality Cynthia Ann Parker, but oh, so changedl

" Dut as savage like and ilark of complexion as she was, C'vntiiia Ann was still dear to lier ovei-joyed nnele, and was welcomed home ly nlatives with all the jnynus transports with which the prodigal s(in wa- hailed upon hi- miserahle retnrn to the parental roof.

'-A thorouuh Lillian in manner and looks as it slie hail been so ln)rn, she songht every ojiiioitunify to escape and had to be closely watched for some time, ller uncle carried ller^elf and child to his home, then took them to Austin, where the secession con\enti(_in was in session. !Mrs. John Ileiii'y lirown and Mrs. N. 0. Raynmnd interested themselves in her, dressed her neatly, and on one occasion took her into the galh'ryot' the hall while the convention was in session. They soon realized that she was greatly alarmed by the belief that the assemblage was a council of chiefs, sittincr in iudo;ment on her life. Mrs. Brown beckoned to her husband, lion. John Henry Drown, who was a member of the convention, \yho appeared and succeeded in reassuring her that she was among friends.

'- Gradually her mother tongue came back, and with it occasional incidents of her childhood, including a recognition cf the venerable Mr. Anglin, and ])erhaps one or two others. " The Civil war coming on soon after, which necessitated the resunijition of such primitive arts, she learned t(.) spin, weave and i)erform the domestic duties. She proved quite an adept in such work and became a very useful uiember of the household. The ruling passion of her bosom seemed to be the maternal instinct, and cherished the hope that when tlie war was concluded she would at last succeed in reclaiming her two children, who were still with the Indians. But it was written otherwise ami Cynthia Ann and her little barbarians were called henco ere the cruel war was over. She died at her bi'other's in Anderson county, Te.xas, in 1864, preceded a short time by her sprightly little daughter, Prairie Flower. Thus ended the sad story of a woman far-famed along the border."

Only one of her sons, Quanah, lived to manhood. He became one of the four chiefs of the Cohoite Comanches, who were place.l on a reservation in Indian Territory in 187-1:, and became the most advanced of Comanche tribes in the arts of civilized life. Quanah learned English and soon conformed to American customs. A letter written in ISSH thus described his surroundings: "We visited Quanah in his teepe. He is a fine specimen of physical manhood, tall, muscular, straight as an arrow, gray, loidc-you-straightthrough-the-eyes, very dark skin, perfect teeth, and heavy raven-black hair - the envy of feminine hea,rts - he wears hanging in two rolls wrapped around with red cloth. His hair is parted in the middle; the scalp lock is a portion of hair the size of a dollar, plaited and tangled, siginfying, ' If you want tight you can have it.'

" Quanah is now camped with a thousand of his subjects at the foot of some hills near Anadarko, Indian Territory. Their white teepes, and the inmates dressed in their bright blaidvets and fiathers, cattle grazing, children playing, lent a weii-d charm to the lonely, desolate hills, lately devastated by prairie tire.

" He has three squaws, his favorite being the daughter of Yellow Boar, who met his death by asphyxiation at Fort Worth in December last. He said he gave seventeen horses for her. His daughter Cynthia, named for her grandmother, Cynthia Parker, is an inmate of the agent's house. Quanah was attired in a full suit of buckskin, tunic, leggins and moccasins elaborately trimmed in beads, and a red breech cloth with ornamental end hanging down. A vei'y handsome and expensive Mexican blanket was tlirown around his body; in liis ears were little stuffed birds. His hair was done with the feathers of bright plumaged birds. lie was liandsomer by far than any Ingomarthe writer has ever seen, but there was no squaw fair enougii to personate his Parthenia. His general aspect, manner, bearing, education, natural intelligence, sliow plainly tliat white blood tricliles through his veins. When traveling he assumes a complete civilian's outfit - dude collar, watch and chain, and takes out his ear rings. He, of course, cannot cut off his long hair, saying that he would no longer be ' big chief.' He has a handsome carriage, drives a pair of matched grays, always traveling with one of his scjuaws (to do the chores). Minnaaton-cha is with him now. She knows no English, but while her lord is conversing gazes dumb with admiration at ' my lord,' ready toobey his slightest wish or command."

A Comanche Princess

In the spring of 1843, the Republic of Texas, Sam Houston being president, dispatched Colonel J. C. Eldridge, Commissioner of Indian affairs, and Tom Torrey, Indian agent, to visit the several wild tribes on the frontier of Texas and induce them to make peace and conclude treaties with the Republic. General H. P. Bee accompanied the expedition, but in no official capacity. At the house of a frontier settler, near where the town of Marlin stands, the commissioners received two Comanche children who had been captured by Colonel Moore, a famous and gallant soldier of the old Republic, in one of his forays on the u]iper wsters of the Coloi'ado in 184-0. Tlu'se children had been ordered to be retiirnc 1 tu their people. One of them was a boy fourteen yeais old, named Bill Hockley, in honor of ^'.'i veteran Colonel Hockley, then high in command of tlit army (if the Republic, who had adopted the boy and taken care of him: tlie other was a girl eleven years old, named Maiia. The parting of the little girl from the good people who had evidently been Kind to her was veiv affecting; she cried bitterly and begged that she would not be carried away. She had forgotten her native tongue, spoke only one language, and had the same dread of an Indian that any other white children had. Her little nature had been cultivated by the hand of civilization until it drooped at the thought of a rough Indian life as a delicately nurtured flower will droop in the strong winds of the prairies. There being no excuse, however, for retaining her among the white people, a pretty gentle Indian pony, with a little sidesaddle, was procured for her, and she was taken from her friends.

On arriving at a camp in Tanacoiii, above where Waco is now located, the party met the first Indians, a mixture of Delawares, Wacoes, etc. The appearance of the little girl on horseback cheated great amusement among the Indians. She was so shy and timid, and the very manner in which she was seated on the side-saddle was different from that of the brown- skinned women of her race. The next morning after the arrival at the camp, Ben Hockley came out in full Indian costume, having exchanged his citizen clothes for buck-skin jacket, pants, etc. He at once resumed his Indian habits, and from that day, during the long trip of months. Bill was noticed as the keenest eye of the party. He could tell an object at a greater distance,

The journey proceeded - with its vai-ied scenes of excitement, danger and interest for four iiionths, and the barometer of tiie ]iart)' was the little Coiianche princess. The object of the i'X]ieditiiin was to see the liead cliief of the C'<->manches, and of cfjurse, as the searcii was to be made in tiie boundless prairies, it was no easy or certain task; yet they could tell the distance from or proximity to tlie Conianclies iiy the conduct of the little girl. When news came that the Indians were near, the childish voice would not 1)6 heard in its joyous freshness, caroIiuLi- round the file; lint when news andvcd that they could not be found, her spirits would revi\c, and her joy woidd sliow itself in gambols as merry as those of the innocent fawn that s]jorts around its mother on the great bosom of the prairie.

At last the goal was reached, and the party was in the Comanche camp, the village of Pay-ha-lin-co, the head chiet of all the Conianclies. Maria's time had come, but the little girl tried to avoid notice and ke|)t as close as ))ossible. Her appearance, however, was the cause of great sensation, and a few days fixed the fact tliat she was the daughter of the fdinier head chief of the nation, who died on the forks of the Brazos, from wouniis received at the battle of Plum creek in 18-10. Thus, unknown to her or themselves, they had lieeii associating with the royal princess, Nosa-co-oi-a^ll, the long lost and beloved child of the nation. This extraordinary g(.iod luck for the little girl brought no ast-uagcment to her grief. Iler jny was gune. .She spuke not a wiird of Couuuiclie, a;id could not recip- I'licate the warm gi'ceting^ she received.

determined that he would not talk Comanche, although he spoke it perfectly well, not having, like Maria, forgotten his native language. During tlie week they remained in the village. Bill, contrary to his usual custom, kept close to the party, and did not speak a word to those around him; nor could he be induced to do so. On one occasion a woman brought a roasting ear, which was of great value in her eyes, as it had come probably 150 mile-, and presented it to Bill, who sat in one of the tents. The boy gave not the slightest attention to the woman or her gift, but kept his eye ti.xed on the ground. Finally she put the roasting ear under his eyes, so that as he looked down he must see it. Then, talking all the time, she walked ofl" and watched him. But Bill, from under his eyes, noted her movements, and not until she was out of sight did he get up and say, "That ugly old woman is not niammie, but 1 will eat her roasting ear."

When the chief came home (he was absent for several days after the party arrived), he asked to see the children; and when they were presented he spoke to Bill in a very peremptory tone of voice, and Bill at once answered, being the first word of Comanche he had spoken since his arrival. This broke the ice, and the boy went among his pet)ple, not returning to his white friends until he was wanted to take part in the ceremony of being finally delivered over to his tribe, and afterward never going to tell them good by. So there and then Bill Hockley passed from the scene.

The day before the grand council with the Comanches, the skill and ingenuity of the party of the three white men were taxed to their fullest extent to make a suitable dress for the Comariche ]iriiicess, whose clothes, it may be supposed, had become old and shabby.

Their lady fiiciids would have been v;l^Ily amused at their efforts. There was no crinoline, corset, pull-back, wasp-waist or Dolly Varden to be sure. Whether the body was too long or too short, we are unable to say; but it was one or the other! The skirt was a success, but the sleeves would not work: so they cut them off at the elbow. The next morning they dressed the little princess in a flaming-red calico dress, put strings of brass beads on her neck, brass rings on her sji-ms, a wreath of prairie flowers on lier head, tied a red ribbon around her smooth, nicely plaited hair, and painted her face with vermilion, until she looked like the leal princess that she was. All this, however, was no pleasure to poor iVlaria; she was like a lamb dressed in flowers for the sacrifice.

Finally the time came when, in the full council. Colonel Eldridge stood holding the hands of the two children in front of the chief, and said to him that as an evidence of the desire of the great white Father (Houston) to make peace, and be friendly with the great Comanche nation, he sent them two children, captives in war, back to their people. After these words he attempted to place the hands of both in the extended hand of the chief; but at that moment the most distressing screams burst from Maria. She ran behind Colonel Eldridge, and begged him for God's sake not to give her to those people, to have mercy, and not to leave her. Then the poor child fell on her knees and shrieked, and clung to him in all the madness of despair. A death-like silence prevailed in the council. The Indians stood l)y in stern stoicism, the voices of the white men were silent with emotion, and nothing but the cries of the poor lamb of sacrifice pierced the distance of the bloom-scented prairies. Hei white friends, as soon as possible, attempted to qniet the eliild. Of course the cumforting words were ."-pckcn in tlu'ir own languiige, but tliev were evidently umlerstood by all, for tlieirs-was the language of nature. Finding their efforts useless, the chief said: "This is the child of our long-mourned chief; she is of our blood; her aged grandtnother stands ready to receive her; but she has forgotten her people. She does not want to come to us; and if the great white chief only sent her for us to see that she is fat and well cared for, tell him I thank him, and she can go back."

This was an opportunity; and General Bee suggested to Colonel Eldrirlge to save the child; but, although the latter's he-art was bursting with grief and sympathy, his sense of duty told him his work was finished, and he replied to the chief, as follows: "I have been ordered to give up this child. I have done so, and my duty is fulfilled. But you see she is no longer a Comanche. Child in years when she was taken from you by the stern hand of war, she has learned the Ian cniage of another people, and I implore you to give her to me, and let me take her to my home and care for her all the days of my life.'' "No," said the cliief; "if she is my child I will keep her." Be swung her rougldy behind him into the arms of the old grandmother, who bore her screaming from the council tent; and thus the princess was delivered to her people; and the last sound the party heard on leaving that Ctmianche camp was the wail of the poor, desolate child!

Years afterward General Bee received a message from Maria, and sent her a few presents by way of remembrance. She had become the main interpreter of her nation, and met the white people in council. So it ended well at last. She became an instrument of good, and fulfilled her destiny on the stage of action for which she was horn. But the remembrance of the bright but desolate chihl, and her prayers and tears when she wa-< forced to be left with her stranger 1*0) ile, is fresh in the memory of at least one of the party, and will last him through life.

Gaiik Animals

Huft'alo (formerly), elk, black-tailed deer, antelope, hare, rabbit, red and fox squirrels, turkey, prairie chicken, quail ("partridge"), the whooping and the sand-hill cranes, the American and trumpeter swans, tlie hay goose, brant, snow goose (common or Canadian), etc., blue-winged teah the shoveler, widgeon, green-winged teal, pintail, gray duck, ring necks, canvas-back, mallard and possibly some other sjiecies of ducks, woodcock, plover, curlew, tatler, sanderling, etc.

It would scarcely lie appro])riate here to enumerate the habits of these various animals, their seasons of immigration and eujigration, etc., as such matters come more properly wdthin the domain of scientific and sportsmen's works. Hunters' stories constitute interesting reading, but are not properly the matter of the history of a State; but we will venture to relate one, as tbllows:

Fearful Encounter With A Dear

" Returning home from one of my monthly tours under the iuirning sun of August,'' says Elder Z. N. Morrill, " I found myself greatly exhausted iu consequence of a ride of

100 miles from Providence Church, Navarro county, north of Chambers creek. Alter a little rest I mounted my horse, gun in hand, with a view fir^-t to look after the farm, an I secondly, if possible, to get a deer or turkey, as fresh meat was called for. The farm was in the Brazos bottom, and at tliis season nt the year the weeds were from four to six fe t liigh. Passing around the Held, I watcheii every motion of the weeds, expecting to see a deer or turkey. Presently my attention was called to my right, and about thirty steps from my path my eyes rested upon the liead of an old she bear, standing upon her hind feet and looking at me. My horse was wild and I dared not shoot from the saddle. Leaping to the ground as quickly as pus.-ible, I leveled my ritle at the fearful object, which then suddenly disappeared. Immediately the weeds nearer by began to shake, and two cubs, not more than ten feet from me, ran u|i a hackberry tree. Eestiiig among the liml'S, they turned their anxious eyes on me. The old bear was gone; and very deliberately 1 tied up my iiorse, and with a smile on my face and none but the cubs and the God of the universe in hearing, I sa'd, I am good for you, certain. As 1 was ab^uit pulling the trigger the case of Davy Crockett Hashed into my mind when he shot the cul) and the old bear came upon him with his gun empty. With that distinguished hunter I had gone on a bear chase in Tennessee.

"Well was it that I thought of him at this moment, for I had not even a knife or a dog to help me in my extremity; and as, unlike the king of Israel, I did not feel able to take the bear by the beard, I lowered my gun and unsprung the trigger. Just then an angry snarl fell upon my ears a short distance away. The old bear was after me. The weeds cracked and shook, and she stood upon her liiiid fi et, walking toward me, swaying lier body riglit and lelt. IJer hair was ail etanding on end and iier ears laid back, pi-e.-entiiig a frightful appearance. Life was pending on the contest. Either Z. N. Morrill or that bear had to die. The only chance was to make a good shot. Tlie bear was now not more than forty feet from me, and steadily advancing. Remembering that I had but the one slim chance for my life, depending on the one gun-cap and the faithfulness of mj aim, I found I had the ' buck ague.' 1 had faced cannon in the liattle-lield, but never did I feel as when facing that bear. I grasped the gun, but the tighter I grasped the worse I trembled. The bear was now less than twenty feet away, walking straight on her hind legs. By moving the gun up and down I dually succeeded in getting in range of her body, but not until the animal was within ten fiet of nie did I get an aim upon which I was willing to risk a shot! The bear was in the act of springing when 1 lired. At the crack of the gnn, the bear sprang convulsively to one side and fell. 1 then re-loaded and killed the cubs."

Yellow Fever

The year 1867 was probably the worst season for 3'ellow fever that Texas ever saw. About thirty interior towns and villages suffered an appalling mortality. It first made its appearance at Indianola, early in July, - which was probably the earliest for that year in the United States. Within the first few weeks it proceeded in its devastating inarch, in turn, to Galveston, Lavaca, Victoria, Goliad, Hempstead, Cypress, Navasota, Millican, Brenham, Chapel Hill, La Grange, Bastrop, Alleyton, Long Point, Courtney, Anderson, Huntsville, Liberty, Lynchbuig and many smaller places. It was said to have been successfully excluded from Eichmond and Columbus by a rigid quarantine, and also from Brownsville and Anderson till a very late period, though it finally broke out in both of the latter places.

The mortality was very great. In Galveston, for example, out of a total of 1,332 deaths reported during the epidemic, 1,134. were from yellow fever. In Harrisburg and some other towns, considerably more than half the cases were fatal; in other places, half or a little less. Some cases of distress and luck of care were truly heart-rending.

Dawson And Sims

Frederick Dawson, of Baltimore, Maryland, who helped Texas with money in her early struggles, was a jovial gentleman with huge proportions, and used to come to Austin during the sessions of the legislature after annexation, to press his claims for settlement with the State of Texas. He was a jolly companion, a good liver, very fond of brown stout, and had a laugh which waked the echoes around to a marvelous distance.

In the amplitude of his proportions and the magnitude of his laugh Dawson was rivaled by Bart Sims, a resident of the Colorado valley. They had never met before the occasion under consideration; consequently their points of resemblance were unknown to each other. Upon this day, as they chanced to be in town at the same time, the young men of the place conceived the sportive notion of having Dawson and Sims laugh for a wa::er. Drinks for the whole population were staked upon the result, judges were chosen and the cachinnation commenced.

the log houses witliin, and tlie hills around, tlie seat of government ecliDed and re-echoed to laughter of the ino>t thundering description. Doojs, pigs, chickens and litde children ran away terrified; and men, women and the youth wdio did not know what was the matter poked their heads out of the doors and windows in wonderment. Soon the bystanders became infected with the fun of the thing, joined in the loud smile, and from the head of Congress avenue to its foot the street was one astounding roar.

At one moment the star of Sims would appear to 1)6 in the ascendaiit, hut the next instant Dawson would gather himself for a mighty effort and roll out a ])eal that would drown out the neigh of a horse or bray of an ai^s. The umpires gave their decision in favor of Dawson.

was a good hit for Sims, as he was not a man of wealth, and the laugh now turned in his favor, while his antagonist stood the treat with his usual good nature.

Texas Veteean Association

This association is composed of the survivors of the Texas revolution, the men who conquered the armies of Santa Anna and wrested this vast empire from the dominion of Mexico.

Its object is to "perpetuate the memories of men and measures tiiat secured and inainlained liberty and independence to the Republic of Texas, and for the promotion of more intimate intercourse and association of ihe survivors of that memorable struggle."

Its memliership is composed: \A, of all survivors of the old 300 soldiers and seamen of the Jiepuhlic of Texas who served against Mexicans and Indians from 1820 to 18413; 2d, all citizens a|rpiiinted by the government or elected to and who discharged positions of trust from 1820 to 183(3.

Suffrage

The following classes of persons a'e prohibited from voting in this State: 1, All persons under twenty-one years of age; 2, idiots and lunatics; 3, jismpei'S supported by any county; 4, persons convicted of any felony; and 5, soldiers, marines and seamen in the service of the United States.

Every male citizen twenty-one years of age, sub]ect to none of the foregoing disqualitications, who has resided in the State one year next ])receding the election ami the last six months within the district or county where he offers to vote, is a qualitied elector.

Exemptions From Taxation

Buildings and lands attached thei-eto beloncrino- to charitable or educational institutions and used exclusively for charitable or educational purposes.

Exemptions From Forced Sale

A homestead worth $5,000 exclusive of improveineuts, if in a town or city; if in the country, 200 acres, inchiding improvements and crops growing thereon, except for part or all of the purchase money thereof, the taxes due thereon, or for material used in constructing improvements thereon, and in this last case only wlieii the work and mateiial are contracted for in writing, with the consent of the wife given in the same manner as is required in making a sale and conveyance of the homestead.

"Were it not for an implied inhibition in the present State constitution, made in haste to cover more ground than was probably intended, Texas would have surprised the world at the great Columbian Exposition at Chicago with exhibits of her vast resources and present stage of development. Possibly she would have surpassed every other State in the Union, if not every country in this wide world, as a favorable section for immigration, which she could have easily done had it not been for that fatal clause in her constitution and the political collisions which it occasioned between the granger and antigranger element of the people.

A tremendous effort was made by a few of the most zealous friends of Texas to have a respectable and worthy exhibit at Chicao-o. despite the obstacles just mentioned, but all proved abortive except the movement inaugurated by the two private organizations denominated the Gentlemen's World's Fair Association of Texas and the Texas "Women's "World's Fair Exhibit Association, all the work being devolved upon the latter, headed by the brave and executive Mrs. Benedette B. Tobin, of Austin, who was elected president of the board of managers and took charge of the Texas State building at the fair. The career of the enterprise is a long story, but remarkable from the fact that it was successfully carried through by Southern ladies. This was probably tiie greatest undertaking by women of the South in tlie history of the whole country. They succeeded in obtaining subscriptions from various parties in the cities and towns throughout the State, until they raised sufficient funds to place upon the fair grounds at Chicago the best an-anged State building there, at a final cost of about §28,000; and it was really a magnificent structure, even in comparison vvith all the other State buildings, whic' were erected under appropriations from respective general State treasuries, architect was J. Riely Gordon, of

Antonio. Considering that the ladies did not commence work until the August preceding the opening of the fair, the grand success of the enterprise seems still more remarkable.

A splendid oil painting representing a life-sized equestrian statue of General Houston, in the act of giving orders in action on the battle-field at San Jacinto, adorned the wall in the rear of the rostrum of the building.

The officers of the association were: Mrs. Benedette B. Tobin, President; Mrs. J. C. Terrell, Mrs. W. F. Ladd and Mrs. E. A. Fry, Vice Presidents; Miss Mary J. Palm, Secretary; S. J. T. Jfihnson, Su[)erintendent of the State building; Board of Directors: Mesdames B. B. Tobin, J. W. Swayne, J. L. Henry, J. M. Burroughs, E. M. House, A. V. Doak, A. D. Hearne, C. F. Drake and Val. C. Giles; Vice Presidents at Large: Mesdames John W. Stayton, R. R. Gaines, John L. Henry, George W. Tyler, George Clark, Ella Scott, Ella Stewart, E. M. House, \V. W. Leake, C. F. Drake, J. B. Scruggs, Wm. H. Rice, Mollie M. Davis and Miss Hallie Halbert.

Besides the above building, a few enterprising business men and women contributed a small exhibit, notably Mrs. Mary B. Nickels, of Laredo, who had in the Horticultural building probably the grandest cactus exhibit ever made in Ihis countr)'.

General Sidney Sherm.'^n was born in Marlborough, Massachusetts, Juh' 2 3, 1805. He was descended from Captain John Sherman, who emigrated from Wales in 1631, and settled in Massachusetts. Roger Sherman, long the Nestor of the American Congress, was a great-grandson of Captain John Sherman, and a great-uncle of the subject of this sketch. Sidney Sherman was the elder of two sons, and one of a family of six children born to Micah Sherman and his wife. His sisters always remained at the North, but his brother, Dana Sherman, came to Texas and died, on San Jacinto bay, in 1839, his wife dying on the same da}', and both being consigned to the same grave. The parents of Sidney died when he was young, and he was thus early thrown on his own resources. He entered a mercantile house in Boston at the age of sixteen, and was later engaged in mercantile pursuits for some five years in New York city. In 1831 he moved to Cincinnati, Oliio, where he shortly afterwards imited with a company for the manufacture of cotton bagging at Newjiort, Kentuck}', opiposite Cincinnati. During the time that he was engaged in this he began individually the manufacture of sheet-lead, antl was the first, to establish this industry west of the Alleghany mountains. While absorbed with these pursuits, tidings were received, in the fall of 1835, of the contest then going on between the colonists of Texas and the military despotism of Mexico. The generous spirit of Sherman kindled with enthusiasm, and he zealously espoused a cause which, contemplated under the most favorable aspect, might have intimidated the boldest heart.