Texas Brave and Strong Podcast

Post Civil War, "cowboying" was a tough, demanding job, one which attracted scores of newly freed blacks. Some were especially notable.

Juneteenth is probably an example of "What you know for sure, that ain't so! "

Long before Texas was Texas, a series of Spanish explorers visited the mysterious land of the High Plains. These expeditions were motivated by the search for wealth promised by tales of rich kingdoms that always seemed to be "just a bit farther," but were never reached.

Held prisoner by the Mexican government, the Texian volunteers of the Mier Expedition were forced to participate in a lottery--ten percent of them to be executed by a firing squad. Who lived and who died was settled by the drawing of a white or black bean. This is a first-hand report from Big Foot Wallace, one of the soldiers who drew a white bean and lived to tell the dramatic story of the black bean death lottery.

PART I: The Mier Expedition and the Black Bean Lottery of Death

When the Republic of Texas is plagued by Mexican military raids, a planned reprisal results in the ill-fated Mier Expedition of 1842. After some success, the volunteer soldiers are told to abort, but many continue and end up as prisoners of Mexico. Things do not go well for them. As told by participant Big Foot Wallace.

Was a Texan the first to fly an "airship" nearly forty years before the Wright Brothers?

Stampeding Buffalo over a cliff--to fall to their death--was an effective, but dangerous technique used by early native people to hunt buffalo. The cliff site was called a "buffalo jump."

Answer: A Texas cattle rancher named Maverick who left his mark on Texas, but wouldn't brand his mark on his cattle.

Fire Unites Texas German Communities every Spring for 146 years.

It took a brave man to ride uninvited into a Comanche camp in 1847

German warrior fought for six nations, including the Republic of Texas and The Confederacy.

Official symbols of Texas are surprising!

Feeding hungry cowboys on the trail

When Big Foot Wallace meets a pack of hungry wolves, the challenge is to out run and outsmart them.

In the mid-1800s, charming German villages prospered near San Antonio, and were protected from the Comanche due to a unique treaty. A New York Yankees penned this account of an enthusiastic visit to New Braunfels, a highlight of his Texas trip

One example--standing on a galloping horse!!

Settlers called on frontier "Rangers" for protection

Blcksmiths get creative and it's humorous!

When "Big Foot" collides with the 'Big Indian" the fight is to the death!

Cotton Evades the Civil War's Union Blockade

A hard-riding, sharp-shooting doctor of many talents!

Union officers were honored guests in San Antonio during the Civil War.

Pistol-packing, horse-trading, champion-cussing woman.

Cattle in the air...

Founder of Dallas was a Squatter?

How to spot a real cowboy.

Was it a space ship??

Sam Houston had three wives and one was a beautiful Cherokee.

Some small Texas towns have prospered and grown during the decades. Others have boomed and then settled into obscurity. Hico in Hamilton County appeared to be in the sad, second category, but determined citizens in Hico are bringing Hico back. Increasingly it is on the list of small towns to visit in Texas and (in my opinion) for good reason.

In 1856, a few years prior to the Civil War, the rush to Texas was on. That year, eight families arrived in covered wagons and settled on Honey Creek in the northern corner of Hamilton County. In 1860, John Rankin Alfred and his family, also traveling in covered wagons, rode into Central Texas and joined the Honey Creek settlement. Alfred started a small business selling goods he’d brought by wagon and engaged in the cattle business. When the community petitioned for a post office, Alfred became postmaster and named the now official (but not yet incorporated) town Hico (HY-koh), after his birthplace, Hico, in Calloway County, Kentucky.

When the Texas Central Railroad (which was part of the famous Katy Railroad) was built two and a half miles away, like so many Texas towns, the citizens decided that if the community was to prosper, they needed to relocate the town adjacent to the rail line. So they moved. Ten years later, two major fires destroyed downtown’s wooden buildings. The town rebuilt with big blocks of limestone.

The move to the rail line proved to be a smart one. By 1883, Hico was incorporated and became a major center of Texas trade. Hico’s grain market exploded. By the turn of the century, Hico was shipping more grain than any other location on the Texas Central rail line. By 1907, the cotton shipments through Hico were in the tens of thousands of bales.

Business was good and downtown Hico boomed with almost one hundred businesses—from hotels and grocery stores to both a broom and a candy factory. An 1895 opera house, a theatre, and tented roller rink offered fun and entertainment.

But by 1955, the trading boom—which had been fueled by train transportation—fizzled and the town’s business and population declined. A situation aggravated by major interstate construction bypassing the community.

But today, more than sixty-five years later, when one might have expected Hico to be a near ghost town, it is a thriving example of a historic small town creating a new history. From 2019 to 2020, the population grew by 12.5% to 1,780 people. Not a big town. but a growing one with lots to offer. Main street is lined with handsome, historic stone buildings from more than 100 years ago—some structures sport old fashioned ads painted on their sides — the billboards of the past. A walk down Main Street is a trip back in time. Except—these old fashioned buildings now house charming inns and restaurants, boutiques, and various shops. The newly restored 1896 Midland Hotel recreates the hospitality of the past in its fourteen guest rooms, while its Chop House restaurant serves up thoroughly up-to-date dishes with a flavor of Texas and the 1896 Saloon has drinks to help you “wet your whistle” as early Texans said.

A Texas-history mystery also beckons in downtown Hico. Was a Hico resident named William Henry “Ollie” Roberts, known as Brushy Bill Roberts, none other than the outlaw Billy the Kid? Many believe that he was. Brushy Bill claimed that Pat Garrett, the man who took credit for shooting Billy the Kid, really shot another outlaw named Billy Barlow and that he, Billy the Kid, slipped into the night and vanished, becoming another miscreant GTT—“Gone to Texas.”

The full story is an interesting one and there are lots of clues—from scars on Brushy Bill that match scars where it is known Billy the Kid was wounded, plus testimonials from other noted outlaws of the time that Brushy Bill was in fact Billy the Kid. Brushy Bill died in Hico in 1950 before he received the pardon he was hoping for from New Mexico’s governor- a pardon promised..

High Society comes to Texas, 1898

In February of 1892, The New York Times published its official list of the creme de la creme of New York Society— 400 individuals, a mix of “Nobs”— old money families such as the Astors and “Swells”—the nouveau riche including the Vanderbilts. It was the Guilded Age in New York and the city’s influence helped city directories become popular across the country.

In 1890, the Census had revealed that Dallas was the most populous city in Texas with 38,067 residents. It was followed in size by Galveston with 29,084 residents and Houston with a population of 27,557.

Texas’ largest city caught the attention of Holland Brothers Publishing, a company looking to expand its market in high society lists of major cities. Dallas seemed ripe for its own list of who’s who in society and Voila! the Red Book of Dallas, Texas was born. The volume had the distinction of being the first Red Book published in Texas. And of course, the book’s cover was red. One can only imagine the buzz this created in the city.

To fill the book’s 137 pages, in what was still somewhat of a frontier town, Holland Brothers Publishing needed lots of filler content. But let’s start with the preface from the publisher.

“In presenting the [Red Book] to the public, the publishers feel they have supplied a decided need of an important element of the community. To facilitate the requirements of social life and place persons in direct communication with the representatives of the different phases of the best local society, this directory is intended. It is here also that new residents of this city may find the names of any and all persons whom they may desire to include in their visiting list, and whom they wish to meet in any social way.”

The small volume contained a high society list of 3,245 adults and children from Dallas, supplemented by 333 from Oak Cliff. If the household had a designated day for accepting in-person visits (or calls, the proper term), that was noted. Also included were the membership lists of eight local clubs, four for gentlemen and four clubs for ladies.

Based on the Red Book, Dallas in the late 1800s appears to be a “clubby” city.

The Dallas Club for gentlemen was by far the largest and owned its own building—a handsome four story, brick and stone structure completed in 1888 for $45,000 and located at the corner of Commerce and Poydras Streets. The Dallas Club was central to the activities of business, civic, and professional men of the city: however, ladies were allowed for special receptions and parties for visiting dignitaries.

The Idlewild Club was a much smaller men’s club — about three dozen members— founded with the purpose of giving four grand balls each season, beginning with a ball during the State Fair of Texas. It’s hard to imagine that the wives of these men didn’t provide input for the planning of these events, whether they were asked to or not.

The Ladies’ Shakespeare Club, founded in1855, was for the sole purpose of studying Shakespeare’s plays. Membership was limited to 45 members.

The thirty-two member Ladies Pierian Chatauqua Club reported its object was mutual improvement of its members, the social aspects were a side issue. Apparently a serious literary group.

Not to be outdone, The twenty-one member Quaero Club adopted as its course of study “A new method for the study of English literature, which included reading current literature and a weekly review by critics.

Two other ladies’ clubs, the Standard Club and CLMA club, also existed to study literature.

The Phoenix Club for Jewish gentleman was for the mutual benefit and mental, moral, and social advancement for its members and had sixty-five members.

The Social Ethics Club was open to any unmarried gentleman over the age of twenty-one and its purpose was to promote the social, musical...

Mrs. Mary Austin Holley, a cousin of noted Texan, Stephen F. Austin, was a keen observer of daily life on the Texas frontier, before the Texas Revolution. In letters back home to Connecticut, she reported her astute observations. What follows are comments from three of her letters written in 1831 from Bolivar, Texas.

. . . The people of Texas, as yet, have little time for [business]. Everybody is occupied with his domestic arrangements and plans for supplying his immediate wants. It is found to be easier to raise or manufacture such articles as are needed [by] the family or to do without what things may be desired, than to obtain them from abroad, or to employ an individual to scour the country in search of such. . . . People live too far apart to beg or borrow often, and few trouble themselves to send anything to market, though they have much to spare. They had rather give to you of their abundance, if you will send someone to their doors [to get it]. . . . If they want any article of first necessity, coffee for instance, which is much used, they will send some of their chickens, butter and eggs, to a neighboring family, newly arrived, and propose an exchange, as most newcomers bring with them some stores. There is much of this kind of barter, provisions being so much more [plentiful] than money. . . .

In no country, with the usual attention to the arts of life, could more luxuries to the table be furnished. At present, vegetables, fruits, butter, eggs, and chicken sell very high in Brazoria; though they are yielded in every season of the year, in a profusion unexampled in any part of the world. The newcomer has to but plant his seeds in the ground, and collect a first supply of livestock to begin with. They need but little or no care afterwords, and the increase is astonishing. He brands his cattle and hogs and lets them run. They require no attention, but to see that they do not stray too far from home and become wild. A field once planted in pumpkins, seldom needs planting again. The scattered seed sow themselves, and the plants are cultivated with the corn. These pumpkins, often as large as a man can lift, have a sweet flavor and are very palatable. A field of them is a curiosity, as they are in such numbers and so large. Sweet potatoes, also are cultivated with almost equal ease, and yield at times, five hundred bushels to the acre. Some of these potatoes weigh from four to seven pounds. Yet they sell at Brazoria at the enormous price of seventy-five cents a bushel. Corn is obtained in the prairie cane-breaks [during] the first year, when there is no time to prepare the land with the plow, by merely making a hole for the seed with a hoe. Cows and horses get their own living. The trees at this moment (17th of December), are loaded with rich clusters of grapes, not very large, but of a delicious flavor. . . .

During my stay at Bolivar, we might have had every day, the finest of game, could anyone have been spared to take to the field with his gun. Our neighbor at one hunt, brought in three bears, a Mexican hog, a rabbit and two bee-trees. Our carpenter, without leaving his bench five minutes, killed several wild ducks, the finest I have ever tasted. . . .

Housekeepers should bring with them all indispensable articles for household use, together with as much common clothing (other clothing is not wanted) for themselves and their children as they conveniently can. . Ladies, in particular, should remember that in a new country, they can not get things made at any moment, as in an old one, and that they will be sufficiently busy the first two years in arranging such things as they have, without obtaining more. It should also be done as a matter of economy. Where the population increases, beyond the increase of supplies, articles of necessity are dear. If on arrival you find a surplus on hand, it can be readily disposed of to advantage; for trade, by barter, is much practiced, and you buy...

As the story goes . . . Nestled in a small clearing close to the woods and the Leon River, about seven miles northeast of the small settlement of Hamilton in Central Texas was a rustic one-room school house. The Leon River School was a simple square of loosely stacked logs with large spaces left between the logs to allow for ventilation. School was taught in the summer when the children had more free time from tasks on their family homesteads.

It was afternoon that day in July of 1867, and a small group of students had settled in for their lessons. Their teacher, Miss Ann Whitney, a heavy-set 32 year-old who had left Massachusetts and travelled to Texas to teach, was instructing the children when a young student, Amanda Powers, yelled that horsemen were approaching the school. At first, teacher Ann Whitney was unconcerned as she had been told a parent and his cowhands would be visiting the school that day to see his daughter who was boarding with another family in order to attend the classes. But Amanda Powers continued to watch the approaching riders between cracks in the logs and was soon convinced the riders were Indians, She pushed her little brother out the schools only window and quickly followed him. Both ran for the bushes along the river and hid.

Amanda’s departure and the sound of pounding horse hooves told the story—a Comanche attack! Barring the door and gathering the children, Ann Whitney began pushing her students out the small window on the north side of the cabin with instructions to hide in the brush along the river. At the last minute, loose floorboards were pulled up and two students, Louis Manning and John Kuykendall took cover under the school.

With blood-curdling cries, the war party began firing arrows into the school, wounding Ann Whitney more than a dozen times. A third student still in the building, Jane Kuykendall, was wounded, but survived because the Indians apparently assumed she was dead.

Wounded and dying, Ann Whitney spread her skirts over the floor boards where Tom and Louis were hiding. The Comanche broke the door down, found the two boys cowering under the floor, and dragged them up.

Among the dozen or so Comanche raiders was a red-headed white man who asked the two boys if they wanted to join the Indians. Young John Kuykendall said yes, and was taken. Louis Manning said no. He later said he thought he was about to be killed when the leader of the raiders called for the rest to leave.

As they were leaving, the red haired Indian saw Olivia Barbee, captured her, pulling her onto his saddle. When he was distracted, she jumped down and escaped into the thick underbrush.

By chance, two women out for a ride saw the commotion as the attack began. Seventeen year old Amanda Howard and her sister-in-law Sarah Howard realized they needed to warn others that the Comanche were raiding. They reversed their horses and raced toward the Baggett’s cabin about a half a mile away. A few of the Comanche hurried to stop them. In the rush, Sarah was thrown from her horse while jumping an eight rail fence. An Indian captured her horse, but but Sarah was uninjured and able to make it to the Baggett home. Amanda charged ahead of the pursuing Indians, managed to outrun them on the young, spirited colt she was riding, and was able to spread the alarm to other neighboring cabins and alert the citizens of Hamilton.

While one group of Comanche had attacked the school, a second group found the Stanaland family traveling nearby. Mr. and Mrs. Stanaland and their two children were killed.

Armed men from Hamilton gathered and pursued the marauders.

John Kuykendall, who was taken in the raid, was traded back about six months later. His wounded sister Jane recovered from her wound. All of Ann Whitney’s students had survived the attack! Teacher Ann Whitney who had died trying to save her students was heralded as a hero...

In the previous podcast, I talked about how the Texas State Capitol Building in Austin was financed by raising funds through the sale of 3,050,000 acres of vacant land in the Panhandle of Texas. The land purchase was conducted by a Chicago firm, which created the Capitol Syndicate purchased the land in 1882. An immediate decision was made to use the land for cattle ranching until they could see an opportunity to break it into parcels for sale. This podcast looks at the famous ranch that grew out of that decision—The legendary XIT Ranch.

To fund the new ranch’s development, one of the Capitol Syndicate’s major investors, John V. Farwell traveled to England, set up The Capitol Freehold Land and Investment Company of London and sold bonds to wealthy British investors. The funding resulted in the successful creation of the XIT Ranch.

The ranch was huge, stretching more than 220 miles north-to-south along the New Mexico border and measuring from 20 to 30 miles east-to-west. A common belief is that the name XIT stands for “Ten in Texas,” referring to the 10 counties it covers, As you might guess, the ranch chose as its brand the letters XIT. The land, rich with grass, was fenced and in July of 1885, stocked with 2,500 longhorn cattle.

According to a 1929 book —The XIT Ranch and the Early Days of the Llano Estacado—by historian J. Evetts Haley, the XIT brand was conceived by the Texas trail driver, Abner Blocker, who drove the original herd of cattle from Fort Concho to the XIT. Blocker also branded the first XIT cow. According to Haley, ‘She was not an animal of high pedigree, but a Longhorn from South Texas. Her color, gauntness, and perversity were historic.’”

To run the mammoth ranch, Farwell hired Colonel Burton Harvey “Barbecue” Campbell of Wichita, Kansas as general manager. Campbell’s “Barbecue” nickname came from a cattle brand he used at his ranch along the Kansas-Oklahoma border—on land rented from the Cherokee—A bar with the letters B and Q below it.

Now, if you think of Texas cowhands as rough and rowdy, ranch manager Campbell had other ideas for the XIT. He published a booklet with a list of twenty-two rules aimed at creating well-behaved cowpunchers. And there were a lot of cow punchers. One hundred and fifty cowboys rode 1000 horses and branded 35,000 new cows during one year on the ranch.

Here are a several random examples of Campbell’s expectations for well-behaved cowhands:

• Six-shooters or other small firearms will not be permitted to be carried on the ranch.

• Card playing or gambling of any kind is strictly prohibited on this ranch.

• All persons having the care or use of animals belonging to the ranch will be required to handle them carefully and treat them kindly.

• Horses are furnished for the care of cattle and for other useful purposes, and they must not be used to run wild horses, or buffalo, or antelope, nor to run races.

• Beeves will not be permitted to be killed unless the force is large enough to consume the meat before it becomes unfit for use, or other provision be made to salt and preserve it.

By 1888, “Barbeque” Campbell had been fired over rustling allegations and replaced by Albert Boyce, who was active in management on the ranch for eighteen years and published his own list of ranch rules. At its peak, the ranch handled 150,000 head of cattle secured by 6,000 miles of fencing.

By 1901, the last of the bonds sold to English investors were maturing and the ranch began selling off parcels of land. The last of the cattle were sold in 1912 and the remaining parcels of land were put up for sale. The XIT Ranch faded into legend.

However . . .Today, the legendary XIT Ranch is back. Drew Knowles, the great grandson of investor John V, Farwell and Knowles’ wife, Abby, have brought the XIT Ranch back to life...

Nestled in the rolling Hill Country Region of Texas, in the city of Austin, sits the Texas state Capitol building. Today’s sunset red granite building is a far cry from the Republic of Texas’ 1839 log-cabin Capitol building. A key feature of this early national Capitol was an eight-foot high stockade fence offering protection during Indian raids.

By 1853, the State of Texas had joined the Union and constructed a limestone State Capitol. The boxy building (with a roundish dome stuck on top) was a functional improvement; however, one publication of the time called it an “architectural monstrosity.” Nonetheless, it served as the Texas seat of government for over twenty-five years.

Following the Civil War, a Texas representative from Comanche, Texas proposed the state set aside five million acres of public land to raise money for a new capitol building. Ultimately, the Constitution of 1876 authorized the allocation of 3,050,000 acres of land in the Texas Panhandle for the project. A team of surveyors was dispatched to survey and divide the land into Spanish leagues—the measurement commonly used at the time. The huge swath of land selected stretched more than 220 miles north-to-south along the border with New Mexico and the width measurement from, east-to-west, varied from 20 to 30 miles. This land, to be set aside for fund raising, covered all or part of ten Texas counties.

In 1880, Texas officials held a nation-wide design competition for the new Capitol building, offering a $1,700 prize. The winning architect was Elijah E. Myers of Detroit.

In 1881, as the plan for using the Panhandle land to finance a new building was being finalized, the old capitol burned to the ground, giving the need for a new building greater urgency. Luckily, the architect’s plans for new new capitol were rescued from the fire. While planning for a beautiful new capitol continued, an inexpensive, temporary capitol was built on Congress Avenue away from the Capitol grounds.

In early 1882, the legislature appointed a Capitol Board tasked with both finding a financier for the project and choosing a contractor. The winning bidder for the funding project was Mathias Schnell of Illinois. Schnell turned his interests in the project over to a Chicago firm, Taylor, Babcock, and Company which formed the Capitol Syndicate and purchased the land for $3,224,593.45.

The new landowners quickly decided to use the land for cattle ranching until they could see the opportunity to break it into parcels for sale and proceeded to raise funds in England by selling bonds for the ranch’s development and to recoup the cost of the land. The resulting ranch was named the XIT—purportedly standing for Ten-in-Texas—the ten being the number of counties which make up the ranch. It was the largest fenced ranch in the world. The ranch’s cattle were branded with the letters XIT and B.H. “Barbeque” Campbell from Wichita, Kansas was hired as general manager.

Meanwhile, back in Austin, the building contractor, Gustav Wilke, a young Chicago builder, went to work. Construction of the foundation began using limestone from South Austin. But, construction was quickly halted when metallic particles in the stone caused it to discolor. Fortunately, the owners of Granite Mountain in Burnet county donated the required granite—188,518 cubic feet of Texas Sunset Red Granite delivered to the Austin building site from Burnett County’s rock quarries on a railroad constructed for the purpose.

A boycott by the International Association of Granite Cutters over the use of prison labor resulted in 62 granite cutters being imported from Scotland.

A bone was a niche to hold a zinc box containing mementoes selected by former Governor F.R. Lubbock, then serving as State Treasurer. (I’ve not found information on just what those mementoes were, but I’m sure curious to know.)

The old man sat with his nutcracker systematically working the lever, cracking, and shelling pecans. About every fifth nut went into his mouth as he worked.

The little girl climbed up on a chair beside him. “Can I crack nuts, too, Grandpa?”

He grinned at her. “Crack or crack and eat?”

Her smile was mischievous. “Both.”

“Well they are mighty good eatin’. I’ll tell you what, since we only have one nut cracker, I’ll crack and you can help me eat.” He set another nut in the cracker, pulled the lever, separated the shell from the nut inside and handed it to her. These are good Pawnee pecans. They’re big and have a nice buttery flavor.”

“Pawnee? That’s the name of a Native American tribe, right.”

“Yep. Almost seventy years ago a fellow named H.L. Crane suggested namin’ the different kinds of pecans after the native tribes in pecan growing territory. So we’ve got Comanche, Cherokee, Choctaw, and a bunch more pecan varieties—each a little bit different. The name pecan is an Algonquin word that translates—more or less—to “a nut requiring a stone to crack its shell.

“We call the original Texas pecan the ‘native’ variety. Pecans been growin’ in Texas a long time. Back in the 1500s, Spanish explorer Cabeza de Vaca wrote that the native people he met ate pecans. But pecans go back even further than that. Fossilized pecans found along the Rio Grande River are estimated to be 65 million years old.” He handed her another nut and popped one in his mouth.

“There are wild pecan trees and planted pecan orchards across most of Texas, ‘specially in the Hill Country. Some of the wild trees are 200 years old. Did you know, pecan trees can grow to 120 feet tall and measure four feet across?”

“Wow! That’s a humungous tree. You’d need a tall ladder to pick the nuts.”

“Well, nowadays, pickin’ is mechanical. A big machine puts its metal arms around a tree’s trunk and gives it a big shake for about a minute. The ripe pecans just fall to the ground. Some growers catch them on special sheets, others sweep ‘em up with mechanical sweepers.”

“We have lots of pecan trees around here.” She pulled a shelled nut from the growing pile.”There are even two in our front yard. But the squirrels beat us to most of the pecans.”

“Yep. Little rascals. We’re mighty lucky to live in the Texas hill country, especially in San Saba.”

“Because there are so many pecan trees?”

“That’s part of it. San Saba is known as the ‘Pecan Capital of the World’ and San Saba is the home of the ‘Mother Pecan Tree.’”

“Pecan trees have a mother?”

“Well, the folks at Texas A&M over in College Station tell the story of E.E. Risien. He was an Englishman who moved to Texas in 1874 and spent his life growing pecan trees near where the Colorado and San Saba Rivers meet. He gathered male pecan blossoms from pecan trees all over the area. Then, placed the pollen on the female blossoms of a special tree to create new varieties. His special tree gets the credit for creating many, many different pecan varieties—that tree is the ‘Big Mama’ of the pecan business.

“People liked his pecans. Customers from all over the world bought them. Queen Victoria and Alfred Lord Tennyson in Great Britain ordered his pecans. The Post Cereal Co. was another customer.

“By 1904, Texas had really grown and so many pecan trees had been cut down to make way for cotton crops or for use in building wagons, farm implements, and furniture, that the number of pecan trees was gettin’ thin. But in 1906, an interesting thing happened.

"Texas Governor James Hogg and his daughter visited Hogg’s law partner in Houston. That night, Governor Hogg commented that when he died he did not want a stone monument at his grave. Instead he said, ‘Let my children plant at the head of my grave a pecan tree and at my feet an old walnut tree. And when these trees shall bear...'"

The Battle of Plum Creek and the events leading up to it are famous in the annals of The Republic of Texas’ History. The famous Battle of Plum Creek was sparked by the unfortunate Council House Fight in 1840. 

Early that year, The Penatekas or “Honey Eater” Comanches—suffering from attacks by Cheyenne and Arapaho, and from battles with the Texas Rangers, in addition to facing dwindling numbers due to smallpox—agreed to hold to peace talks with Texas. When the talks were agreed to, and before they were held, the Texas government representatives demanded return of all captives, and that the Comanche would pledge to abandon Central Texas, avoid white settlements, and not interfere with Texas incursions. 

The following March 19th, twelve chiefs, twenty-one warriors, along with thirty-two other Comanches arrived in San Antonio for the negotiations. Only one anglo captive was delivered, a 16 year old girl who had been badly treated. She was covered with bruises and scars and her nose was burned off to the bone. She revealed that there were more than a dozen other captives which the Indians planned to ransom later. 

The Texas representatives informed the chiefs that they would be held hostage until the remaining captives were delivered. The Chiefs let out a war whoop in response and reached for their weapons. A fight ensued and all twelve Comanche chiefs and eighteen warriors, three women and two children were killed, others captured. Several troops were killed or wounded. The situation enraged the Comanches who believed those engaged in peace talks were immune from acts of war. 

As an aftermath of the Council House Fight, the Comanche launched a retaliatory raid, led by their remaining chief, Buffalo Hump. Estimates from the time are that there were probably 500 warriors and as many as 500 other members of the band, including families. On August 6th, the Raiders  began a two-day attack of the town of Victoria, killing a number of residents, capturing more than 1500 horses and mules, including a herd belonging to Mexican traders. The defending residents were able to prevent the complete sacking of the town and a group of Victoria men went for help. 

Leaving Victoria, the Indians proceeded to the small port town of Linnville, killing three men along the way. On the 8th of August, the Comanche attacked the town, plundering the houses, stores, and a large warehouse. Fortunately the citizens fled oceanside and most were saved by boarding small boats and a schooner. A few citizens were killed and at least four hostages taken. 

For the entire day the Comanche butchered cattle, gathered and loaded goods from the local warehouse onto horses and mules. Stealing an estimated $30,000 worth of merchandise which had been destined for San Antonio and the Mexican trade—clothing, hats, umbrellas, silk, and other goods. Attired in items they had stolen—wearing shoes, top hats, coats worn upside down and buttoned up the back, and riding horses draped in calico with yards of ribbon tied to their manes and tails, and carrying silk umbrellas, they fired all the structures except the warehouse and left. The final count of settlers killed in the two attacks was twenty three.  A small group of Linwood men followed to keep track of where the Indians traveled and a few skirmishes occurred. 

As word of the Victoria/Linnville attacks spread, Texas Ranger groups and other Texans from all around began to gather at a ranch between Gonzales and Austin on the path the Indians were taking. Waiting for more men to gather they waited until they were concerned that the Indians would escape. They began to position themselves for attack at Plum Creek, just as Major General Felix Huston, head of the Texas militia arrived and took command. Fighting ensued, Chief Buffalo Hump was killed, the Comanche began retreating and the battle turned into a running fight which...

Teaser: Dreams of a agricultural socialist utopia began in Paris and spread to North Texas in the 1800s

A dream of a socialist utopia. . . It began in Paris in 1848, but who would have guessed it would soon spread to Texas to the limestone cliffs overlooking the Trinity River? 

A wave of unsuccessful political revolutions swept across Europe in the mid 1800s. After the failed revolutions, Europe was no longer the place to try socialist theories. However, one socialist dreamer, Frenchman Francois (fr-ee-ay) Fourier was so inspiring with his utopian theories that America became dotted with experimental utopian communities. 

A disciple of Fourier, Victor Considerant, became leader of the Fourier movement after Fourier’s death. Expelled from France in 1851, Considerant traveled to the US and on to Texas, motivated by a visit from the Peters Group which was promoting its land grant holdings in the state. Impressed by what he saw as a positive environment for starting a new utopian agricultural community on the Texas frontier near the tiny log-cabin village of Dallas, he returned to Europe and wrote a book, To Texas, in which he praised the potential of the state for settlement. “…The promised land is a reality,” he wrote. Within a year of the book, a company was formed with the purpose of setting up communities following Fourier’s communal principles. The company quickly raised $300,000 to support their first effort in Texas—a community named La Reunion.

On his first visit to the three forks of the Trinity River,  Considerant had seen land which he thought would lend itself to vineyards. He was encouraged that his idea would work when he met a French photographer in Dallas who successfully made wine from the state’s native mustang grapes. He instructed his agents to buy 2000 acres of the land he had identified.  

The initial group of 200 French and French-speaking Belgians and Swiss recruits left Antwerp and sailed for 60 days to reach New Orleans, sailed on to Galveston, then traveled to Houston. Believing they would then simply sail up the Trinity River to Dallas, they were shocked to learn that the river was not navigable due to the tangled knots of trees and brush which blocked clear passage. Instead the group rented oxcarts and drivers, loaded their possessions, and walked for 26 days from Houston to Dallas (About 270 miles), many wearing wooden shoes. It was a tedious, exhausting journey.

Upon arrival in Dallas in April of 1855, they discovered that the land Considerant had wished to purchase had not been available and the agents had bought 2000 acres on the limestone cliff overlooking the river, land that was not ideal for farming.  A few buildings had been constructed in anticipation of their arrival, but they would have to build more as well as plant their crops. Five hundred cattle, some sheep and pigs had been purchased and needed caring for. It was a daunting challenge for the colonists, only two of whom had farming experience, The others included artists, an architect, musicians, tailors, shoemakers, weavers, jewelers, a pastry cook, a hat maker, a dance master, watch maker, orchestra conductor, butcher, baker, a cabinet maker, and a stone mason—in short, they were mostly artists and craftsmen. Agricultural skills were sorely lacking.  

To make matters worse, Considerant’s overbearing manner and mismanagement resulted in complaints from the new settlers and feelings that they had been misled. 

Dallasites took an interest in the community of foreigners and and socials and Sunday dances were held both in Dallas and at La Reunion. But from the start, problems from bad weather, the fact that there was no transportation to take their crops to market, and  poor management decisions plagued the colony...

Teaser: During the buffalo slaughter, a tiny frontier woman sheltered buffalo calves and saved the breed.

Mary Ann Dyer (known as Molly) was born in Tennessee. However, her lawyer father moved the family to Fort Belknap, Texas in 1854, when Molly was 14. Both her parents died shortly after the move and young Molly assumed responsibility for the care of her five brothers, teaching school to provide support. Molly was tiny—a mere five feet tall— but she proved to be tough, dedicated, and ready to take on a challenge. 

Molly met cattleman Charles Goodnight at Fort Belknap about 1864  and shortly thereafter moved to Weatherford, Texas to teach school. In July of 1870, she married Charles Goodnight, who was already building a strong reputation as a cattleman. He was the only person who called her Mary rather than by her nickname, Molly. 

The newlyweds settled down to ranching on the spread Goodnight had already established near Pueblo, Colorado. Drought conditions and the Panic of 1873 provided the impetus for them to move back to Texas, which Molly thought more civilized than Colorado. 

In 1877, Goodnight formed a partnership with Scots-Irishman John George Adair, who participating in a Kansas buffalo hunt, became so enamored with the West, he moved his brokerage business from New York to Denver. In 1877, hearing Goodnight’s glowing description of Palo Duro Canyon in the Texas panhandle as an ideal site for a ranch, Adair agreed to finance a ranch there, ultimately agreeing to hold two-thirds ownership himself and give one-third ownership to Goodnight. Goodnight suggested using Adair’s initials to name the Palo Duro Canyon ranch the JA. Flattered, Adair agreed.

Adair and his wife, Cornelia, the Goodnights, Molly’s brother Albert Dyer, and several cowhands, moved 100 top Durham bulls to the new JA ranch, along with four wagons filled with six months worth of provisions and equipment. Molly drove one of the wagons while Cornelia Adair traveled on horseback. A previously built two-room cabin housed the couples in the canyon. After a brief visit, the Adairs returned home, leaving Goodnight to manage the ranch.

Steep rock cliffs lined the canyon edges plunging 1500 feet down to the floor below. Red with sandstone, the faces of the cliffs looked like swirling Spanish skirts. Grass was dense. Creeks bubbled through the canyon, which stretched for almost 100 miles and was 10 miles wide. It was a paradise for cattle, but it offered a lonely life to a woman.The nearest neighbors were 75 miles away. Molly’s days centered around the chores of the ranch. At one point she made pets of three chickens she’d been given for Sunday dinner. Her social interactions included hosting parties for the cowhands, teaching them to read, and occasionally entertaining curious Indians. She rode the floor of the canyon on a two-horned side saddle designed for her by Goodnight. 

In 1887, after building a  luxurious 2900 square foot, two-story home, less than a mile from the rim of the canyon, Molly and Goodnight opened their doors to occasional guests including heads of state, other cattle barons, and  Quanah Parker, the last of the great Comanche chiefs.

The ranch prospered, but on the flat prairie stretching in all directions from the canyon edges,  buffalo slaughter went on at a frantic pace while Molly lay in bed listening to the cries of orphaned bison calves. From vast herds of Southern Plains buffalo numbering in the tens of millions, the slaughter ultimately reduced the number of buffalo to an estimated 300 animals. The killing was a government policy designed to force the Indians—who were dependent upon them—into reservations and to meet demand for buffalo tongues, hides, and bones.

In 1878, Molly convinced Goodnight to start a buffalo herd to try to save the breed. He gathered seven buffalo calves and placed them on Texas cows for...

Teaser: The Chuckwagon, the cowboy cook’s rolling pantry—how rancher’s kept hungry cowboys fed on the trail.

Most ranchers will tell you that cowboys are always hungry, so one ranch challenge is to satisfy that hunger. The ranch cook-shack is where cowhands gather for meals when they are close to home. On the move, the chuckwagon is where the cook rules and dishes up tasty fare including cowboy beans, sourdough biscuits, vinegar pie, or son-of-a-gun stew—a dish made from the heart, liver, and tripe of an animal. What’s tripe? The lining of the stomach. 

On historic cattle drives, and even today at roundup, the chuckwagon is the heart of the cowboys’ camp, and the cook’s job is key to keeping the ranch hands happy. Cowboys have been known to move from one ranch to another based on the quality of “Camp Cookie’s” food. 

To answer the question of how the chuckwagon got its name, we have to look back to the 1600’s in England where butchers used the term “chuck” to identify their cheaper meat products. Jump to the 1700’s and chuck had become a common term for good, basic food.

You might be surprised to know that the chuckwagon is the official vehicle of Texas.

Thanks to Charles Goodnight, a Texas Ranger turned cattleman, the chuckwagon made its appearance in 1866. Goodnight—along with pioneer cattleman Oliver Loving—planned a cattle drive from Texas to Colorado, in hopes of  opening new cattle markets. In preparation, Goodnight bought a surplus Army wagon with heavy iron axles and customized it to serve as storage, a rolling pantry, water wagon, tool box and medicine chest. To serve these purposes, Goodnight started with the basic wagon bed and added three elements which were already common on wagons: on one side he attached a large water barrel which would hold a couple of days worth of water; on the other side, a big tool box; and curving above the wagon bed, bentwood supports for a heavy canvas top. However, what was innovative about Goodnight’s chuckwagon design was the creation of a chuck box. Installed at the rear of the wagon, the chuck box was a built-in cabinet with a rear opening covered by a hinged lid that flipped down from the front of the cabinet, creating a table surface supported by a leg which swung to the ground. Inside the cabinet was a series of shelves and drawers.

Packing the wagon before a trail drive or roundup, here’s what Goodnight’s  trail-drive cook would likely have loaded into the wagon bed: bedrolls, slickers, guns, ammunition, lanterns, kerosene, axle grease, a spare wheel, and rope, along with bulk food including flour, brown sugar, coffee, and salt. Also, pinto beans, corn meal, salt pork, beef jerky, and dried fruit. Especially well stocked chuckwagons might also contain potatoes, onions and canned tomatoes.The side-mounted tool box would contain branding irons, hobbles, shovel, ax, horse-shoeing supplies and other tools. Shelves and drawers in the chuck box itself, would be packed with food for immediate use plus items like lard, baking soda, vinegar, molasses, sourdough starter, matches, and tobacco. Somewhere in this inventory would be the coffee pot and whiskey bottle—the whiskey for medicinal purposes!  An important drawer in the chuck box was the “possible drawer” which the cook packed with odds and ends that might possibly be needed—including such things as needles, thread, buttons, and castor oil. Below the chuck box, in the boot of the wagon, the cook would store his wash tub, skillets, dutch ovens, pot hooks and racks, tin cups, plates and silverware. And let’s not forget the all-important coffee grinder which was attached to the side of the chuck box.  All in all, a well-organized pantry on wheels—a pantry that was put to good use, although most meals were beans, sourdough biscuits, and dried fruit...

Teaser: Texican, Texian, or Texan? The difference is all in the timing.

Description: Did you know Texans haven't always been known as Texans? The proper term has changed over time- depending upon the political structure. Here's a quick review of 25 years of history that took citizens from Texicans to Texians to Texans.

Teaser: The traveling circus braved rough, muddy roads bringing fierce beasts and special acts to Texans.

Description: Eldrid's Great Circus and Menagerie actually traveled to Texas towns in the late 1850s. A reading from Laurie's novel, GONE TO DALLAS, recreates a fun and historically accurate circus experience for fictional characters in her book.

Teaser: From Bugtussle to Fairy and from Muleshoe to Ding Dong, Texas towns (and some counties) have unique names.

Description: Many Texas town names are surprising and perplexing. Prepare to chuckle, scratch your head, and just enjoy the unusual names of Texas cities, towns, and "spots in the road"- from Dime Box to Egypt and Stranger to Telephone.

In Part Two of the Bush Craft interview, Laurie and bushcrafter Harley Retherferd talk more about the outdoor survival skills needed by early travelers to the West.

In Part One of Bush Craft, Laurie interviews Harley Retherford, a young bushcrafter from the beautiful Ozark Mountains in northeastern Oklahoma (Cherokee Nation Territory). They discuss the key outdoor survival skills which pioneers—especially those on foot or on horseback--needed to survive as they traveled to and settled in early Texas.

Pulp fiction of the American Wild West from—of all places—Germany!?

In the 1870s, you could spend a dime and revel in the western adventures of Buffalo Bill, Kit Carson, or Jessie James. For a half dime you could buy a novel featuring Fancy Frank of Colorado or Daisy Dare. Western pulp fiction of the 1870s had captured the imagination of America! One publisher—Beadle and Adams—turned out 2,200 western titles, hungrily consumed by readers of all ages.

1886: The year the cattle froze. . .

Cattlemen in the Texas panhandle faced a big problem in the early 1880s. While the lack of fences on the open range meant their cattle had an almost solid sea of grass, this blessing also meant that cattle from the ranches outside the state to the north drifted south to escape colder winters, moving onto the land used by the Texas panhandle ranches. This mass migration of cattle looking for wintertime food and shelter meant the pastures of the local Texas cattlemen were seriously overgrazed.

A Mexican’s eyewitness account of the hours after the storming of the Alamo…

You probably know the often told story of the Battle of the Alamo which began in earnest on February 25th, 1836 and ended on March 6th. But do you know how the story ended AFTER the siege concluded with the successful storming of the Alamo by General Santa Anna and his Mexican forces?

You’ve seen them. If you haven’t, you’re in for a treat. Bluebonnets line the highways and byways in Texas in late March to mid-April, their blooms turning fields and the sides of the roads into oceans and rivers of blue. Painters show up to paint them, parents plop their small children into the dense flowers for photographs, traffic jams occur along well-known bluebonnet trails, and small towns hold bluebonnet festivals. It’s a mass celebration of Lupinus Texensis (and other varieties of bluebonnets)—the Texas state flower.

Higher education came to The Republic of Texas in 1840 with the Republic’s Congress officially approving the charter of Rutersville College in the new town of Rutersville, located six miles northeast of LeGrange. Although founded by a group of Methodists, the co-ed school was open to all religious denominations. Its two-story main building was completed the following year. By 1844, enrollment was 194 students, both men and women.

Lest you scoff at the idea of a serious college on the early frontier, take this challenge…do you think you could flip the tassel on your mortarboard to signify successful graduation from Rutersville College? Let’s take a look at the terms of admission and the courses in the second annual college catalogue.

History lives at San Antonio’s famous Menger Hotel, and if you can believe the legends, so do numerous ghosts.

Bearing the title of the oldest continuously-operating hotel west of the Mississippi. the Menger’s story began in 1840 when twenty-year-old German Immigrant William Menger arrived in San Antonio and started the Western Brewery—Texas’ very first brewery—built on part of the site where the battle of the Alamo had occurred four years before. Menger moved into Mary Guenther’s boarding house next to the brewery and ultimately convinced the proprietress to marry him.