The Snyder Signal. (Snyder, Tex.), Vol. TWENTY-EIGHTH YEAR, No. FIFTY-ONE, Ed. 1 Friday, June 4, 1915 Page: 15 of 20
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LIFE ON THE TEXAS BORDER
Diary of H. H. McConnell Sergeant Sixth U. S. Cavalry From 1 866 to 1 878
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Trm TwrtDvnvTn - .....
Tl (wZ a Tamit" dn? in
i emwyivania Kailiosd in
oompany with six or seven other in-
dividuals hmiml fur IKo ...... .1 :
nation as myself aU m charge of a sergeant
of the regular army who was conducting the
party to the Cavalry Barracks at Carlisle
1 eunsylvania at that tunc tlm rendezvous for
all recruits enlisted in the mounted branch of
the regular service.
The motives that may have indnoed me to
place myself in so unenviable a position as n
reqniit in the ranks of the army are not
pertinent to those sketches and uoed not Ira
entered into. Tho faet remained and 1 ac-
cepted tho situation determined to sco all the
sunny side of anny lifo and to hear its shady
aspects with a brave heart for I know pretty
well m advance the many linrdshim discom-
forts and long wonry days that wore implied
lie. the words "During my term of service."
After being nt Carlisle a few weeks rumors
began to pervade the camp thnt vory Boon a
"TJ? detachment of ub would he sent to the
Wild West" to fill up the various regiments
stationed on our widely extended frontier.
About tho end of October tin cups haver-
Backs and three days' rations were issued;
unusual activity prevailed among Iho clerks
at headquarters and we ascertained definite-
ly that a detachment of about five hundred
recruits was to leave Carlisle on the morning
of tho first of November for Baltimore nnd
thence by stenmer to Galveston Texas for
assignment to the various ortvalry regiments
serving in Texas.
Four hundred nnd seventy one recrnits nnd
seventeen men of the permanent corps who
were sent nut to join their respective regi-
ments answered to their names and wen- di-
vided into three troops for the greater con-
venience of messing enforcing discipline and
quartering on the trip. I was appointed a
sergeant of one of the troow and soon learned
that a little authority involved a heap of
trouble.
For two dayR we rolled nnd pitched (our
transport was n perfect tub) among the
stormy wnters of the Gulf of Mexico and on
the evening of the ninth day out of Baltimore
just after dark sighted the lights at the
entrance of (lalveston Bav. flur top heavy
old boat having censed In roll the men who
during the slonn had been kept below with
the hatches battened down worn allowed to
come on deck in the evening ami in their
exuberanoo of spirit nt the prospect of set-
ting foot on terra firma on the morrow many
a song and chorus was shouted by the dif-
ferent groups Rome very fine voices being
among them. And then noticed alwuvs
during my army life that if a fellow could
sing at all the bigger reprobate be was
the more addicted he would be to singing
the most ultra sentimental songs.
The next morning we came in sight of the
oity of (lalveston and about two in the aft-
ernoon a pilot boarded us and in an hour or
two in a drenching rain wo disembarked
on the wharf and were at last on the soil
of Texas.
After standing huddled under an obi shed
on the wharf for an hour or more the com-
mand was plnced on a tug boat and earned
to Pelican Island a few miles up the bay
from tho city two trips of the hunt being
necessary to convev us all.
My impression of pelican Wand as seen
in the waning light of a cold wet Novem-
ber evening was that il was the worst spot
I had seen in all the course of my earthly
pilgrimage and after all these years I can
recall nothing so dreary.
There was not a particle of vegetation on
the island and an seen in tho light of this
gloomy evening the wind howling through
and around the old shed wo were quartered
ill a more depressing sccno could scarcely
be imagined.
The morning's view of the island confirm-
ed the first impression as to its utter drear-
iness hut a sound sleep and good digestion
notwithstanding tho tide and wiml and
mosquitoes and a cup of hot coffee and
plenty of pork nnd hard tack for breakfast
modified my views somewhat and I snlliod
forth and examined the earthworks con-
structed by tho Confedorntos during the war.
A considerable quantity of heavy ordnnneo
and ammunition remained hnving been aban-
doned; the island was captured by and wns
in the hands of tho Federals when hostilities
ocased.
In tho nourso of the day a dispatch boat
with tho Adjutant General of the District of
Texas on bonrd enmo out frnm'Gnlvosloii nnd
wo fell in linn for the purpose of being
counted off and assigned to the two cavalry
regiments then in Texas and for which we
were destined. So bidding farewell to tho
ically averse to Introducing "Yankee sol-
diers" to Texas soil. This was at that day
I think one of the only three railroads 111
the State surely since then the "wildor-
ness has blossomed liko tho roso."
Victoria was found to be a beautiful vil-
lage situated on the left bank of the Guad-
alupe river and like all the towns in this
the oldest sottlod portion of Texas horn
many Uaoes of its early Spanish settlement.
The universal custom of a central plain or
square in tho middle of the village was new
to me then but since 1 have become so used
to seeing this plan of a town tho old fnsh-
ioned l.ng streets of our Northern towns
without any open spnee would seem to lack
an essential feature. Many Mexicans lived
in this portion of the State and nearly all
the business houses displayed signs both in
the Spanish and English languages.
I may not here thnt of the time I am writing
of the " ltoooiiHtruc.tion" period was at hand;
chaos was prevailing after the war and some-
where about twenty regiments of regular sol-
diers were camping at over one hundred and
seventy-five military slntions in this great
slate scattered from the Hod river to tho Rio
Grande.
We lay at Victoria some days during which
"AH Handi Got Out and Poshed at Timet"
boys who went to the other regiment we bade
lulieu to l'elicnn Islnml and embarking on tho
steamer Harlan our detachment of two hun-
dred and fifty one men sailed for Indiunola.
on Matagorda Bay U proceed thence by land
to Austin via Sail Antonio Austin being at
that time the headquarters of my regiment.
The day after leaving Galveston wo ar-
rived at Indianolo on Matagorda Bay and
this being a depot of supplies we drew our
camp equipage nnd rations lor the march
to San Antonio.
I was made "commissary" of our eom-
mnnd and for tho next two months was in
a stilt of warfare with the whole mob; my
general recollection seems to lie however
that I held my own with them. We then
loaded our stores and command on a small
steamer and sailed away across tho bay to
I'ort Irtvaca on tho western shore of the
same a litllo place and then tho terminus
of the "San Antonio & Mexican Railway"
which was completed tr Victoria about
thirty miles westward nnd in the direction
of San Antonio We cniod at Lavaca one
right and about noon the next day embarked
on the can for Victorio accomplishing tho
distance of some thirty miles hv nightfall
which we learned vim an nnusuid rate of
speed as the natives when in a hurry to
visit I.avaca either rode horseback or
walked. All hands got out anil pushed nt
times; the wheezy old locomotive was either
unused to so heavy a load or else patriots
time the three noncommissioned officers and
myself funned a mess and made our arrange-
ments for the long march to Austin. Two of
my party one Jim DeForrest an Irishman
the oilier Abrberg a German fill a large
space in my recollections of those days. I ie-
l orrest hail served ten years in the old
Fourth Infantry under Caplain It. 11. Maroyj
was intelligent witty and with a fund of an-
ecdote but with all the old soldier's fond-
ness for whiskey which finally caused him
U succumb to its influence nnd he sleeps by
the Brazos river at Waco his campaigns
ended. Ahrberg big anil fat as Falstaff
looms up grandly in these initial days of my
"soldiering" and often I smile as some of
bis peculiarities come up into my mind. He
weighed two hundred and fifty pounds had
served in the German anny and then for
years in the Second Dragoons under tho fa
mous Jlarney; went with Walker the "grey
eyed man of destiny" to Nicaragua as a " fi'l-
ibusterer"; served in Kanens as Adjutant of
a regiment during the rebellion went back
to Europe and was at Sadowa in lM'lo then
again enlisting in our army. Well educated
intelligent skilled in all tho life of the camp
and observant ho waa a wnlking encyclo-
pedia and then having campaigned all over
the portion of Texas we were now in ho was
an authority to the "manor born" as it were.
I )e Forrest and Ahrherg could never har-
monize; one old soldier never regards an-
other one as a hero and so both veterans en-
INDIAN RAIDS IN TEXAS
...
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iur ' r u-trn-'
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KM
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"The Indian Boy Ame Thelve.
fcy Shooting the U.& oath Wagon.
... . t I f In.
E-X FEBRUARY ikw. """" T '"
i makinff in no
them while thev were eating a lnnch. laac
Williams fired first and at the crack of his
tnistv rifle he exclaimed "I got one." Dave
illiiims fired about the same time and hal-
lowed "I got another." Tho Indian fell each
one of the boys thinking he had killed an In-
dian but on' examination thev found that
tliev'had both shot the same Indian. The boys
took his scalp anil recovered the stolen pmtv
erty. The other Indians made good their es-
cape' on foot. This was the last raid ever
n.S'le in Bell county by Indians.
In V3 the soldiers were removed from
Fort Gates to Phantom I lill. 0. T. Tyler and
Halrimplo contracted to furnish the fort with
forage. I went into the employ oft). T. Tyler
lo drive an ox team hauling forage from his
farm twelve miles below Gatesville to I'hnn-
tom Hill a dUtanco of over two hundred
miles and not a single settlement on the way.
I averaged about one trip a month for about
tlm vears. We often encountered Indians
hut had no fights. However on one occasion
on Mesquite creek now in Hamilton county
one morning when the train moved out nnd
while crossing a big ridge we di-emcred a
large hralv of Indians alxiut one mile fnin
us. Evidently their intention was to sltack
ui but even thing was mnde readv and we
itovimI en with our wagons in a double string
and the Indians seeing that we were in good
order after coming near drew off. but fired
the prairie gross in order to harass us. The
grass being very tall it was difficult to keep
it from consuming our wagons. This they
kept up for several dnvs hut we ke) t every-
thing in ej-der and were ready for an attack
nt anv time. An Indian is not apt to nmke
an attack unless he hns the advantage and
the old bull drivers were not disposed to
cive them the advantage.
(Hi another occasion the Indians one
night stole all the horses we had. which was
seven head cutting the rope of some of them
within six feet of where some of the boys were
sleeping nnder tlieir wagons i u.
nff several vnke of oxen some distance and
killed one voke. taking half of one. hide and
Kay Bill MiiKall Joe Allen Tom Ponton and
Tonkaway Jim who was pilot for the train
with two or three others whose miiiici I bnve
forgotten. Alter seven dnjV luurch they re-
turned to camp nearly starved and completely
worn out. Those who remained at camp
erected a pen in onler to save the oxen and
that place is known to this day as tho "bull
pen
A few weeks Inter at the head of Ibmev
creek now in Corvell county we broke down
a wagon and while repairing it the Indians
et fire to the grass for the punio-e of hum
ing ns ont and they came very near stevecd-
ing for in a few minutes ihc tire reached
camp and ran right thpuu-h. burning the
sacks off one hundred or more bii'-hels of
corn that was lying on the ground the load
of the broken wagon - and caught fiie to sev-
eral oilier wngons. Had it nut lieen for the
creek cloM by. with plentv of water ii.mdv
which we used freely we would have siil't'ert d
treat loss. While some of th hanfs were
working at the wagons others were mining
the oxen intn a kirt of 'im'r uhero the
grass was short. This was all done in a vory
few minutes and when all was over e
amuod ourselves by looking at a badly singvd
set of men and oxen while the Indians str
on the hill six hundred yards away deriding
u and seemingly enjoying our discomfiture.
.Vow something must he done. A pile of
seckles corn Iny on the ground and Indians
in sight. Some one must go back to get sacks
a distance of over twenty-five miles. Night
came on and a man started for O. T. Tyler's
and I never shall forget Tvler's replv when
the story was told him: "1 had rather have
my head smashed than to have given away
to those Indians."
So Tyler gathered nn all the guns and am-
munition which conld be found in the settle-
t
tertained and privaT
profound contempt ttiPV"aa the mot
Transportation waJ i" 'on
on the 2!th of Novenr'W "eoored and
San Antonio. The ox We Pilled out for
clumsy looking affairs" were rude and
rawhides and with hea"9 covered with
exhibited a carrying F'.'wls but they
wonderful. The yokes wj'y which was
of the horns so the Wod in front
pulled. The drivers were Pushed not
their strange language swHlexicane and
broad sombreros and tripC'"nplexiona)
sented a nnvol and pioturesqankets prg.
they flourished tlieir long wlipearajMe as
both bands and urgod on thi'ldod with
J lie odd creaking ot the nugront oxen.
BCIMIOIV rCMIlllMCti UB W Qg
our Northern homes and aeHiir from
encn muo wnn new mierewi in ciotn
time for vainly regretting the e li
Part of mv duty each inoniing i
the butcher s detail start in advflaw
comuinnd nnd kill one or two beei th)
next day's supply. By the time tlUk
came nlong tne boof would be cuol
dressed and loaded on the cartsd.
nhronulefl in nnttlH tlinnfinnrlu nnl U
ns Uie ranchero did not watch us wV.
slnughtiir Uicm with impunity. If w?
"caught up with" by the owners we re8.
them to the lieutenant who satmfied V
with a voucher on the authorities at San
tonio; but in several instances Ahrberg
happy memory) who was with the party )
snnated the officer in command and gavt
"voucher" signed with a name unknown r
the Army Kegister so it is fair to assume tha i
the expenses of the anny for fresh beef wai
not materially increased by the meat con-
sumed on that trip. Countless herds of wild
cattle in thnt day covered the broad prairies
along the Gulf ("oast from Matagorda to
San Antonio.
Most of the countrv passed through was
tery beautiful and extremely fertile but as it
wm late in the fall the
prairies looked browr
snd sere. Tho weather
though wns a never fail
ing delight to me m
balmy and very mool
like the Septemhe
weather of tho Middl
States. ( YpresB tin
her abounded in tl
lowlands and often w
heavilv garlanded
draped with Span"
moss the effect
which gracefully pen-
dant from the fimeni'
cypress and festoon'
nn thickly in places i.
to exclude the sunlight
at midday produced
a wierd and solemn
"dim religious light"
This moss has of late
years become a valua
ble article of commerce and is used for filling
mattresses horse collars cushions and simi-
lar purposes.
We had expected to pnw through the his-
toric village of Goliad where the gallant Fan-
nin and his command were massacred during
the Texas Ttevolution bnt it would have
made the distance somewhat greater and we
left it out of our rente and bore further to the
right on onr march to San Antonio.
(rnpvrightod hv Ft. H. MnfVinnell.)
TO BE (X)NTLS'UF:D.
By E. L. DEATON
A Texan of Pioneer Days
horses several time btrt failed. They fired
the grs a great many times for the purpoee
of harassing us as miich as imsriihle but we
v ore alwn 3 epud to tile emergency burning
off a place for the train before starting and
then driving on the burned ground. If ever
there was a set of biaok whito men it was
certainly this crowd. We had two negroes
with us and it was said by a lady that it was
hard to dit.ingmsh between the negroes and
the while men who composed the party.
hi another n"va.ion as we were coming
down the country with emptr wagons in the
vicmitv of the town of Bnird in inllahan
county and while going into camp one even-
ing we saw a large Indian camp on a creek
al-ove where we intended to camp and as ns-
u.il with ns all were put in sharw that night.
The next morning the oxen were rounded U
ciirlv. Shortly after the train had moved out
in two stnngx. a Imdy of al'iit fiflv Indians
charged ns all decorated in war paint with
tomahawk in hand hallowing likedemons. The
wagons were cormilei at once and we were
readv for the attack. The Indians seeing
thnt we were ready haitcl nut of roach and
oenied to b parleying. They were aked by
a man in our crowd in Spanish what ther
v anted. Thev replied they wanted to trade.
He replied: "Von are a liar; yon want to rob
us. and you nmt not come any closer; if yon
do we'll oen fin- on you."
Thev never charged on ns any mors bnt
rode around us all day or until late in the
evening and then rode off. It was evident
that thev intended to plunder ns.
Now let the p'ailer imagine our situation
two hundred miles from anywhere and only
twelve nr fifteen of us and surrnnnded bT
lil'tv savages. We were eons. I to the emer-
gency again. With strict discipline and good
management together with a big backbone
we kept them off. A dav or two after this
there was a government train coming down
the same mad and went into camp for the
evening. The same Indians rode right into
their camp by taking advantage of a ravine
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The Snyder Signal. (Snyder, Tex.), Vol. TWENTY-EIGHTH YEAR, No. FIFTY-ONE, Ed. 1 Friday, June 4, 1915, newspaper, June 4, 1915; Snyder, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth288102/m1/15/: accessed July 4, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; .