IT OCCURRED IN KIMBLE IT OCCURRED tn• imble By 0. C. FISHER ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ILLUSTRATIONS BY LONNIE REES ~ COVER DESIGN BY HAL JONES ~ ~ ~ ~ 1 HOUSTON, TEXAS, MCMXXXVII ~ 1 THE ANSON JONES PRESS t 1~~~.....-~ft-'~'--S'fr-..--~~~~-=w~~~~~~~~~~t Cot,rignt 1937 By 0. C FISHER. All rights reserved Prinud in the United Staus of ~merica DEDICATION To the memory of my mother, Rhoda Clark Fisher, than whom no finer stJirit e,;e,: lwed. A product of the Texas frontier, who as a child stmJ her grandfather's /Jody, mutilated and,· scalped, borne from the 'Wilderness to his Kimble County ranch home; who s11W, mounted on the bare /Jacks of their Indian ponies, a band of painted, war­ whoof>ing Comanches, dressed in full tribal re- ga/,io, encircle her childhood home: this book is affectionately dedicated by the author. CONTENTS Ch.apter Page I 'The Call of the Llanos . 29 II Gentrys Move to Kimble. 41 III Rance Moore on Bear Creek. 47 IV Indians Attack Gibson Children . 53 V The Bradburys-Indian Fjghters. 59 VI The Killing of James H. Sewell and James Bradbury, Sr. 67 VI I Coalsons on Copperas . 75 VIII Bate Berry . 83 IX A South Llano Indian Skirmish . 93 X The Packsaddle Mountain Fight. 95 XI The Joys of Johnson Fork. 99 XI I Other James River Settlers . 109 XIII The Saline Settlement. 113 XIV Saline Valley Indian Raids . 119 XV Creed Taylor . 139 XVI The Seventies Bring New Faces . ·. 151 XVII Indians Kill Isaac Kountz. 169 XVIII Sam Speer Killed. 173 XIX Chase of the Kountz-Speer Murderers. 175 XX The Last Raids in Kimble . 1 79 XXI The County of Kimble ................. ·. 183 XXII The Big Outlaw Roundup of '77. 207 XXIII Outlaws and Trigger-Pulling ........... -_ .. 215 XXIV Some Early-Day Killings. 223 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Page The First Session of the District Court in Kimble County .............................. Frontispiece Satanta . 22 Indians Attack the Gibson Children. 54 Bradbury Ranch .............................. 60 Ox Wagon Trek of the Clark Family to Kimble. 66 Rhoda Clark Fisher . 72 Bate Berry . .· . -. 82 The Packsaddl~ Mountain Fight . 96 Creed Taylor . 138 Creed Taylor's Home. 144 A South Llano Indian Skirmish . 166 Judge W. A. Blackburn . 18 6 The Town Dance . 194 Double O Saloon in Junction City. 198 Stevensons' ~ore . 2 04 The Brashear-Wright-Gorman Killing. 228 The Doran-Temple fight. 231 FOREWORD SoLOMON ONCE SAID, "Remove not the ancient landmarks which thy fathers have set." It is with the idea of preserv­ ing some of the landmarks of the achievements of the early settlers of Kimble County that this work has been attempted. Many a Kimble pioneer, single-handed, held his ground and protected his wife and children against bands of savage war­ riors. Many a pioneer mother shouldered a needle gun or a Henry rifle and stood shoulder to shoulder with her hus­ band to repel attacks from the red vandals who swooped· down from the staked plains or up from the impenetrable chasms of the Rio Grande. Those pioneers were men and women of steel-not soft as we are today-and _sought no publicity for their deeds of daring. In that locality per­ haps a hundred deeds of frontier valor, clothed in finest at­ tributes of heroism, have passed into oblivion and gone un­ recorded. In collecting material for this work, the .primary purpose · has been to separate truth from fiction, to segregate fact from unfounded rumor, and to record only those things which bear the stamp of reasonable accuracy. It is sincerely hoped that the reader will not be critical of the lack of literary touch in these pages, but will understand the aim has been simply to record in understandable lan-­ guage some of those episodes of a passing age. The author, himself a native of the shin oak hills of Kimble County, will feel well compensated for his efforts if some who may read these pages may become in some measure impressed with the types and characters of those stalwart men and women who as trail blazers dared the wilderness, who pushed for­ ward the lines ·of civilization and became the forerunners of a new day and a new era. There is much truth and beauty in Macaulay's "A people that take no pride in the noble achievements of remote ancestors will never achieve anything worthy to be re­ membered with pride by their descendants." A like sentiment was well expressed by Emery A. Storrs: "We must not content ourselves with venerating the names that have preceded us, nor yet in writing praises upon their tombstones, but by active exertion serve to render ourselves worthy descendants of such noble ancestry. Because there were giants in those days, it can certainly be no good reason that we should be all dwarfs and Liliputians in these days." Acknowledgment is here made of the author's deep grati­ tude to all who have so generously assisted in recording these historical episodes. Included among those who have rendered especiaJ1y helpful service in furnishing information and material are: Mr. and Mrs. Lou M. Walton, London; Frank Clark, Menard; Wilce Wooten*, Mason; Jasper ·Gibson, Harper; Jobe Fisher, Junction; Cash {Dock) Joy, Roosevelt; Mrs. Leaf Bi~, Brady; Sebastian Counts, Llano; John Coalson*, Mule Creek, New Mexico; William Coalson, Hillsboro, New· Mexico; Mr. and Mrs. John Allen, Ft. McKavett; Mr. and Mrs. James A. Parker, Roosevelt; 0. N. Blair, Robert Lee; G. W. Davidson, Edith; William G. Moss, Segovia; Peter J. Rembold, Segovia; A. L. Mc­ Donald, Noxv!le; Leander Miller, London; Mr. and Mrs. N. C. Patterson, Junction; Miss Harriet Smither, Archivist of the Texas State Library; Joe Deats*, Christoval;. James N. Caviness, Mason; Gus Reichenau, Mason; Ben Hey, Mason; Mrs. Wilson Hey, Mason; Mrs. Fannie Gentry*, Menard; Hon. Carl Runge, Mason; James Latham*, Ma­ son; Mrs. John J. Smith, Junction; Frank Van Court, San Angelo; Hon. Howell Johnson, Ft. Stockton; George Pearl, London; Jerry Doyal, Mason; Mrs. Cassie Weaver, Lon­ don; Mrs. Alfred Bannowsky, Cleo; Mr. and Mrs. Mann Harrison, Junction; Mrs. M. A. Nixon, Menard; Mrs. D. M. Stewart, London; Louis Wiltz Kemp, Houston; and others. To Hon. Robert T. Neill, of San Angelo, I par­ ticularly acknowledge the assistance he has given me in per­ mitting the use of his splendid library on Texas history.· • Deceased. INTRODUCTION To UNDERSTAND and appreciate frontier conditions and In­ dian depredations during the formative days of Kimble County history, one must first have a conception of gen­ eral frontier and border life as it was during that period of time, as well as a panorama of the historical background of the native Indian tribes who wielded the tomahawk and scalping knife in southwest Texas. · When the Civil War began in 18 61, the hazards of fron­ tier life in Texas had been greatly reduced. The great tribe of Comanche warriors, who for many generations had prided themselves as being "Lords of the Plains," were, at last, under partial control. In numbers and in fighting quali­ ties, the Comanches were superior to all other tribes com­ bined. The subjection of this dominant tribe was attended with bitter resistance. It was an arduous and difficult proc­ ess. These Indians revered their customs and legends, were proud of their heritage, and bore a burning resentment to being shunted from one frontier to another. Like a vol­ cano, when there appeared to be peace and quiet on the sur­ face, their savagery would suddenly erupt and flare anew. "Their war cry is fast dying away to the untrodden west," spoke Sam Houston in a speech to the United States Senate. "Slowly and sa4],y," he continued, "they climb the moun­ tains and read their doom in the setting sun. They are shrink­ ing before the mighty tide which ·is pressing them away. They must soon hear the roar of the last wave that will set­ tle over them forever." The summer of 1840 witnessed the first major organized Comanche raid into Texas settlements, although there had for many years been depredations on the edges of the fron- 14 IT OCCURRED tier. Earlf on the morning of August 8 of that year, a huge band of war-whooping Comanches, numbering about a thousand warriors, moving rapidly by the light of the moon, swooped down into the coastal regions of Texas. Striking first at Victoria, and then at Linnville, fifty miles to the east, they left a trail of blood and desolation. It was a vicious, blood-thirsty, warring band, their pathway being strewn with murder and rapine. Linnville became a panic-s~cken, helpless town, at the mercy of a warring tribe of human demons-who knew no mercy. Men, women and children alike ran about, terror-stricken, and without a chance to offer even a gesture of defense or retaliation. The town .was plundered and sacked, and all food stuffs, clothing and merchandise were taken by the painted vandals. Between twenty and twenty-five people were wounded and killed, and some women and children were taken into captivity-an ordeal even worse than that of murder. A majority of the populace, however, saved themselves by talcing out to sea in hastily commandeered fishing boats lying in the port. To make their work com­ plete, the marauders then burned the town, and all horses and mules in the vicinity, numbering several hundreds, were drjven away. • Following tlie burning of Linnville, under cover of night the Comanches turned back toward their camping grounqs on the Staked Plains. Like lightning, the news of this sav­ age outburst was spread from one settlement. to another, and soon the citizens of Guadalupe, Gonzales, Lavaca and Colo­ rado Counties were up in arms.