Dallas herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1849-1873, 1859-06-15
Letter from Jackboro.
JAcKsBoRo, Jack Co., Texas, }
.June lat 1870

| " JAcksBoRo, Jack CO,, Texas, \
June lst, 1859.
Editor Dallas Herald;
DKAR SR- Believing that you are always vii
ling 10 lay before your readers any unbiase
statement Of facts touching our border diiicul
ties, | send you such statement briefly made.
! l<~Our county commenced settling under the mos
favorable auspices, abou. two years ago 500
alter which Indian depredations commenced, an
! have been continued to the present time, to suc
an extent, as efectually to paralize all industra
inter csts, and Of course all business, until W
are now utterly prostrated.
The horses Of the country have been swept OIL
as fast as they were brought in, so that it ha
been impossible to SOW, plant, cultivate or gath
or, and sufficient murders have been committee
from time to time. to keep our citizens in con
slant fear Of their lives.
This state OF affairs has been endured wit
more forbearance than ought to bo expected o
4 any community, with the hope that some meani
would be adopted, either by the State or Gener
al Government, which would render our condi
ton tolerable. To this end, we have repeated,
petitioned tho powers that be-told our tale
expostuated and begged We have treated with
the Reserve Indians, and communicated with the
agents, obtaining always fair promises and fine
talk, while our troubles constantly grew worse
In February last, IL was almost, If not entirely
unanimously resolved by the citizens of several
OF the border counties, that the country must be
Immediately abandoned, or the lower Reserve In.
dians speedily removed. Of the latter event we
could see no prospect
Now in this case Mr. Editor, and candid rea.
der. let me ask you, what as n man, as the pro.
tector of a family, as law abiding member of
society, would you have done! We resolved
rather to rise and vindcate our rights by abating
nuisance long since in'olerable, than that at
least a Thousand families in several counties
should be forced to leave their homes and their
all. The attempt was set on foot, but was aban-
doned on account of the representations of many
prominent individuals, supposed to stand high
in the confidence Of the Government, that these
Indians would be speedily removed, and our safe
ty insured without the eifusion of blood. Fo.
our protection until this could be done we Of
Jack county at once employed, at an expense
which we could not have sustained for more than
three months, fifteen mounted Rangers for that
length of time, instructing them to kill all In
dams found ou tside of their Reserve. And here
l may remark, that we had some months previ-
Ousy, notified these Indians, through Capt.
Ross, by resolutions Of q mass meeting in this
place, that we would adopt this rs our only
course, as we could not know one Indian from
another. The Indians had promised to stay at
home, and the agent had said he would give no
more passes to them to 90 abroad, as he could
not control them except on the Reserve.
The Rangers, in the discharge of these duties,
on the 9TH of May, took prisoner, (having no
of killing HIM before hesubmitted,)
well known to some of the party, and to many of
our citizens, as notorious horse thief As such,
he was shot by them He was tho bearer of
passes for six OF seven men and n friendly con-
gratnatorY unsealad note from Agt Blain toi
Capt. Ross, The passes we're aeyeral weeha old, |
and dated qjisr Mr. Ross' promise to 40 70 cive
no moro passes, on. lii.g consent that we should
XII ms indians il found oil of the Reserve.
These papers, those in command at tho agency
chose to dignity with the name Of GoveTssneal
dispatches and that same night sent four white
men, (not twenty,) with company tsaid by the
accom- panying white men to be ninety Of Indians
TO The iolgii Of Ja6bjro to arrest our fifteen Ran
yera. The Rangers were not in town md the
pursuers retired quietly. The white men lett
The Indians short distance from town to follow
their own inclinations, while they went to Mr..
Hams, five miles out and staid the remainder Of
The night, declaring that they would arrest the
Rangers, and until they did 80, could give no as-
'urance that the town would not be sacked and
burned by the Indians, who were much enraged.
To give our Rangers to such party, was not
% be thought of, and thus, no alternative re-
NAMED. but the immediate attempt to remove
ither ourselves or the Indians. And Us we
lad never heard Of thousand white families be-
ng required to recede from their homes legally
cquired. at the demand of four hundred Indian
warriors and their families, we concluded to
make one last effort to sustain ourselves. |,
The news Of our crowning outrage spread like
gild-fre through our neighboring counties, and
emoved from the minds of even the most timid
nd prudent men, the last lingering scruple, as
. the proper course to pursue; and they left
heir ripening harvests in the fieldsand flew by
undreds to our relief On coming here and
caring the full particulars, and seeing our actu-
lily distressed condition, there was, und is, but
spa be removed, d,-Necessity knows no law"
OF the men collected at this point Denton
ounty sent about 100; Wise, 100; Parker, 100;
'alo Pinto, 100; Jack, 100; Montague, 25;
catering from more distant counties, say 3d.
ONE 200 more have passed through and near
ere since the 23d ult, on their way to camp, and
xpected recruits have been daily arriving from
orryelle, Bosque, Comanche, Erath, johnson,
ollin, Grayson, Cooke, &C., amounting at this
me to some 400 more men; and still they come
This army is composed, not of 'border ruff
ns," but Of the sturdy, substantial thinking I
len of their several counties, who are conscien I
ous in the performance Of a most unpleasant 6
uty, and are endorsed by the unanimous senti- 4
tent of their counties. 8
Now Mr.. Editor, if we are wrong, we think we b
re right, and certainly the opinions and actions
SO many hundreds of such men, embracing t
i of those who have had the best opportunity +
knowing the facts, are at least entitled to the
,spectfn consideration of all friends Of human o
y, of progress, and of civilization. c
In regard to the battle of the 23d ult, will b
ate few facts, (being an eye witness0 to g
certain falsehoods which are being
A division of about $50 Of our p
en- were murching through the reserve, having
lssed through the Caddo, and near the Waco o.
llage, without injuring the person or property %
any one, when near the mouth of Salt creek, +,
9 were to our surprise, fred on by the Indians c.
ON bluff. They logged us for some eight
lies to Capt VIM. Martins, firing on US from r,
ery bluff. At Marlin's we struck camp about n
lie dor had eaarcol.- II,