Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1871-02-12
A TEXAS HORROR.
Massacre of a Family by In
dams on the Texas From
tier-A Heart-rend-
ing Scene-FOur
Killed and Four
Wounded
Plenty of Troops to Harrass and
Annoy the People of the
South, but None for
Their PrOtec-
ton.
From the Jefferson Times. Jan %.


communities, or perhaps citizens of GU
own State, in the blissful security O
their quiet, peaceful homes, think of thu
hardships and terrors of the frontier. Oc.
casionally scene like the one described
below sends through the abodes of civil
cation and comfort thrill of horror, bu
it is soon forgotten, or passed over with
out reflection as tale of romance. Con.
gress is too busily engaged in schemes o.
political ACKNOWLEDGMENT and plumber Il
bestow thought upon the hardy, brave
honest pioneers of the frontier. Indian
bureau agencies are established that enable
partisans to make fortunes in few years
and to place arms IN the hands of the
saVages to murder white people and to
devastats large DISTRESS of country.
Sickly sentimentality is busy in the mean.
while in devising means TO civilize the
saVages and to support them in idleness,
but not thought is bestowed upon our
bleeding frontier.
Troops are scattered all over the South
TO harrass and prosecute its people; mil.
lions of dollars are expended in deVising
new schemes to render white people mis-.
cradle; and to add TO our misfortunes,
the men sent to Washington to misrepre,
sent us employ their time in fomentlng
troubles; but the section of the country
where one-tenth of this money could be
spent with advantage, and where those
troops could be rendered useful, is ne.
elected.
Who can resd the description below
without thrill of hororH Yet, it is only
one of many that are constantly occur
ring. A gentleman by the name of T.
L. Stanfield, writing from Montague,
Texas, on the 9TH of December, TO the
Dallas Herald, says:
Last Friday with a couple of cOmpan-
ions l started from the pleasant little vii
lage of Decatur to this place, about two
O'Clock P. NJ. We logged along until
about one hour after night, when we ar
rived at the residence of William Free
man-an old pioneer-where we spent q
cheerful night, and again pursued our
journey.
We had not Travelled further than 3
mile when we received the sad intelli-
gence that family had been massacred
about two miles above. We fastened on
to the place of the awful tragedy, and
may God forbid that my eyes should ever
again look upon such another scene as
there witnessed. The first victim was
little boy, some eight or ten years old,
some forty yards from the house, stone
dead. His left arm was cut from his body,
exhibiting to full view his heart and
lungs, his bowels cut out, and then scalp
ed. We then repaired to the house,
and the first victim that met our
gaze, near beside the entrance, was
g girl about nine or ten years old,
wrapped, or rather tumbled, in q mass
of old bed clothes, ETC., with one naked
hand and arm elevated. l took hold of
her hand, but to find that she too was
dead and wounded in several places.
Next was a lady, some sixty years of
age, by the name of Keenan,, shot
through her breast with two arrows that
passed through her body, suffering all
that humanity could suffer. Her scalp
was taken off, too. Next was lovely
little girl, three years old, nursing a babe;
and when it was taken from her arms,
the poor child said she ''did not want
Dolly to starve" On examination, it
was found that she (the. little GRID
had been lanced through the
breast, the weapon entering on the
left and passing through the right. Near
by her was another girl about ten years
of age, with her head beaten and bruised
in a most brutal manner, stiff and cold,
almost lifeless. The Indians had beaten
her head until she was thought to be dead,
and pitched her out at the window, where
she had lain all night in senseless con-
ditiOn. Then we turned to a little boy
calling for water-he was lanced, the
wound entering above the breast bone and
passing out below. The next and last
was Mrs. Paschal laying beside the bed
on her face, weltering in gore. Ga tx
animation she was found to be dead, with
several wounds that had been inflicted in
different portions of the body. One little
boy was lsnced in the breast, who
made his escape during the night, and
after daylight made his way to a neigh
boris house about one mile off. Two
little children were left in the bed unhurt.
One of the wounded has since died. This
leaves four dead and four wounded; two
of the wounded will probably recover.
Mrs. Keener says there were eight or nine
Indians who entered the house about two
hours after night-after they had retired
for the highland committed this brutal
massacre. There were no men about the
place. The dead were promptly buried
in as decent manner as possible, and
the wounded moved to where they could
be cared for.