Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1889-01-01
TARRANT COUNTY.
son,e,hin0 about Its Early History aud Whas
e is To-day.

Mr.. f. w. Dumble, editor of the Lam
pasas Leader, furnishes THE GAZETTE
with a page of the first history of Tarrant
county, which came to him in the shape
of manuscript from the hands of James
J. Beeman orie of the first settlers here.
Mr.. DuInble writes:
When leaving his manuscript with me
Mr. Beeman said: 81 leave this in your
charge as a legacy to my children. /
have nothing else for them but fathers
blessing. If they are worth anything
publish them, you viii use your own
Judgment l have not had the time To
examine these papers closely,
but in skimming through
find some points of fact in the history Of
Tarrant county that have never been pub
lished The manuscript is headed GA
Partial History OF the Life of James j
Beeman, and was written during the
later years of his useful life, at those odd
moments when after the god of day had
sunk to rest leaving the rosy golden twi-
light of our western hills, that time when
memory wanders back and recalls the
sweet or the sad of our lives, the good or
the evil deeds that we have done. Back
to this time would he go and then with
one hand uIasped in the one of hers who
had shared all of his tolls and
ease. who had been the soul of
his soul, he would with the other write
the recolections Of those days that tried
men g souls and made women angels
The manuscript is written wayeTingly
yet clear and distinct. 1t shows that the
hand, though weak, the heart and the
brain were warm and urged the writer
on.
James J Beeman was born in Illinois
on December u, 1916, at the head of the
American bottom, in Madison county,
about three miles below the city of Alton.
When quite young his father removed to
Green county. where he was raised. In
1886 be was married to Sarah Craw-
ford, and by her had three children.
He left Illinois in September, 1910, in
company with his brother, John Beeman
and family, and nephew, J. s. Beeman
and family, crossing the boundary line of
the United States and - on the 8th of
December of the +. They To-
Gated first in Boy on what was
known as the S tn farm, about
three miles east Daily Springs.
In the spring of Indians raided
the upper count ~ company was
raised te goin pursuit of them. Briga-
dier-Geueral E. H. Tarrant, com
maIIding the volunteers Of the bri-
gade district composed OF Cass,
Bowie, Red River, Lamar and
Fanniu counties, with their territories,
headed the expedition. They came upon
an Indian village on Village creek, in
what is now Tarrant county and attacked
the inhabitants. In the fight Colonel
John B Denton was killed and Captain
Henry Stout wounded. Mr.. Beeman
does not say how the fight terminated,
but from later remarks would infer that
they were worsted. After the fight the
company returned to the settlements car
rying the dead body of Colonel Denton
with them, burying it on Denton creek,
\ at which place he rested until some six
Ayears ago.
$. short while after the re-
I'm of the expedition, Gen
er;l Tarrant issued orders for the
raising of some 400 volunteers to go out
on the headwaters of the Trinity river
against the Indians. Each of the coun-
ties IN the district was to furnish GER |
timber of men, organize and elect |
company officers, and to meet at |
English, in Fannin county, on July |
/. The men were to furnish their |
use, gun, ammunition and rations. |
vile company, of which Mr.. Bee |
5 member, met at the town Of |
lib on July and elected |
P. Key captain and |
Ter Booth orderly sergeant. |
lot improve it; it is more interest
Citten:
not now remember the names of |
officers of the company. We |
lnded, TO meet at Fort English
h where we elected battalion
whom l deem it unimportant
1, only that General Tarrant
lander-in-c hief and Jonathan
ergeant-major. We immedi-
on the march for the Indian
Village creek When we got
indians had left. We found
60 sign, as they would come
OF their crops that were
There was corn, pump
Perhaps now I ought to
lent that occurred before
E&English. which is as |
An Alabama man living near
med Cox had little boy and
near the same size, who were
{ of both mounting pony and
COWS up of evenings. 1t was
enng before we started on the
at the boys were sent for the
sual and while out the Indians
them and captured them and
carried them off. They were
I in the fall, same year, and told
Indians kept far enough ahead
% be out of danger and watched !
4meHts. They told the boys that
f an attack from us they would
n. Poor little fellows they suf-
great deal as the Indians whipped
severely. 1 dare say if still living
Hhey have the marks on their backs
ito this time, December |, 1886. On DIR
arrival in the village we encampei in their
filds and helped ourselves TO the corn,
beans, etc. One of our men made a
CRATER out of an old coffee pot, on which
we grated meal and baked beans, tho
first bread had tasted for good while.
We called ii broadly, as bread was not
good enough name. Up to this time
our rations consisted of cold flour, bacon
and Coffee
They waited three or four days for Cen
eral Tom /. Smith, but rs he did not ar
rive at the appointed time General Tar
pant gave orders TO move forward. On
"A first day, while they were incoming on
ainore creek, two miles east Of Fort