The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1890-08-13

the GOMEZ cnoB Werd A1faiu III tney bnOt
the Caddo they would kill che little girl.
This whole scene transpired In few
minutes. and Van Dorm. although badly
wounded, had possession or the entire
village and the surviving Comanches had
fled TO thu almost impenetrabe brushy
hills, leaving their dead and their prop
erty behind them. consisting OF ninety
tivo good Indians being dead Indians, a
number of wounded and captives. about
four hundred horses, and all the spoils of
their camp.
The Texas troops had five killed and
several wounded, including Major Van
Dorm and myself Nv recollection is
that Lieut.. Van Camp was "A protege of
Hon Thad Stevens, of Pennsylvania,
and had but recently come from West
Point. He was a gallant and chivalrous
officer, and though at the time in deadly
peril myself, AMI entirely bereft of all
I hope of escape, shall never forget the
emotions of horror that seized me when
/ saw the Indian warrior, standing not
five feet away, send his arrow, clear to
the feather, into the heart OF that noble
young officer.
No trace of the parentaQe or kindred of
the little girl captive could ever be found,
and 1 adopted, reared, and educated her,
giving her the name of Lizzie Ross, the
former being in honor of Miss Lizzie
Tinsley, the young lady TO whom l was
then engaged to be married., and who has
been my wife since May, 1861. Liz Q
kocs, the captive girl, grew into n hand
some young woman, and married hap
PLY. but died few years since at Los
Angeles. Cal.
rlsy upon the battle field for five days,
unable TO be moved, when a litter was
constructed and l was carried on the
backs of my faithful Caddos ninety
miles, to Fort Radziminski. As soon as
able l returned 10 my alma mater, Flor
ence (Ala.) Wesleyan University, where /
finished my education, and returned TO
| Texas in 1859. At the period of which i
write, l was out on vacation.
For some time after the battle of
Wichita the Comanches were less trou-
blesome to the people of the Texas
frontier, but in 1859 and 1860 the condi-
I ton Of the frontier was again truly de-
plorable. The loud and clamorous
demands of the settlers induced the
State Government to send out regiment
under Col. NJ. L. johnson for public de-
Tense. The expedition, thou IA of great
expense to the state, failed to accomplish
anything Having just graduated and
returned to my home at Waco, l was
commissioned as Captain by Gov Sam
Houston, and directed to organize a COM
pany OF sixty men, with orders to repair
TO Fort Belknap, in Young County, re-
ceive from Col. Johnson all Government
property, as his regiment was disbanded,
and offer the frontler such protection as
was possible from so small a force.
The nece lsity for vigorous measures
' soon became so pressing however, that de-
termined TO attempt 10 curb the lnsolence
of thess implacable, hereditary enemies of
Texas, who were gre tly enlboldened by
the small force left to confront them, and
10 g. ccomplish this by following them in
10 their Businesses. and carry the war in
10 their own homes. l was compelled,
after establishing post. TO leave twenty
or my men 10 guard the Government
! property, and give some show of protec-
ton TO the fri htened settlers, and as
could take but forty of my men l request
ed Can't. y. Ct. Evans, in command of the
United States troops at Fort Cooper, to
send me detachment of the Second
United Stltes Cavalry. We hal Deon in
| timately connected in the Van Dorm cam
| paign In 1898, during which / was the re-
cipient of much kindness from him
while l was suffering from the severe
wound received in the battle of the
Wichita. He promptly sent me q sergeant
and twenty we'll amounted men, thDs in-
creasing my force to sixty. Ny force
was still further augmented by some
brave old frontiersman, Capt. Jack Cure
ton, of Bosque County
On Dec. Is, 1860, while marching mp
/ Pease River, / had suspicious that In
dians were IN tho vicinity by reason OF
the great number of buffalo which came
running toward us from the north, and
while my command moved in the low
ground visited neghboring high points
to make discoveries On ono OF these
/ hill Ia Il Con frao h. rtfo.
and be ing satisfied that 1ndian videttes
had just gone. galloped forward about
mile 10 Il still higher point, and riding
| TO the top TO nv Inexpressible surprise
| found myself within two hundred yards
! of n large COmanche village, located on a
| small stream, winding around the base
of hill. 1t was most happy circum-
stance that cold, piercing wind from the
! north was blowing, bearing with it clouds
of dust and nv presence was thus I'M
| observed and the surprise complete. BY
! signaling my men as / stood concealed
they reached me without being discover
| ed by the Indians who were busy pack
| ing up preparatory 20 move.
BY the time my men reached me the
Indians had mounted and moved OFT north
across the level plain. My command, in
GLIDING the detachment of the Second
! Cavalry, had outmarched and become
/ separated from the cltlEen command OF
seventy, which left me about sixty men.
In making disposition for the attack. the
sergeant and his twenty men were sent at
! galop behind a chain of sandhills to
! encompass them and cut off their retreat
while with NV forty men 1 charged The
/ attack was so sudden that a large number
were killed before they could prepare for
defense. II hey He'd precipitately right into
the arms of the sergeant and his twenty
men. Here they met with a warm reception,
and, finding themselves completely en-
comprised, every one fell his own way
and was holly pursued and hard pressed.
The chief, a noted warrior of great re-
/ pute, nameu Pe-ta- with young
Indian girl about fifteen years of age
mounted on his horse behind him. and
Cynthia Ann Parker, his squaw, with a
girl child about two years old in her
arms and mounted on fleet pony, fed
together. Lieutenant Tom Kelliheir aud
/ pursued them, and after running about
mile Kelliheir ran up by the side of
Cynthia AIMS horse, and supposing her
to be a man, was in the act OF shooting
her when she held up her child and
stopped. l kept on alone at the tor. of
my horses speed, after the chief, and
al. I.IF l..