The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-09-06
cArTIvEs BOUND TO A WILD BISON
Exciting story of Life on the Texas
Frontier go Years Age.


the most horrible pieces of cruelty ever
perpetrated by the Comanche Indians. In
1885 old Capt. Menefee settled on one of
the Yeguas about thirty miles west of old
Washington, on the Brazos He had
large family of boys and girls, and the old
settlers had frequently warned him that
| he was exposing them to great danger by
| locating so far out on the frontier. The
| old gentleman had built strong log
| house, with plenty of portfolios, and doors
| and windows that could be securely
| barred. He had several sons old enough
to handle a rifle. and five or six negro
men, who could be depended upon to fight
| for old "massa's" family. Although the
| Comanches raided the settlement nearly
| every full moon, they had never disturb
ed Capt. tMenefees house. and he began
| to feel pretty safe. His daughter, Molly,
was quite a belle on the frontier and she
| had many suitors for her hand In the
fall of 1886 she became engaged to a young
| man by the name of Eugene Barison.
| Providence had crowded into young
| Barison's short life almost as many ad-
! ventures and narrow escapes as a dime
novelist would accredit to his favorite
| hero. When a boy about Is years of age
he had been captured by the Comanches
| and adopted into the family of famous
| old chief by the name of Lame Wolf. The
| old savage appeared to think great deal
| of his white son, often declaring that he
| would make a good Comanche and a big
| chief out of him. Barison stayed with
the Indians three years before he found
an opportunity to escape. After this his
| knowledge of the habits of the Indians
| his familiarity with their language, and
! his desperate courage made his services
very valuable to the people of the from
! tier. Upon several occasions the Texans
1 It'd fsr1 lv-Tv -,
| gained over the red warriors to young
Barison's knowledge of the geography of
| the country and his skill in following the
| trail. Lame Wolf found an opportunity
| TO send the boy word that he had given or
| ders to his people to take him alive. He
! minated that Mr.. Barison was devoid of
| gratitude, and said that he intended to
cure him of his sin by faying him alive
! and burning him a whole day Lame Wolf
| had a daughter who was in love with
| young Barison, and it is possible that a
| woman's jealousy and spite had much to
| do with the terrible cruelties to which
| the young man and Miss Menefee were
| afterward subjected. 1t seems that the
| Indians, especially the family of Lame
| Wolf, kept well posted as to the affairs
| of young Barison. At any rate, they
| knew that he was to be married on a GER
| tain day, and about that time they made
| a raid on the frontier in greater force than
| usual
The guests were assembled at the house
| of Capt. Menefee to celebrate the mar
riage feast when the alarm was sounded
| that Indians were in the neghborhood
| The sky was already lit up at several
different points by the flames from burn
| ing dwellings. 1t was known that there
were families in the neighborhood en-
| tirely defenseless, and it was hastily de-
| termined that young Barson, with ten
| or twelve men, should set out at once to
| gather all the people that he could and
| bring them to Capt. Menefee's house. They
| had hardly mounted before volley of
bullets and a shower of arrows fell upon
them, and half of their saddles were emp
| tied. The attack was followed by the
| usual war whoop of the Comanches, and
| the wedding guests realized that the
house was surrounded by Indians. They
might easily have withstood the siege
| until help could have reached them but
| it had been an unusually dry season. and
| everything was in a condition to burn like
| powder. The savages set fire to the barn
| and some of the hay stacks near it, The
| flames almost instantly reached the negro
! quarters. The Indians rained bullets and
| arrows against the dwelling and kept up
such a series of wild yells that the white
| people concluded that they were attacked
| by the whole tribe of Comanches. Women
| and children were screaming, and in the
| uproar and confusion hopeless despair
| seemed to have seized the stoutest hearts.
! Barison and a few Others who had faced
| dangers before in many forms, were max
| ing desperate efforts to restore order and
| infuse a split of courage i'm the men and
| assauge the fears of the women when
! suddenly a great light flashed over the
! yard, and it was discovered that the roof
! of the house was sheet of flame Bar
| ison then performed an act which entities
| him to be forever remembered as a hero.
| He stepped into the yard and asked for
| Lame Wolf. The old man answered him
| Then in the Comanche tongue young Bar
| ison told the chief that he would surren-
! der to him to be tortured and burned at
| the stake to make Comanche holiday
| if he would permit the remainder of the
white people to march away unmolested
to their homes He was answered by a
shower of bullets, one of which struck
him. He was not badly. hurt, and.
springng into the house, he ordered the
| men to form in two lines, with the women
! and children between them, and march
out at once. The Indians sent a shower
of arrows and bullets after the little col
| umn, but the white people succeeded In
| reaching a little point of timber, where
| they made a stand for a moment The
Indians charged them and Barison was
| knocked down by a spent bullet The
white people then fed in confusion. Miss
| Meuefee ran to her lover and attempted
| to lift him up, hoping to be able to carry
him away on her shoulders. A giant
| savage knocked her down and made both
| Of the young people prisoners. They cap
| tured and killed many women and chill
| dren, and after burning several of the
settlers homes, they rounded up a bunch
of horses and started back toward the
| mountains.
Barlson, who was not seriously wound
| ed, was dashed to the back of a pony and
| the animal was turned loose with the herd
sI,-s~~ l4a No. ,.g~
| back The Indians knew him. and they
| frequently struck him with their lances.
and laughingly told him of the fate in
store for him at the Stake After a march
of several days the warriors reached their
| village on the Llano. Here the prisoners
were given a little food and tied to trees
near the camp. On the next evening,
while the warriors were holding a council
\ to determine the manner Of torturing the