The daily tribune., 1909-01-14
UNCLE BILLIE MILLER
AND the C0MANCHES


bloodier adventure than did william
]. Miller. an old Texas cattleman
who died two years ago at his ranch
on the Panhandle. Shortly before
his death he told the following story
"On the night of January /. 1868.
A. W. Morrow neighbor and myself
camped near tine water mill of Major
A. J. Ross. where Bray creek empties
into the Colorado river. There had
been no trouble with maraudinR
Comanches and when we started
home the following morning with a
four horse team, we we're armed only
with two dragon pistols. We had
gone about eight miles when we
heard the running of horses behind
us.
II turned and saw that Indians
were coming. whipped our horses
into run but the Indians soon over
took us. Morrow crouched in the
rear of the wagon and began the fight
He shot one Indian whose horse
whirled and threw him to the ground
This caused the Indians to fall back
little and enabled US to see that
there were about fifteen in the party.
They killed one of our horses and
then abandoned their gups, having
exhausted their supply of ammuni ,
tion.
''We could see them unslinging
their bows and arrows The first ar
row struck Morrow In the hand but
the Indian who shot it tumbled yell
ing from his horse with bullet in
his chest. In running away the
horses threw the wagon into a ditch
where we stuck fast. We were re-.
duced to less than dozen csrtri dges
and never Hred until a buck came
within ten feet OF us. The Indians
charged US time and again. often
coming within eight or ten feet
Their leader, old Asahar ber, came
within six feet of us and I shot him
through the hips. He yelled and
clutching his saddle turned his horse
and galloped away.
"a squaw shot me In the right
cheek with an arrow which protruded
from behind my ear. There were
six more arrows in my head. the
points kinking against my skull max
ing it painful and difficult to pull
them out. Seven more lodged in my
body between my neck and my waist
From my abdomen pulled one arrow
head that WAS ~ long a. my finger
and so keen that . person might whit.
tie with 1t. pulled one arrow from
my left side. but the head slipped
from the snAft and remained In my
lungs for years. Another time
fairly In the middle Of the chest,
sticking into the bone and standing
out as firmly As II 1t had been shot
into a tree. Another missed the fe.
moral artery In my left leg by the
width of a knife blade I carried
a steel barb in my right thigh until
1874. when 1t was removed. The ar.
rows came so rapidly I could not
pull them out as fast As they went In.
Poor Morrow WAS as desperately
wounded az myself An arrow struck
him fairly in the left ear and while
l was pulling 1t out another went
whizzing into his right ear. He
could see both shafts and imagined
that an arrow had passed entirely
through his head. He groaned and
said he was killed. Before I could
reAssure him an arrow hit him In
the left eye aud glanced under the
skin to the ear. Blood poured down
his face In streams. dreuchinR my
hands and arms. "They have shot
my eye out, he exclaimed. mo, II
glanced I replied, pulling the arrow
from the wound. Morrow WAS hi.
three or four times before I WAS touch.
cd. During lull we cut the traces
and each of Us jumped onto horse.
We ran to a clump OF trees. We had
killed seven Indians. The remainder
galloped to within sixty feet and
halted. After gazing steadily at us