A Texas Pioneer - August Santleben

Скачать книгу

ranch and came in contact with his dogs and to save himself, climbed a tree. Big-foot, hearing the bark of his dogs, went at once to see what kind of an animal they had treed, and to his surprise found a half frightened to death young warrior with his bow and arrows strapped to his back, captured him and put him on his horse in the saddle in front of him, and tied his feet under the horse's stomach and carried him that way to Castroville. Some one in the crowd said, " Say, Big-foot, give me that Indian." Whereupon he said, " No, this is my Indian ; if you want an Indian go an' get you one, there are plenty of them left."

      Another story that I recollect well happened just before the war, where Big-foot was out horse-hunting and riding a mule when he came upon a fresh trail that was

      14 A TEXAS PIONEER

      leading in a northerly direction over a divide. He followed the trail to find out if the Indians took the same direction on the other side of the divide, in which case it was his intention to hurry on to Castroville, where he expected to get enough men to cut them off if possible, but as he reached the top of the divide and looking on down the slope he saw to his surprise about twenty-five Indians busy catching the choicest horses out of the herd for their saddle horses. Big-foot saw at once that he was out-numbered and unable to escape, as they had already seen him, whereupon he snatched off his hat and waving it back towards the rear, called at the top of his voice saying, " Come on, boys ! Come on, boys ! We have got them ! " This was too much for Mr. Indian, as they were unable to see Big-foot's imaginary brigade, so they all jumped upon their horses and took to the woods, leaving their stolen animals, which Big-foot afterwards gathered with ease and drove back into the range.

      Another story relates that, on one occasion, Big-foot invited several cow-boys, who were hunting cattle, to drink coffee with him and when they accepted his invitation he offered it to them in an Indian skull.

      Another anecdote of Big-foot's early days was when he and other men had followed the Indians and overtook them near Bandera, where a battle took place and several Indians were killed. When returning home they all stopped at one of the first settlers' houses and they were invited to dinner. While they were eating they all boasted about their good marksmanship and how many Indians each claimed he had killed. The lady of the house noticed that Big-foot had nothing to say, and she questioned him, saying, " Mr. Wallace, how many Indians did you kill?" And he answered, "None." She then asked, "How is that?" "Just because there were not enough Indians for all of us, and according to the stories that you have heard, there were none left for me."

      CHAPTER II

      MY father always showed a strong affection for me and I was warmly attached to him. I often accompanied him on his journeys away from home, and I am inclined to think that my mischief-making propensities influenced him to remove me from familiar associations when he took me with him. He made frequent trips to Port Lavaca with his ox-wagon, when his team was not needed on the farm, and he received a fair compensation for hauling freight both ways between that point and San Antonio. I was not only his traveling companion on such occasions, but I made myself useful by driving the oxen and was able to do many things that were appreciated.

      My father once contracted with a party in San Antonio to haul a load of pine lumber from a mill near Bastrop, on the Colorado River, and I went with him. Bastrop was then a small village with a few scattering houses, and the night we camped in the town a public meeting was held in the open air which I attended. I have no recollection of what it was about, although it was the first political speech I had ever heard, but I do remember that the place was lit up by torches made of pineknots and that they furnished the most beautiful light I had ever seen. I was only about eight years old then, and when I learned that I could get pine-knots for the trouble of gathering them, I lost no time the next day in collecting all I wanted, although the task was not as easy as I expected. On the way home I illuminated our camp every night and had some left with which I lit up the premises to please a few of my young friends. They were delighted, because they had never seen anything so

      15

      16 A TEXAS PIONEER

      brilliant before, but the exhibition closed when I barely missed setting fire to the corn-crib.

      The light they had been accustomed to see was made by wrapping a rag around a stick and saturating it with lard ; the lower end was then stuck in a coffee-cup half full of sand, and the cup was filled with rendered lard or melted tallow. It made a very dim light, but it was the best we could do before candle molds were introduced, which were used by everybody who made tallow candles, until sperm candles of northern manufacture were placed on the market. The first I ever saw was in Castroville, in 1855, when three of them sold for twenty-five cents ; but they were too high-priced for common use and more than the poorer people of that region could afford to pay.

      My father was an indulgent parent and he allowed his children many privileges, but he could be severe in his punishments when their misconduct made it necessary, and our mother was equally kind and affectionate. Under such influences the hardships that circumstances imposed upon us were not felt and we retained pleasant memories of our childhood. Our opportunities for an education were limited, and in my case frequent interruptions occurred so that my school days if added together would represent a very short period.

      I remember a donkey which was identified with my school experiences that, incidentally, was the cause of many fights and any amount of trouble, but it is not worth while to discuss them. He had a disposition that was rather eccentric and he indulged his whims whenever it suited him. He was always in request on week days, and on Sundays some one of the children rode him to church. I will never forget the sensation he created one Sabbath morning when the services were being conducted. The minister was reading from the Bible and the congregation was devoutly listening to the lesson in which the word Hallelujah appears. As he raised his voice to an un-

      A TEXAS PIONEER 17

      usually loud pitch when repeating the word, the donkey, that was grazing near the window, thought, perhaps, that the exclamation invited a response. A moment later his head appeared in the opening and he uttered a refrain in prolonged strains such as only a donkey can express, until the solemnities were disturbed and the preacher even, although somewhat disconcerted, could not suppress a smile.

      My father owned a small bunch of horses that were not easily controlled and the donkey was our stand-by until we got rid of a wild gray mare that could rarely be penned and she always led the herd. One Sunday, when my parents were at church, we managed to get her in the pen, and after roping and throwing her, with the assistance of several visiting boys, I tied a dry cow's hide securely to her tail. When I turned her loose she dashed out of the enclosure and as the rattling raw-hide drove her frantic with fright her headlong flight was continued until she was lost to view. She was never seen afterwards and we came to the conclusion that she was drowned in the Medina River or else she had run herself to death. My father was kept in ignorance of our performance for some time until he missed her, and he did not appear to regret her disappearance because he knew her to be worthless.

      Another escapade of mine was more serious in its consequences, and it caused my father and several of his neighbors considerable trouble and expense. Three neighborhood boys assisted me and were equally respon- sible for the mischief which consisted in changing the corner-stones of a number of adjoining farms, including those on my father's land. The alterations were not dis- covered until some time after and several years passed before the trouble was remedied by repeated surveys of the tracts involved. They each had the same area of land because we had measured off a certain width and added it to the next adjacent, consequently it was necessary to

      start at an established corner and re-survey all the sub-

      18 A TEXAS PIONEER

      divisions of the 640-acre tract which, when located ac- cording to the field notes, identified the corners correctly.

      The land in controversy was then in Bexar County, and I think the differences in their claims were settled without litigation. I am sure that my father arbitrated his claim in a friendly manner because he never had a suit in court, although he frequently served as a grand juror and on petty juries in the district court.

      My

Скачать книгу