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EDITORIAl. FIELD COPT
Mrs. norm. Migerailler, P.1.
Pioseer uperimmes
proli Vr44140 wierogne
HALF MOON VALLEY MASSACRE
As telt by Oka Cloalsom
to
We. Lonna Chariton
Page
I vas born in 1043. MY Wents had seven ehildreme, five boys
and two girls.
With the tide of immigration my parents drifted westward.
eneountering many hardships and dangers.
Once when we lived on °operas Crook, a tributary to the Llano
River, my father, Nick Coelsoap owned a ties horse. At night he
kept this animal looked in stable made of heavy timber.
Returning one night after dark trail hoer hunt with two esp.
tired subs, he took the horse to leek him up. Inside the stable
were several Indians she first at tat vim he opened the leer., One
bullet struck him in the hip and and he suffered Iron the wound
as long as he lived.
At the tine he maintained a pack of hounds. Most of then II
were vie/ova. He ealled them and they drove the Indians away*
Once dad and Mr. Mann went deer %Wan, They left at night
or evening. The next morning mother, ever 401tetfu,. 1-..er
of younters, **slimed us to be quiet as the house was surrounded
by Indiaus. Saida firearms as we bat were a miscellaneous bunch of
unser 42tnerionoos 4■01 JO
Junk. w eP9 end bell s "rood if ono exereihed tion in
loodIng It. lot, one algilt the trigger, Wive it 1 in firing en
4,ev,(4. loterit ti4,blow one end of the o4o ut.
"There wra ft ran by the nemit f narrie working for d Ho ups
i11 d u trty feet of our or. atuer, st1nvJ.jlanofreld,
let on n it oqd p jnoket of dote The front door to tag roon wt:ore
vo.we olLlt In two weetione The upper oeotte (1,44410 cooned
INA,le the lov,er t;estion remelned
hod Wirer USOR mother loo beeutiful. if they ghouLikill
Jur -otWort ocr m. ict, shildr she whislered. The .golor never
left hnr oneeku, ;he welked 0" to the door with or Otsludimat hoir
tufled wour t. Snug- lung the upper portIoniot tie door
o,4in nd looked out. The indiene4strepted end after crverel de-re4ntioas
itt.e 1f1,7ri.ed efterwerds froth), aen 4ho ups wrTehlne,Ihot te
:,ftd k)okuut who wiAnel
ilit:rniag. 0 theY left.
othor dlod r,t
brJur:at ,Is cflUy to the tidwprd•ounty *motion. seto
to ttteft thnt dad rAd
-enn
ut letit or 1073. ndgrterwords 0
admitted p
Ts. ease -umnhrey woo tied e amg41 ehild by her former igrriere.
r t4lh we %oved to ft 91
qplf oon, rrittn, bout
14 4orth ;4r ,;orksdale ne^r- brenit of tho plpine., 0rore
bef.idtiral i-oe eon be iangLied. level greasy vf,11ey, tl,ivnysi 6ronn
frttl l'Ared Into n Toreson:At iven
.(xA) s itur,ted ot thh
hod twine, rt
t4L, tLr:e.
ito d ._Atte orte ;Ind dod
,0404-,,, rttnr ettd 1 horded the
hills thlohly ptudded with nedvr,
rn end of the valley.,
d Nrthur. They were 4ut TAIn ot
ed his h Clo9:74Mpe 7reek fur
Air sewn woe phAt pi
lftS frost
HalfaMOon Valley Massacre
Pioneer Experionsos Zokie Coalsom
Page 3
252
home. Selecting a plass, Dad made' tanks to catch rain water for
the sheer and goats. One morning Arthur and I discovered a bumble-
bee nest rich in honey. We worked the greater rart of the day try-
ing to kill the bees.
Suddenly; we found ourselves surrounded by mounted Indians. Side
by aide, we started running but I was shot between the shoulders and
fell right there. Arthur ran on and was killed some distanse from
me but I did not know it then.
The bullet came out of my sheet at the left front and close to
my collar bone. The Indians gems bask mid watched me closely at times.
On one trip, I must have flinehed and they saw that I was still alive.
I had my arm across my eyes and one of them shot me through the upper
arm. ?his wound was more painful than the one in my chest.
I pot up weakly and walked to *amp about four -hundred yards away.
I let the water out of the barrels and crawled into the puddle. I laid
there all night. Next morning, I ate a little barbesued beef and *calm
laid down in the water. Sometime later I felt a head on my arm. I
felt indifferent but opened my eyes. I was gratified to find the
Tex Pa lanlers. They took me and Arthur's body home.
)ad had been hard put for he had been fightin* Indiana all evening
and had killed one of the party who had killed. Arthur and shot me. Just
one yacr to a day after this, about 1873, there occurred the massasre
of three more members of my family.
It was Tune. My stop -mother wanted to gather some wild grapes
grOvilk5 nlOnft Cedar Creek at the eRst sad of the Iralley. There were no
'norses Illndy so mother and Etta, taking the baby with them, each rode
a donl,:ey. Dad went with them.
Later on, he left them to drive hone the milk sows. Dad took the
Itar-Monn "alloy Verner,
,aear Jurieuees Jena onlsou
some tarouit the tretl. ny stepotber hnd Imo !,Aiostl, by tile rad.
It w,•lste waen *Id nrrIved owls nn4 1 felt =easy mbo4t the sume.
cni4 they Ise -e *oiling by why a tbe read Out 1 ns not 6ntlatiiiiiint so
I went (qui frndWan nli tbree dad. Their bod es nenr *Iclee the
welley nftrrtmed nt the overn ea4 had where tbe *mints rrrow ttlekly.
00tfl;
t;vonla
t 14 MAu_44,111 all my tile,I neve fidien
ey in lAter yenrs mad soviet neve, forbear as eerie
vuttille; o qtpelmrfort rs Chanted ism, the sAtty eyes sed fathered
hicJintl* IndiAnts in tne ee r on ottber die. (Letitle Cbsrlten.)