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Viljia V. Lrvin, P. VV.
Granbury,
hood County,
District 8.
Reference
Consultant Jrs. J. Granbury, Texas.
MOP
File 240
JAN 8 1937
Page I.
4y father and :Liother lived in Alabama when they were married, and
their fathers each gave them 25 slaves, and they came to Texas in tile
early fifties. They settled on Faluxy Creek, not far from Glen Rose, which
was then known as Barnard's Mill, but there was no town there at that time.
That was then Johnson Gounty, then hood county, then 4omervell county.
Lived in three counties without moving. I was born there 78 years ago. wq
father's name was william cDonald.
The Indians were bad then. y father required us all to be in the
house boiore dark, and 71e didn't have a window so that a light could show
through it. iy father raised fine horses, the steeldust mostly, and the
Indians sure likea to get hold of them. They stole a good many horses from
my father. They usually came on moonlight nights. Ly father was a member
of the ranger foroe organized to fight the Indians. tie was wounded three
A times by them. Once an arrow struck him juet above his forehead and went
I
back over his head, but hie hat saved him from a bad hurt. Another time an
arrow clipped through the skin of his throat. Another wound was when an ar-
row took off the thumb of his hand in which he was holding his pistol firing
at the Indians.
The Caddo Indians were friendly, and would help the white poople with
their work. They would take their pay in farm produce, but they wanted
mostly milk, butter and eggs. They would come to our place and sit in a
row with their cups to get sweet milk. My father would have one of the
negroes take a large bucket of milk and pour each Indian a cupful of milk.
They would say, "Me Izood Indian. WERE Me no hurty you." I was very much
iddief“AY3
V. Irvin,
Granbury,
good County,
District 8.
Viie 240
Page 2.
afralaii of them anyway.
The would steal, though. I don't think I ever saw an Indian that
wouldn't steal whatevee ho could. A band of thoe camped for sometime on the
creek now known as dquaw Greek, and it got its name from them. My father and
other men of the comdunity had been trying to deo ae on a euitable na.ae for
the creek when two eon came there from the Indian reservation in Oklahoma to
see lAlese ImIlans about doing there. They went to the caee of the Indians on
the ereek, but each ti ele they went they found only two or three old men and a
bunch of squaws and children. The :on of the Caddos oho were able were gone
on a stealing expedition, and they would be gone sometlexe several weeks, and
when they would come tack the would bring plenty of ctu:f. The men who
wanted to see the eadien men told my father they would like to eugost a name
for the creek. They said to name it squaw Creek on aceount of the squaws
camped on it, anl tee settlers agreed to call it that.
The Comanche made a raid and, carried off the wife and. three little
children of a doctor nemed Box who lived in our part of the country. Two of
thy children were girls, three and five years old, are the other was a baby.
The Indians tied the dother on a wild horse which tried to throw her off, and
they made her carry the bajoy, which cried and she couldn't get it to stop.
The Indians didn't like that so one of them grant grabbed the baby and smashed
its head against a tree. They took the mother and two girls to their camp
near San engelo.
The white people oct together and follwed them. Charles Barnard was with
them, and they decided that he would try to ransom the woman and children. He
had been In this country for several years and had trapped or lure over it
and was well known to the Indians, an they wore friendly with him. lie
would trade them goods for their furs. The men of the rescue party stayed
FeeereA1-3
lliatr, V. Ervin, P. W.
Grantury,
Hood County,
District 8
File 240
Page 3
away from the Indians' cage) ehile :Damara went to talk with the Indians. They
wo uld not hear of iv lk„ up the wo este and her children at 1 irst Before the
poecem kaot there t'eey had tortured the children by flinG their feet until
thcir feet were drawn up in a knot, and stayed that way. The little girls
grew up end were grown young ladies with club feet.
karnard talkel to the- Led13..ns a long time, and at last eot them to agree
to Give up the captives, 'eut :ee had to give them a great dGal to get them to
do it. obody elee but ',Aar, could have got them to do it.
15are.ard was a smart business :Tan, and he lame how to teet along with the
Indlame and neieze ieeem 111e hire. His wife was a 3pan1sh girl naeled Juaela
Cavassos. Ohe ane a coueln of hers were captured by the laidi;as erten they
were eight or nine years old, and ere. Barnard as kept by them until she was
old enough to be married, seed was ransomed by diirlie Barnard and his brother.
It took the 3arnarde several eionths to eet the indieno to agree to let them
have her.
Mrs. Earnard reld the in4kisue girls abused her and her cousin. .eire. Bare
nerd seid che fought t'er- Indian girl who started mistreating her and her
ocuoin, end ?mocked the Indian girl down and choked and beat her and tried to
kill her. Her cousin, fro. Barnard said, was timid and rould not fight the
Irdian girls. The Ireliens wore proud of r.Lrs. Barnardic spirit, and the chief
took her unier his care and saw that she was treated right. But they tied her
cousin to a tree an burned her tc death. Mrs. Barnard tried to get the
Indians to sp9re her covein.
My brother, Jack '.e.o.Donald, was in the fight about 1872 when a Land of
seven Indiens were cornered in Robinson Creek and all of' Lhee. I idled. It was
the rule among the settlers thet when the Indians maee a raid for each person
whose home was on the route the whie ;,wn were taking to follow the Indians to
still...la:a V. rvin,
Ctrazibury,
ikod Gounty,
District C.
4 s
Vile 240
Page 4.
ilave i.ierses ready to re-,tount the Den. f4 brother got to that Indian fight
that way. The irtfi.L.,ns while on thLr raid had bcen to one place where there
na.c a washing on Lhe line, ant:i when the Indians Tore found they ;ere dressed
in the clothes antl wraooeLi in the bedsheets. They got :loin in the creek
under the bant anti beh.nd a los or fallen tree and brush in such a way that
the white !len couldn't .,et ir poelt.;.on to shobt at the im:ilant without sx-
T.)osing tioeriteelves. ne va ili.ed and another one badly rounded trying
to get 2hot s at Zas liiLlano, who ',VG:re armed vIth bawr an arrows. A rain
ea:A up aild Got the 4.nolunes bowstrinGs so wet they wouldn't shoot, and so
settlers kil.Le ali the Indiar.s. The bowstrin6s were ..aas of rawhide.
There were z'ix Indan in ad one squaw, but she, was Imes in uch a way
that the whits -;4'A', 30 aidni t tell but what she was a man 121 -Zell they bild killed
the. Indians.
older men told Tr; hrotr that he could have the woman's ooalp if ha wanted
riorzst :mow which one of the men killed her. One of the
it. AFT brother 3ot i and brousht it home, thowh the hair was so full of
Hnits" it looked speckled.
Ott
Therc.- was not frol Indians, but from wild longhorn cattle
&odhogs .-hie;.'i rill wild, too. I've seen wild hole with hes(tusks) four
or five inches lon,P., and .they would certainly hurt you ba.i if they got the
chance, and they would fight you. I have seen them fight doss arid just
slaoh a the doss down with their tushes. Lut the dogs learned how to fight
the hogs and jump out of reach of their tush s. It was-, dangerous for per-
sons to go around :sue!:: on foot. Ile all went armed pistols, guns and
bonie knives and rode sood horses.
The :people took a ?,::reat interest in raising good ilorGes, and every 2atur-
day they would :ivzt and have horse races. father often had horses in the
races, and he was a great lover of good slcehorses.
FOLKWAYS
William V. Ervin, P.
Granbury,
Hood County,
District 8.
File 240
fa7c 5.
I remember when I was fourteen six couples of us, six boys and six girls,
rode up on Comanche peak to have a picnic. We were all armed with pistols,
rifles and knives to fight Indians in case they bothered us, but I don't
think there was much uanger as they had been about all driven out of the
country by then. I guess our folks wouldn't have let us gone if they had
thought there was euch danger. le did a lot of shooting and had a big time.
I was lust a little girl at the time, but I remember when John EA. Helen,
the man who cialmee ne was John Wilkes Booth, the murderer of President Lin.
coin; came to our ranch in Somervell county. It was the first place he
stooped when he got to that part of the country. He made a deal with alY
father for board and room, and stayed with us about two years. lie always
went by the name of et. Helen, and did not claim to be Booth until one time
when he was sice: and thought he was going to ale. e confessed then to a
lawyer, finis bates, that he was booth. That was aiter ae left our place.
He was well educated and had fine manners, and as always wore the finest
kind of clothes, -wroadcloth aria linen and silk. As would ;et mail only about
every two or three weeks, aau as would get Iota of wail each time, and ooze
of it woule oe filet clothing, and we were sure, thouea we didn't know, that
he got money threuga tne nail.
When we and other people of the community would nave paetios area enter-
tainments we lould get dt. Helen to read eor us, whica he uin wonderfully.
He was always poised, aria he seeweu to know ehakespear oy heart.
I really believe he was Booth. ;iy Lather would go to eaalias every two
or three months 7Ith a big load of produce, and St. lielen went iirrxle
time. Zt. icLon said later, after he had confessed to ben e Booth, that he
was very much afraid while in Dallas that he would be recognized. Unless he
were hiding out, it would seem strange for a man like him to be in a rough
frontier country.