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tain of the Steam boat did it designedly, consequently both were lost S. Boat & vessel, the seas were running high & in less than one hour after the vessel struck, the sea was dashing half mast high over her. The 68 Captain of the vessel & some of the sailors got on shore together with some of our officers & found the commander of the fort on the beach who then surrendered the fort which was our Salvator whilst we wer there. The Captn & Sailors then returned & by making sev- eral ropes fast to each other, with much labour got one end fast to the vessel & the other to a tree on the shore by which means all got ashore in the night, taking possession of the Fort got ready to march into the town. When the battle was over & the retreat ordered, Spanish guides were put with us, who conducted us for some distance up the river close under it's rocky banks & then throug a part of the Town thence in the wood by the same way we had entered the Town & in the evening we reached the fort where we remained for some ten days having stopped all vessels that entered ~he mouth of the river com- manding the same with the guns of the fort: getting short of provissions and finding it necessary to leave. We took the Schooner Halcyon which had been chartered by the Jl,fexican Consul in N Orleans for the purpose of informing the people in Tampico that we were comeing, but she arrived too late by 15 minutes in her we came to Texas bringing the better part of said Companies to Texas whom I enlisted as regular soldiers & marched them from San Fillippi, being the first regular soldier that ever marched to the tap of a drum under the provisional Government of Texas. Yours Respectfully
Francis W Thornton
[Endorsed] F. W. Thornton's account of the Tampico Scrape
No. 1G48 ]183-?], T. RAGSDALE. 69 EARLY SETTLEMENTS AND IN- DIAN FIGHTS IN RED RIVER COUNTRY
The first Settlers in the vacinity of J onsborough settled about 1817 an 18 Homes Calep Greenwood and Sons Luke Roberds and Brother Mason and sons Mr Henson. in 1819 Wm Kabb & Sons Cooper Nathanel Moore and Ambrose Hudgens Wm Ragsdale & Sons the Roberds and Masons were ve [ry likely?] killed by the Osage Indians the Indians came in about 1825 or G and murdered 2 of those familys in the absence of the young men and 3 of the young men 2 Roerds [Roberds] and one Mason foullowed them to their village and secreted them ~elves in a sink hole and at day light attacked the village and fought them all day and at dark here mad [sic] their escape but one
"'Hall. [Note in document.] 00 A. D.S.
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