Indian Papers of Texas and the Southwest, Vol. IV

TEXAS INDIAN PAPERS, 1860-1916 437 time, up to 30th of November last, have been expended by me or under my immediate direction as commander of the frontier battalion of state troops from April 1874 to February 1879, and as Adjutant General of the State from the last named date until the present time. The frontier battalion composed of six com- panies of seventy five men each was organized and placed on the frontier in May 1874 and has been decreased each year since that time as the necessity for so large a force became less until now, the force numbers one hundred and ten officers and men. The field of its operations has been mainly on the border of the settlements from Eagle Pass on the Rio Grande to the mouth of Pease River on Red River, but sometimes ex- tending as far South as the mouth of the Rio Grande and as far up the Rio Grande as El Paso, and for the last two years a de- tachment has been stationed at the latter place. When this force was put in the field the Counties of Wise, Jack, Palo Pinto, Erath, Comanche, Brown, San Saba and Mason, were sparcely populated frontier counties subject to frequent incursions from Indians who sometimes penetrated as far in- terior as Denton, Parker, Bosque, Burnet and Blanco counties, and about that time citizens had a fight with Indians within fifty miles of the Capitol of the State. The settlements had not advanced any and there had been no new c-ounties organized for twelve years but, on the contrary, the frontier settlers had moved back considerably towards the interior. The counties of Young and Stephens which once had organized governments had been entirely depopulated and very few people remained in Jack, Palo Pinto and other frontier counties, their inhabitants having been driven into the interior by the Indians. Indian raids were of frequent occurrence and it was very rare indeed that as much as two months would elapse without·some depre- dation being committed by them on the lives or property of the frontier settlers. During the first six months this force was in the field it had fourteen engagements with parties of marauding Indians and pursued twenty-eight other parties without being able to over take them. Since that time there have been fewer Indians in Texas and fewer depredations each year. The settle- ments have again extended westward, have advanced over to two hundred miles towards the Staked Plains, twenty-one new counties have been settled and organized and the country be- hind is rapidly filling up. But the Indians still continue their depredations to some

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