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TEXAS INDIAN PAPERS, 1825-1843
No. 99 LETTER FROM JOSEPH W. ROBERTSON TO JAMES S. MAYFIELD City of Austin April 7th 1841 To the Honbl
James S. Mayfield Secy of State
Sir
On the 18th day of Feby 1839 my plantation on the Colorado River within Bastrop County was attacked by a considerable body of hostile Indians and my negroes with every circumstance of Indian and Savage violence forcibly taken therefrom-Among the slaves carried off by the robbers were two boys one named Manuel now about 16 years of age and one named Aaron about 13 years old. After a great lapse of time and the most diligent enquiries I at length discovered that these boys were in the pos- session of persons living with the Creek Indians within the lim- its and under the government of the United States to North To obta"in these slaves I travelled at great expense of time and money from this City to the Country ocupied by this tribe of Indians. On the first of December last I saw both of these ncgroes Manuel and Aaron the first in the possession of a Mr Edwards a white man who has a Creek family and lives at Fort Horne on the Canadian River at the crossing of the military road leading from Fort Gibson to the mouth of Washita and the lat- ter in the possess'ion of Jesse Chisholm a half breed Cherokee and a son in law of Edwards and who lives about one mile from him a party of Cherokee who had been expelled from Texas were encamped at Chisholrns house and I soon ascertained that if my business were discovered my life would be involvec! in much danger-In consequence of which I hastened my departure and afterwards ascertained that I was pursued by the Indians to the borders of this Republic. These are the circumstances connected with this violent and prolonged deprivation of my property. I hope you will find in them a sufficient justification of a demand for redress from the Government of the United States which if granted by that Government would not only compensate me for a loss which has been very oppressive but would perhaps operate powerfully in repressing the hostile in-
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