TEXAS INDIAN PA PERS, 1825-1843
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to those Indians; who are the actual perpetrators of these out- rages, and giving to them every aid assistance and protection in their power. The party of Texians, who crossed, Red River, above the mouth of Washita, were headed by Col Wm. G. _Cooke, and had no other object in view, than to intercept a party of Cherokee Indians, who were said to be carrying ammunition to the tribes of Hostile Indians, who infest the Upper Brazos, and not find- ing them, made war upon no one, but returned quietly and peac- abiy to this Republic. The second invasion complained of, was by a party of eight Texians, in pursuit of a marauding band of Coushatta Indians; who had been harassing our citizens by every species of depre- dations, and taken refuge among their friends and allies the Choctaw and Chickasaw north of Red River and in the United States. That party fortunately for our frontier settlers did come upon an encampment of either Chickasaw or Coushatta, (and fired into it) who were evidently preparing to n:ake a descent into Texas with all the necessary apparatus for stealing, and earring farther interruption to the Chickasaw. Capt Joseph Sowell who headed this latter party has since been killed, in his own horse lot, at the town of Warren, by a party of Indians who were then endeavouring to steal his horses those indians were tracked to where they crossed over Red River into the United States. A continued succession of outrages of the most atrocious character are almost daily being enacted by the Indians upon our settlements and in almost every instance have the perpe- trators fled into the Un"ited States among the Chickasaw and Choctaw. If we sought for other Justification for the conduct of our citizens towards those indians than that which a plain statement of the facts afford we could find a most ample one in the con- duct of the United States in the campaign against the Seminole under the command of Genl. Andrew Jackson when the Spanish Territory was invaded and a Spanish garrison taken possession of whilst in pursuit of the Seminole. The conduct of our ex- posed, and "injured frontier citizens, has fallen far short of this and our sister of the north will certainly not censure us for pur- suing the same course which she has pursued in a like emer- gency. I am fully aware of the importance, upon our part, of a
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