TEXAS INDIAN PAPERS, 1846-1859 245 For several nights in Succession attempts were made to steal the horses of Mr Biche on the Guadalupe 25 miles N.W. from New Braunfels-between the 30th August & 8th Septr- About the latter date an attempt was made, I am well satis- fied, to take horses from my place on Curry's Creek but being securely locked up they failed- From all the Information I have been able to obtain from reliable Sources from various quarters of the frontier I think it pretty safe to conclude that at various points between the Nueces & Colorado, about 100 Indians must have visited the frontier-between the 22nd August & 10th Septr.--& that some small parties which have been unsuccessful in stealing, are still lurking about in the mountain districts.- I regret to add that on that part of the frontier in which I reside, a great deal of uneasiness is manifested by the people- property is not considered safe & there is danger that persons in passing about will be attacked by small bands of Indians- and when they can no longer find horses to steal they may & probably will attack families whose situations are isolated & where there is a probab'ility of getting plunder-Some families have already broken up & left the frontier-Some other persons have removed their families temporarily & others have removed their Stocks of horses to more Secure points below the moun- tains-It is reasonable to expect that the Indians will again re- turn the latter part of this month or during the next.-It is believed that they are Lipan & Comanche & possibly some of Wild Cats Seminole are engaged in the business with them-It is known that some of the horses stolen are carried across the Rio Grande & it is generally believed that most or all of them go to the same place. I think it reasonable to believe that there are two or three hundred Indians engaged in depredating upon the frontier-those who are familiar with localities on the fron- tier do the Stealing, while others recieve the Stolen property beyond the settlements & conduct it to some point of security on one side or other of t.he Rio Grande- The Indians generally come in on foot & their presence is not known until they have perpetrated their outrages and are on the retreat-In this way they have penetrated in some places forty miles within the settlements, Stolen horses & made their escape.-! conceive that the only remedy is the organization of a sufficient mounted force to traverse the whole exposed frontier
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