from Indian Depredations in Texas – Published in 1889
1869 On the night of the eleventh day of September, 1869, a party of seven Indians came into Hood county, and passing eastward through the southern part of the county, down Squaw creek, they came upon the premises of Robert West and stole all the clothes that had been washed that day and left out over night to dry. This characteristic of the savage seems to have been shown by them when opportunity offered. Years before, they had sacked Linnville and stolen all the dry goods in the town; and upon another occasion they stole all the clothes washed and left out to dry in the town of Bastrop. But to our narrative. After leaving West’s place they continued down Squaw creek to McDonald’s place, where they found four or five horses in the horse lot, which they rapidly transferred to their own possession. Having now penetrated nearly to the Brazos river, they hastened to retrace their steps, going westwardly but not over the same trail made in coming down. All along they added rapidly to their stock of stolen horses until they had gathered a herd of some two hundred head. But, unfortunately for the red devils, some one had discovered their presence while passing down Squaw creek, and arousing the neighborhood, a runner was sent over to the Thorp settlement, requesting a posse to meet their posse at or near Lookout point, a point of timber about twelve miles west of where Thorp springs is located. The word reached Thorp settlement about two o’clock in the night of the eleventh of September. The following well known citizens were soon armed and in the saddle, to wit: J.J. Daws, J.B. Sears, T.J. Scott, Mark Herring, W.H. Johns, W.M. Clark, John Clark, Lee Wright, James Parnell and H.P. Thorp. This little party of ten, stuck spurs to their horses and were off about one hour before day, and arriving at Lookout point of timber, they found that the Squaw creek party had run on the Indians in the timber near by, as they were changing horses. The Indians now had about two hundred head of stolen horses. The race for life on the one part and the race for stolen property and the scalp of the red man on the other now began in earnest. As they came past the Point, the Thorp party came up on them and the two parties of whites being joined a furious chase for four miles now took place. But fate frowned on the Indians. By the dint of hard riding they were surrounded and forced into a deep ravine, where they took shelter under the roots of a large tree. It was now about eight o’clock in the morning of the twelfth of September. The news of the chase and the fact that seven live Indians were surrounded in a deep ravine spread rapidly, and about two o’clock p.m. the whites numbered seventy-five or eighty men and boys. About this time a heavy rain came up, and as soon as it was over John Toby rose up and commenced to blow his bugle. This was the signal for the attack. The party who descended into the ravine and attacked the Indians was composed of the ten before mentioned from Thorp settlement and the following men from Squaw creek, to wit: Robert Tramble, Marion Selph, John Toby, Alvin Martin, Clabe Oxford, George Oxford, John Dennis, Wear, McKinsey and perhaps a few others whose names we did not learn. The conflict was short. The terrified Indians made but a feeble resistance against the out numbering white men. They were soon all killed and scalped. It was then discovered that one of the seven was a squaw. Two white men were wounded. Wear was shot with an arrow and died of his wound about two weeks afterwards and McKinsey was wounded with a bullet but recovered. The horses were returned to their respective owners and the whole party dispersed to their several homes, feeling that this had been the most successful haul they had ever known. This fight is remarkable for two things, one that not a single Indian escaped and the other that they were scalped by the white men, something not usually done by them.
Go to The Raid of the Seven Indians for another accounting of this battle