During 1866, James Ball, aged nine, and Wm. Ball, his cousin, eight years of age, had been sent from the home of Mose Ball, a few miles north of Decatur, in Wise County, to the pioneer residence of Press Walker, who lived about one mile away. Little Jim left his home alone, and on his way he induced his cousin, Willy Ball, to accompany him to the Walker home for the purpose of borrowing a handsaw. The boys had only gone a short distance, when both were captured by seven Kiowas. The savages were followed, but the citizens were unable to overtake them. James and Willy Ball were carried by the Kiowas to Council Groves, Kansas, where they were ransomed by the government about one year later. Ref.: Early citizens of the section and Pioneer History of Wise County, by Cliff D. Cates. The above story is from the book, The West Texas Frontier, by Joseph Carroll McConnell. |
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