A. Cavins, who was head boss for the Adams Outfit, was helping move about two thousand head of cattle from Mason County to New Mexico. With him were B. Ham Cavins, the Hoy Boys, and about fifteen others. Early one morning, when the cowmen were breaking camp at the Horsehead Crossing, of the Pecos, approximately 150 Indians came dashing toward the citizens. During the fighting Cavins was seriously wounded in the hip, and the Indians took all of their cattle. Ham Cavins, a Mexican, and negro, were about two miles up the river at the time. When the Indians came upon them, Cavins and the negro hid under the bank of the Pecos, and the Mexican jumped in the river and drowned. The Indians also recovered all of the horses. The cowmen returned to the settlements in an ox-wagon. No doubt, the Indians took the cattle and turned them over to White and Mexican cow-thieves in New Mexico and elsewhere. Note: - Author personally interviewed: W.C. Cavins, a brother of A. Cavin; and F. Striegler, early settlers in that section. The above story is from the book, The West Texas Frontier, by Joseph Carroll McConnell. |
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