Near the close of the Civil War, several old men and boys, too old and young to go to war, were making a roundup on the cowhouse, about eight miles west of Hamilton, Bud Hollis, Ed Cox, L.F. Roberts, Wash Cox, Donnell, Larry Hargis, Gallihair, Matthew Robison, Jim Karahey, _____ Riley, and, perhaps, four or five others, spent the night on the cowhouse at the above location. The next morning, Bud Hollis, Ed Cox, Donnell, Hargis, Jim Karahey, and others, went east in search of cattle. L.F. Roberts started out with this decision, but at the suggestion of older men, he joined the other crowd. Gallihair, Robison and Riley, were still at camp on guard. When the cowboys had gone about one and one half miles from camp, Bud Hollis, Ed Cox, and the cowboys with them, were charged by about fifteen savages. L.F. Roberts, who was riding a mule, hurried to the camp and told the boys the Indians were coming. Since everybody was poorly armed, L.F. Roberts was joined by Riley, and the two rode the mule into the thick timber on the hill side, and could see the Indians scalping Bud Hollis and Ed Cox, who first mistook the Indians for other cowmen. Neither Cox nor Hollis were armed, but Hargis had a double-barrel Shotgun and this weapon not only saved his life, but that of Donnell, and an orphan boy. In a short time the Indians left. Ed Cox and Bud Hollis were buried at Hamilton. Note: Author personally interviewed: L.F. Roberts, mentioned above; Ike Roberts, brother of L.F. Roberts, C.E. Ferguson, and others who lived in Erath, Hamilton, and Comanche Counties at the time. The above story is from the book, The West Texas Frontier, by Joseph Carroll McConnell.
The above story is from the book, Indian Depredations in Texas, by J.W. Wilbarger. |
||||
|
||||
