Author Archives: Mustang
Of Conflict and Sorrow
The hostile raid at Fort Parker included Comanche, Caddo, Waco, Kichai, Penetekas, and Wichita Indians. During the raid, Cynthia Ann was witness to the murder of her baby sister, Orlena Parker. The child was four months old. When the baby … Continue reading
A Tearful Trail
After gaining independence from Spain in 1824, the government of Mexico invited foreign settlers to sparsely populated Texas. The Empresario responsible for this planned migration was Moses Austin, who soon passed away, leaving the task to his son, Stephen F. Austin. … Continue reading
Battle in Antelope Hills
The Expedition of Captain John S. Ford, Texas Rangers Texas in the 1850s was a particularly vicious and bloody place. The availability of productive land acted as a magnet to thousands of Anglo-Americans fleeing the economic malaise of the United … Continue reading
Duval County Crime and Politics
The character of Duval County, Texas is one of “old Mexico.” It was first surveyed in 1804 by Jose Contrerras, who was the Surveyor-General of San Luis Potosi. The area’s first recorded birth was that of Luis Muniz in 1828. The … Continue reading
A Dangerous Dandy
John King Fisher, known in his adult life as King Fisher, was born on an unknown date in October 1853. His parents were Jobe and Lucinda Warren Fisher. Jobe was a cattleman who owned and operated two freight wagons. Lucinda died … Continue reading
Captain John R. Hughes
As with many a young man in the mid-1800s, John Reynolds Hughes left home at an early age to find his own way in the world. He was but fourteen years of age. At the beginning of his adult life, … Continue reading
El Pistolero
The date was 12 June 1901. Karnes County, Texas Sheriff W. T. Morris (whom everyone called Brack) and a deputy were investigating the theft of a horse. The sheriff’s inquiry led him to the Thulemeyer Ranch outside Kenedy, Texas. Arriving … Continue reading
The Bandit War
(Continued from last week) Governor Ferguson responded to the Mexican/Tejano uprising by hiring a man named Henry Ransom [1] to serve as a Texas Ranger captain in South Texas. To put a fine point on it, Ransom was a ruthless killer … Continue reading
Sedition in Texas —1915
The boss of all white bosses in South Texas was a thoroughly corrupt Brownsville attorney by the name of James Babbage Wells, Jr. Wells controlled South Texas from about 1880 until 1920. Along with wealthy merchants, bankers, and large land-owners, … Continue reading
The Shelby County War
Unable to agree on a boundary between the newly-emerging United States and the Spanish territories in what is now Louisiana, both nations pretty-much ignored that strip of land separating Spanish Texas from the Louisiana territory. The area became known as … Continue reading
