Reading thru Hermann Lehmanns book (titled above) seeking out the usual historical tidbits. Ruffcutt and I were had just glanced upon the tortures and treatment of captives/prisoner.
Ran across a comment by Lehmann. He at the time was with a band of Apaches as they are the ones who first captured him. Their band was visited by a band of Comanches that had a white captive with them. About his age. Another child of German settlers to Texas name of Adolph Korn. He said they conversed in German so neither of their captors could understand them.
(While with the Apaches he mentions the on again and off again stints on one of the New Mexico reservations. And how he had to be hidden in the woods when the soldier came thru on an inspection.)
This encounter with Korn would have been circa 1870-71ish. So I took this to mean that by this time these two bands had learned enough English to be dangerous to them. I found that interesting.
Lehmann does describe that he witnessed the execution of white children captives who would not settle down and be quiet on the trail. Not pretty.
While on the subject of captives. Have also read the story of the Smith boys captured in Comal county. A good read but I certainly feel a bit more artistic license was used in this narrative. I also highly recommend Wilbargers monumental work “Indian Depredations in Texas”. While a bit dated now, it contains a weath of primary document gathered thru the interviews of surviving participants. As does Deshield’s The Border Wars of Texas"
i just got through with this book on kindle, and mentioned it to my wife. her family goes back into the 1840's in texas. she is also 81 now to give time perspective, but again mentioned a story told by her grandmother. it was either the grandmother, or a friend, noticed movement under a bed in the house, about the same time an indian appeared at the door of the house. turned out a black guy was hiding under the bed from some white people. he evidently said he would take care of the indian, if he was left along, which was agreed to. point of this, those times were not so far ago. there is a painting in a museum in sweetwater, texas, of one of her ancestors roping a steam engine chugging along, it was scaring the cows. Both my wife and her mother had/have facial features that make you think of cherokee, and there was definite intermixing in there at some point. Lehmanns book brings out that life was not walden's pond, but was savage for lack of a better way to put it.
