Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Texas Rangers vs Comanches

“ Texas was a paradise for men and dogs, but a hell for women and horses.“

You can find that quote around, that one is cited from Illinois in 1847. Horses And their condition certainly were a limiting factor in this campaign, with the Indians being better mounted and covering shorter distances since leaving Linville.

Back to Monday August 10th.

The errant Captain Mathew Caldwell of Gonzales, who had gone west from Gonzales some days earlier to intercept the Indians on their probable return route, was finally located that morning in Seguin by a messenger from Gonzales “on a foaming steed”.

Caldwell had fifty-eight men with him and, notwithstanding their previous exertions, announced that they would set out for Plum Creek immediately after breakfast, 33 miles to the northeast.

It was probably a reflection of their horses and the excessively hot weather that they would only make about twenty miles that day. Camping for the night on the San Marcos River.

Meanwhile, that same evening of the 10th, those among Tumlinson’s command trailing the Comanches who were well mounted, pushed ahead through the night to get around and ahead of the Indians.

With most of our horses worn down with the extraordinary fatigue of yesterday and last night, having traveled some 60 or 70 miles. Here we quit the trail, and made for Gonzales for the purpose of feeding our horses, and as many of us can, joining the force supposed to be on Plum Creek.

Note: The implication was that not all of these guys would be able to make it depending upon how wore out their horses were.

It is plain that our sole reliance is to take advantage of them at Plum Creek bottom, where they will little expect to see us, and which is looked to as the ground where, of all others, they may effectually be chastised.

The converging Texian forces would start assembling at Plum Creek the following day, one day ahead of the Indians.