Historians, even historical authors, skip stuff regularly.
Fehrenbach was channelling Walter Prescott Webb in tone and bias, but Gwynne's ommission is puzzling.
Anyhoo... I had thought "Savage Frontier Volume 1 1835-1837" was tedious before now, but now I want to get Volume Two.
Consider this quote from George Bernard Erath and twelve companions: January 7th, 1837 and its references to weaponry. Here they are, on foot, discovering a trail..
Their fires were still there; they had erected eight or ten shelters out of sticks and grass; each could shelter eight or ten men. The trail made a plain road, it was no trouble to follow.
An Indian, or an old hunter, could have told by the cut of the moccasin soles as to what tribe they belonged; but we did not have the art, and were perplexed on the subject.
It was agreed that if they were wild Indians we could manage them; but if Caddos, or the like, we might finds our hands full The meaning of the quote being that Caddos, or the like, would be carrying rifles whereas the prospect of bows/clubs spears etc weren't that frightening....
Erath's men found the Caddo camp the next morning and did deliver a surprise first volley, afterwards being compelled into a rapid fighting retreat with the loss of two of their own, total Caddo casualties being about ten.
Of that action Erath writes...
Had we all had pistols, or the six-shooters of the present-day we could have charged them and kept them runningBut here we had a group of Indians on foot, leaving their fires burning and "a plain road" of tracks anyone could follow as well as talking loudly among themselves the next morning. Gotta wonder if they were travelling to raid at all.
Birdwatcher
