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Rath also had another store / trading post not far from the Ranch here. It was called Rath City. Within view of the Double Mountains, of the Double Mountain Fork of the Brazos River which I can see from the back porch.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rath_City,_Texas

https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/rath-city-tx

I have been there. I have seen the hill the Indian was when Dixon
Took his shot. It was not coyote vagina, but a helluva shot.

Quanah Parker was there, but not yet his total bad-ass self.

Those were some lucky buffalo hunters.

Yep. He followed the hunters and the herds and pretty much got rich by being in on the ground floor at Dodge City earlier than the Walls or Rath City.

In Lonesome Dove, Gus and Lorie spent the night at the Walls after he rescued her from Blue Duck and the renegade Kiowas.

Yep. They played poker. 🤠

Have you ever been out to the old San Saba Mission ruin outside of Menard? “BOUIE” can still be seen incised in the doorway, the way he spelt it back then.

An enigmatic figure Jim Bowie, renowned for acts af violence yet by all accounts soft-spoken and polite. A man who made and lost fortunes, yet tragically unlucky in love. IIRC spurned by a first fiancé, then engages in what was by all accounts a love match with the lovely Tejana Ursula Veramundi, at 17 twenty years his junior.

One, possibly two young children and an adopted Black child Charles Espalier, possibly in penance for his African slave smuggling heyday, possibly at his young Catholic wife’s urging.

Then while he’s away he loses them to cholera inside of a week, a hideous way to die. Drinks heavily, health declines, but still a natural and formidable leader of men.

On Day 1 at the Alamo, if anyone coulda got the Defenders out of that mess it woulda been Jim Bowie, who had captured the Alamo from the Mexicans in the first place. Him and General Castrillon knew and respected each other personally from that. So Bowie rides out to find out what was happening.

Travis, PO’d that Bowie hadn’t asked him first, fires off that 18 pounder naval cannon that had originally been paid for by a Jewish financier out of Cuba and sent out to knock down the Alamo while there were still Mexicans inside, said cannon hauled out all that way by a uniformed militia company financed by a Jewish merchant out of Nacodoches and New Orleans.

So anyway, Travis kicks off hostilities by firing an eighteen pound cannonball OVER BOWIE’S HEAD while Bowie was holding a White flag of parlay, surrounded by Mexicans, which might offer a clue as to how Travis felt about Bowie.

Generally not talked about amid all the twaddle, Travis wrote a letter later that same day to the Mexican Generals apologizing for the cannon shot, saying he hadn’t realized there were negotiations underway, and were the Mexicans still interested in offering terms?

The post was originally one of the trading houses of Bent bros & St. Vrain


I was very impressed with Carson’s very successful retrograde out of his particular fight. He attributed the success to the stellar abilities of the crews of the two mountain howitzers they had taken along. He stated without those two guns they would have all been goners.

Another interesting bit of trivia from the earlier Carson fight is one of the Comanches ( some stories feel this fellow may have been a deserter living with the indians) had a bugle and had learned to play several bugle calls. This played some part in confusing Carson’s men during the attack. Mixed signals and all.

I’ve been to that Fort, at Menard, Mike, but it was years ago.
Wasn’t Bowie’s lost mine supposed to be somewhere in that vicinity?

Did not know the history of the canon that Travis fired at the Mexican Army.

Better watch out. Our resident Jew haters will now blame the Battle of the Alamo on the Jews. 😜

Presidio San Luis de las Amarillas was the presidio there where present day Menard is located. I assisted with two Texas Tech archaeological field schools there. That where young son did his graduate thesis.

That presidio had its beginnings on the San Gabriel river over NW of Rockdale Tx. When that river was known as the San Xavier. There were three missions there it protected. san Xavier, Candeleria, and San Ildephonso. They were all closed and the presidio and one of the missions were moved to the San Saba

If you want a good read on all these missions and presidios I suggest Herbert Eugene Bolton’s monumental work from 1914, Texas In The Middle Eighteenth Century.

The silver mine was not at Menard. But at a place called Los Almagres. Which is at the base of Riley mountain on Honey Creek just of SH 71 in Llano county. What led the folks to think there were silver deposits there at Manard was the fact that silver ore from Los Almagres was taken to The presidio there on the San Saba and smelted for testing and assaying. The leftover slag found at San Saba led many to believe the mines were close by. But they were actually close to what 75 miles(?) east of there.

I've been to Adobe Walls. Was flown out from Canadian, Tx. by a friend in his bush plane. We landed on the road, read the inscriptions on the monuments and lased the hillside with a rangefinder. Then we stood in awe of being able to touch a place of history.

Once we took off, we flew over the hillside. My friend told me there is also a marker on the hillside where the Indian was supposed to be when shot.

My scratchy memory is that the hit was made on the 3rd or 4th shot. Does anybody know?

Thanks Bob. Seems like I remember reading that somewhere before.

Neal,

There were several Spanish officials that at one time wanted to move the presidio down on the Llano river close to the mine. But the results were not that promising for long term results. . This was in the 1750’s. Also it didn’t jibe with the plans of the Spanish Military or the church. As the presidio was suppose to be a link with future travel to Santa Fe and protect the mission established for the Lipanos.

End result was when the presidio was closed again 1772??? It was moved down on the Rio Grande.

Birdy!!!

Jewish Merchant outta Nacogdoches!!!!!

Wasn’t that Adolphus Sterne?

Campfire Historians never disappoint. Thank you all.

They don't teach this in school.

Well, when i was about 6 years old, about 1955, my uncle explored an old army fort around Menard and i ended up with a dark colored original Army brass button and a small flint knapped hatchet head for a child.

Fort McKavitt.

One of the best preserved US Army posts from the 1850’s in Texas. Even Gen. Sherman thought it was a beautiful spot. My bud who is the historical director there now for the Texas Historical Commission, Cody Mobley, is quite the Collodial artiste!

https://m.facebook.com/RubyAmbrotypes/

I have turkey hunted in that very area many times over the years. Haven’t been back since the fires moved through that area.

I looked forward to it every year and I do miss going there. Sammy Baugh had a ranch not too far away from the area. If I recall correctly, Sammy still holds the NFL record for points scored in a single game. I believe that he scored 6 touchdowns and he also kicked the extra points.

That feat was overshadowed by another event that happened that very same day which was on December 7, 1941.

I believe that most of that is correct.

I do enjoy reading these threads.

Most excellent.

Birdwatcher:

"Quanah was able to slip so quickly and easily into ranching because most Comanches had already been doing that for years. Isa-Tai became a rival politician in tribal elections.

...and that’s how the story ends we’re told, a few grey Federales say, we coulda had them any day, we only let them slip away, out of kindness I suppose...."

Pancho and Lefty by Merle Haggard