The Indian Territory in the Civil War Message Board

Comanches at Fort Arbuckle on Feb 6, 1865

Below is an entry in the "S.P. Newcomb" diary.

"Col. James Bourland, Feb 6, 1865 entry: 11 Comanche Chiefs came to Fort Arbuckle to treat with Bourland, rumor is that one pony would be traded for one white captive."
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This diary entry is intriguing because Bourland and Gen. H.E. McCulloch sent Britt Johnson to trade ponies for captives with the Plains Indians. ..In October 1865, Britt left Weatherford TX with eleven horses (no, well very few, horses were left in Gainesville TX) -- he traded seven horses for seven captives. ..They rode the other four horses home.
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Seven of a 300-page typescript of this 1865 diary are linked to Dr. Roger A. Griffin's website of primary source documents for studying Texas history:

"Links to Some Texas History Primary Source Documents on the Internet."
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Samuel Pearson Newcomb. Diary entries, January 1-February 2, 1865. At the time of these entries, the
author and 119 other persons were living within within a small area of land in Stephens County on the Clear
Fork of the Brazos River. ..They referred to the area as "Fort Davis," although there were no actual
fortifications. ..Newcomb comments upon the danger of Indian raids and the responsibility of the local male
settlers to serve in the state frontier militia plus aspects of the daily lives of the people in the community.
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http://home.austin.rr.com/rgriffin/texhisdocs08k.html ..will link to the webpage:
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"8. Texas in the Civil War: Part K (October 1, 1864-June 2, 1865)"
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Drop down to Jan 1, 1865 to see the "Samuel Pearson Newcomb" paragraph, then click on "Link to
document" that will take you to:
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http://www.bourlandcivilwar.com/Diary1865.htm
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In my 1,022-page book, I have indexed the Jan 1, 1865 to Dec 31, 1865 part of the "S.P. Newcomb" diary
that I put onto two pages. This diary is significant because it ties Fort Davis of Stephens County TX to:

1) Col. James Bourland's meeting with 11 Comanche chiefs at Fort Arbuckle, Feb 6, 1865 entry.

2) Llano County and San Saba County TX residents

3) trek to Parker County TX to get breadstuffs, the nearest wheat fields and mills. It took 4-6 weeks for a
teamster with oxen-team wagon to make the trip. Almost every week a wagon was leaving for breadstuffs,
and arriving with full wagons.
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Since S.P. Newcomb was age 24 when he kept this diary, he called most of the men "Mister", but I
identified most of the men because they were mentioned in my 240 militia listings of North Texas.
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http://www.bourlandcivilwar.com/Diary1865.htm
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Thank you Dr. Roger Griffin of Austin Community College of Austin TX. This website is a blessing for
historians.
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Patti, prochette@Juno.com