Footprints of Fayette County: Finding An Indian Grave
Part II of II
Footprints Of Fayette
Fayette County is one of the most historic counties in Texas. In this weekly feature from the County Historical Commission, a rotating group of writers looks back at local history.
One sometimes wonders if family stories are true. Researching the history of the Tonkawa Indians who were the most prevalent in this area, I learned that there were still a few renegades from their tribe wandering around Central Texas in the early 1850s searching for food to survive, oftentimes stealing livestock from settlers. They had suffered a devastating loss in numbers from a smallpox epidemic in the 18th century, as well as from their frequent warfare with the Spanish and conflicts with marauding Comanche and Witchita. They grew no crops, owned very few horses and hesitated to hunt bison farther west for fear of encountering the hostile Comanche. A very poor tribe suffering from hunger with only a few left by the early 1850s, they were described as dirty, scantily clad or naked, except in harsh weather, and were highly tattooed or painted.
About the time that Anton, Jr. purchased this property, governmental decisions were being made about the relocation of the Indian tribes in Texas. Some Tonkawa were initially placed on a small reservation on the San Marcos River in the 1840s. Eventually, others were later placed on small reservations on the Brazos River. However, there were still a few rebellious Indians who had escaped being caught and were still roaming around the countryside. The following excerpt from an article on the Tonkawa in the Historic Round Rock Collection published in 1991 explains some of the governmental actions for Indians at that time: “… the Tonkawa and other friendly Indians were moved to reservations on the Brazos River. Some Texans, in the 1850s, argued for putting Indians on reservations because many of them had “to choose between stealing and starving.” Their traditional hunting grounds were gone along with the buffalo, and the increasing white population squeezed Native Americans in Texas into smaller and smaller territories, making conflict inevitable. Crushed between hostile Indians and hostile whites, many governmental officials favored placing the Tonkawa and other peaceful tribes on reservations where food, clothing and protection could be provided for them.
“In practice, Indians seen off the reservations were considered hostile. In 1854, in response to a petition from the citizens of Williamson and three other counties, the governor of Texas, E. M. Pease, ordered Texans to promptly “turn out and punish” the Tonkawa “without waiting for a call from the executive.” In February of that year, the Texas legislature created three Indian reserves and the Department of Indian Affairs began to resettle Native Americans on them.
“The presence of these tribes soon antagonized the local settlers, who charged that the reservation Indians were stealing from their communities (Hasskarl 224-225). It is unclear whether this was the case or whether they were blamed for the actions of other tribes (Webb 166). On August 1, 1859, under military escort, all reservation Indians including the Tonkawa were forced to leave Texas, leaving any of their cattle behind.”
The Alabama-Coushatta tribe was allowed to remain in East Texas, because in 1836, Sam Houston brokered a treaty with the tribes before the Texas War of Independence from Mexico. The agreement provided the title of land between the Neches and Sabine rivers for both tribes to live together in one community in return for assurance the tribes would not side with Mexico. Tribal members served as guides for Houston’s army and provided provisions to feed Texas refugees fleeing from Santa Anna’s army in the Runaway Scrape. All other tribes in Texas were relocated to reservations in Oklahoma.
Since Anton Hoelscher, Jr. was well-read, based on the books that he owned, it is conceivable that he also read local newspapers and was aware of the order by Governor E.M. Pease in 1854, issued in the same month that Anton purchased his 50-acre tract, informing citizens to “turn out and punish” the Tonkawa “without waiting for a call from the executive.” If Anton was startled by a half-naked, dirty, and highly painted or tattooed Indian approaching him, it is understandable that he felt threatened, so he shot him, knowing that the governor “okayed” this drastic action.
It is sad, however, because the Indian may have been peacefully approaching him, intending to only obtain food. However, with the inability to communicate, plus the total disparity in appearance from what Anton, Jr. perceived as normal, a life was lost. It must have been a traumatic experience for Anton, Jr, but he buried the Indian in the Christian tradition of east to west, marked his grave in some way, and passed the story down to his children and subsequent generations. It was exciting to finally validate the 170-year old family story as being entirely true.