Many of the men who were ever ready to meet the Indians in deadly conflict are now gathered to their fathers. Some of them yet live. Among these is Leroy W. Trimble. He lived in Karnes county, at the ranch of his father. The elder Trimble bought cattle on the Leona river, about sixty miles from San Antonio. Late in June, 1865, Leroy Trimble, Daniel Williams and his cousin L. P. Williams and brother J. H. Williams, William English, and Sam W. Trimble left San Antonio to visit Leona river. They stopped on Leona river, at the ranch of Capt. Levi English. They contemplated going to the ranch of Edward Burleson on the fourth of July, to have a dance. This Burleson was a nephew of the elder General Burleson. The young men were gathering horses for the ladies to ride, when a runner came in and spread the news that Indians had crossed from Mexico and had attacked Burleson, but he had escaped. They got his hat and a horse staked about forty yards from his house.
This report changed the program. Everything possible was done to meet the savages. Capt. Levi English assumed the leadership. He gathered all the men he could. Many of them could not procure horses. They were left to protect the women and children, at different houses. At the instance of Captain English, Leroy Trimble and brother remained at his house.
About an hour after the departure of English the horses came to the house running. A gate was opened and they entered a lot. An Indian came within speaking distance, and ordered that the horses be turned out of the lot. Leroy Trimble yelled back to the Indians: “If you wish the horses to be turned out, come and turn them out yourselves.”
His brother had a gun without a hammer. He carried a small hammer in his hand to discharge the gun by striking the cap. He was anxious to fire, but was induced not to do so. There were seven Indians in sight, and the danger was a charge upon the house, and a certain destruction of thirty women and children.
Captain English moved from Burleson's ranch with the following men: Edward Burleson, Daniel Williams, B. Oden, Bud English, W. C. Daugherty, John Berry, William Bell, Frank Williams, Alford Franks, George Daugherty — eleven in all. They took the trail near Burleson's house. They had been gone about one hour and a half. Captain English and John Berry were the trailers, and they were proficients in that business. The Indians had proceeded down the Frio river. About 3 o'clock in the evening they came in sight of the Indians, going towards the sun in order to baffle the sight of the white men. They were moving in single file. The Texians counted eighteen horses. Believing this to be the number of Indians, Captain English ordered a charge, which was gallantly made. When the whites reached the Indians they found every horse carrying double, and thirty-six Kickapoo Indians. The Texians came close to their enemies, dismounted, and began fighting. The Indians formed a half-moon and charged. The Texians were too brave to fall back, but fought with desperate courage. The Indians recoiled, and the Texians charged them. In this manner the contest continued for an hour and a half. Finally Edward Burleson killed the chief and the horse he was riding, which belonged to Miss English, now Mrs. Reuben Bell. The loss of their chief dispirited the Kickapoos, and they withdrew. The Texians moved off unmolested.
The loss of the whites were three killed—Daniel Williams, Dean Oden, and Bud English. Captain English had just cautioned him to keep moving, and give the Indians no chance to draw a long sight on him. Immediately after the caution young English was a corpse. He was a young man of much promise and undoubted bravery.
The wounded were: Captain English, Edward Burleson, W. C. Daugherty, George Daugherty, William Bell. John Berry had two arrows shot through his leather leggings into his horse. He was unable to dismount until after the arrows were extracted. He was a man who never declined to take part in a fight. At the end of the battle there were only three Texians unwounded.
The next day Captain Williams of San Miguel came with ten or twelve men. Our force amounted to twenty-one men, and we followed the trail of the Indians. They had camped in a ravine in a dense thicket, and Captain Williams advised us not to attack them; as they would have greatly the advantage.
On July 5th, Judge Randolph, of Austin, Treasurer of Texas, came along. We told him of the men wounded the day before, and he allowed us the use of his ambulance to haul them to Burleson's ranch.
In order to ascertain the exact loss of the Kickapoos, Leroy W. Trimble went to Santa Rosa, Mexico. He there learned that in the fight of July 4, 1865, the Indians lost six killed and thirteen wounded. The Kickapoos had no idea Trimble knew anything of the affair.
How to cite:
Ford, John S., "FIGHT ON THE FRIO, JULY 4, 1865 ", Volume 001, Number 2, Southwestern Historical Quarterly Online, Page 118 - 120. http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/publications/journals/shq/online/v001/n2/article_8.html
[Accessed Mon Dec 1 18:44:36 CST 2008]
