Wild Life in the Far West: Being the Personal Adventures of a Border Mountain Man. Captain James Hobbs
30 NEGRO PRISONERS.
their marriages are by consent of the chief; and then women are loyal and obedient, considering their mar- riage vows sacred and binding till death shall part them. The men are also true to their wives, as a general thing, and any breach of good morals is pun- ishable by whipping, and sometimes, where the offense is aggravated, the criminal is cut to pieces with knives. Their notions of virtue and morality are, in some respects, in advance of more civilized com- munities.
About three months after my marriage, six negroes were brought into camp as captives. They had run away from their Cherokee masters, and were trying to reach Mexico when the Comanches picked them up. Five were on horses that were too wretchedly poor for crow-baits, and one negro on foot. When they came into camp under guard, they were so badly scared as to turn ashy pale! Seeing me, they called out, "For God's sake, massa! please don't let 'em kill us!' I promised them they should not be hurt. These negroes were a great curiosity to " Old Wolf," who had never seen one of that race before. He came to me for an explanation. ''What kind of people are these?" said he; "what black 'em for? what swinge hair for?" "Not blacked," I answered; "hair not swinged; born so." This he would not believe till he had rubbed his fingers over their faces, and then examined the ends of them, to the amazement and terror of the poor captives. He also plucked at their wool, in the endeavor to ascertain how it got so kinky. The whole nation flocked to see these human curiosities, and crowded around them, raising uncontrollable terror in the minds of the negroes. When they saw them coming, old "Josh," their leader, cried out, "Now
CAPTIVES RELEASED. 31
they 's gwine to kill us sure! please don't let 'em, massa! Gorra mighty ! Ise afraid of 'em! "
"No," I replied; "they will not hurt you. This is the old chief, a greater general than any in the United States, and what he tells you, you can depend on; and I am his son-in-law." That satisfied them.
On the eighth day after their arrival, "Old Wolf" told them they had rested long enough, and must leave. He gave them buffalo robes to sleep on, a supply of buffalo meat, fresh horses to ride, and an escort of eight Indians; and my wife gave old "Josh" a pair of moccasins, for which he stuttered out many thanks. The negroes seemed to have more confidence in me than in their escort; but I calmed their fears, and they started. Four days afterward, the escort returned, having conducted their charge into the main road to Mexico.
CHAPTER II.
ABOUT two months after the incidents related in the last chapter, I accompanied a war-party of four hundred Comanches down on the Rio Grande, to a place called Monclova, over three hundred miles from where our Comanche nation were encamped. We had a battle with the Mexicans; after surrounding and attacking the town of some two thousand inhabitants, forty or fifty Mexicans were killed and twenty scalps taken. Attending our party, and foremost in this fight, was a young girl of our tribe, selected for her purity, and looked upon by these superstitious war- riors as an angel of good or ill luck. Mounted on a fast horse, she was first in our charge, or in advance (as soldiers say) of the line of battle. She was skilled in the use of the bow and arrow and handling of her horse, and to her boldness and cool daring our success was partially attributed.
We lost four of our warriors. We returned with nine Mexican women and children prisoners, and cap- tured fourteen hundred horses and mules, making a clean sweep of all such animals in that section of country. On our return, we picked up, at the Nueces river, a youth of seventeen years, named Nathan Martin. He was out hunting for runaway stock, and, being discovered by some of our party, was pursued and brought in, terribly frightened. On finding that I could speak English, he became more calm, and, in answer to my questions, stated that he was from San
FUNERAL CEREMONIES. 33
Antonio, Texas. I instantly warned him not to let that be known, for our tribe hated the Texans, and would be sure to show him no mercy, if they knew he was from Texas. I told him how to represent to them that he was from the same place I was, and to show no signs of fear, as they would be much more likely to spare him, if he appeared brave. He followed my advice, and was treated kindly by the tribe during his stay with them.
This was one hundred miles north of the scene of our battle, and to this place the four dead warriors were brought, that their remains might be laid to rest within the boundaries of their own nation. The funeral ceremonies hindered us here half a day. The departed were wrapped in buffalo robes, and placed on scaffolds made in trees as high as we could go. Their bows and arrows were laid beside them, buffalo meat put under their heads, and finally their horses were killed at the foot of the trees. Then the warriors, falling on their knees, with hands uplifted and joined, with eyes raised toward the sun (which is their God, or Great Spirit), murmured in low tones their prayers to the sun, to take the bodies of their departed friends up to his bosom, and happily revive them in the heavenly hunt- ing-grounds. This is the best idea they have of any thing spiritual. They believe their departed brother, with his bow and arrows, sitting astride the horse at the foot of the tree, will ascend to the sun, bearing the provisions placed under his head, which is thought sufficient to last him through his upward journey, at the end of which he is expected to find plenty. After the lapse of a hundred years, he will return to his nation, with the same bow and arrows, riding the same horse! All their dead,—men. women, and
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34 REPORT OF WAR-PARTY.
children,—after meeting friends in the sun and enjoy, ing happiness there, must return at the end of a hundred years, and thus keep up the population and power of the tribe. All the Comanches worship the sun, morning and evening. At sunrise the men, on their knees, with their faces toward the sun, hands elevated and joined, pray for health and prosperity in hunting. At sunset the women pray in the same manner for the same blessings. This was the daily custom year after year, and probably is continued to this day.
Upon reaching our head-quarters, the chief, my brother-in-law (the commander of the war-parties), gave orders for the men to assemble at his father's tent, "Old Wolf's" lodge, the next morning, for the purpose of making our report, as well as to have a jollification over the scalps and prisoners we had cap- tured. Our expedition had occupied several months, being delayed by hunting and branch raids in different directions. Our report to "Old Wolf was made somewhat as follows; All of the war-party sat in a circle in front of the chief's tent, so that the door of the tent was within the line of the circle." Wolf sat in the doorway on a buffalo robe, and by his side his son, the war-chief. The medicine pipe passed around for good luck, and then, in a loud voice, so that all the four hundred warriors could hear it, every event was narrated by the war-chief, from the setting out of the party till its return. During this narration there was the most profound silence. When he con- cluded he asked the warriors if he had stated the events correctly. These reports are meant to be very accurate, but, if any mistake is made, the warriors correct it
SURGERY. 35
After this ceremony was ended, three amputations were made by the chief's surgeon. Two of our war- party had each a leg shattered and one an arm. They were brought back to camp from the scene of our late tight on buffalo robes, bolstered up on horses that were led by others, and must have endured much suffering, but nothing compared to the final amputation, which was barbarous. The old surgeon, with a butcher-knife and a saw made of a piece of hoop-iron, cut off the limbs, seared the stumps with a hot iron, and bound over them a poultice made of a pulverized bark, some- what resembling oak or slippery elm, which they always carry with them. The victims of these rough operations each held a bullet in his teeth, convulsively hugged one of the Indians holding him, and gave vent to some slight groans, but, on the whole, bore it man- fully. They all recovered in due time. After the surgical operation was over, there was a general ca- rousal over the scalps, and a council held to make a proper disposition of our prisoners. The women and children captured were finally disposed of by being adopted in various lodges through the tribe.