Interesting Facts in the Settlement of Tarrant County

When leaving his M. S. with me, Mr. Beeman said, "I leave this in your charge as a legacy to my children. I have nothing else for them but a father's blessing. If they are worth anything publish them. You will use your own judgement."

I have not had time to examine these papers closely, but in skimming through I find some points of fact in the history of Tarrant County that have never been published. The MS is headed "A partial history of the life of James J. Beeman," and was written during the later years of his useful life, at those odd moments when after the God of day had sunk to rest, leaving the rosy golden twilight of our western hills, that time when memory recalls the sweet or the sad of our lives, the good or the evil deeds that we have done. Back to this time would he go and then with one hand clasped in the one of hers who had shared all of his toils and ease, who had been the soul of his soul, he would with the other write the recollections of those days that tried men's souls and made women angels. The manuscript is written waveringly, yet clear and distinct,—it shows that the hand though weak, the heart and the brain were warm and urged the writer on.

James J. Beeman was born in Illinois on the 21st of December, 1816, at the head of the American bottom, in Madison county, about three miles below the city of Alton. When quite young his father removed to Green County where he was raised. In 1836 he was married to Sarah Crawford and by her had three children. He left Illinois in 1840 in company of his brother, John Beeman and family, and his nephew, J. S. Beeman and family, crossing the boundary line of the United States and Texas on the 8th of December of the same year. They located first in Bowie County on what was known as the Sterling Smith farm about three miles east of the Dolby Springs. In the spring of '41 the Indians raided the upper counties and a company was raised to go in pursuit of them. Brig. General E. H. Tarrant commanding the volunteers of the brigade district composed of Cass, Bowie, Red River, Lamar and Fannin counties with their territories headed the expedition. They came upon an Indian village on Village Creek in what is now Tarrant County, and attacked the inhabitants. In the fight Col. John B. Denton was killed and Captain Henry Stout wounded. Mr. Beeman does not say how the fight terminated but from later remarks I would infer they were worsted. After the fight the company returned to the settlements carrying the dead body of Col. Denton with them, burying it on Denton Creek at which place he rested until some six years ago.

A short while after the return of the expedition, Gen. Tarrant issued orders for the raising of some 400 volunteers to go out on the head waters of the Trinity River against the Indians. Each of the counties in the district were to furnish a certain number of men, organize and elect their company officers and to meet at Fort English [sic] in Fannin County on July 15th, 1841. The men were to furnish their own horses, guns, ammunition and rations. The Bowie company, of which Mr. Beeman was a member, met at the town of De Kalb on July 5th and elected David P. Key, Captain and Alexander Booth, Orderly Sergeant. I give the following in his own language, I cannot improve it, it is more interesting as written.

"I do not now remember the names of the other officers of our company. We then disbanded to meet at Fort English on the 15th where we elected Battallion officers of whom I deem it unimportant to mention only that Gen. Tarrant was commander-in-chief and Jonathan Bird was Sergeant Major. We immediately were on the march for the Indian village creek. When we got there the Indians had left. We found a good deal of sign as they would come back for such of the crops that were still growing, there was corn, pumpkins and beans. Perhaps I ought now to relate an incident that occurred before we left English which is as follows. An old man living near English named Cox had a little boy and a grandson near the same size, who were in the habit of both mounting a pony and drive the cows up of evenings. It was late the evening before we started on the march that the boys were sent for the cows as usual and while out the Indians came on them and captured them and pony and carried them off. They were ransomed in the fall of same year and told that the Indians kept far enough ahead of us as to be out of danger and watched our movements. They told the boys that in case of an attack from us they would kill them. Poor little fellows, they suffered a great deal as the Indians whipped them severely. I dare say if still living they have the marks on their backs toi this time December the 1st 1886.

"On our arrival in the village we encamped in their fields and helped ourselves to the corn, beans, &c. One of our men made a grater out of an old coffee pot on which we grated meal and baked bread—the first bread I had [illegible] for a good while. We called it Bready as Bread was not good enough name. Up to this time our rations consisted in cold flour bread, bacon and coffee." They waited three or four days for Gen. Tom I. Smith, but as he did not arrive at the appointed time, Gen. Tarrant gave orders to move forward. On the first day while they were nooning on Sycamore creek, two miles east of Fort Worth, the horses stampeded and went back to the village. The squad sent after them found General Smith occupying the ground Gen. Tarrant had vacated that morning. The squad rounded up the horses and drove them [illegible] their camp, bearing with [illegible] message from Gen. Smith to [illegible] asking to see him. After the consultation, procuring several head of beef cattle, Gen. Tarrant returned to his command and continued the march up the West Fork.

"On the next day we stopped in a grove to noon and found a pile of wood ready for the fire. This the little boys, afterwards, said they had prepared and the Indian spies came in and reported our coming whereupon they left in haste. The brothers of the boys put fire to the pile and cooked their dinner." What a tale could be drawn from this one incident! What must have been the feeling of those captive boys, knowing their rescuers, their kinspeople were so near. And yet they must go on, driven by the lash and tortured almost beyond endurance. Spartan youths were weaklings compared to those who gave their blood, their lives, their all to the forming of our grand state. Texas! Texas veteran! proudest name in all history!

The march was continued up West Fork till Clear Fork was reached. They then followed this to the "upper cross timbers" where they found a large spring. "here, some time before Cook [sic] had camped on his way to Santa Fe, N. M. This spring is where Cartersville in Parker county is now located. Not finding the Indians as expected, we lay by and sent out spies. When they came back reported no Indians." By this time their supplies were nearly exhausted, and their cattle dying with the murrain, the were compelled to return to the settlements. He continues and tells how Bird's Fort was established:

"We had enlisted for three months service, the time not being out when we got home, Major Jonathan Bird got permission from General Tarrant to raise a company out of the furloughed soldiers and go back to West Fork and build a fort near the village. He raised the company and as I had seen the country my brother took my place. They went, and built the fort on the north side of West Fork about 7 or 8 miles from the village and about the same distance below Birdville. The fort was named BIRD'S FORT for the Major." Upon the completion of the fort his brother returned to Bowie county where they were living and after gathering their crops he with his family his brother and nephew and families, A. H. Webb, Soloman Silkwood, Henry Hahn and their families together with some few single men moved to Bird's Fort and built themselves, for these times, comfortable houses. Then follows the account of their first tragedy:

"On Christmas day 1841 Capt. Webb, Soloman Silkwood and W. H. Rattan left the fort and went over on Elm Fork to cut another road below the mouth of Denton creek, so as to avoid the crossing both streams, which the present road did. They got on Elm Fork the same day they left the fort and camped on the opposite side. That night it snowed and continued snowing the next day and was very cloudy. This was the 26th day of December '41. While going up the river looking for a suitable place to make a ford, they came upon a bear track and found it had went up a big cottonwood tree and had not come down. They concluded they would cut the tree down and have a bear fight with the dogs they had with them. They began chopping the tree. Then thinking it dinner time they eat their dinners. After dinner Hamps, as we called him, [W. H. Rattan] went to chopping but did not hit many licks until the Indians who were watching them shot three times at them, the first killing Hamps. After consulting they [Webb and Silkwood] decided to leave as Hamps was now dead, but before starting Silkwood shot at what he took to be an Indian's head. This ended the fight and they made their way to the fort without any more trouble with the Indians. On their arrival about 10 o'clock in the night they imposed the task of informing his wife, on me, of the fate of Hamps. It was hard, but I went in the house where she and my wife were both talking and laughing. I said, 'Polly give me your boy,' and she said I had bad news to tell her. She says, 'What is it?' I said Webb and Silkwood had come back and said the Indians had killed Hamp. It was so shocking it seemed that she would go crazy. Shocking news indeed."

The next day a detail composed of John S. Beeman, Henry Hahn and _______ Heath was sent out to meet the wagons that had gone to the settlement for provisions and to bring back the body of Rattan. It was nine days from the time they left the Fort until they returned with the body for burial. Rattan had a faithful dog. "When the men found him he was guarded by his dog. He had stayed by him and kept the buzzards off. They said that the dog was frantic, he was so proud to see them. All the other dogs left and went back to the fort. Poor old Watch [Rattan's dog] died next summer in Lamar county near Paris and Polly with the help of Dow Brown, Hamp's little nephew, dug a grave and buried old Watch as a last rite for the faithfulness of so good a dog."

They were notified in March 1842 that the Congress of Texas had granted them "six miles square embracing the Fort, but General Sam Houston vetoed the act."

He follows now with the settling of the city of Dallas and Dallas and Lamar counties, giving many facts in detail not as yet published. These are of historical interest not only to that city and counties but to the whole of Texas and the United States. The MS is interspersed with amusing incidents and little romances.

F. W. DUMBLE