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| Plum Creek Comanche Spoilers by Howard Terpning shows warriors after the Linnville raid. |
Considering the year—1840—and the Puritan
ethics of America and Texas at that time, it is not a mystery that
Pochanaquarhip, which means “an erection that won’t go down,” was mis-translated
by the press. After all, many
women could read, and some of them would surely read about that Comanche’s
peculiar condition. In the eyes of the
men who reported the news, it was better that some things not be shared with
women-folk, especially vulgar stories about an Indian chief. So far as anyone knew, no white man suffered
from such an affliction, and how it would be looked upon among the female
population was a cause for concern. What
if women liked the idea? A savage,
walking around with a petrified member, was just better not talked about in
mixed company.
The media, not much changed in almost 180 years, decided to protect the
public. They chose to ignore the facts,
ignore the Comanche language, and ignore the perpetual woody. For noble reasons based upon protection of
its readers, the press called the chief “Buffalo Hump.”
Buffalo Hump was described by a German scientist, Ferdinand Roemer, in
1847 as follows: “The pure unadulterated
picture of a North American Indian, who, unlike the rest of his tribe, scorned
every form of European dress. His body
naked, a buffalo robe around his loins, brass rings on his arms, a string of
beads around his neck, and with his long, coarse black hair hanging down, he
sat there with the serious facial expression of a North American Indian which
seems to be apathetic to the European.
He attracted our special attention because he had distinguished himself
through great daring and bravery in expeditions against the Texas frontier
which he had engaged in times past.”
The description of a Comanche War Chief is likely to be more nearly
accurate when it comes from a disinterested third party, such as a European
scientist. It was difficult for a Texan
to be objective when describing a cruel and vicious enemy. Dr. Roemer noted that Buffalo Hump shunned
all type of European dress. This must
have included belts and suspenders, which were unnecessary for him. To protect his loins from exposure, Pochanaquarhip
had something to hang that buffalo robe on when he walked around. As the German scientist inferred, the only
thing that hung down was the chief’s coarse black hair and a string of beads around his neck.
Beginning immediately after the Council House Fight, Buffalo Hump
travelled among the Comanche tribes, telling of the murder of their brothers
during council under the flag of truce, and asking the tribes to join him in a
quest for revenge. Being well-respected
and eloquent, he had no trouble getting volunteers and, by midsummer, was ready
to move against the hated Anglos.
In early August, over 500 mounted warriors, accompanied by at
least that many squaws and children, moved out of the Llano Estacado and
followed the Guadalupe River Valley from the vicinity of present-day Kerrville into
the heart of the Republic of Texas. Pochanaquarhip brought squaws and young
people to do the work—a Comanche brave could not be expected to gather
firewood, set up camp, or cook meals.
The Indians purposely avoided Waterloo (Austin) and San Antonio. It was foolish to attack cities that had army
garrisons and newly formed Texas Ranger Companies for protection. Buffalo Hump wanted to strike at the soft
underbelly of the Republic. His scouts
had been busy for weeks, gathering information and choosing routes. He eased his warriors around Gonzales and
moved toward Victoria.
Moving over a thousand Indians through 1840 Texas without being
discovered was not possible. A troop of
fifteen Rangers struck the trail of the Comanche and followed, but there were
too many Indians to attack. The Rangers
stayed close and sent out scouts to warn the citizens and gather help. The
warnings didn’t get to Victoria in time.
On August 6, 1840, the citizens of Victoria were surprised when they
looked across Spring Creek and 600 mounted Comanche warriors stared
back at them. The Comanche, having
already killed several slaves and farmers working in the nearby fields, charged
into town. Townspeople barricaded
themselves inside their homes and fired at the Indians from upstairs
windows. Buffalo Hump’s braves bolted
back and forth in the streets, setting fires and killing anyone they
caught outside. Never willing to attack
a fortified position, the Comanche soon tired of the sport and withdrew, taking
1,500 horses with them.
After noon on August 7, the Comanche gathered their spoils and headed
toward Linnville, at that time the second largest port in Texas. They contented themselves by killing a few
isolated farm workers and some freight haulers, then spent the night camped on
what is now called Placedo Creek, about twelve miles from Linnville. Early on
August 8, they went into town.
Buffalo Hump’s scouts had done a good job. The town of Linnville was the main port where
goods from New Orleans and points east were off-loaded to be freighted overland
to San Antonio. At the time of the raid,
over $300,000.00 worth of merchandise, bound for markets in San Antonio and
Austin, was stored in the warehouses of Linnville. The people of Linnville heard that the
Indians were coming, but refused to believe it.
Even when Comanche appeared on the outskirts of town, they were thought
to be Mexican horse traders.
Comanche surrounded the town and began to kill people and plunder
warehouses. The local citizens fled to
the sea, and stayed out of range on small boats while they watched their homes
burn. Indians raided the storage
buildings, delighted with their discoveries.
Squaws and children squealed with pleasure as they gathered goods and
tied them on pack mules. A storehouse of
dry goods bound for a San Antonio merchant was discovered and emptied, along
with a safe full of silver bullion.
Braves in top hats, carrying parasols, smoking cigars and drinking
whiskey, laughed and played like school boys as they rode up and down the streets dragging feather mattresses and bolts of
brightly colored cloth behind their ponies.
All the pack mules in town were loaded with merchandise, all the horses
and mules were gathered into one herd, and all other livestock was penned and slaughtered. When the braves emptied a warehouse, they
torched it. The residents of Linnville
watched impotently as their city was systematically sacked and burned.
When the Indians crossed the bayou to camp for
the night, nothing of value remained. Fields
around town appeared to be covered with new fallen snow, but it was white feathers
from mattresses found in the warehouses, slit open, and dragged for sport. Townspeople
returned to shore after the Indians left.
During the next few months, the weary citizens relocated to Port Lavaca,
three-and-a-half miles south, and Linnville ceased to exist.
Buffalo Hump and his braves moved out, slowed by 3,000 horses and dozens
of unmanageable pack mules loaded with plunder. Texas Rangers gathered,
followed, and waited for an opportunity to attack.
To be continued…..
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