AC. They Tied Her To The Ground And Outraged Her In The Most Brutal Manner: The Legion Valley Massacre

They Tied Her To The Ground And Outraged Her In The Most Brutal Manner: The Legion Valley Massacre

Llano County Texas, 1868. This county in the Texas Hill Country west of Austin is home to Enchanted Rock. Where in the fall of 1841, Texas Ranger Jack Hays had used his Colt Patterson revolver to single-handedly kill a large body of Comanche warriors while he hid himself in a crevice. 9 mi west of here stands a historical marker on State Highway 16 that commemorates this heroic stand.

However, eventually Jack Hays left Texas and joined the migration to California in 1849, where he became sheriff of San Francisco County. And beginning in 1859, as federal troops pulled back from their West Texas outpost before the Civil War, the Comanches would once again come down from New Mexico, southern Colorado, and the Texas Panhandle and began their barbaric raids and depredations on the settlers of Llano County.

Today we will hear about several raids on the citizens of Legion Valley, which is just west of the marker commemorating Jack Hays’s heroic stand, and just south of the town of Llano. We will first hear about a few small raids that occurred between 1859 and 1865. And then we will hear about the Legion Valley Massacre, which occurred in 1868.

We will be reading from this book, Indian Depredations in Texas. This book was published by J.W. Wilbarger all the way back in 1889. As you will see, this raid was especially disturbing because it occurred on a February day when most of the men of the Legion Valley settlements had driven their hogs to the market in Austin, and four young women and their children were gathered alone in a single house.

So here’s the story of what happened to them when a group of 10 to 15 Comanches paid them a visit. Reverend Jonas Dancer resided in Llano County. The author first became acquainted with him in Travis County, where he lived in the year 1850. Some 2 years later, attracted by the mineral resources of Llano, he moved to that county.

At the time Mr. Dancer moved into Llano, there was but one other American settler in that county. After prospecting a couple of years, Mr. Dancer finally settled in a romantic little spot called Honey Creek Cove. Llano County has long since been celebrated for its mineral resources, mountain scenery, fertile valleys, rippling streams, and nutritious grasses.

The spot selected by Mr. Dancer was one of the most picturesque in the county. Here game of all kinds and wild honey abounded in the greatest quantity. All of these combined attractions soon drew others to that section, and it was not long until the sound of the axe and hammer of the pioneer could be heard in many directions as the settlers began to construct their rude log cabins. Mr.

Dancer was one of the Methodist creed, and he soon succeeded in building up quite a large church. He was the first man to introduce that blessed gospel in that wilderness country. For several years these hardy pioneers lived in peace and happiness, pursuing their various avocations, but their dark day came at last.

On the 23rd day of May, 1859, if we have not been misinformed, Mr. Dancer and others were to meet at a certain point to cut out a new road from Llano to the city of Austin. Always punctual in his appointments, Mr. Dancer, with tools in hand, repaired to the spot. From some cause, the others failed to come. Dancer had a couple of horses, which he hobbled, and thinking the balance of the party would soon arrive, he began work by himself.

Whilst thus engaged, he was attacked by a party of five or six Indians. Being unarmed, Dancer fled to a deep ravine, closely pursued by the savages, who it seems attempted to rope him but failed. Dancer having reached the bed of the ravine, the Indians rushed up the bluffs overlooking the same and poured a volley of arrows into the body of the unfortunate man.

Finally overcome with loss of blood from his wounds, he walked around in front of a projecting rock in the bluff, deliberately sat down on a rock bench, and there expired. The Indians then came upon him, scalped him, and otherwise mutilated his body. Such was the condition in which the body was found the following day by a searching party, who delivered it to his sorrowing widow and now fatherless children.

The loss of this good man, who was looked upon as the father of the county, spread profound grief throughout that section. As a minister of the gospel, he was faithful to his charge. As a Christian, he was faithful to duty. And as a neighbor, he was kind and obliging. The frontier suffered an irreparable loss in his death.

In May 1862, Mr. Denyer went unarmed to look for stock. When half a mile from home, a party of Indians attacked him. He fled, the Indians pursuing him and shooting at him. None of the arrows brought him down, and as he neared home, he called to his family. Mrs. Denyer ran to him with his gun.

As she did so, the Indians fled. Denyer was wounded fatally and died the next day. A wife and several children mourned his loss. In the fall of 1863, Harrison Miller, who had a sheep ranch on a small stream in Llano County, while eating dinner at his house, was suddenly surrounded by a party of Indians. And the first intimation he had of their presence was the whizzing of arrows through the door and windows.

Springing up quickly, Miller seized his shotgun, which he presented, and in this way kept the Indians at bay. Watching his opportunity when all the Indians had congregated in front of the door, Miller sprang out of a back window, ran down the bluff into a little creek, and made his escape. After plundering the house, the Indians left, and within about 1 mile came upon Barzillai Paine, an old man some 60 years of age, who also had a sheep ranch.

Paine had gone out in search of his flock, which was being herded by a black boy, and after finding it sent the boy to the house. The boy had scarcely gotten out of sight when he heard the firing of guns, and soon thereafter heard the old man cry out, “You can have me now.” It was the same party, we believe, who killed Beardie Hall in San Saba County.

These Indians, after killing Paine, were pursued, overtaken, and one Indian was killed, and the balance dispersed. Soon afterwards, the whites came across a lone Indian by himself, mounted upon a superb horse. The defiant rascal would canter along ahead of them, shaking his bow and lance, slapping his thighs, and making all manner of contemptuous gestures.

At first, the Texans thought he was leading them into an ambuscade, but finally concluded to give him a chase. In going over the rough ground, the Indian’s horse disabled himself in some way, whereupon the Texans rushed upon the Indian and slew him. Near the line of Gillespie and Llano Counties, but in the latter, lived Mrs.

Martha Youngblood, a widow with several children. In January 1865, while two of her children, a boy about 6 years old and a girl of four, were playing some distance from the house, a party of Indians crawled up near them, killed the boy, and proceeded to the house. Mrs. Youngblood, seeing them coming, barred the doors.

Denying the Indians admittance, they tore off a plank from the walls of the room. The little girl who had followed the Indians unobserved to the house was standing near. The Indians attempted to rush in, but were met by the muzzle of a gun in the hands of Mrs. Youngblood. This caused them to fall back, and the little girl slipped in through the aperture made by the Indians.

Thus, through the bravery of this lady was her own life and that of her children saved. A period of 3 years elapses, during which time, no doubt, many murders occurred, but we have no accounts of them. The last we have to record is the bloodiest tragedy ever enacted in Llano County. The name of Matilda S.

Friend, even to this day, produces a thrill of horror in the breast of those who are familiar with the history of the sad events which we are about to relate. The Reverend Jonas Dancer, whose cruel death has been recorded in the preceding pages, was the father of the ill-fated woman who, upon arriving at the age of womanhood, had married John S. Friend.

The home of Mrs. Friend was situated in Legion Valley, some 15 mi south of Llano, a small town containing at that time about 100 inhabitants. Legion Valley is surrounded on all sides by mountains, with a beautiful Hond Creek meandering through it, finally emptying into the Sandy, a tributary of the Colorado River.

On the 5th of February, 1868, while Mrs. Friend, in company with two or three ladies and a lot of children, were at the cow pen, situated about 100 yd distant from her house, they were startled at the sight of some 15 Indians passing by. The women, with the children, fled to the house and barred the door. The Indians, upon discovering that there was no man about the premises, turned their course towards the house also.

At the time the attack was made upon the house, accounts vary as to the number of inmates, one placing it at six and two at eight. From them all, we will try to give what seems to be the most reliable data. The names of the unfortunate inmates, as near as we can ascertain, are as follows: Mrs. Friend, Mrs.

Samantha Johnson, Mrs. Rebecca Johnson, Miss Amanda Townsley, sister of one of the Mrs. Johnsons, a little girl named Melinda Cordal, Lee Temple Friend, stepson of Mrs. Friend, a mere lad about eight years old, and two baby children, one being the child of Rebecca, and the other of Samantha Johnson. The house was made of pickets, and when the Indians found that the door had been barred, they pulled out a couple of pickets.

The only resistance made was by Mrs. Friend, who insisted upon the other ladies joining her in the defense, but they counseled conservatism, thinking probably the Indians would not harm them if they submitted quietly. There were two guns in the house, and Mrs. Friend, seeing an Indian about to enter through the aperture made by pulling out the pickets, seized one of the weapons and attempted to shoot, but the gun was wrested from her hands by an Indian buck, who doubtless would have shot her had not another Indian, possibly fearing an alarm being given

from the reports of the gun, snatched the gun from his hands. The Indian who attempted to shoot was then struck by Mrs. Friend with a smoothing iron, which came near knocking him down. He recovered himself, drew an arrow from his quiver, and shot Mrs. Friend in the side, the arrow striking a rib, glanced around to the breastbone, and came out on the opposite side.

A second arrow passed through her arm, while the third struck her in the breast. After receiving the third wound, being unable to make further resistance, she calmly took her seat upon a bed, and leaned her head against a bedpost. Thinking she was dead, one of the barbarous wretches commenced scalping her.

This gave her so much pain she threw up her hand and caught hold of the knife. The Indian in pulling the knife through her hand cut it severely. In attempting to seize the knife the second time, the savage dealt her three blows, which completely disabled her. The brute then finished the operation of scalping her at his leisure and left the poor woman for dead.

One of these devils incarnate, thinking there was possibly life remaining in his victim, returned and gave the arrow sticking in her breast several severe jerks backward and forward to see if she would flinch. Mrs. Friend, seeing the Indian returning, placed herself in exactly the same position she was while she was being scalped and remained as if lifeless during all this painful torture.

Satisfying himself that she was dead, the Indian left. The ladies and children who were in the house when the attack was made were all taken prisoners. Hearing their departing cries, Mrs. Friend arose and attempted to walk to the window, but was so weak from loss of blood that she was unable to stand.

However, she managed to crawl to an opening in the side of the house, through which with a sorrowful heart she took the last look at her captured friends. When the Indians were out of sight, Mrs. Friend bound a cloth over her head and wounded as she was went out and gathered up what few things the Indians had left and put them back in the house and shut the door.

She then started on foot for a neighbor’s house, a Mr. Bradford’s, about a mile and a half distance. It was about sunset when she started and she reached there about 8:00. On her way, she slaked her thirst with snow which had fallen that day sufficiently to cover the ground. As she approached the house, her presence was made known to the family by the fierce barking of the dogs.

Bradford came out of the house and met her. A terrible sight she was, wounded, scalped, and bleeding. Not knowing who it was in the dark, Bradford ran back into the house. She called to him, told him who she was, and he then came to her relief. He took her in, and at her request, he proceeded to extract the arrows from her body.

Bradford and all his family then fled from the house, fearing that the Indians would attack it, and left Mrs. Friend all night alone, not even taking time to dress her wounds or remove her bloody clothes. >> [snorts] >> They merely made a little fire, set a bucket of water by her, and left the poor woman by herself, 2 miles from any other house.

About 8:00 next morning, two widow ladies came to her relief. The cloth on her head had dried and stuck so fast to the wounds that it could only be removed by the use of hot water. Her whole body was so swollen from her wounds that it was with great difficulty her clothes were taken off. These benevolent ladies did all they could for her relief, but it was nearly 8:00 in the evening before a physician arrived to dress her wounds.

It was nearly a year before Mrs. Friend recovered, but she finally got well, and when heard from last, we have been informed, was living in the state of Kansas. Let us now return to the scene of the bloody massacre and follow the unfortunate prisoners. During the night of the same day, a runner arrived in the town of Llano announcing the sad tragedy.

Early the next morning, 10 or 12 citizens were in the saddle and off for Legion Valley. Arriving upon the ground, it was ascertained that the Indians had gone off in a southerly direction. When about 1 mile and a half from the house, says Mr. Loose, now of Burnet County, but then a resident of Llano, and whose accounts of the pursuit we substantially adopt, we found on a large rock, 6 or 8 feet high, Mrs.

Johnson’s babe, with its brains knocked out. 4 miles further on the trail, on top of a mountain, we found where they had stopped, built a fire, roasted their meats, and from impressions on the ground, we judged that they had stopped here for a while. At this place, a trail or footpath was discovered leading out from the camp to a thicket about 100 yards distance.

Following the trail to this point, we found the mangled body of Mrs. Johnson’s 18-year-old sister. She had been tied down upon the ground, which was covered with snow, and from all appearances had been outraged in the most brutal manner. She was then killed and her body mutilated almost beyond recognition. Continuing the pursuit some 3 miles further off the mountains and down into the valley, not far from the J.C.

Talley place, we found the body of Mrs. Johnson stripped of nearly all her clothing and the body nearly eaten up by the hogs. At this point, our party divided, a portion continuing the pursuit while the balance remained behind bury the dead. I with six or seven others pursued the trail.

Among those whose names I can now recall were George Miller, Orville Oatman, and Frank Holden. The names of the others I do not now remember. The Indians, after winding through the mountains and collecting about 30 head of horses, turned due west. We followed them 5 days, often traveling in the nights when the trail could be seen. From the little tracks we had seen around the water holes on the trail, we knew that the Red Devils had the 8-year-old son of Mrs.

Friend, and we continued the pursuit near Devil’s River and were but a short distance behind them when for want of food, our horses gave out and left us a foot. In the accounts given us by Mr. Luce, he says that there were three women and three children in the house when the attack was made. We think it more than likely that there were seven or eight, as another account we we states that the little girl, Melinda Cordell, was carried off a captive with Mrs.

Friend’s little boy, remained a captive about 8 months when she was recovered by a body of United States Dragoons, and sent to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and from there to Fort Arbuckle, and then returned to her relatives in Texas. The little boy remained a prisoner nearly 5 years, but was finally recovered by his grandfather, Reverend Leonard S. Friend.

The little fellow, at the time of his reclamation, could speak nothing but the Indian dialects. It will be remembered that we mentioned two ladies by the name of Johnson, each with a young babe. The account which gives their names states that they met a similar fate to the account Mr. Loose gives. So, that is the story of the Legion Valley Massacre from J. W.

Wilbarger’s 1889 book, Indian Depredations in Texas. The two Johnson sisters were named Becky and Samantha, and the Townsend girl was named Mandy. All three of them were outraged, scalped, and killed, and then their bodies were horribly mutilated. It is notable that the one woman who survived the massacre, Matilda Friend, was the only one who tried to put up a defense against the Indians.

In fact, according to an article published in the November 1927 issue of Frontier Times magazine, the other three women actually pulled the shotgun away from Matilda Friend because they thought that the Indians might not harm them if they did not put up a fight. Let us know in the comments what you think about these events and this decision to appeal to the mercy of the Indians rather than taking a stand.

Lee Temple Friend was the 8-year-old boy who was taken captive by the Comanches during this raid. He was the stepson of Matilda Friend and the grandson of Jonas Dancer, the preacher who was killed by Indians in 1859. His mother, Tennessee Jane Dancer Friend, died in childbirth when Temple was born just 1 year later in 1860.

After his capture, Temple spent over 4 years with the Comanches before he was recovered at Fort Sill, Oklahoma on November 14th, 1872. However, he did not adjust well to civilized life and he died on June 2nd, 1875 at just 15 years old. I have not been able to find information on how he died. Matilda Friend was about 8 months pregnant when this raid occurred.

However, despite being shot with three arrows and partially scalped, she gave birth to her daughter, Jenny Isabelle Friend, on February 29th, 1868, just a few weeks after the attack. As soon as Matilda had adequately recovered, she and her husband moved to Butler County, Kansas, where they had five additional daughters between 1870 and 1886.

This channel was begun because history like this is often viewed as unworthy of airtime on history channels on TV and unworthy of space in our national museums. While museums like the Smithsonian conduct performative and chanting land acknowledgements, there is very little acknowledgement of the brutal barbarity that the Indian tribes like the Comanches displayed toward peaceful settlers like the Johnson, Friend, and Townsend families.

So, here on this channel, we try to make up for the shortcomings and negligence of modern so-called historians by reading directly from old books. These books were written down long ago for our benefit by people whose shoes we are unworthy to stand in. If you’d like to support the mission of our channel, then please become a Patreon or YouTube channel member.

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