Though none of the cowboy stories in our anthology The
Cowboys of Clark’s Folly has any Native Americans, Texas was home to hundreds
of tribes of American Indians. I’ll only name and discuss a few, living around
the location in Texas where our fictional town, Clark’s Folly, would be.
Apache
The Apaches dominated almost all of West Texas
and ranged over a wide area from Arkansas to Arizona. Two groups of Apaches,
the Lipans and the Mescalaros, were of primary importance in Texas. Apaches
were among the first Indians to learn to ride horses and lived a nomadic
existence following the buffalo.
Biloxi
The Biloxis gave their name to the area around
Biloxi, Mississippi, where they first encountered European explorers. They
began to migrate westward in the 1760s to avoid white interference. By 1828, a
group had settled along the Neches River in present-day Angelina County. The
Biloxies became allies of the Cherokees and were caught up in the violence in
1839 that drove the Cherokees out of Texas.
Cherokee
The Cherokees were one of the principal Indian
nations of the southeastern United States. Wars, epidemics, and food shortages
caused many Cherokees to migrate west to Missouri, Arkansas, and Texas in hopes
of preserving their traditional way of life. Those who remained behind in the
Southeast were eventually removed forcibly to Indian Territory (Oklahoma) in
the incident known as the “Trail of Tears.”
Cherokees settled in Texas near the Red River.
Pressed further south by American settlement, in 1820 about sixty families
under Chief Bowl (Duwali) settled in Rusk County near the Caddos. As Americans
settled that area, distrust grew between them and the Cherokees. Hoping to gain
a legal title to their land, the Cherokees invested a great deal of energy in
cultivating a relationship with Mexico. Hoping to protect this relationship,
they remained neutral between Texas and Mexico during the Texas Revolution.
Comanche
The Comanches dominated a vast area of North,
Central, and West Texas. There were at least thirteen active bands of
Comanches, with five playing prominent roles in Texas history. These
unparalleled horsemen led a nomadic lifestyle following the buffalo. They
controlled trade in produce, buffalo products, horses, and captives throughout
their domain. In the 1700s, the Comanches made their presence known in Texas by
warring with the Apaches and the Spanish. Fearing that they would lose Texas to
the Comanches, the Spanish negotiated a peace treaty with them in 1785. When
the Spanish were unable to keep their promises in trade goods and gifts,
Comanche raiding against the Spanish resumed, with many of the stolen horses
being traded to newly arrived Americans.
There is also mention of the Cheyenne and who could
forget the Kickapoo Indians?
