Page 111 - Confronting Race Women and Indians on the Frontier, 1815 - 1915

F R O N T I E R PROCESS: VI L I F YI N G

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body f riders n a distant hill, only o learn n approaching them that
they were T e xas Rangers. 38
In this state of constant agitation, male and f e male migrants blamed
American Indians f o r any misfortune or irregularity that occurred.
Indians automatically became the villain of virtually any mishap. Because
prejudice and near hysteria achieved dimensions that defied rationality
and reason, natives did not even need to be in the area, nor was it nec­
essary f o r any shred of evidence to exist to suggest that they had per­
petrated an incident; they were immediately and irrevocably indicted.
When cattle stampeded, Mary a rner indicated that the guards assumed
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that Indians had been the cause.39 Katherine Dunlap explained that
when stock wandered it was "natural" to think that it had been stolen
by Indians, who were assumed to be always "skulking around the
camps."40 When observing Native Americans f o r her first time, Lucy
Sexton noted that "they were mounted, and one of them on a fine
American horse, undoubtedly stolen."41 And Emily Horton offered a
particularly harsh judgment when some of the men of her train brought
a bleached skull into camp. According to her, it was "all there was to
show that one of our race had perished f a r f r om home. No doubt death
was caused by savages."42
When real Indians were spotted, ensuing accounts led to great pre­
cautions. Despite their demeanor or intentions, natives were blamed f o r
all kinds of deeds. One man rushed into camp hollering that Indians
were chasing him. He raised fifteen to twenty armed men, only to dis­
cover on tracking down the natives that they wanted "to smoke peace"
and beg f o r f o od. These same men remained convinced that a f u ll-scale
attack would hit their camp that very night. Despite their f e ars, it failed
to materialize.43 In another instance, the mere presence of American
Indians in the vicinity caused train members to dress and prepare fo r
night combat. On the next day an oxen, "full of arrows, but still alive,"
was f o und on the trail. After shooting the animal to end its misery, these
people concluded that some other train moving ahead of them had
been struck.44
This is not to argue that there were no violent and tragic interac­
tions between fr ontier people and Native Americans, f o r there were
many such unfortunate instances. Rather, the suggestion here is that

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