On April 19, 1881 on a homestead just west of the Medina River, the Apaches had their last massacre in Texas history. The war party, initially of twenty braves, had previously attacked the 10th cavalry near Van Horn, killing 6 Buffalo Soldiers and a Pueblo scout.
The Van Horn attack was followed by attacks on the Overland Stage Line in Bass Canyon, another attack on Buffalo Soldiers at Ojo Caliente and another stage coach attack in Quitman Canyon.
The McLaurin homestead attack killed young Catherine ‘Kate’ McLaurin, mother of three and 14-year-old, family friend Allen Lease. Kate’s six-year-old daughter Maude, ran to a neighboring farm for help and the Apaches retreated.
The Ivy League version of Texas history would be unrecognizable to pioneers who braved this dangerous frontier. When European settlement began, Texas was inhabited by a quarter million of the most hostile Indian tribes on the continent, including the Comanche, the Apaches and the cannibalistic Karankawa.
The myth that European technical advantage overpowered the noble savage is just that, a myth. The native tribes were experts at asymmetrical warfare. Surprise attacks with overwhelming odds were a successful tactic they used for over two centuries. Casualties were evenly matched throughout the conflict.
An Indian warrior carried fifty arrows and could fire ten per minute at a mounted gallop. These flint tipped missiles could penetrate thru a horse’s chest. Their rawhide covered shields could stop a musket ball. The Comanche warrior was considered by many to be the finest cavalry force on the planet prior to the invention of repeating firearms.
The pioneer’s muzzle loader was more of a psychological advantage. Flintlocks were referred to as ‘thunder sticks’ by the natives, but the only true advantage for the pioneers was long distance accuracy. Firearms of the Texas colonial days took a full minute to reload in ideal conditions and were useless when it was damp or rainy.
A flintlock gave off a tell-tale muzzle and pan flash at night and a giant plume of smoke in the day giving way the shooter's location. Reloading required standing to pour powder and ram shot, often in an exposed position. With captured and trade firearms, the Indians were never that mismatched in firepower.
The Spanish never could overcome the Indian advantage and in fact only staged one offensive against them. Three hundred Spanish cavalry left San Antonio to destroy the enemy camps which they never found. The survivors returned on foot, never to try again. In 1820, the Spanish governor began granting land to settlers who could wrestle it from the Indians.
In 1824, Mexico won independence for itself and Texas from Spain and colonization continued until the rise of a Mexican dictator, Santa Anna, the self proclaimed ‘Napoleon of the West’, but that’s another story. For now let’s return to the Medina Massacre.
In the 1880 census, Texas had over one and a half million people. San Antonio had rail and telephone service, and yet, just across the Medina River, pioneers were still wrestling with Indians. All of which brings us back to the most recent Medina Massacre.
This time the scalp hunter is a radio talk host in Rockefeller Center and the pioneer is candidate for Governor, Lady Medina. The talk host, self described as ‘a rodeo clown’ and who describes his listeners as ‘sick twisted freaks’, baits the candidate on the ‘9/11 truther’ issue. Out of her league in both politics and media savvy, the governor hopeful admits there may be some truth to those conspiracy theories.
If a president had never lied about the Gulf of Tonkin, or the Cambodian bombings or the stain on that little blue dress then maybe there would be more trust in the government. Watergate seemed bad enough at the time, but as White House tapes were released in 2000, the crimes just got bigger. Even more tapes are unheard in archives. The Warren Commission sealed their documents for 35 years, and then extended that for another 35 years.
The same Jamie Gorelick, who installed the FBI/CIA information exchange barrier, served on the 9/11 review committee. Over three thousand Americans died and not one government official was found negligent, despite repeated warnings from citizens and FBI field offices. In treason, duplicity and complicity are both the same.
The Texas primary election is on March 2, which is also Texas Independence Day. That day in 1836, General Sam Houston huddled in a clapboard shack on the Brazos River with 60 delegates and drafted the Texas Declaration of Independence. That day Colonel Travis huddled with 179 volunteers behind crumpled stone walls and dirt ramparts at the Alamo as the Napoleon of the West assembled his 5,000-man death squad.
In Texas there is no such thing as ‘Pioneer Day’. For us it is more like ‘Pioneer Decades’. Our freedoms were hard fought, hard won and not forgotten. Perhaps the talk show host had his Murdoch choke chain set a bit too tight. Regardless he should not hang his bloody Medina scalp to high on his totem pole. This story is not over yet.
Lady Medina may not be able to deliver our ‘Scott Brown Moment’ to Texas but that day will soon be here. The GOP has given us the choice between the ‘Governor Good Hair’ who only received 39% of the popular vote in the last general election and a recycled political hack.
I was a shocked listener to that failed radio interview. When I mentioned it to several friends their answer was another shock. “She don’t sound like a career politician, hell that’s what we’re lookin for”. Needless to say, but I know where I’ll be on Texas Independence Day.
Please read “Conflict on the Frio, The McLaurin Massacre, TexasEscapes.com
