A History Of Dickens County: Ranches and Rolling Plains Page: 3
355 p. : ill. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this book.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
was the now-extinct giant bison which was about
half again as large and about four times as heavy
as the later plains bison.
About the time the ice sheets made their final
withdrawal, many of the animals hunted by these
early Americans became extinct. The hunters were
then forced to depend more upon berries, roots,
seeds and other plant foods. About 5,003 B.C. the
early American cultures gave way to new, more
diverse and more numerous cultures. There is also
archaelogical evidence that there was a substantial
immigration into North America by more Asiatics
between 5,000 and 2,500 B.C.
Many of these men turned to agriculture and pot-
tery making a few centuries before the Birth of
Christ. ( These peoples, however, were not plains
residents. ) Most, however, remained hunters, and
by that time had developed quite an assortment of
stone implements and weapons. Some of the river
valley people began domesticating animals and plants
such as corn, potatoes, tomatoes, pumpkins, pea-
nuts, beans, squash, tobacco, etc. (History books)
These then were the first Americans -- intrepid
nomads, who for more than a hundred centuries wrest-
ed a living from the capricious plains country, and
with their crude weapons slew giant, shaggy beasts
which roamed this unbounded land in the dawn of
man's time. When we speak with pride of our cul-
ture and our achievements, perhaps it is well to
pause and remember those early Americans who
lived here so long before us and did so much with
so little.
Early Historic Period
The early history of Dickens County is that of
adventure and daring. It dates back to the Louis-
iana Purchase.
The Texas Rangers made deep wagon tracks a-
cross the land in search of marauding Indians and
the buffalo hunters sought and destroyed the numer-
ous herds that once grazed its broad acres.
To the buffalo hunters we give credit for its
first families, and early settlement. They say its
beauty and its fertile land while chasing buffalo,
and determined to settle and bring others to live
in it and love it as they did.
John Arrowsmith's Map of Texas, publishedinLon-
don, in April, 1841, shows this section of Texas to
have been explored by LeGrand in 1833, probably
the first reconnoissance of any note was by Captian
R. B. Marcy, U. S. S. , who in the summer and fall
of 1854 led an expedition from Fort Smith, Arkansas.
It is known that his wagon train crossed what is now
Garza County, and it is assumed that his scouts
traversed this county also.
Daniel Webster's fallacious judgment of the value
to the United States of those-called Louisiana Pur-
chase is fully equalled by Captain Marcy's detailed
report of this immediate section; "---the dangers
we encountered and privations we suffered had not
been in vain, establishing as they did the fact, that
for all purposes of human habitation --- except it
might be for a penal colony -- those wilds are
totally unfit. Despite everything else that can sus-
tain or make life tolerable, they must remain asthey are, uninhabited and uninhabitable."
Cheffin's Map of the Republic of Texas, published3
in Southhampton, England, shows what is now Dickens
County as lying within John Cameron's Grant, and as
occupied "by Commanche Indians, droves of wild
cattle and horses."
It is interesting to realize that Dickens County
was once in the edge of the sea. Shells and remains
of prehistoric reptiles known to inhabit the marshes
and edges of salt water are frequently found. A
professor of the North, a Paleontologist, found in the
county a sub-order of prehistoric reptile hitherto un-
known to the scientific world. It was eighteen feet
long, was in remarkably good state of preservation.
The reptile creatures of a million years ago; the ele-
phants; the three toed horses; remains of all of
which geological expeditions have found in thebreaks.
Then finally, perhaps a thousand years ago, possibly
several thousands, the buffalos made their appearance
in this section. They thrived well, and being un-
molested, grew in volume rapidly, until millions of
them inhabited this county and the Great Plains.
Large herds of antelope, deer and turkeys were found
in the breaks and canyons, and fish -- catfish, perch
and buffalo fish were in abundance in the streams.
There were also wolves, panthers, bobcats, moun-
tain lions, and smaller carnivorous animals in large
numbers.
This county was a paradise for the Indians who
first made their appearance in this section, as near
as can be estimated, about five hundred years ago.
These tribes, who were a nomadic type, left no pue-
blos, or towns, from which to judge the age of their
civilization. They followed on the trail of the buffalo,
which furnished their meat, their clothes, and even
the tents under which they lived. They followed
in the wake of the great herds, killing only that
which they needed, and living in ease had it not
been for the long cold winters. In Dickens County,
the Comanches dominated these parts of the prairies
and breaks. Thousands of arrowheads have been
found in the breaks around Dickens. Evidence shows
that they camped at Dickens Springs.
But this state of affairs could not last forever.
Slowly the Indians were pushed back until 1870
only the vast expanse of the plains and the breaks
surrounding were all that were left they could really
call their own. But even this was not left to them.
The cattlemen pushedwestward, driving Indians before
them, and the Indians retaliated in Indian raids and
scalping parties. Plans were made and one attempt
made to place them on reservations, but not until
the year 1870 that the United States Government
took definite steps to control them.
By 1874 the Indian raids had become so numerous
that the government decided that strenuous measures
were necessary to curb them. It was in this year
the great buffalo slaughter began.
West Texas was simply covered with millions of
these large shaggy animals, usually going in great
herds which took from two to three days to pass.
The size of these herds had been estimated at from
small herds of a few thousand to as many as a mil-
lion in a herd. The buffalo was life itself to the In-
dians. He could not live without them, for they fur-
nished his food, his clothing and his shelter.
With the beginning of the great slaughter, the In-dians took up arms to prevent it. They raided the
buffalo camps, the ranch headquarters, and some
went far enough to attack small settlements. In 1874
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This book can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Book.
Arrington, Fred. A History Of Dickens County: Ranches and Rolling Plains, book, 1971; [Dickens, Texas]. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth61098/m1/21/: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .