The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 18, July 1914 - April, 1915 Page: 206
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206 The Southwestern Historical Quarterly
blankets and beadwork. In the winter of 1835, two or three hun-
dred of them, men, women and children from the Falls of the
Brazos (Waco), camped in the neighborhood, and remained until
they had sold their wares. At this time, the Kleberg family (Ger-
mans) were at Harrisburg, and Mrs. Rosa Kleberg, but recently ar-
rived from Germany, had an experience, which she related to me a
few years before her death. The family had rented a house and
were moving into it, each carrying a portion of the baggage. Mrs.
Kleberg was alone and had just thrown down a big bundle, when
a tall half-naked Indian, the first she had ever seen, approached.
Seeing a loaf of bread on a table in the middle of the room, he
advanced, deposited on the table two big venison hams, which had
been slung over his shoulders, picked up the bread, called out
"swap !" "swap !" and stalked away. Mrs. Kleberg having retreated
behind the table, stood in speechless astonishment, overjoyed that
his one-sided bargain had been followed by so speedy a departure.
In April, 1835, the Harris Reminiscences note the' arrival of
several English families of immigrants, among them the Pages
and Adkinses; Mrs. Brown, a Scotchwoman, with a son and daugh-
ter, was at Allen Vince's place at the time of the "Runaway
Scrape." This event, as its title indicates, created a wide disper-
sion of former residents in this section; the homes of most of them
were destroyed, and not a few of them returned to the United
States, or sought homes in other sections of Texas.
The first account of a school in this municipality, although it
is highly probably that there had been schools taught before at
Harrisburg, is contained in Mrs. Harris's reminiscences. The
diary, dated May, 1834, makes mention of the engagement at
Harrisburg of David Henson, as a teacher for the settlement near
Oyster Creek (Stafford's Point). The school house, built of logs,
was located about halfway between the homes of Dr. Rose and
Mr. Dyer. It had been previously used as a blacksmith shop, was
without windo-ws, had an open doorway, and the floor was of
puncheons. The teacher, an Irishman, was capable, but school
books were scarce, and the multiplication table inscribed on a
pasteboard bandbox belonging to Mrs. Rose, furnished an arith-
metic lesson. The school did well until the arrest of D. W. C.
Harris of Harrisburg, and Andrew Briscoe at Anahuac in June,
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 18, July 1914 - April, 1915, periodical, 1915; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101064/m1/212/?rotate=270: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.