The Junior Historian, Volume 9, Number 6, May 1949 Page: 2

                                
THE JUNIOR HISTORIAN

River, and  in the spring of 1846
marched with the army across the Rio
Grande. He was assigned to the Second
Dragoons, in the regiment of Colonel
William J. Worth. The opening battles
of the war gave him a chance to dis-
tinguish himself, and he was brevetted
major for "gallant and meritorious con-
duct" at the battles of Palo Alto and
Resaca de la Palma. Arnold was in the
battles of Buena Vista and Monterrey
and then transferred to the army of
General Scott for the campaign in
southern Mexico. At Molino del Rey
the gallant major again won the praise
and honorable mention of his superior
officers.
After the fall of Mexico in 1848,
Major Arnold, because of his distinction
as an Indian fighter, was sent to the
frontiers of Texas to protect the settlers
from Indian raids. On the east bank of
the Brazos, in present Hill County, he
established Fort Graham, in April,
1849.
In that year General Worth directed
Arnold to proceed to northern Texas
and establish a military post "at or near
the confluence of the West Fork and
the Clear Fork of the Trinity River,"
to protect the then sparsely settled ter-
ritory from the forays of Indians. He
left Fort Graham with a small military
escort and rode northeast through wild
country where there was not a sign of
human life. The first civilization Arnold
found was at what is now known as John-
son's Station. There Colonel M. T.
Johnson, a captain under Colonel Worth
in the Mexican War, had built a com-
modious two-story house. .Colonel and
Mrs. Johnson's doors were always open,
and they extended their hospitality to all
travelers through those parts. General
Worth asked Colonel Johnson to aid
Major Arnold in locating the fort, as
he was more familiar with the country.
Colonel Johnson, Dr. Echols, Simon
B. Farrar, Charles Turner, Joe Parker,
and Major Arnold and his command
started out from Johnson's Station up

the Trinity River in search of a place
to locate the regular troops. According
to Mr. Farrar, in an account written to
C. C. Cummings, they passed through
cross timbers, crossing the different
creeks as best they could, traveling
through the wild, beautiful country in-
habited only by Indians, wild mustangs,
innumerable deer, wolves, and wild tur-
key. The party spent the night at Terry
Springs, east of present Fort Worth, and
killed a deer for supper. They could have
killed many more, said Mr. Farrar, but
did not wish to be encumbered with them.
The next morning they mounted their
horses and continued their search. After
a ride of about ten miles, they came to
the edge of a bluff and caught their
breath in wonderment at the beautiful
view. It was a glorious panorama of
nature-the winding river, the lofty
trees, and  the wild- animals. They
climbed down the bluff and found an
abundant supply of cold, clear water
from a near-by spring. The bluff af-
forded a natural defense point. In honor
of the grand old hero, General Worth,
whose strategic action had so' terribly
defeated the Mexicans, Major Arnold
named the point Camp Worth.
He returned to Fort Graham to get
the rest of the troops, and in the latter
part of May, 1849, the major set out
with forty-two enlisted men to found
Camp Worth. They arrived at their
destination on June 6, 1849, and struck
camp in the live oak grove at the foot
of the bluff. The men were pleased with
the beauty and excellence of the site.
Living in tents in the river bottom,
the. dragoons -soon sickened with ma-
laria and other fevers. So the young
major broke camp and moved his small
force to the top of the bluff. They
started building the barracks. Major
Arnold had brought with him a port-
able sawmill, run by horsepower. This
he used in sawing and dressing the
cottonwood trees that grew along the
banks of the river. A rough log barri-
cade was built for protection, and the