Biographical Encyclopedia of Texas Page: 348 of 372
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284
BIOGRAPHICAL
young Republic. He was a man of sterling integrity
and honest deportment."
Thle following incident showilg Major Bennet's
ready burnIer, as told by some of those who were
present at its occurence, will perhaps bear mention;
G(eneral Sali Houiston and somre of the members
of the cabinet were one day discussing the
adoption of a Texas uniform for the army; Major
Bennet passing hurriedly by was thus good-hunmordly
accosted by the General, "Well, major,
what uniform do you recommend for our boys?":
"OhCl rags, rags! they are the only uniform which
we can irocure at present," said the major, as
lie passed on amid loud bursts of laughter from
the General and all who were near.
ILL, WILLIAM TAYLOR, of San Jacinto
_ colunty, was born in Dallas county, Alal>ama,
August 16, 1837; moved thence to
Union Parish, Louisiana, when about four
years old, and to Walker county, Texas wlwen
about seventeen years old; graduated at Austin
College, Huntsville, in 1858; entere(: the Confederate
service at the commencement of the war, as
First Lieutenant Company I), Fifth Texas Infantry,
andl attached to the army of northern Virginia;
subsequently made captain, and had command of
his regimentl at the surrender at Appomnatox Court
House , Virginia; is by occupation a farmer; was
elerced to the Sixteenth Legislature as a Demrocrat,
by a majority of one thousand eight hundred and
forty votes over Ir. (). C. Powell, Independent
Democrat.
AWRENCE, ADAM, settled near tile head
waters of the Trinity river, il Texas, in
1829. No man could be by nature better
adopted to the .profession he had
chosen. Athletic in body, and undaunted in spirit,
he was especially fitted to risk the dangers of
frontier life. At the time the writer of this sketch
first became acquainted with him, lie was upward
of sixty years of age, modest in manner, simple
and unaffected in language. Rough as he appeared
to the casual observer, he was kind and gentle;
and the following incident as it fell fromn his lips,
bore the impress of being a simple recital of unvarnished
facts. In the summler of 1832, AdamLawrence, with three other men, went out nmustanging.
A brief account of the mode in which
these hardy frontiersmen were wont to capture the
wild horses of the prairie, will interest the reader;
A few expert riders, mounted upon strong and
fleet liorses, and each provided with a strong rope,
having discovered a herd of mu.stangs, would gradually
approach to within a short distance of them,
and then making a silmultaneous dash among them,
would each throw a lasso over the neck of one,
and after a vigorous and exciting contest of half
an hour or more would generally succeed in .capturing
their prizes. The mustangs, after being
once conquered, are easily managed, and by kind
treatment soon become perfectly gentle. Some of
theml are beautiful animials, " pretty as a picture, "
and most of them being natural pacers, make excellent
riding horses.
These wild horses frequented the prairies of
Texas at the time of my story. Even since the
writer's advent to this State, in 1850, he has seen
several large herds. Of late years, they have retreated
before the approach of the white man, to
more distant wilds.
When about ten miles froml the nearest settlement,
and far out in the broad prairie, Lawrence
and his companions discovered a herd of mustangs
feeding, a mile or two distant. They approached
them cautiously. As they came nearer, the liorses,
about one hundred in number, showed no signs
of fear; and when noticing this singular circumstance,
the long grass of the prairie suddenly became
alive with Indians. The remainder of the
story will sound better in Adam's own language.
"There was one to each pony, and they all
mounted at a jump, and made for us at full speed,
coiling their lariats as they rode. There was no
time for swapping horses, so we all turned tail
and made a straight shoot for the nearest settlement
on Trinity, about ten miles off. Our animals
were all fine, but the nag I was on was a black
mare a little ahead of anything in that country
for speed and bottom. We rather left themL the
first three miles, but then their ponies began to
show themselves. I tell you, you've no idea how
much an Indian can get out of them mustangs.
Instead of being a weight to them, they seem to
help them along, and 'they kept up such a powerful
yelling, 'pears like you might have heard them
to Red river. We noticed that they divided, one
half striking off to the left, and we soon found out
the reason, for we quickly camne tb the bank of a
deep gully or ravine, which had to be headed, it
couldn't be crossed. They knew every inch of the
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Biographical Encyclopedia of Texas (Book)
Biographical view of Texas and its history including narratives of the individuals who helped shape Texas history and information about important point in history including: the pioneer days of Texas, Texas' transition from a Mexican state to being part of the United States, and the wars in which Texas citizens took part.
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Biographical Encyclopedia of Texas, book, 1880; New York. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth5827/m1/348/: accessed June 29, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.