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Took Courage to Ride Straight AheadBy R. K. PHILLIPSVutiiir{grlt; Tina.(Copyright. 1132, by ih« Home Colo* Print Co.)^EN who knew Sam P. Newberry of Weatherford, Texas, in the days when it took courage to ride a horse straight ahead without turning back, will tell you that this pioneer and Indian fighter faced death many times.in defense of the settlers of West Texas.Sam Newberry was born in Franklin county, Tennessee, April 24, 1846, of a sturdy family that had furnished many leaders in the South and Southwest. His grandparents came from Alabama to Tennessee, but another branch of the family lived in South Carolina, where a county and town are named for them.It was in 1859 that a small colony of Tennesseans, including the father and uncles of Sam P. Newberry, decided to move to Texas. They came in covered wagons, and were two months making the trip from Tennessee to Big Valley, on the Brazos river, in Parker county, Texas. During the overland trip of two months young Sam, 13 years old, received a liberal education in outdoor life. He learned to hunt and to fish in the streams along which the colony camped, learned to use the rifle, revolver and shotgun; also learned that life itself depended on eternal vigilance while traveling in a strange, new Country.Extreme OulpostWhen this caravan arrived in. Big Valley, on the Brazos river, they had reached the extreme outpost of western civilization, where roamed the Indian and the buffalo, with hardly a settlement between there and the Rocky Mountains.While the Tennessee colony lived in Big Valley R. C. Newberry, father of Sam Newberry, moved to what was later known as the Newberry community, on Grindstone Creek, a few miles west of Weatherford. At the outbreak of the war between the States all able bodied men, including a brother, J. D. Newberry, volunteered as soldiers in the Confederate army. The older men and younger boys, the women and children, were left at home to shift for themselves. At the age of fifteen .young Sam Newberry had to assume a man's duties and responsibilities. The first and foremost duty was to fight hack the savage Comanches and Apaches ■who swooped down on unprotected Texas settlements, ran off horses and occasionally killed and scalped settlers.“We did not have much trouble with Indians during the war between the States, said Mr. Newberry, chiefly because Indians were still fighting with spears, bows and arrows and were afraid of white men that were armed with rifles and revolvers. It was necessary, however, to continually patrol the frontier boundaries in order to detect marauding Indians and to drive them back. We took turns in doing scout duty and any sign of Indian raiders was quickly reported to the settlers by the scout patrol.New Type of Indian Fighter At the beginning of the war between the States, a new type of Indian fighter appealed, declared Mr. Newlierry.These were armed with Enfield r if 1 e s, issued to them by our federal government, ostensibly for hunting purposes.Indians, .armed with government rifles, would leave the reservation at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, come down into Texas, steal horses, murder settlers and then ride back north across Red river and mingle a g ai n w i th their tribe on the reservation.“In the summer of 1868, a Parker county family by the name of Light was attacked by Indians late one afternoon while returning home, unarmed, from visiting a neighbor. The father, mother and one child were killed, .mother child wounded, but a , third child escaped.Other Indian raids followed in Parker county with gruesome regularity; men, women and children murdered, scalped and much livestock stolen. Feeling against the Indians was at a white heat, men went armed everywhere, not knowing the day or the hour when they might be forced to fight for their lives.“April 24, 18G9, an opportunity came to a small group of young frontiersmen to avenge the wrongs that savageshad heaped upon unprotected settlers. While Milt Ikard, Bose Ikard, (the later a negro), were working with cattle about ten .miles southwest of Weatherford they* were joined about noon by other men who had been riding the range,Young Avengers Follow the TrailComposing the entire party were Tom Gray, Bill Cox, Elbert and R. J. Doss, Sam Newberry, Milt and Bose Ikard. They were just a group of young men in their early twenties, but with experience on the range that qualified them as veterans.“An Indian raiding party had just swept through the Brazos valley, com-“We charged straight into the Indians, shooting and yelling as we charged.”mitting outrages in Parker and adjoining counties. The raiders were now on their way out, headed northwest. The young frontiersmen decided they would trail the savages, ride them down and kill as many as possible. It was now one o'clock, the weather cloudy, light showers having fallen during the morning, and it was an ideal day for following an Indian trail.We were seven white men, starting out to overtake and attack an unknown number of hostile Indians; This took supreme courage, for the country was wild, mountainous, and an ambuscade would have been easy. Our only weapons were revolvers. There was not a rifle among us.“The pursuing party soon picked up the Indian trail and followed it northwest, but sometimes the trail became dim and could hardly be seen. We crossed Rock creek, a few miles west of where Millsap, Texas, is now located. As we rode up a mountain side we were sure our horses had caught the scent of the fleeing Indians. Indians have a strong body odor and horses have a keen scent. A rider who knows his horse can tell when the animal scents an Indian. All domesticated horses feared Indians.By now the Indians were throwing away various articles they had been carrying on the backs of their horses, which indicated they were hard-pressed and were lightening pack loads in order to make better time. We came upon two mules the savages had stolen and cut out of tbeir string: these mules had been led with ropes made into slip nooses and the nooses had tightened until the poor animals were almost choked to death. We stopped long enough to free the mules.Iii Sight of Marauders“We finally came in sight of the fleeing marauders as they passed the crest of a high hill, near where Mineral Wells, Texas, is now situated in a very rough country, covered with boulders and narrow valleys. We had ridden nearly twenty miles, our horses had almost reached the limit of endurance, but we were steadily gaining on the red men.“Suddenly the Indians stopped and prepared to give battle. Part of them dismounted and othei3 remained horseback. They had chosen ground where they would be protected from our bullets and where escape would be easy in case of defeat.“As we advanced, the Indians began firing upon us with rifles,” said Mr. Newberry. We paused just long enough to get together, and thencharged straight into the Indians, shooting and yelling as we charged. The savages outnumbered us two to one and were shooting from in front and oh all sides, some of them having hidden behind boulders. An Indian shot at me from a distance of 26 yards and missed; I shot him off his horse but he escaped. I fired at a big Indian in a blue army overcoat at close range. Years afterward Quanah Parker, chief of the Comanches, said he was in the fight and wore an army overcoat and that a shot went through the coat, barely grazing his skin. Elbert Doss rode up near me and I saw him reel; he was struck in the chest by a rifle ball. I ran to him and helped him off his horse. He was fatally wounded and died in a few minutes.Indians Fled in ConfusionWe charged the Indians with such force and determination and our revolver fire was so deadly that they fled in confusion. However, they carried away their dead and' wounded. Our ammunition was now low so we thought best not to follow them into the rough and broken country, where they would have had the advantage. Later we learned there were sixteen Indians pitted against us and that we killed and wounded nine out of the sixteen. Years afterward Quanah Parker gave a full detail of the fight from the standpoint of the Indians.“Our victory was saddened by the' loss of Elbert Doss, a brave and fine young man. We rounded up a dozen horses that the Indians had stolen from Parker county settlers and returned them to the owners.J. II. Doss of Weatherford, Texas* president of the Merchants and Farmers State Bank, is a nephew of Elbert Doss. Other members of the family live in Parker county.Sam P. Newberry of Weatherford, and Milt Ikard of Ardmore, Oklahoma, are the last survivors of the seven men who rode forth on that April day. 1869, risking their lives in the defense of Parker county homes and loved ones. Mr. Newberry is still hale and hearty, despite his 85 years.A parting tribute should be paid Bose Ikard, the negro, who fought shoulder to shoulder with the six white men in this memorable battle. For ysal's he was in the employ of Chas. Goodnight, West Texas ranchman. He died on the Goodnight ranch and was buried at Weatherford, Goodnight erecting a monument over hia grave.
Newspaper Details
Carthage Panola Watchman
Carthage, Texas, US
Thu, Oct 13, 1932
Page 5
Full Page
Clipped by
William S.
TX, USA 26 Apr 2025
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