CHAPTER XXII.

Barnard Settlement-Fort Spunky-Chambers Store-Barnard's Trading House-Indian Village, and Their Occupations-Removed to Reservation-Barnard's Character-His Marriage to Ransomed Captive.

Let us now turn for awhile from the consideration of the Acton settlement, to another farther down the Brazos, and which is designated as the Barnard, or Fort Spunky community, and embracing that section of Hood and Somervell counties east of the river and south of the DeCordova bend. This great bend in the Brazos has its neck, of not more than half mile wide, at a distance of four or five miles west of its extreme elbow, which pierces the western boundary of Johnson county; and the river, as a natural obstruction, has somewhat isolated this community from the other portions of Hood county and made it, in a large measure, tributary to Johnson county.

The village of Ft. Spunky, the trading and social center of this settlement, is some two miles from the residence of Chas. Barnard on the Brazos, and was first called Barnardville, when the first store house was opened, about the middle of the seventies; but a short time after, several fights having occurred, upon obtaining for it a postoffice, the more beligerent [sic] name it now bears was bestowed by its own people, who began to post sign boards along the roads leading to it, designating the distances to "Ft. Spunky." The present village, however, was not the earliest centre of trade here. Prior to this J.H. Chambers had a store a short distance away on George's creek, where, as justice of the peace, he presided with rather more than the average ability of the country 'squire, over the litigous controversies of the vicinage, as well as supplied the people with needed articles of farm and household use. And still earlier, even long anterior to the white settlements, as far back as 1847, Chas. Barnard, who was briefly mentioned in the early part of these pages, came and located his famous trading house here, where he still lives, and carried on an extensive trade with the Indians, then in full and free enjoyment of these hunting grounds. A peacable [sic] band, under their lordly chief, were domiciled in their wigwams near by, at the mouth of a small creek flowing into the Brazos, and which from this circumstance took the name of Village creek. Here they remained the fast friends and profitable customers of Barnard, reaping rich harvests of skins and furs from the surrounding regions abounding in game, and exchanging them with Barnard for his merchandise suited to their tastes. In their village of wigwams and huts the log cabin of their chief towered above, a kind of palatial mark of distinction and royalty, while about them in small patches they cultivated in Indian style a few vegetables and corn. The chief admitted to the white visitors occasionally there, that, while their corn wasn't very good, yet it made fine fodder. The name of this ruler has not been perpetuated among the whites who have since supplanted him in his domain. Besides the aforesaid agricultural enterprises, there were some approaches toward manufacture carried on, in the way of dressing the pelts for market, by these villagers. And for amusements, the turf was their stage; where many equestrian performance won applause or ridicule, according to merit; and many a pony exchanged ownership, because of inability to run faster than his competitor. This was about the condition of Barnard's surroundings for a period of some six or seven years after his settlement there, until the United States Government removed the Indians to the Reservation about Fort Belknap; when suddenly Barnard found his trade gone; but not to be foiled in his preference of dealing with the red man, he soon packed his merchandise into no less than a dozen wagons, each drawn by six mules, and followed his friendly customers, with his trading house, to their new abode, not, however, removing his residence. Here Barnard still remains domiciled upon the identical premises where he settled nearly a half century ago, and where the great state of Texas has developed during his residence here, from a remote Indian frontier, leaving him now centrally situated in a civilization extending its iron arms to the upper Rio Grande. Here in this spot, that development has made him the citizen of no less than five counties. This interesting character came from New York to Texas when a young man, possibly in the mere search of adventure; he possesses naturally broad intellectual powers, which were well cultivated, and except for an unfortunate thirst, which long ago mastered his intellectual powers and consumed his considerable wealth, might without doubt, have attained to great prominence in the affairs of his state. He believes the Indians, so long his friends, associates and allies, have been maltreated many respects; that they are not, without cause, the blood thirsty wretches and thieves, that many writers have credited them with being. Mr. Barnard during the period of his trade with the Indians came in contact with a Mexican lady of the family of Cavassas, who had been captured in Mexico by a band of Indians and brought to the Brazos country, where, after some six or eight months of such sufferings as are usually incident to such a captivity, during which she had witnessed the killing of another lady, her companion, and had only saved herself from a like fate, perhaps, by manifesting to her captors a desire to be killed, was finally ransomed by whites near Waco. Barnard became attached to her and she became his wife. And it was some years after she had, by repeated endeavors through the imperfect mail facilities existing between the two countries, endeavored to communicate with her family in Mexico, that, by the fortuitous circumstances of a twin brother, whose likeness to her was so complete, that while traveling in the vicinity, her acquaintances recognized the resemblance, and thereby came about a reopening of communication with her family in Mexico.

2000 HOOD COUNTY TEXAS HISTORICAL DOCUMENT TRANSCRIPTION TEAM