The Rawhide Fight, Vernon Parish, Louisian by Don C. Marler Submitted by Pam Smart ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ********************************************** This information was taken from the book The Neutral Zone: Backdoor To The United States (Dogwood Press, copyright 1995) with permission from the author Don C. Marler. The Rawhide fight occured at Walnut Hill, Louisiana, near present day Leesville, in 1850 or 1851. Mr. James Groves (an Indian reportedly weighing about 300 pounds and standing 7 feet tall) came into the area with slaves, race horses, and farm machinery. He brought with him glass windows to put into the house he intended to build. Glass windows were not plentiful in this area at that time, and these were probably the only such windows in the area. The cemetery near his home and trading post became known as the Glass Window Cemetery and is known as such today. The trading post traded hides, and those hides figure in the story of the Rawhide fight. At the time of the Rawhide fight, the trading post was no longer owned by Mr. Groves, but by two men named Burton and Hawkins. The trading post was a stop on the stage coach line. Mr. Hawkins was killed in the fight. The circumstances of the fight were these. The community had built a school. The plan was that those students who lived too far away to travel would stay with local people. Just before the school was to open it burned. There was considerable anger over this and it was suspected that the fire was started by a young man who it was said didn't want to attend school. The young man planned to get married and his father told him he would have to postpone the marriage until he finished school. A meeting was planned to determine what to do next. The word was sent out for interested parties to come to the meeting without their guns. No mention was made of knives or clubs. At the meeting, a Mr. Jenkins got up and accused others of burning the building, then another man stood up and tried to smooth this accusation over. While this man was speaking, someone shouted "I thought we came here to fight". The fighting started immediately with those in the crowd cutting and clubbing each other. Six persons were killed and so many wounded that no accurate count was ever made. The dead and wounded were placed on blankets and quilts while they lasted, then the hides were brought out and the dead and wounded were placed on them. The name "Rawhide" fight came from the use of these hides in caring for the dead and wounded. The names of only five of the six killed are remembered today. The dead remembered are Mr. Charles Weeks, Mr. Harrison, Mr. Hawkins, Mr. Hardcastle, and Mr. Simon. Mr. L.C. Sweat was wounded in the fight. He was taken by a travois (two poles with skin stretched across and pulled by a horse) to the home of Mr. LaCaze in another town. A search party arrived at the home of LaCaze asking to search the house in hopes of finding Mr. Sweat. Mr. LaCaze said they were welcome to search the house except for a certain room which contained the belongings of his deceased wife. The search party honored his request and did not search that room. Of course, that was the room in which Mr. Sweat was hiding. Mr. Sweat recovered and moved to Jasper, Texas where he died and is buried. The club used by Mr. L.C. Sweat, Sr. in the fight is still in the Sweat family. ______________________________________________________________________________ The book "The Neutral Zone: Backdoor To The United States" can be ordered from: Dogwood Press HC 53 Box 345 Hemphill, Tx. 75948 Phone:409 579 2184