McMullen Co. TX - Indian Depredation Claim of William W. Talbert - 1791 ==================================================================== USGENWEB ARCHIVES NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or for presentation by other persons or organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than stated above must obtain the written consent of the file contributor. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: Melody Askins maskins@flash.net ==================================================================== Court of Claims of the United States Indian Depredation No. 1791 William W. Talbert v. the United States et al. Deposition of Tony Davis, for claimant, taken at San Antonio, Tex., on the 25th day of November A. D. 1914. Claimant's counsel, Harry Peyton, Esq.; defendants' counsel, John A. Hendricks, Esq. No. 9576, Moses S. Pearce; No. 9215, Sanders T. Pearce TONY DAVIS, having been first duly sworn, testified as follows: Direction examination by Mr. PEYTON: Question. State your name, age, residence, and occupation. Answer. My name is Tony Davis; I am between 59 and 60 years old; I live in San Antonio, Tex.; I am a laborer. Question. As a slave, to whom did you belong? Answer. Sanders Pearce. Question. Did the Pearces raise you? Answer. Yes, sir. Question. Did you work for the Pearces after the war was over? Answer. Yes, sir; I lived with them till I was 32 years old. Question. Were you living with them when they had their ranches in McMullen County? Answer. Yes, sir. Question. What did you mostly do along the time you were 14 or 15 years old? Answer. I stayed around and herded the horses, and watched the horses around the ranch. Question. Do you know where Aligator Lake is? Answer. Yes, sir. Question. Do you remember an occasion when the Indians got after Miller and Salmon down there about Aligator Lake? Answer. Yes, sir; I remember that. Question. Do you know whether or not Mr. Sanders Pearce and Mr. Mose Pearce had any horses at Aligator Lake at that time? Answer. They did. Question. Where were you at that time? Answer. At the lake. Question. Do you know how many horses the two Pearces had there at the lake at that time - I mean about how many? Answer. They had about 35 or 40 head of mares and saddle horses together. Question. Do you know what became of these horses they had there? Answer. The Indians got them. Question. Did the Indians get all they had there? Answer. They got all but a few, some that might have been off that they didn't get. Question. Did anybody see the Indians at that time that you know of? Answer. I don't remember. I knew they were Indians by the sign. Question. Do you remember whether or not the Indians got after Mr. Miller and Salmon at that time? Answer. I think they did run them. Question. Do you know whether they got horses belonging to anybody else on that raid except horses belonging to the Pearces? Answer. I think they got horses from Weavers and from Franklins, too. Question. Did you go with the crowd that followed the Indians? Answer. No, sir. Question. Do you know if Mr. Pearce and others did follow the Indians? Answer. Yes, sir. Question. Were they gone a considerable time after the Indians? Answer. Yes, sir; they followed them several days. Question. Did you know or understand what Indians got the horses. Answer. No, sir I don't; I don't know what Indians. Question. Did you hear them say whether it was the Kickapoos or the Comanches? Answer. I heard them call them the Comanches. Question. Did you hear them say why they thought they were Comanche Indians? Answer. No, sir; I didn't. Question. You were nothing but a boy then, were you? Answer. That was all. Question. Where were you when the Stringfields were killed? Answer. Coming from Aligator Lake to Tilden. Question. How long before the Stringfield killing was it that you had left Aligator Lake? Answer. The day I left there. I left in the morning, and they were killed in the evening. Question. Did Mose Pearce and his father have any horses at Alligator Lake when you left there that day? Answer. Yes, sir. Question. Do you know about how many horses altogether both of them had there at that time? Answer. They must have had 60 or 65 head, I guess. Question. Do you know if the Indians got any of these horses? Answer. They got pretty near all of them. Question. How soon afterwards was it you got back to Alligator Lake? Answer. I didn't go back there until they all came back from off their scout. Question. Did you hear them say anything about how many of the horses the Indians got? Answer. No, sir; they said they got about 30 heard. There was a lot of them gave out and the Indians killed them. Question. Do you mean to say that Mr. Pearce got some of the horses back from the Indians? Answer. No, sir; he didn't get any of them back. Question. Do you mean to say the Indians got away with about 30 horses and killed the balance of them? Answer. Yes, sir; they got about that many, and they killed a lot of them along the trail that they supposed gave out. Question. Do you know how many horses Mr. Mose Pearce and his father had left at Alligator Lake or how many they brought home with them after the raid? Answer. They brought a small bunch, but I can't tell you exactly how many, that the Indians didn't get. Question. Was it was many as half of the horses they owned and had there at the lake? Answer. No, sir. Question. Did you hear them say what Indians it was that killed Stringfield? Answer. No, sir. Question. Did you know anything about the different tribes of Indians at that time? Answer. No, sir; all that I know is they would say they were Indians. Question. Did you know anything about what Indians they were over in Mexico? Answer. No, sir. Question. Were you ever over in Mexico among the Indians there? Answer. No, sir. I was never further than the Rio Grande; I have never been on the otherside. Question. Did you ever go with the white men who were following the Indians? Answer. No, sir. Question. You stayed around the ranches and looked after the horses? Answer. Yes, sir. Cross-examination by Judge HENDRICKS: Question. You stated that you left the ranch in the morning and the Indians made the raid that evening, the time you have been testifying there at Alligator Lake? Answer. Yes, sir; the time the Indians were killing Stringfield and his family. Question. How long were you gone before you came back to the ranch? Answer. It must have been about eight or nine days before I went back to the range. Question. How long had the people been back who followed the trail? Answer. About two days after they came back I went back to the ranch.